If youâve been laid off, this might be for you.
When I was six, my parents divorced. I grew up with an abusive stepmother. At 21, I was arrested by Chinese intelligence and threatened with death.
One could say "what a miserable life?"
But losing my mother taught me independence. Surviving abuse taught me resilience. Like a snake that can't hold its tongue, my stepmother couldn't hold hers. Every word from her mouth was like an arrow to my chest. But through her, I learned something powerful. Words can break people or lift them up. She taught me empathy, without meaning to.
In 2005, China wasnât as aggressive as it is today. But I was still considered a threat. If they hadnât tried to kill me, maybe I wouldnât have escaped. And maybe today, Iâd be in a concentration camp or dead. That threat might have saved my life.
âBad thingsâ happen. But bad things often redirect you to better things.
If Scar hadnât betrayed Mufasa, if Simba wasnât exiled from his home, there would be no Lion King.
Simba ran away from everything he knew and became a refugee in the jungle. But in that exile, he learned Hakuna Matata. He gained strength, perspective, and purpose. It was all part of building the Lion King.
So, is getting laid off the end? Or is it the beginning?
Maybe youâre being forced to leave your old job for something better. Maybe this is when you finally start that business. Or break into that new career youâve been thinking about.
Maybe one day, youâll look back at this moment and be grateful it happened. Because the future had something bigger for you. You just couldnât see it yet.
If youâre reading this, 160,000 people didnât wake up to see the sunrise today. And they never will again. Is losing a job really that big of a problem?
Go outside. Look at the sky. Take a deep breath. Youâre still here. And you have almost unlimited shots to build the life you want.
Good luck.