Good Morning, Trailblazer!

You’re subscribed to Fired Up! The two-week email series designed to fire you up for your next career move (especially when you're afraid you might get fired).

🧐Question...

- Is your boss trying to push you out of the company on the DL?

- Are you hearing rumors that layoffs are coming... and you think you might be on the chopping block?

- Were you fired yesterday and have no idea how to tell your parents?

- Are you quiet quitting but hoping they’ll lay you off (because then you might get severance??? - excellent plan BTW😉)

🎉Join the club!🎉

Many, many successful people have been in exactly your shoes and have gone on to leave “getting by” behind and really thrive. So if you’re looking for inspiration - and concrete information - on how to navigate these next steps - look no further.

Over the next two weeks we’re going to showcase some very successful people who hit a stumbling block at work and pull out key lessons from how they managed to come out on top - just like you will!

So, without further ado…

WORK FAIL #1 JENNY SLATE

Actor and comedienne Jenny Slate landed what she considered to be her dream role in 2009, as a cast member at Saturday Night Live. But almost immediately after she started she noticed the vibes weren't great. First, there was that minor slip-up where she dropped the f-bomb on live television (a major no-no resulting in a big fine for NBC). This mistake was just a symptom of the larger issue... while she loved the people at SNL, Jenny wasn’t feeling their culture. Cut to the end of the season when Jenny learned she was fired. 💥

"I got to SNL and I was like, now I’m anointed and I’m going to kiss the young Pharaoh on the lips and be his bride and instead I get there and it’s like the Pharaoh’s a fucking mummy now. I kiss his lips, he coughs his dust, his mummy dust down into my throat and then I have to stand there choking in front of everyone until I die too."

The woman has a way with words - and haven’t we all felt like our job is sucking the life out of us in this way???

Here's some live footage of us leaving the office at 4:59pm...

Jenny didn't let her short-lived SNL stint stop her - she's thriving and working on several successful projects. She told InStyle

“I am a woman who has made so much of her own work, and I’ve had a variety of successes — some small, some personal, some public. I’m a New York Times best-selling children’s author, all of this stuff that is so intentional and worthy, but people often want to frame my success as an ascent from one failure that was the decision of some man who didn’t understand me 10 years ago.”

Way to take control of your narrative, Jenny! (And p.s. - you aren’t the only SNL cast member to be fired - you’re in a club with a ton of other super successes … Cheers!🍾)

Jenny reminds us it’s okay to not gel with every new work experience. Not all companies are gonna get you.

Ask yourself what you can learn from a work experience where you weren’t the right fit for the organization. Make a list of things you liked about the place and all of the things you thought were trash. The more specific, the better! This simple task can make you better prepared to find a workplace where you'll be with your people.

Your career is a journey with many amazing possible paths. Remember, there's no one right way to get there. And the more stops there are, the more interesting the story.

Dare to be a Work Fail💪🏼

PS... here's your musical inspiration for the day. You're welcome.

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If you think you may be on the verge of a Work Fail and want help negotiating severance, plotting an exit, or strategizing about how to make your workplace better, email me at megan@work-fail.com.

See you soon for another spectacular Work Fail!