“I think he’s full of shit”
I’ll never forget those words.
I was sitting in a conference room in an office park in the suburbs of Milwaukee.
I left a great job for a new one. I was heavily recruited with a big pay raise. I was promised one role, but thrust into a new one after a company shakeup and VP out on maternity leave.
I dove into it, tripling client relationships and managing 60% of our company’s revenue.
I was crushing it.
When the supervisor came back 4 or 5 months later, they wanted to play some office games to recoup her spot (I have approximately zero patience for office politics).
We had a conference meeting to re-arrange responsibilities and catch everyone up on where things were at. Most of the team was in the room. She and another manager were remote.
As I laid out how I managed to scale things up, I laid out step by step what I had done, how we were being more efficient, making more money, and how clients were happier than ever
Skeptical, she asked a bunch of probing questions. I answered each one thoroughly, but unconventionally – surprise, surprise.
She nodded along, then, while still asking me questions, she wrote to the other employee on Skype:
I think he’s full of shit.
…Only she forgot that she was sharing her screen with the entire conference room.
Ah – zoom hiccups before zoom hiccups were a thing.
“ _____, Do you have something to tell me?” – I asked.
The mic went quiet, the windows minimized.
“ _____, Do you have something to tell me?” – I asked again.
No response.
I walked out.
I quit later that week, moved the hell out of Milwaukee and went full time on IMPOSSIBLE while covering rent by doing consulting and starting up two side businesses.
The fire that I had the first year after quitting was unmatched. The sheer adrenaline rush put on by pure f*ck you energy.
“I think he’s full of shit”
I rode that to the first product launch and other sites I would start and kicked off maybe the most productive 2 year stretch of my life.
The f*ck you meter. Sometimes it runs low, you get complacent and it needs to be refilled. You’ve been lulled to sleep. Then something happens – and it wakes you the hell up.
- The job turns you down.
- The girl rejects you.
- Someone disrespects you.
Instead of bumming out on it. Use it to refill the meter.
That voice whispers:
I think he’s full of bull shit.
Don’t turn the page. Burn it.
Then let the fire fuel the next thing. And do the hell out of it.
A few years later, the VP reached out and apologized. I had let the incident go, but not the feeling:
- Being underestimated.
- Disrespected.
- Ignored.
If you go too long without getting punched in the face, you forget what it’s like to be in a fight.
Getting punched wakes up you. It reminds you of who you are, what you can do, and what it’s like to be back in the fight.
So don’t shy away. Take the punch. Feel it. Really feel it. Let it fill the meter back up. Then punch back, and get back to fighting.
Right as I read the line “The fire that I had the first year after quitting was unmatched” I thought about The Last Dance, and then I saw you included a screenshot. I think that was the main lessons that I took from the movie. That obsession that is required.
Great read, thanks for sharing Joel.
We’ve met in person a few times and you’re definitely NOT full of shit. You’re anything but.
I can relate though.
I remember years back I sent the first ad I ever wrote to a family member, who was a business owner. I was proud of my ad, because it was funny and successful (as in, sold immediately.) As a direct result of that ad, I was offered a scholarship to a business and marketing academy, which I told him about.
I’ll never forget his reply. “I don’t know what you expect to learn from a couple seminar type classes.” The rest of the email was just as condescending.
He didn’t know it, but the ad I wrote went viral. That biz/marketing academy later offered me a partnership, which I accepted.
I still haven’t told him. Don’t see the point. But man does it make me feel good to know he was wrong. And even better that I don’t care about proving it to him.
Your posts are always perfectly timed to what i need to hear at specific points in my life. Thank you!!