#88: All It Takes Is One

One YES. A million little breakdowns to get there.

May 06, 2025

Laid Off Life is a place of respite for the weary workforce. Whether you’re unemployed, underemployed, or just trying to make it through the workday, let this be your 5-minute mental break from the grind of late-stage capitalism.

All It Takes Is One

This week, I feel the same way I did back in March of 2013, when—after years of truly terrible dates and wrong-for-me relationships—I ran into a guy I knew from college on the subway. We hadn't seen each other in 15 years, but somehow, in that moment, we just knew.

Back when I was looking for my forever person and thought I'd never find them, people loved to say things like, "All it takes is one!" OR “Your time will come!” And I'd usually want to strangle them.

Because sure, that's a lovely sentiment in theory. But when you’re sitting across from a guy who casually mentions he's under investigation for insider trading midway through your first cocktail, you start wondering not if you'll ever find love — but how to un-order dinner without it becoming a crime scene.

When will it be my turn?

That’s the question you ask yourself over and over after every breakup, every horrifyingly bad date.

And honestly? That’s exactly what job hunting after a layoff in a terrible labor market feels like.

You’re carrying all your baggage — your fears, your rejections, your dreams still half-formed. You feel completely untethered from the world you used to belong to, the person you used to be. And yet, somehow, you’re expected to crank out hundreds of confident cover letters, nail every client pitch, network like your life depends on it (because sometimes it kind of does), all while your inner world feels like it’s in free fall.

For everyone who's been following my Laid Off Life journey for the last two and a half years — the good, the bad, the deep existential dread — I’m here to tell you:

This week, it happened.

I finally got the YES I've been waiting for. This week, I sold another one of my creative projects and created a job for myself for the rest of this year. The only part that sucks? I can’t share the details with you...yet.

It feels like a dream. Not just because of the project itself — but because of what it signifies. It’s the Laid Off Phoenix rising from the ashes. The moment I longed for on my darkest unemployed days — proof that the fire didn’t destroy me, it forged me.

My goal in this career transformation of mine has always been simple: make a living doing what you love. And this week, I finally feel like I’m crossing that threshold.

Because the takeaway here — the thing I wish I could go back and whisper to myself on those days I felt like an absolute failure — is this:

Dream jobs do happen.
Breakthroughs do happen.
Golden tickets do come.

But not without a whole lot of:

White-knuckling your way through rejections.
Fighting to stay hopeful when it feels like you’re hurtling head first into a brick wall.
Working your ass off, even when you have nothing to show for it.

It’s brutal. It’s beautiful. It’s both.

I know I’m now officially that person saying, “Your time will come!” when you might be hanging on by a very precarious thread. Sorry, not sorry. Because I’ve been there. I’ve earned the right to say it.

Your personal career redemption arc will come. KEEP GOING.

Have a question, suggestions, or thoughts? Message me!

Have thoughts about what you read, have suggestions for future topics, or a question you want me to answer? Send me a message! I love to hear from readers.