How Will Worked his Way out of His Prison

Make not your thoughts your prisons.

                                                     -William Shakespeare

 I didn’t know whether to cheer or sigh.  I had asked Will how his day was going when he replied, “Great – today is my last day.  I’m out of here, out of this prison.”  I was very surprised by his remarks! I hadn’t heard the news and, I had no idea he felt he was working in a prison.  While working together, I always found him to be upbeat, positive, and cheerful.  

I remember the first day we met 17 months ago.  He came to my office to welcome me to the company and explained that a few years earlier, the company had closed its’ manufacturing plants on campus with only two smaller business units left.  He had taken a dramatic cut in pay, almost 40%, to hang onto one of a few hundred jobs that remained.  Additionally, he was no longer employed as a skilled laborer, he was doing tasks that required much less skill and expertise – something that understandably presented a different kind of loss for him.  It must have been a tough pill to swallow on many fronts. In spite of his frustration, he was grateful to be employed, as thousands had been let go.

I was still wondering how to respond to his news. “So, what’s next?” I asked. Excitedly, he began to tell me how he was moving on to his dream job  - clearly time to cheer! Feeling the reality of a job that felt like a dead end to him, Will took advantage of the company’s generous education reimbursement program and completed his degree.  He had also researched companies to work for in this dream field and had already secured a position.  He had served many years with the organization and was also careful to plan the timing of his departure to maximize his hard earned pension. Will slowly picked away at the locks on his prison using his “yeh buts” as the keys to freedom.

Yeh but? What’s a “yeh but”?  “Yeh buts” are excuses that you can turn into tools, to use when you find yourself in your own kind of prison – like a dead end job. They can include the following relative to changing jobs:

Yeh but…I’m too old to change jobs, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…It will take too long to go to school, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…I don’t have a degree, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…I don’t have the money, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…I don’t have the time, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…I don’t know what else I would do and this is all I really know, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Yeh but…There are no jobs out there, (so I’m stuck in prison)

Really? Are those “yeh buts” really true?  Are you really stuck in a prison?

We are prisoners of ideas. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The key to using your “yeh buts” as a tool to freedom is to first identify them and then ask your self whether they are, in fact, really true.  Most times, they simply are not! Yet, they provide a great place to get started when opening up the door to any prison you may be in.

A barrier is of ideas, not of things.  -Mark Caine

Will had identified his “yeh buts” and used each one to unlock the door to his prison.  Instead of thinking he was too old to go back to school in his 50’s, he went anyway.  Instead of thinking he didn’t have time to go to school, he went back part time while working fulltime – including plenty of overtime.  Instead of thinking he had no options for another career, he explored things that he enjoyed and researched and planned his second career – his dream career.  Instead of thinking he had no other options for employment, he laid out a master plan and timetable, and patiently and cheerfully executed it over a period of several years.

Instead of staying in what felt like a dead end job, Will took his “yeh buts” and used them to work his way out of his prison. He is now free and enjoying life on the outside because he used his keys. Yes, it was time to celebrate!  It’s never too late to identify your “yeh buts” and use your keys to break free. 

I’m glad you took the time to read this Inspiration today.  Feel free to leave a comment.  I look forward to supporting your job search.

Warm regards,