Don’t ignore the clues and ‘run the other way’-- learn from your experiences.

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life" (Jennifer's Dad). This is my favorite new quote after reading !wontuoteg.

I loved this short book about getting out and recognizing change. l think it is so crazy how things happen in your life and then you are reminded to look back on what happen so that you learn from your experiences. I definitely had, !wontuoteg experience, that ties into a lot of characters in the book. The awesome thing about my whole experience, is that it is still really fresh.

I worked for a property leasing business for 9 months, when a new company bought our property for $22,000,000 dollars. That transaction was the first day of the rest of my life!  I didn't see the clues and, did not recognize the problem. The new company immediately got rid of the manager and the assistant manager.  The only employees left, were the maintenance crew and a few community assistants, the leasing director, and me.  It was not long before they were also gone. It would eventually be just me and one of my dear friends.

The new manager was a hot head; a very hard person to work for (Clue #1). She was my Susan; she did not care if you had to stay at work until midnight, that's what you were going to do.  Despite her personality, we got along great, and she saw that I was a hard worker and excellent leader.  So, she made me her assistant manager. Well, was I in trouble when I took that position!  I was just thinking, this job will look great on my resume; it is so much money for my age. However, it did not take long until the hard work I was putting in, got shoved to the side (Clue #2).  Susan was focused on bigger problem,s and I was on my own when it came to evicting people; and, going to court for non-payment of rent.

When my 3 month evaluation with the new company came up, I told the manager I couldn’t do the job anymore. I was a full-time student, working 50 hours a week.  I told her, you need to find somewhere else to put me. She quickly apologized and said, “I would love to have you as our Marketing/Leasing Director. “You have a great talent at the sell, and I really think you would be great at meeting with businesses and different community leaders.” We are really behind in our numbers at that time, and needed a lot of ‘push’ to fill our apartment community. So, I told her l would love to be involved with the outside part of our business and once again thought,  it would be another great title for my resume.

Wrong again! Susan hired a friend of hers that had no idea how to do the bookkeeping for the property (my old job) (Clue #3). So what do you think this led to? The friend always asking me questions, which kept me from doing my new job.  

At this point, the manager had succeeded in running off all of the staff; and, the complex were in the re-building process with a weak team. It was getting closer to the end of leasing season, and the end of school, and we were still behind on our numbers (Clue #4).  Corporate was breathing down my back about not doing my job right.  They were sending me ‘Cupcakes’,  instead of solid contributors, that were a waste of my time, and a hold back to what I needed to get done.

I ignored the “clues’  and I ran the other way; because, I needed the money and the lifestyle it provided. There was no ‘job joy’.  Eventually, I saw that things were only going to get worse, and I had to get out while I had the chance. So I turned in my two weeks’ notice and ‘got a life, got a clue and got out!’