Good. Nobody cares. Work harder.

Jocko Willink is famous for his mantra of speaking the word “Good” over the really hard moments in his life. Lamar Jackson wears a shirt that reads “Nobody cares, work harder” and Chadd Wright says “Get Hard When It Gets Hard” (https://lnkd.in/gHhyQtKV). Each of these men are successful but their paths have not been without hardship.

Why is this relevant? You are in tech or tech-adjacent and are buckled-up in this volatile economy. One day you have a job the next you do not. Many have faced the moment and said yourself: “What am I going to do?”, “Why me?,” and “This isn’t fair”…

As emotions flood your mind and darkness closes in around you, what can be done?

There are many easy options:

• Complain, b** and moan and throw your hands up.
• Argue with people and rationalize your situation.
• Start a lawsuit, or write nasty things on Social Media.
• Wallow in your sadness hoping others affirm you.
• Wait for someone to rescue you?
• Avoid the issue by doom scrolling

But, practically you have only one real option and it is hard:

• Accept reality with your chin up, your eyes focused and move forward into the unknown.

Say “good” to yourself, and mean it.

Good

This is “good” because it forces you to skip the easy options. They are a mirage and 100% waste of your time. They accomplish nothing and stroke only your ego.

Nobody Cares, Work Harder

This is also right, and good because it is true. You wish it were not so, but your company doesn’t care, your LinkedIn network doesn’t care and neither does anyone else watching you. While they might sympathize and “engage” with that nice “support” emoji, what does that really mean for you? Honestly?

Nothing.

Get Hard When It Gets Hard

This is the way. Yes, your situation is hard, therefore you must become hard. To be otherwise means to be soft which means you will not make it. Your situation will crush you and you will be right where you started.

Getting hard means being:

• Disciplined (perhaps about your finances)
• Steady (consistently applying for new roles, or finding your fit elsewhere, getting exercise, taking control of your thought life)
• Focused (no wavering or wasting time)
• Confident (you believe in yourself and your plan)

You must become hardened in these ways to brave chaotic seas. But are skill and will power the only levers you can pull?

I submit that there is another and its greater than all of them because it is their anchor.

Your aim.

Your target.

Your goal.

Your aim informs the direction of everything that follows. It is the lens through which you look at all of life, especially your career. Without a clear definition of your aim, you are drifting.

Have you’ve been fired, laid off or quit a soul-draining job, let me know. Let’s connect. I want to encourage you today.