When my Job was Gone
In January 2017 I walked in to an apocalyptic office.
The office chairs, normally occupied by my colleagues, sat sprawled hastily. Not like a chair usually looked like when my colleagues routinely finished up and left for home, neatly tucked arms under the desk.
The day before I had arrived back in Melbourne after a holiday to Sri Lanka with my Mum for a friends wedding.
I had that holiday warmth still running through me, as if my skin was still warm from the days in the sun.
It was 9am, I sat down at my lonesome desk and turned my computer on. I read a few emails, but I knew it was pointless, because I knew something had happened that likely meant the closing of my role here.
After half an hour and a few answered phone calls to my boss I decided to go home. I was laying in the sun reading in my back yard when my boss called me back.
He had been sitting next to the river for hours, contemplating life. This was unusual for him, my boss was always on the go, full of beans as my Grandma would say. He had hired a meditation coach, but he never actually did sessions.
'I'm being sued. Everyone was escorted out of the office and was put in a new building under new management. You're under contract with me directly, and the UK manager doesn't want to take you. So you no longer are working there anymore'
I thought back to the one time I met the UK manager in New York, I was stuffing my face with the buffet food at the Grand Hyatt, it wasn't my finest moment. So I had lost my job, just like that.
My boss felt like a father figure to me, he was difficult, erratic and intimidating, but he was sharp, loyal and protective. He told me I could work in his other business.
So that's what I did. The next day I started a new role.
While I'm grateful for this man who essentially fed me and took care of me. I don't want to be that version of myself again, where I am reliant on one person to feed me.
I'm being a little dramatic since I could have very easily gotten another job, a qualified woman in finance is quite sort after. But it would have been another job, reliant again on someone else.
The boss that I had at this stage had multiple businesses, in different industries, it was pretty chaotic, but he made it work.
That rubbed off on me subconsciously, and that's what I have now created for myself. I'm not reliant on one income stream, one job, one client. I have multiple doors open.
I'm not rigid as to what I will do and what I won't do. I follow the opportunities that feel exciting to me.
What I've also learnt running 4 completely different businesses is that there is a certain mastery that spreads across all of them. I sharpen my inner game by being in relationship with them.
On a safety level, while I don't have a set pay check each month, I don't have a cap on how much I can bring in and I don't need to wait for someone else to give me a promotion- I give myself the promotions.
It's definitely not for everyone. It requires a firm belief in knowing you can make it work no matter what, and the courage to swivel when it's not working, and literally make things up as you go.
If I was employed now I would be such a better employee because of what I've learnt over the last few years of having my own businesses, the resourcefulness I've acquired is beyond anything close to what I had back then.
Either way employed or self-employed, to be independent and the director of your own ship requires a non-reliance on only one income source.
Open the doors for multiple streams of income to come into your field so when the pipe is under maintenance of one you're still good.
And...it gets to be pretty simple, and fun (most of the time). In fact in my experience it only works if it's fun the majority of the time, but it's those times when it's hard that it requires a sharpening and a knowing of who you are and what you can do.
We just kicked off the live version of School of Money.
We started with learning how to create and manage your own investment portfolio to provide financial fr**dom through a passive income. This is such an important piece in the foundation of living an independent life.
There is still one more day to join, you'll get access to the investment section right away and next week we start building your own financial roadmap. This is fun and deeply transformative work!
Doors are closing tomorrow. this will be the last time I run this with the live component for this year.
Click here to join. https://www.freyasavage.com/schoolofmoney