Have you ever experienced a career loss?

As in, you grieved over what you thought might have been, should have been?

Or you miss what was? You lost a job, got passed over, watched your business fail, went broke, didn’t get hired… it hurts, right?

Hey, for many of us, work is such a part of our identities, that career loss can be just as devastating as other losses we experience. It involves relationships, dreams, money… I mean, if that’s not emotional, I don’t know what is.

Way too often, we don’t give ourselves or others the space to grieve career loss. We act like we just need to suck that ish up and keep it moving.

I call BS.

If you’ve ever had career loss or are experiencing it now, you know. It’s brutal. The way our society processes it demands we suffer in silence, ashamed, when truth is, it affects practically everyone who has ever worked.

I’ve been there and while I’m doing well now, man, it was a long road back, and often one that I had to work out in public.

But thankfully, I did, with the help and support of family, friends and “surprise career visitors” — those people you didn’t know had your back but showed up when you and your career or your business needed them most.

I share that so you know you’re not alone. Let’s normalize the fact that all of us — every last one of us — will fail on some level in our careers, and it may cost us.

And, we can come back.

I’m here for both the loss and the comeback.

So, what say you?