With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 10

Growing up in wartime, my dad witnessed how everything can be taken away from a person in an instant. When I was younger, he often taught me: “Life is impermanent. So, don’t get too attached to your money, your job title, or your possessions. The only thing that can’t be taken away from you is your knowledge and your attitude. Therefore, always invest in learning and strive to add value wherever you go. If you have knowledge and a positive attitude, you can overcome almost any circumstance and rebuild everything from the ground up.”

My dad's words became ingrained in my head. When I first...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 9

Many years ago, I had an opportunity to attend an EntreLeadership conference hosted by Dave Ramsey. At the start of the event, Dave stood on the stage, holding up a $100 dollar bill and asked the audience who would want to have the cash and two VIP tickets to his next event. While a thousand hands raised up, only one woman ran up to the stage and grabbed it. This taught me a valuable lesson - if you want something, you have to go get it.

Applying for a job is similar. A recent recruiter shared with me that a senior VP position requiring decades of experience, an engineering degree, an MBA, and global business...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 8

Our mind is like a garden, and our thoughts are like things that grow on it. If we don’t take care of the garden, it will be filled with weeds. Therefore, if we aren’t careful with what we let into our mind, our thoughts may be filled with harmful subjects. 

After a job loss, we suddenly have a lot of free time. It's easy to go down the path of filling our minds with useless and potentially negative content during our free time. The news usually contains more negative topics than positive things, and binge-watching TV shows can become a habit. 

Consuming unhelpful information stays at the...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 7

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who used his horse to farm his field. When the farmer's horse ran away, the villagers saw it as bad luck. But the farmer responded: "Maybe. Who knows?" Weeks later, the horse returned with a whole herd of horses. The village congratulated him, but he again said “Maybe. Who knows?” Later, when the farmer's son broke his leg while trying to tame one of the horses, the villagers saw it as bad luck once again. Just as he did before, the farmer replied “Maybe. Who knows?” But, when the army came marching through town and enlisting...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 6

The first few days after losing a job can be tough. We experience strong emotions that can be overwhelming. It's important to take care of ourselves during these times, just as we would care for a hurting child. 

When a child is hurt, we hug and comfort them, find out what caused the hurt, and address it so they can get better. We then redirect their attention to something else, like singing a song, reading a book, or going for a walk. 

Similarly, ignoring or pushing away our emotions won't work. Our strong emotions are like a hurting child, crying for our attention. 

Here are 4 steps to follow when we...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 5

Are you someone who believes that work is just a means to an end? Or do you agree with Thomas Edison who said, "I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun."?

After losing a job, it's natural to start thinking about finding a new one. But, before you jump back into the job market, take a moment to re-evaluate why you work.

Consider reading the article "Why We Work" and answering some important questions to find out what job would be best suited for you. Questions like: What make you cry? What make you laugh? What make your heart sing? What will you do even if you don’t get paid for it?

Think about...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 4

Recently, my family went to a Zen monastery for a few days to welcome the new year. When we got there, I was exhausted, and it showed up on my face. After checking into our room, I sat on the floor, sullen. My daughter said to me, “Mom, smile.” Three key behaviors of mindfulness practice are to stop, to breathe, and to smile. Ironically, I was even wearing a t-shirt with the word “Smile” on it. Despite practicing mindfulness for many years and even after being reminded by my daughter, I couldn’t smile. I responded to her: “I’m too tired to smile.” She replied:...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 3

Dealing with a job loss is almost like facing a storm. In Houston, we prepare for hurricanes yearly. Ask anyone who has prepared for a hurricane what you should do, and they will tell you a few things consistently. First, you should board up your windows. Second, you need to prepare your essentials, such as water, food, medicines, flashlights, full tank of gas, etc.

Consider following these two steps to stay strong, grounded, and persevere through the stormy weather.

Step 1: Avoid unproductive conversations. Be careful whom you talk to. Only talk to people who will encourage you and lift you up. Limit...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 2

Being let go from a job is a form of rejection. While you are working to get over that first rejection, you may encounter many other rejections during your job search, everything from not having a response to your application, not going to the next round of the selection process, to being ghosted after having a good interview. When we are rejected, it’s easy to go down the spiral path of thinking that we are not worthy or that we are a failure. Everybody has rejections in their life. I do. You do. And many other famous people do. Abraham Lincoln failed in business 3 times and failed...

With 200,000+ tech layoffs in 2023 and more being let go in early 2024, it is easy to get discouraged. Personally, I have many friends who were and are affected. For those whom I worked with, I am grateful that our paths crossed.

For 30 days, I will post a tip each day to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how to stay motivated during your job search.

Day 1

Practicing an attitude of gratitude helps me through difficult times. When we are in the middle of a setback, such as being let go from our job, everything seems dark and bleak. We fail to realize that we still have all other conditions for happiness, such as clean air, fresh water, clean clothes, and a warm bed. When we have a cold and can’t breathe, we wish to be able to breathe easily again. But when we can breathe freely without any congestion, we never really notice it as a blessing. Losing a job can be devastating. But the skillset and the experience you gained are still with you. With that...