Is Life Hard? Laugh at the Confusion, It Will All Work out in the End

“Eventually all things fall into place.  Until then, laugh at the confusion, live for the moment, and know everything happens for a reason.”  Albert Schweitzer

10 years ago I was working for a technology company and we were acquired by Microsoft.  As part of the leadership team, I had an enormous amount of work to complete in order to get the acquisition done.  At the end of many grueling months, the deal closed and I was informed that I would be laid off.

I was disappointed, a little angry, and anxious about the future.  I worked incredibly hard on the deal, and the bright future I was helping create for all our employees was now something I would not benefit from at all.  In that moment, it didn’t feel like things were falling into place, but rather, falling apart.

I left Microsoft, ended up at VMware in the midst of the cloud computing explosion.  I had 5 different jobs over the next 5 years, grew my career and experience significantly, and met an incredible woman that would later become my wife.

Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful I got laid off from Microsoft 10 years ago.  My life would be in a far different place had I never joined VMware.  Interestingly enough, after leaving VMware I joined LinkedIn.  A year ago we were acquired by… Microsoft.  However, this time the outcome has been wonderfully different.  I’m still at LinkedIn/Microsoft, the acquisition has been a huge success, and I realize the job I get to do, with the people I get to do it would never have been possible had I stayed with Microsoft 10 years ago.

When life feels like it’s falling apart, remember, everything happens for a reason.  I’ve come full circle back to Microsoft, with incredible experiences in between, not to mention I got to meet my beautiful wife along the way.  Are you struggling in the midst of hard times at the moment?  Hang in there.  It’s just a moment in time.  Eventually all things fall into place.