Written by: Corey Jahnke, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I was $536K In Debt When I got Fired And It Was The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me!
On December 27, 2019 I was having a spectacular day working at the hospital.
I had spent the entire time connecting with patients, helping nurses, and consulting with doctors.
It was a Friday afternoon, and I was nearing the end of my shift.
I was super excited because my brother and his family had come in from out of town to celebrate Christmas with my parents and I.
We had a lovely dinner planned at our favorite Mexican restaurant and I couldn’t wait to hear about the fabulous Disney World vacation they had recently taken.
I was just finishing up a few tasks and updating my colleague on the status of a couple of post-surgical patients, when I heard the familiar phrase that always sent shivers through my bones, “You got a minute?”.
Whenever I heard that phrase, I knew that my manager, the lady who had tortured, criticized, and berated me for nearly 5 years, had yet another petty little item with which to make me feel like crap about before the weekend started.
Having no choice, I replied with a heavy sigh, “Sure” and began to walk towards her office for what felt like the nine hundredth time.
But this time it was different.
Instead of walking towards her office, she turned her back on me, and walked out of the pharmacy and heading down the hall at a breakneck pace.
I had no choice but to follow her.
Staying a solid 5 paces ahead of me, and showing no emotion what-so-ever, she entered a conference room, where sat the human resource manager, and the new director of nursing, who each had tears in their eyes.
My manager sat down and as quickly and emotionlessly as possible began to read a statement that said that I was being “separated from employment” because my clinical skills “were not strong enough”.
The previous director of nursing had hired me knowing my experience was in RETAIL pharmacy, but “needing me” for my leadership and customer service skills.
However, she had recently left the company, thus opening the door for my exit as well.
The next several things that my manager said sounded like the teacher from a Charlie Brown Special was talking.
I was completely incapable of processing anything she said after the phrase “separated from the company”.
There were a few procedural things that had to take place, and before I even knew what was happening, I was walking to my car, alone, with my possessions in my arms.
I was still in a bit of a daze, but suddenly and without warning, I noticed a rather startling fact.
For the first time in nearly 5 years, I felt BETTER.
My chest didn’t hurt, and I could breathe. I mean, really breathe.
You see, I had tried literally everything I could think of to please this woman, and it was never going to be enough.
I was finally FREE. I mean really free.
I had no idea what I was going to do, but I never had to see (or take shit from) this woman, ever again.
My wife is a nurse, and she was on duty, so I didn’t call her because I didn’t want her to get distracted and make a mistake, so I did the only thing I could think of to do, I headed up the expressway to my parent’s house.
I still had that dinner commitment with my brother’s family.
Not wanting to bring the party down, I didn’t mention the day’s events at all that night.
I mostly sat there in silence as my brother recounted the details of the vacation.
It was such a weird experience. I could hear the words he was saying, but it was like they had no meaning.
It was as if I had entered another dimension.
For the first time since I was 9 years old, I was unemployed.
On the drive up to my parent’s house, I became fascinated by the idea that for 44 years, I had been chained to someone else’s agenda.
Someone else, had been in charge of MY LIFE for nearly half a century.
BUT, in this moment, it seemed that no one was in charge of my life; including me.
I was an observer. I was having something like an out of body experience. I could literally see myself from above the dinner table looking at this newly unemployed man that I knew quite well but couldn’t recognize.
Eventually, the dinner was over, and as I readied myself for the sixty-mile drive home, I felt an overwhelming inner calmness.
It was extraordinary.
I was overcome with an unshakable, unmistakable, and unrelenting sense of peace.
I had held on to what I had thought was my life so tightly, for so long, and now there was nothing to hold onto.
In that moment, I was no longer exhausted.
I was just there.
It was cool.
When my wife (Tonya) and I each arrived at home, I told her what had happened, and to my great surprise she said, “Thank God. That job has aged you tremendously, and you are no good to me dead!”
