Year 1, You & Yes

Picture this: You get a company wide email from your employer saying the company has been sold back to it’s original owner & nothing would be the same moving forward. A week later, murmurs start going around that there are going to be massive amounts of layoffs and, “Nobody is safe.”

Naturally, you panic. You do everything in your power to secure your job. The day before the layoffs are supposed to happen, you’re able to talk to the #2 most important person at the company who assures you your job is safe.

2 minutes later he calls you back, he says actually, “I’m really not sure” & whatever is about to happen is “out of his control but he’s doing everything he can.” You know he’s lying, but regardless, in that moment you appreciate the lie.

The next day, you’re locked out of your email, your laptop & shortly thereafter you get a call from HR. “Hi there, is this Carl?”

“It’s Cael” I think to myself. But why bother?

“Yup, this is Carl.”

“Hi Carl, I’m calling from HR. We’re so sorry to tell you that…”

6 weeks severance. Done & dusted. Just like that. You’re unemployed. Laid the fuck off.

This happened to me just over a year ago.

In my own self-righteous vanity, I never thought I would ever get laid off. I knew it was something that could happen to anyone… But not me. Idiotically, I always assumed that if someone got laid off, in some way, shape or form it was their fault. They didn’t make themselves indispensable. They didn’t work as hard as others. They didn’t make the right connections.

But here I was, having done (at least what felt like) everything I could have possibly done to prove I deserved my job, completely & underly jobless.

A large part of me (the majority), wanted to just rapidly look for a new job in stealth mode. Hide my layoff & move on as fast as possible. This would have been a MASSIVE mistake.

Instead, I went as public as humanly possible (posted on LinkedIn & Twitter/X) & threw myself to the wolves.

But I forgot… These AREN’T wolves. They’re people who actually care & want to help.

I had HUNDREDS of calls lined-up with people looking to work with me or hire me or just plain out help me.

Those calls led to inspiration. That inspiration quickly turned into knowledge. And with all the free time I know had… I decided to start writing.

52 weeks have now gone by since I started this newsletter. In those 52 weeks I’ve:

• Grown Trust Fun to over 16,000 weekly readers & a 6-figure business

  

• Sold over 250 Trust Fun Baby hats - there’s still some left here 😉 

  

• Became a full-time employee @ Mugsy - the best job in the world (and the best jeans)

  

• Moved in with my girlfriend

• Opened an office in the West Village

• Started wearing a watch

• And much much more

All this to say, do hard things. Say yes. Worry about YOU. Take the good with the bad. Be honest & candid. It’s truly been the best year of my life & can’t thank everyone enough for riding with me.

Thanks for reading week 52 of Trust Fun. Year 1 ✅