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I HAVE BEEN FIRED, downsized, restructured and laid off 10 times in my life. The first time was at age 16, when I worked for a McDonald’s-like hamburger joint, and the last time was shortly before I turned 70, when I was working for an insurance company as the manager of regulatory compliance.
I can’t blame this on discrimination. I’m a white Christian male, five feet 10 inches tall, college educated, and of sound mind and body, so there are no obvious reasons for my lack of consistent employment. Instead, it seems my employers simply didn’t like or need me.
My goal in life has been to be rich. I will hold off providing reasons for choosing this goal, but needless to say it was my goal. It’s this goal that has provided me with the fuel to keep going after every interruption in my employed life. I never let my frustrations after each termination prevent me from picking myself up, dusting myself off and moving on to the next job. This process wasn’t always easy, but it’s what I did to keep going.
I’m telling my tale less to benefit HumbleDollar’s readers directly, many of whom are retired, but rather in case their children or grandchildren encounter similar misfortunes in their life. If you have family members who lose their job, you might suggest my strategy for not getting too discouraged.
One of the best pieces of advice that I got in my life came from a guy I worked with, Steve Devito. Upon hearing me complain one day about some negative situation at work, Steve said to me, “Dave, all you can do is keep on keeping on.” That sage advice hasn’t just stayed with me throughout my career. It’s also influenced my approach to life in general.
This, I believe, is the key to success: Never give up. Winston Churchill is credited with saying just that during the World War II bombing of London. If you give up, it’s over. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you’ll get what you want.
In his book Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill uses the phrase “burning desire” when discussing goal-setting. Think of this as your “why” for doing something. The bigger your “why,” the easier the “how” will be that’s necessary to achieve your “why.” My “why” was money.
It also helped that I’m not a spender. Spending has never been a temptation. This allowed me to save a decent amount of what I earned, even if those earnings were frequently disrupted. In turn, I studied investing, and arrived at a saving and investing plan that I could stick with no matter what.
Despite my frequent bouts of unemployment, I managed to achieve my goal. I can now enjoy the fruits of my labor, doing something my father never got the opportunity to do, which is to retire. Thanks to my and my wife’s Social Security benefits and our four small pensions, I know that—no matter what I do or don’t do—money will be automatically deposited into my checking account each month. This has allowed me to enjoy my new life. I recommend this sort of predictable income stream to all who are looking to slow down and enjoy what life has to offer.
David Gartland was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and has lived in central New Jersey since 1987. He earned a bachelor’s degree in math from the State University of New York at Cortland and holds various professional insurance designations. Dave’s property and casualty insurance career with different companies lasted 42 years. He’s been married 36 years, and has a son with special needs. Dave has identified three areas of interest that he focuses on to enjoy retirement: exploring, learning and accomplishing. Pursuing any one of these leads to contentment.
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Dave – You, nor anyone else, has mentioned unemployment insurance. I got laid off exactly once in my career. Then I collected unemployment checks for nine weeks while I considered other job offers. I also painted and did repair work on our cabin that would have cost me about $3000 if I’d hired someone to do it. Then I went back to work. The whole thing was a good experience.
I taught high school marketing and business education classes in the late 70’s and 80’s. I used Hill’s book to show students how becoming a ‘glass half full’ person will help them achieve almost anything. Thomas Edison was once asked why he continued to work on the incandescent bulb after failing over 200 times. He confidently responded that he now knew a couple hundred ways it can’t be done so he must be closer to the answer. Dorothy could have saved herself a lot of trouble by simply giving up her shoes. But the burden of keeping them only continued to fuel her desire to get home.
This is a great tale of perseverance and grit. Thank you for sharing.
David, I really liked your article and your candor. I can say also that, being in the P & C industry myself for decades, it is a particularly political and venomous environment, where people are often let go for no good reason. (Yes, it has happened to me!)
I hope you have gotten to the wealth and security that you deserve, and that is my goal also. Best wishes!
I am sincerely sorry to hear about the many times you were fired, let go, or laid off.
I was fired once. That was once too many.
When I was 12 years old I was hired to work in the evening at a local delicatessen.
The owner of the store wanted me to restock the beverage freezer two hours before the store closed and to restock some shelves with canned goods. The job required me to go downstairs into the basement where the soda and beer were stored. I recall when turning on the basement light I would observe a scattering of many cockroaches running on the floor. The owner had a bad leg and could not go up and down stairs well. Hence, he hired a young boy to do the job. My pay was $1 per hour. I worked from 6-8pm. Legally, I was not supposed to work after dark. Boy, was I happy to make two bucks a night, too.
