Where Have You Been?

A close friend has just made a major life shift, one that is more than a job change or career revision. It was a deep transformation that yanked him out of an old way of being and into a totally new and powerful place. I will call him AJ.

For much of his life AJ was easy going, taking whatever came along, and doing okay without a serious thought about the future, about goals or direction. He started a family. Got trained in computers and almost immediately found employment with a small start up company as one of five employees. The company grew, despite its shadowy owner. AJ earned a fairly high position and was in that post, unhappy with the management, for 17 years. Then the day came when they shut off his system, gave him a cardboard box for his personal stuff, and ushered him to the door.

AJ’s self esteem was blown up! Now what? A frantic unsuccessful shot at starting his own business. A two-year gig with a Satanic Bipolar boss, and he was back at square one. Another low-paying job kept him and his family barely alive. The current boss – a true Dragon Lady – was grinding on him, loading him up with responsibility without adequate compensation and never an acknowledgement of his good work. But it was a job! Lousy pay and no benefits. What the hell! Survival came in a part-time service business.

Still short in the self esteem department – except that his service business was expanding. His customer base was loyal and appreciative with solid referrals. More work than he could handle in the partial time available.

He took a good hard look at the current state of affairs and at the man in the mirror and asked himself: “Where have you been?” He was talking to the man who had just realized that he had given his power, his life to all those folks, and had cried “Enough!” Right then and there he decided to quite the nasty job and give full attention to what he loved doing – his service business where the money was better and the clients far more appreciative than the Dragon Lady, or the Satanic Bipolar or the Shadowy President.

He admitted that he had been sabatoging himself by completely ignoring the absolute fact that he did have the power to make a change. that he had the right to take care of himself and to set and keep boundaries. He “jumped” into life!

AJ told me that for the first time he felt free, grounded, and on a path to a full and whole life. He knows the challenges ahead, but he is driving the bus this time, not being thrown under it. Scared? You bet. But this time, fear is his ally, empowering him to make it happen. I believe he will make it.

So…..Where have YOU been? And I mean the Real You!!