I had done it. I landed my “dream desk job”. I thought it paid well. I started with 4 weeks of vacation time. Paid holidays. Fun atmosphere. Room for growth. I had hit the jackpot.
Then I had my first baby, and everything shifted…
My priorities were now vastly different, the work environment was in the gutter, relationships were strained. I saw the writing on the wall. I wanted out on my terms. So I applied to no less than 6, yes 6, different companies. I had enough experience to at least land 1 of the 6. I was a solid candidate, a college grad, no marks on my record, not even a speeding ticket. Surely one of these companies would give me a chance, right? Wrong.
The closest I got to securing a new job was a second interview at a company I was holding out so much hope for. The first interview went great. I loved the people I met with, I even knew one of them personally. I got that call for a second interview and my heart nearly skipped 3 beats with joy. Maybe I went in there too cocky (although anyone who truly knows me knows that wasn’t the case at all.) If anything, I went in MORE nervous than when I showed up for the first interview. I wanted this position SO bad.
Spoiler alert. I didn’t get it.
I got a message from the employee I knew personally saying it was between me and another candidate and they went with them because they had the experience that I lacked. I was THIS close. When I got the rejection call, they made it very clear that they wanted me on their team and encouraged me to apply to other positions. Which was nice, I guess.
I cried for longer than I’m willing to admit. I didn’t hold back my emotions. I let all of my disappointment flow out of my eyeballs for what felt like a week straight. I was convinced I would be stuck in my job forever, until I started to see some concerning hints that led me to believe I actually wouldn’t be there much longer at all. So to keep my mark free record, I put in my two-weeks notice and decided to pursue my business full time.
Now here I am, 7 years into business, 3 of which have been full time, and I haven’t looked back. Not even once.
I’m living my life on my terms. I answer to me, myself and I, and there’s honestly nothing quite like it. It’s equal parts freeing yet terrifying. Stressful yet joyful. Empowering yet humbling. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
I don’t say any of this to brag, I say it to hopefully inspire. Where I thought I was meant to end up, was literally showing me that I wasn’t, 6 times over. There was a higher power (if you believe in that kind of stuff) that was showing me that I was meant to run my own business by closing so many doors in my face and ushering me to my own very wide open door that I was refusing to look at. Why? Because it was scary. It wasn’t guaranteed. It wasn’t a consistent paycheck. It didn’t come with a 401k matching program. It wasn’t what my generation was raised to think we should do, let alone could do. And because it was entirely up to me how successful I was going to be, or how quickly I failed.
All that to say, I encourage you to take a look at the rejections you’ve faced. Maybe seeing them in a different light will change your perspective on things like it did for me. Sometimes what we think we’re meant to do is not the plan that’s in store for us, and that’s what makes it all so exciting.