After two weeks on the job I finished for the evening. The owner handed me the $2 dollars for the night and announced that his regular stock boy was returning from vacation and he would no longer be needing me. In other words, the owner had no intention of permanently hiring me I was only hired for the two weeks. I stood there stunned with a perplexed look on my face. I was in disbelief. To this day, I can still sense the feeling that came over my mood and body. I had been f___ed.
I am a meek, mild, and sensitive type of person and can not forget that experience.
However, from that day onward I swore to myself I would never allow another man to have control over my paycheck or income. I swore that I would guide my career and money to never let this happen to me again (remember I was 12 years old).
From that point on I have never been broke, without an income, and never been fired, laid-off, or left a job other than voluntarily. I am now contently retired.
What an experience that was for me.
David,
You lived Calvin Coolidge’s saying that, “Persistence and determination are omnipotent”.
Ironically I learned this quote through my fraternity.
I think I’ve got you beat — counting being dropped by major clients, I’ve been fired probably 16 times. I was in TV news, and my job was dependent on news ratings, which accounted for 8 firings in 18 years. (I also wasn’t nearly as good as I thought I was.)
The thing is, I can look back and see that every job loss moved my life down the path to where I am now, which is semi-retired (not rich, but safe) and very happy. I was crushed by some of those firings, but they were all followed by better jobs, higher steppingstones, and nicer places.
Hanging in there and seeing the bigger picture is the secret for me.
David, I appreciated the candor in your article:
Instead, it seems my employers simply didn’t like or need me.
My goal in life has been to be rich.
Refreshing!
I face a rather unique challenge. After my initial job interview fresh out of college, I found myself consistently employed by my mentors and superiors for the subsequent three decades. This pattern, while comfortable, eventually presented its own set of challenges.
As I neared the twilight of my professional journey, the dynamics began to shift. Many of my long-standing bosses and mentors retired, and I found myself working under individuals who were not as familiar with my track record. Despite my unwavering dedication and strong work ethic, my earnings began to dwindle as my compensation became increasingly tied to perceived performance. Unfortunately, I struggled to adapt to this new reality, leading me to contemplate early retirement, a decision I hadn’t initially planned for.
I am profoundly grateful to the remarkable group I had the privilege of working with. They imparted invaluable lessons in frugality and the importance of savings, which have had a lasting impact on my life. Beyond financial wisdom, the years spent working with this extraordinary team brought immeasurable joy and cultivated personal friendships that are truly priceless.
If you didn’t want to spend the money, why did you want it?
I wanted enough to feel reasonably secure in retirement, but not more. Money has no intrinsic value, it is only valuable for what you can buy with it, whether that is security, comfort or experiences.
Why did 13 people down-vote this woman’s statement?
My goal since high school was to be rich, not sure what that actually is these days though. I don’t think there is such a thing as having too much for us mere mortals depending why you want it. What is a secure retirement? That depends.
My need for money in investments and to see it keep growing has several purposes.
To make sure my wife never has to worry as a survivor when income is cut in half or thereabouts. To be sure the costs of LTC can be covered if necessary. To help with grandchildren’s college in a modest way. To leave as much of a legacy as possible to my children.
So no, unless I reach eight figures – which I never will – I will never have enough.
“I will hold off providing reasons for choosing this goal.”
Though I think he does provide a bit of reasoning in the end, which ultimately is feeling secure enough to retire. “I managed to achieve my goal. I can now enjoy the fruits of my labor, doing something my father never got the opportunity to do, which is to retire.”
I think you answered your own question. Many folks amass money not just to spend it, but also because of the feeling of financial security that it gives them.
I was reacting to “My “why” was money.” It seems to be the motivation of a lot of millionaires and billionaires as well, who can’t stop accumulating more. Didn’t you write a recent article on “enough”?
Just because folks want to be wealthy doesn’t mean they don’t have a notion of what constitutes enough.
There’s much to be said for patience and persistence.
True. Even within a job, or just about any other endeavor, there will be setbacks and disappointments over time. There’s no substitute for just adjusting and trying to keep moving.
I am a big believer in perseverance… but also taking a moment to try and figure out why something keeps happening. Sort of like the parable about sharpening the saw…