Motivation to Retain Employment

I’ve been asked countless times about how I am faring in the recession caused by the falling price of oil. In 2015, I did not make as much money as I wanted- only around $90,000- but the catch was I only had about 8 months of work. Two were spent in school, and another 2 sitting around sending resumes, calling companies, and driving to company offices.

Twice work politics interrupted my employment briefly, but I viewed those people as just losers beneath me and jealous that a young guy was out-doing them in life. They were like diseased animals with no future trying to infect someone else. In the end, my working heart always prevailed and I soon was working once again.

But, I always never gave up, and my motto that kept ringing my head was:

Not a step back.

Everyday I checked my finances and my physique to ensure that I was advancing continuously. If I never found work when I was sitting around, I continued to never stop looking. I was afraid of losing everything and going back home where then I would perish in a battle against the academic elites at UBC and broke living in my Mom’s Basement taking student loans to make $30000 a year at a local TD.

At the back of my head, the academic elites at UBC who threatened to take away my future dreams of aspirations, bad women I dated who would love to rub in my face that their ex or older man was better than I, and other various people over the years including some of my own family who would had loved to watch me perish- had to be out-competed. My job search, career struggles, and financial endeavours were together all a large metaphor to avenge my past, where I was looked down upon, and my next life goal was to surpass them all, and reach a point where one day they would be paying off my Ferrari. And, I may not live long enough to see that day, but one extra step forward was another step where I proved them wrong.

If one contractor office said No or Maybe, then I would drive to the next one and never look at them again. If someone did call me trying to give a job but with no specified start date, I pretended I didn’t hear it and kept looking. If one contractor said the same over the phone, I moved onto the next number down the list.

Then when I was working, I ensured I showed up to work everyday and gave it my all. I always did what I was told, worked hard, helped out when I could, and aimed to get along with people who I couldn’t stand on days. I refused to give in and if there was a God, refused to give him any reason to send me back to the life I had before.