In The Quake
Have you ever been in an earthquake? The ground shakes, the walls rumble and you lose all sense of balance and while it all is simultaneously happening; you question, what the hell is going on? Yeah, well I am here! I am in the middle of a quake and seriously, waiting for the aftershock.
For those that have lost footing, jobs, careers, health, businesses, houses, spouses, partners so on, and so forth... this is the quake! Those are the moments you question as you are going through them, "What the hell is happening" Oftentimes, it comes out of nowhere! Unexpected ground-shaking life-altering matters that completely disrupt your life! Yeah, I am there!
I am not talking because the job I was working came to an end either. When you are in the restaurant industry you as an employee are expendable. Although once deemed essential, lol it is the biggest crock of shit a person can believe but in the industry itself... the changing of hands, guards, menu, and staff; along with the closing of a business, at some point is going to be a given! So in this quake once your senses have come to understand not everything is in your control and how you choose to stabilize yourself after the effects is determined by your resistance to rebuilding.
I have been going through these aftershocks since 2011... as if the 2009 default of the world did not set this seismic activity in motion. Having a really good job with connections and the on-the-job experiences that came with that opportunity are far gone and in the past. I have no regrets for its passing but very thankful I got to experience the thrill as it was happening. These experiences I have carried with me.
The new experience I am trying to have is a complete mind fuck. Age and my attitude are playing a factor in this now. If you could read all the verbiage from the YOUNG, corporate, wanna get to the top of the ladder individuals, honestly, I feel sorry for them. Their misconception about how success should be obtained is not through competition, being cut-throat, and chasing a dollar because some higher-up has said, "This is your worth" The value of their talents and what they need for their industry in the long run will lead to exhaustion and despair. I am sure they mostly are all outliving their means and that paycheck is keeping them obligated by running neck and neck to climb to beat their rivals. How is that healthy? No, thank you!
I have said over and over 30 years in one industry that has allowed me the freedom to pursue other endeavors has been a blessing. It has taken no effort to speak with the public and find a comfortable pace to earn, based on my personality and the ability to sell a food item. There is an art to delectably entice a patron introducing them to a dish they did not know they would love! Not everyone has that finesse!
Let us throw in the psychology it takes to persuade and the verbal pleasantries that need to be exchanged to feel out the table. Let's discuss the direct eye contact as you are describing your favorite dish! Shall we entertain the interest of learning how a patron was seduced by a flavor they have never experienced before? Yes, that wraps up 30 years of earning! I laugh the majority of people could not do what I have done, Their lack of imagination and patience would have them running for cover... starving!
Here is the thing about aftershocks when one upheaval occurs; it gives a person an opportunity to sit back and reflect on
1. the job itself
2. Understanding whatever has occurred mostly was out of your control
3. You get to take a break (for a moment)
4. You become resilient and start to put together mentally what you now would like to do
5. You take your experience and expertise and start to align that with who is going to need what you are offering
6. You decide on an area where you want to start looking. {location location location}
7. You access the dollars and sense it will take and make for you to want to be a part of some other entity
8. You decide what perks you need and how will this new opportunity benefit you. (Short-term or long-term)
9. You search. You seek. You apply and you wait and wait and wait... for the right opportunity that is going to work for you ON YOUR TERMS!
People forget they have options!
Over the last 2 weeks, I have put out quite a few feelers. Honestly, the idea of delivering food has outlived its 30 years but I do it so well! I have even attempted throwing my resume into brand ambassadorial for liquor companies. I laugh, no really I laugh... I had one company tell me in the most professional lingo "While we appreciate your interest and your experience, you do not have the image we need to represent what we are selling or the image that our company is looking for." In other words, we want someone young and someone who will cheerlead their way in less clothes! These young execs who have this idea young sells and is a fresh approach to the general public, I will dispute this all day long... we oldies that have been around the block understand what experience the customer is needing and the effect that is wanting to be achieved by purchasing such "brands" Oh yes the psychology in sales is a win-win for these companies but yet their focus is on "a look" and youth!
With social media really in the first 10 years of expansion, it still is evolving and as I read in a post yesterday "It seems algorithms must be drunk" and those that are not claiming reels, stories, carousals, post, and personal stories must be shared a million times a day to get in front of the right person... must be high too! (sarcasm) Do any of these companies know what their target market wants? In advertising does the 80/20 rule still apply? I believe a lot of these companies have lost the simplicity of selling their products or services. Is it needed? Is it going to make someone's life better? Is it affordable!!!!!? Is there practicality and sustainability in the service? and first and foremost who is the face in front of that product that a potential customer is going to like and trust...follow and then convert into buying? I can tell you a 24-year-old who has never pushed a drink in her life is not going to sell a high-end bourbon to a 67-year-old who drinks for status and pleasure! {He has already been around the block and although most likely still visual; he can't be bothered by cheap and scantily clothed} He knows his bourbon and he is going for the experience that high-end bourbon is going to offer. This is what 30 years knows!
The ground is steadying... it is calm. It sometimes takes weeks for aftershocks to stop. Gotta get back to it! As I am sitting here at my computer with my vision board staring at me... Very loudly it reads... RATTLE SOME NERVES! MAKE YOURSELF HEARD! TALK THE CONTENT AHD BE SEEN! EXPLORE ALL THE LIFESTYLES AND MAKE IT YOUR OWN!
For today and tomorrow... be happy be blessed! Fate turns on a dime! (steady) yourself and decide what side of the coin you want to be on!
Kitryn Marie
#writer #speaker #lifecoach #businesscoach #ugccreator #forhire
