I was talking with a tech manager the other day. He decided “retirement” felt like a better label than “laid off.”
The thing he missed the most about not working was the lack of emergencies.
In “retirement,” he misses the PageDuty alerts, Slack notifications, or hastily gathered meetings.
The idea of a stress-free work life wasn’t alluring to this person.
He craved the interruption of a Sev1. He longed for something to break the monotony of being alone with his thoughts without somewhere to go, something to do, something to react to.
I realize in my own past I was that person too.
I loved being able to swoop in and fix a production issue or solve an impasse just in the nick of time! 😎
I’m sure you love the recognition and hero worship too.
You’re also not seeing what it’s doing to you physically. 👀
Those nights where there wasn’t a call but you couldn’t get to sleep? 😬 Probably just too much coffee or screen time.
The shortness of breath on the stairs? Time to go keto, or is it gluten? Maybe you need more carbs. Whiskey is a carb, right?
That time you lost your temper with your kids? 😡 You were just in a bad mood.
Morning headaches are normal for everyone, right? 🤕
Perhaps you chalked the neck and shoulder pain, crankiness, and pessimism to getting older.
It could be some of these things.
But here’s what I can say for certain: It’s stress. Stress you can decide NOT to have!
We’ve seen the profound impact this can have.
Every day, we watch clients create boatloads of quality time — uninterrupted spans of time with their family, or just themselves.
They’re not “on alert” anymore. They’re not Batman!
They are superheroes, though! 🦸 They’ve called forth their inner badass leader and are consistently becoming the best versions of themselves.
Instead of reacting, they’re living with purpose and on purpose.
They have a career MISSION that drives their decisions.
They’re not reacting to alerts, notifications, and off-hand meeting comments.
They’re responding mindfully with intention.
They’ve gone from overworked, underpaid, and under-recognized…
…to commanding 💪 premium salaries of at least $200k/year while they have more free time than they know what to do with.
If this is what you want in your tech career, watch my free training right now:
We’ll help you get clear on what’s not working in your career.
How to find your own inner badass leader.
Show up coachable and ready to get to the truth of how to build your dream career and it’ll be the most valuable training you’ve ever had.
