When The Going Gets Tough
ByMy husband left for work early this morning. About five minutes after he left, I got a text from him. He said, “guess what, the same taxi driver who picked me up yesterday morning, just pick me up today.” I texted back a “wow, that’s amazing” response and continued to watch the early morning news. What he texted me after that was what piqued my interest and gave rise to this blog post.
Apparently the taxi driver had posted his business resume in his taxi cab. It had his full name, his work history, the fact that he went to North Carolina A. and T. University for undergrad and got his MBA from LaSalle.
He is currently driving a taxi cab in New York City and my guess is, given the fact that he has posted his resume, it is not a job that he sees himself doing for ever.
As someone who finds himself worrying about things that “might” happen, this got me thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I have no knowledge of exactly what happened to this gentleman and everything I’m about to tell you I am completely making up in my head. However, it made me think.
Clearly, this man at some point lost his job or was downsized or… who knows what and he found the need to find alternate work — survival work, you know. Probably his worst fear was realized. I imagine he went looking for another business job but to no avail. He came to a point where he simply needed to make a living so he started driving a cab. Believe me — it is a tough job to drive a taxi in NYC. You deal with all kinds of people and by law you have to take them. It ain’t easy and I admire those who do it.
What I love about this story is the optimism. I’m guessing the gentleman didn’t worry and wring his hands in fear over what might happen. Instead, he simply did what he needed to do. The creativity here is what stuns me. He examined the situation and instead of falling into victimhood and turning bitter, I imagine that he asked himself “what is the opportunity here in this situation?” The answer: A lot of people sit in the back of my car. Many of them are executives and business people. Some of them might be looking to hire someone. Why don’t I let them know I’m looking for a position and show them how creative I can be in the process.
Genius!
There are two takeaways for me in this:
- When when stuff happens in life you have 2 choices: a) be a victim and become resentful or b) simply do what you need to do to take care of the situation the best way you can and realize situations can change.
- Never lose your optimism. If you look at the situation you are currently in creatively, you will find opportunity in the strangest of places.
I wish I knew someone who was hiring or someone in a major news organization. I would do a story about this man in the hopes that it would inspire other people to think creatively no matter what situation they are in.
So if business is bad or something is going on in your life that just totally sucks, when you can, step outside of yourself and look at the situation from a creative, dispassionate observer position. Ask yourself this question: “what is my opportunity here and how can I make the most of it?” Who knows what you might discover. A creative idea just might springboard you in a new direction.
This is so true…I was just speaking with a former colleague yesterday about “Who Moved My Cheese” and the value in looking at your skillset from another angle. If there are no jobs in your [traditional] field, what other job/industries might be appropriate and (moreover)fulfilling for you? GREAT observation!
Roger, great article! We need more people like you spreading the news about people trying to “Work it out” and in the “Survival Mode”. We all can be very creative, just need a positive attitude and some alone time to put it together. Now if we can get the Media to stop selling “DOOM & GLOOM” we would all be a lot better off. We as a people can be very resilient, I for one say, “Go for it”!
Once again, thanks for your expertise and insight.
Mike
Brilliant blog Roger. I love your energy, enthusiasm and your perspective here. Optimism is such a key component to surviving, thriving and ultimately growing through tough situations. Bravo to the cab driver and to you!
Corey
Thanks for this, Roger! So true. Since my layoff in October–and I am a writer and published author with a couple of college degrees and a great resume–I’ve had to get quite creative with how I make a living, too. Many people have. In fact, millions of people. Creativity is an attractive quality, and not just one for people in traditionally “creative” fields. When you can create options to thrive in your own rite, potential clients and employers and partners can intuit that you will creatively thrive in whatever you create with them, as well. Brialliant. So glad your husband called you with that observation and you shared it with us. You brightened my day!