The following post is something I sent a friend who's still works at my former workplace. She was feeling a bit down due to the circumstances that have been happening there (and that I know all too well), so I offered her this piece of advice. This really isn't technology related or anything, but it's something I wanted to post to keep on my blog, to remind myself whenever I feel stuck in my life.
You've been there much longer than I was, and you know better than I that nothing will ever change. When I left, I was obviously happy, but I still felt a bit bad for those who stayed behind. But as I think about it, the people who have stayed are usually because of their own choice. It might sound cruel, and it's not my intention to make it sound like I'm a heartless bastard, but usually people are in negative situations because of themselves, because they don't do anything about it.
I spent the better part of 2007 doing everything I could to find a new job - I would learn new things related to my field, I would scour job sites, looking for jobs that sounded better than my current situation at the time, I would send resumes all over the place. It takes a while, and you get pretty damn frustrated when you get interviewed by companies and never hear back from them. But I'm a firm believer that if you want something and you work for it, eventually everything falls into place.
I want you to take a moment and honestly assess yourself. Have you done anything to improve your current work situation? If not, why haven't you done anything? Are those situations really impeding your ability to move on to something better, or are they just excuses for procrastinating? On the same note, if you are doing something to try to make things better, are you giving it your all? You'll need to really want something to have a good chance at getting it.
I tell you these things because for a while I was pissed off because things didn't get better. In reality, they weren't getting better because while I thought I was trying to make things better, I really wasn't doing much to improve anything. Sometimes you need to take a good, long, hard look at yourself to find what's wrong. Only then can you begin to take steps to cure everything.
Hopefully you don't take this message the wrong way. I got nothing but love for you, and I'm truly happier when someone is doing awesome than when I do well myself. I want to see my friends succeed even more than I do. So I hope you'll be able to do so. And if you need help, then what the hell am I here for?
The above post truly reflected my life a few years back. I was miserable, feeling stuck in a job with no opportunity to shine or do anything worthwhile. But I realized I really wasn't doing anything to help my situation. So it was pretty stupid of me to be angry at the world when it was really my fault. Once I realized that and got my ass back on track, things started falling into place.
This whole mindset I sent my friend was due to a book that was recommended to me, called The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want. I admit, I'm pretty skeptical about these types of books, but Mike Hernacki (the author) kept this secret as simple as possible. It all boils down to one thing: If you want something, you must be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish it. That's it. Simple, isn't it? And it's so true. People are so afraid to take risks, that opportunities pass them by when they could've reached out and taken control of what they wanted.
I'm pretty happy at this moment in my life. But if the need ever arises to find change, I know what to do. I hope my friend does too.