When I decided to return to the workforce last June, I,
wisely, turned to my very own book, Getting
What You Wish For: A Short and Sweet Guide to Manifesting the Sweet Life!, for
guidance in securing the “perfect” job: “Your desires must be focused, specific, and stated in
such a way as to be given the answer you are looking for in order to bring
about positive changes in your life.”
(I have to say, it’s terribly fun to be able to quote
yourself!)
At the time, my #1 priority was finding employment that
would enable me to become my sister’s primary caregiver; Colleen’s health had
deteriorated to the point that she was going to need to move in with me, an
eventuality that we knew was going to occur sooner or later. And now, it was
time.
Keeping in mind that I needed to be specific in my request, here
was my wish list for the “perfect job”:
- 100% remote, so that I could relocate Colleen to the sea-level altitude she required without having to also worry about finding a job once we got to our new home
- Sufficient income to provide
for Colleen’s needs, take care of my dogs, and live the lifestyle I desired
- Time to pursue my other
interests: writing, teaching, and helping others in my Cracks in
Consciousness personal transformation coaching practice
That the job had to be completely remote was paramount. I
was going to have to relocate for my sister’s health; she needed to live at
sea-level, but I live at an altitude of 6,500 feet, which meant she couldn’t
move here. So, I needed to figure out the best places to move where she could
get the best medical help she required; sell my house and buy or rent a new
house, get myself relocated from Colorado, and get Colleen relocated from
Nevada. Having a 100% remote job would give me the time and the means to do
this.
And within two months, the Universe manifested the perfect
job: a Project Management contract position that was 100% remote; paid the same
salary that I was making when I left the workforce at the end of 2014; required
employees to work 18 months, step away for 6 months (and collect unemployment,
if desired, and pursue other personal or professional pursuits), and then hire
back on for another 18 months; and, once mastered, required very little time
each day to manage assigned projects, which allowed me to pursue other
interests. The only downside was that contractors received no benefits. But,
since Colleen would be living with me, and her income would help supplement
mine, this wasn’t a concern.
I interviewed for the job over the course of three days
(hiring company, employer-panel situational interview, finishing up with the VP
of the business unit I would be joining). I was confident that I would receive
a job offer, which I did—two days after Colleen died.
I accepted the job and began work in September 2015. After
all, I still needed a job, and the fact that I had to handle all of the final
arrangements for Colleen made having a remote job much easier to take care of
business in the coming weeks and months. Plus, many of my current circumstances
and needs were still the same: sufficient income and lots of time to pursue my
other interests. Perfect!
So, perfect, in fact, that I resigned two weeks ago, and Friday
was my last day.
But I still believe that the Universe did, in fact, manifest
the perfect job for me. I simply needed to come to understand why it was
perfect for me—and why I needed to leave it.
“It will all become clear as we walk along. It is in
walking a path that we come to understanding.” Margaret George
As early as October, I realized that something was wrong.
At first, I thought that I didn’t like the work because I
had, quite simply, forgotten how much I disliked being the new kid on the
block. It had been many years since I started a new job, and, when I left my
last job, I was considered the go-to-guy with 11 years of knowledge and
experience to back it up. Hubris, I admit, but there it is.
Then, I remembered something that I had written about this
job in my journal when I first applied: “The job has two elements that I
detest: it’s a glorified secretary’s job; you have to follow up with everyone
about everything. And, you have to spend your entire day ‘herding cats.’ But I’m
sure I can get used to this. After all, I need a job, and I’ve always wanted a
remote job.”
Teleworking isn’t for everyone. You need to be disciplined
enough to structure your time. You need excellent communication skills,
self-reliance, resourcefulness, flexibility, and confidence in your abilities. If
I may say so myself, I have all of these qualities in spades. And I’m certainly
self-reliant and resourceful; I’ve taken care of myself and my dogs by myself
for the last 12 years.
And so, I’ve teleworked often over the last 20 years, and it
suits me.
But I came to understand that “telework” is not the same as “100%
remote.” And while I love being able to telework, I’ve come to learn that I hate
being 100% remote—especially when
you live in a remote place in the first place, like I do. Where getting to a
town is a 20-minute drive in the best of circumstances, and seeing your friends
can be an odyssey. Plus, while it’s true that you can work from anywhere so
long as you are “available” during your working hours (which, in my case, was
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), the ironical flip side is that you have to be 100% available
during those hours—watching emails, responding to IMs, participating in online
training—which can be challenging trying to find free Wifi and hotspots if I
want to work someplace other than my own house.
But while none of this was insurmountable, one surprising (at
least to me, at the time) observation became a frequent entry in my journal: I
was lonely.
This was never an issue when I teleworked; I was in the
office as often as I was out of the office, and so I never felt real
loneliness. Admittedly, I frequently needed “by myself” time; being a
practicing empath, it was important to recharge my psychic batteries regularly.
But now, I was 100% remote, and the one person I could
always count on being 100% available to me wasn’t available at all anymore: my
sister, Colleen.
The Universe manifested exactly what I wished for: the
perfect job. But it finally dawned on me why
it was perfect: not because it was remote or because it paid me a good salary
or was pretty easy to manage during the day. Rather, it was perfect for me because of what it taught me about
myself. And the most important lesson was that I needed to accept my
Authentic Self and what I needed and wanted in order to find that emotional
connection.
This is how the Universe works: the answer we receive might
not be the answer we think we’re looking for. So, it’s our job to glean from it
what the answer truly means for us and why the answer is, in fact, perfect after
all.
And once we discover the true meaning of the answer, it’s
time to take the next step along that path to understanding.
Which, in my case, means that tomorrow I begin my new job.
And what might that be?
Tune it next week to find out the surprising (at least to
me) result!
And, as always,
remember this: It’s NEVER too late
to be what you might have been!
Want to know more about transforming limited thoughts and
beliefs into limitless possibilities? Check out my Examine–Envision–Emerge
Personal Transformation Book Series. Each book explores a particular aspect of
thought healing. Find yours online at your favorite retailer today!
