Open to work is the new tip of the sword.

This isn't the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a lighter to hold up at a rock concert

In ten years, we're going to look at people we know who are still working in thankless corporate jobs like we do with people who are still playing World of Warcraft after everyone else moved on. Still logging in daily, still running the same raids, still grinding for incremental rewards.  The routine has become so familiar, so habitual, that leaving is harder than staying. That comfort of knowing exactly what tomorrow will bring.

I imagine this is how it feels when the TV crook says, "I don't want to go to jail, but hey—it's three hots and a cot." A strange comfort in the predictable constraints versus the chaos of the street.

I'm writing this as a reminder—for myself and for so many friends trapped in that hamster wheel of despair. I don't know that it's right, but like a Magic 8 Ball, my gut is telling me Signs Point to Yes.

The best thing I can do is stop believing my future is tied to regular, Monday-through-Friday, employment. Stop thinking there's a job out there for me. I

Not a real one. Not the kind I've trained for. Not the one where my "first connections" actually respond to requests for introductions. Not where my 20 years of experience means more than a "thanks, no" from the AI. Not where my carefully worded cover letter gets anything but silence. Not where my passion for the company matters to the people inside it.

The path I've been on doesn't exist anymore. Not in this world. Not on this timeline. I think it’s time to quit.

If that hits you somewhere deep—hello, welcome. You're not crazy—you're early. You're standing outside the system and watching it fail in real time. You're a pioneer experiencing the future before the rest of your industry. You didn't choose this, but nevertheless, you've been chosen. Hash tag three six…ah never mind.

Grab a Snickers. We're going to be out here for a while and we’re going to  need the protein.

The layoffs keep coming and it's not just in one industry or sector. This morning Intel announced plans to slash more than 20% of its workforce—eliminating over 21,000 jobs this week alone (while their stock rose by 4.5%) in a move to streamline operations and reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Meanwhile, oil giants Chevron and BP have announced cutting thousands of jobs, with Chevron slashing up to 20% of its global workforce—about 8,000 people—while expanding operations in India where engineers earn salaries around a third or a fourth of their American counterparts.

By the way, I love how corporations are mandating return to the office while simultaneously offshoring entire departments to the other side of the globe. Fuck thse guys.

That includes the companies you and I thought we'd work for next.

Nothing lasts forever, including job possibilities—at least in the career trajectory I've been following for twenty years.

The way I see it, there are two choices in front of me.

First: Wallow. Apply to 500 jobs. Bemoan what happened. Write long posts hoping someone validates my despair and rage. Get ghosted. Repeat.

Second: Stop trying to get back into the building.

And no—that doesn't mean defaulting to becoming a coach. Let's be honest with each other—there are way more people now offering coaching than there are those with budgets to pay for it. It's just another way to hang onto the ladder, hoping someone will climb up to you. When it comes to red oceans, this one keeps getting deeper and wider by the day.

Look, we don't need to repackage ourselves. We need to reimagine what we're here to do.

The first choice will make me feel like I'm trying. The second makes me feel scared, anxious, and terrified that it might work—which means far more change than just a different company name on my pay stub.

But only one of these options leads somewhere new.

Only one is worthy of the pioneers that we are.

Because that's what we are—pioneers. Not casualties. We're the first ones out of a system that's failing faster than anyone wants to admit. There are millions who will join us in unemployment soon enough. By the time they're new to this stupid game, wallowing in shock, we'll have already charted new territory and moved on.

We're at the tip of a sword none of us wanted to be on, but the sooner we move forward on an adjusted path, the better off we'll be—ahead of the curve instead of crushed by it.

The rest of the white collar world will catch up eventually. Not a matter of if, but when. And when they are, we'll be the ones who already know the way.

Take a minute and yourself—What am I still holding onto that’s getting in the way of my future?