When I thought about her statement, it occurred to me that there had been many times over the past few years when I had WISHED I was dead.
I had been so tired of being pushed around and criticized by a person who nobody liked, and who was 20 years my junior, that I really hadn’t cared what happened to me.
I just wanted “it” to be over.
I started asking myself “WHY? Why had I stayed in a job that had made me feel so lousy and worthless?”
The answer was obvious.
I had made a few financial mistakes and I was $536K in debt.
I believed the lousy story that the only way to get out of debt is to work, work, and work more.
“But if that were true, I began to wonder, why was it that the more I worked, the deeper in debt I ended up?”
“I visualized myself standing in a hole, with the world’s largest shovel, digging like a madman, only to learn that when you do THAT the hole gets deeper; about 6 feet deep to be exact.”
That night, I lay awake, looking at the ceiling and replaying my life.
I saw successes, failures, good times, and bad times, but I saw them from a new perspective.
“What if” I asked myself, “What if I was in charge of my own life?”. “What if I made the decisions? What if I took the right actions?” And even though 5 years of emotional abuse had my confidence level at an all-time low, “What if I believed in myself for a change?”
The next morning, Tonya asked me what I thought I was going to do.
“Nothing”, I replied quietly.
“DOING got me HERE I am so tired of RANDOMLY doing.”
She looked at me nervously wondering what was going on.
I asked her to please give me one week to THINK and PLAN before I did anything.
She agreed.
I got dressed and went out and bought a spiral notebook for 88 cents. I went to a coffee shop, plugged in my headphones, and started Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon”.
I was particularly interested in the songs “Time” and “Money”
I took out my pen and on the cover of my notebook, I wrote: “What would my life look like if it were absolutely perfect in every way?”
At the top of the first page I wrote, “It is now December 28, 2024 (the 5 year anniversary of the day I became an entrepreneur) and the following is now true…
I wrote out my goals and dreams in vivid detail.
I wrote the assets and strengths I could leverage.
I wrote the names of the mentors and role models I could look to.
I wrote out the books I needed to read.
I resolved to learn everything I possibly could about time and money management from the experts in those fields.
And finally, I wrote out a list of all of the things I was grateful for.
There were FAR more than I was even aware of.
I now had a plan, a blueprint, a roadmap, and a WHY.
Two years later I am light years ahead of where I planned to be in five.
Focus and concentration are beautiful things.
My debts are paid off.
My marriage is stronger than ever.
I have a wonderful job and a growing side gig helping other burned-out health care professionals find financial and inner peace.
I can breathe easier and I sleep really well.
I am happy.
And, I want the same for YOU.
Maybe you could scrape together 88 cents and go start a success notebook of your own?
If you don’t have 88 cents, email me and I will ship you a spiral notebook for FREE.
And once you start it, let me know if you get stuck, or if you don’t.
I would love to hear about your breakthrough thoughts and AHA’S.
YOU are a valuable human being and I believe in you!
Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!
In your corner,
Corey J.
Corey Jahnke, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Over the course of his highly successful healthcare career, Corey Jahnke has gone from getting killed to killing it. If you've ever felt like you were stuck, drowning in the day to day firefighting and being micromanaged, Corey can relate to you. After 30 years in healthcare, he finally found his way out of the doldrum experienced by so many; now, Corey helps others get reengaged much faster than he did.
Typically, the people Corey meets in the corporate environment are right where he was – lost and, to some degree, disenchanted with their industries. But, here's what Corey found and teaches in his book, "The Successful Thinker":
You can have peace of mind.
You can keep your integrity
You can spend time with your family and still be successful
You can achieve spiritual and vocational life fulfillment
You can make a meaningful contribution
You can develop your creative imagination and make life FUN again
If you're stuck in the corporate hamster wheel and your life sounds like Corey's did, Corey would love to have a virtual cup of coffee and help you get to your dream life.
Corey@CoreyJahnke.com
715-651-6908
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