Billy Keels  0:01  

The really painful reality of being a corporate number. Today's episode is sponsored by Billy Keels advisory services. If you want to learn more about how to make your 99 optional, just go to make it optional.com. Once again, that's make it optional.com.

Speaker 1  0:19  

Helping you build freedom without losing your edge. This is the going long podcast with Billy Keels.

Billy Keels  0:32  

The really painful reality of being a corporate number is for you. If you have ever suffered from being able to put in every single morning, your corporate number into your computer. You feel during the day, whenever you get a call that you recognize that your number is instead of your name is showing up in the subject to line, or even if you've had your pay stub and then your pay stub right to your next to your name is the same number that follows you all around the corporate game. If any of those sound familiar to you? Don't worry, because by the end of this very, very brief episode, you're going to realize, yes, there is a painful reality being a corporate number, and there is something that you can do about it so that you don't feel that way anymore. And I will preface this from the very beginning. This is has to do, and I had permission from one of one of my clients to be able to share just some insights, because this is something that we were talking about very recently, a couple of weeks ago, and is the client who recently joined the executive edge Advisory Program, and in this is one of the topics that comes up a lot, this whole thing of being a number. I remember during my corporate career, especially the last 16 years, I was a number, and I had to be I was reminded of it every single day, every single day, multiple times a day, and that the reason for that is because of some of the things that I was explaining to you earlier. You use your number every single day to get into to your computer, or you have to use it for internal access or process controls and things like that. But because this topic comes up so frequently, and especially for those of you who, as you're listening, you may be the head of household today, and this is something that is constantly on your mind, being that number, the fragility that comes with being that number. And it's something that this client, who just recently joined that we started to really work on right away, because, like most when he joined the program, he's really interested in making sure that he continued to make a good living. He wanted to continue to protect his corporate benefits. As somebody who's in enterprise software space, he was making good money, right? And he recognizes that he's making good money, and so he wants to continue to be able to do that. And at the same time, he really has this desire to have a fulfilled life, one where he has much more control over his time in his future. It's, it's, I went through the exact same thing. The difference for me is I had to go through a painful event to recognize that there was something that that I wanted to have much more control over. But this particular client's been in corporate now for 18 years. We were talking about it, and as we went in this whole court, being a corporate number. And really what that means, lot of times, you can wear it as if it's a scarlet letter, and it's not. It's just a fact. Everybody is a number. When you're in a corporate It's okay. But the fact of the matter is, he lived through and he talked to me about just seeing a number of different, you know, he was on the consulting side of the business and enterprise software, but he has seen projects that are canceled. And as a result of projects being canceled, colleagues that he was working with were laid off because they were really big projects. Or he's seen, you know, people he mentioned, because he's worked in a number of different companies as well. And sometimes he was working for us, companies based in Europe, and other times, being in the US and working for European companies. So he's seen in places that where he is not actually working someone who is 1000s of miles or kilometers away, as making a decision on a line item that has eliminated roles of people that are around him, and that these things happen overnight, and it's a reminder, and that's why we spent so much time, or better stated, invested time together, to really get around, to get the crux around this whole idea of being a corporate number, in the painful reality of being a corporate number. And that shouldn't hold you back. It's just a fact, right? It's just a fact. Accept it as is. And so one of the things that was the most, I guess, for me, that really continues to just tug at my heart, or when, every time I hear it, it's kind of one of those things that makes my nose sweat. It's, you know, when you know that you don't truly have control over your job. You really don't have control over your life, especially if that is the source that you're using for income, to provide for your family, your well being so much to the point that there are people that will continue to be wrapped around a role that they don't even want let that sink in, doing something every single day that you don't want to do, the emotional charge on that you. Emotional suffering and pain around that. You know at the end of the day, when you recognize that you don't have that agency, you don't have control, and you realize that you are just a number, it can be deflating. Don't let it do that to you. It's okay. It's a number. You're a number. But you know what we did so because we wanted to work on this particular issue. We started right away. We built a plan, because it's difficult to work on solving an issue like this challenge of feeling like you're a number, unless you have a plan to get over that feeling of being a number, it's a reality. So the first thing we did is we really started to establish clarity, real clarity, around what that means. And if you've ever wanted to know about clarity, and maybe you're listening, for the first time, I did an entire episode on this on episode 481, so if you want to go check that out, you can talks about clarity, but that's what we did. And we started diving into the clarity. But very quickly, we moved around and recognized that part of feeling, making this feeling in this person's particular case, because working with each each client is a bespoke, is a is a very specific way that we're working around the proven framework. And we wanted to get into really having much more control, having much more agency. So we jumped around to the control portion, and we were dealt, dove into the area of model mapping, and because it was about being able to help him to identify what were his unique skill sets, and what were his unique skills that he'd been developing inside of the nine to five. Because when you recognize that you have unique skill sets, it doesn't matter if you feel if you are a number or not a number, that is not your entire identity. It is only a part of what you're going through. And so as we started to bring this roadmap out, his unique roadmap, we're continuing to work on this. We're continuing to help him to evolve and recognize that number and being a corporate number, it's just part of the process. It's part of the game that you accept when you sign up for corporate. Like I said, I signed up for corporate for 26 years. I was reminded every day. I said, 16 for one particular company, but 21 years of the last 21 years, because those are the most recent in my mind, and they also happen to be in the enterprise IT space. So as we continue to work through this when we're working on the the the rewiring, because it's not something that happens overnight. You know, there is a rewiring that takes place to recognize, to accept that, yes, there's a number, and at the same time, that shouldn't be something that holds you back. And most importantly, my client, he now feels that he has the guy that's by him, side by his side, the person that's already been there, because I've been through this process. That's what allows me to help him navigate, recognize some of the same feelings and seeing it from a perspective that I'm not a part of his day to day, in the in the environment that he's in. But I understand the environment I've been in, it working in a big multinational, if you manage a business, is $100 million across multiple across multiple countries, and been able to manage that type of business or lead hundreds of employees, it's something that it helps to be able to relate to the day to day. And so the thing, and the reason I want to talk about this is because this particular client, yes, there was a painful reality of being able to accept that being part of a corporate you are a number that is a part of your identity. It is not your exclusive identity, but the fact that he decided to join a program so that he could have more clarity. He had support. He has guided support that will allow him to continue to maintain that, that momentum, and also doing in an environment where he is feel safe, and he has the confidentiality to talk about whatever the things that are on his mind that are going to help him to continue to build his identity, to continue to rewire a lot of the process that he's gone through. And so the reality is as he's now taking this first step to have more control, to have more agency over his future. He is leveraging not only his skill set, but his network and his experience to build the future that he is truly passionate about. And that's the thing when you're when you're focused on the things that you're truly passionate about, the areas that you're passionate about, helping others to solve their problems, using your unique skill set to be able to do that, whether or not, in one environment, you are considered a part of your identity as a number or not, you're focusing on the things, the strengths that you have, so that you can get the most out of every single day, right So, and that's just really what I want to leave you with. And if this is something that you have struggled with. Feel like you want to have some additional support and can and help with. I'm easy to find also, too. I've actually written out a guide, a free guide. You've probably heard about it already, but I will just repeat it to you. You can go to make it optional.com. It's helping hundreds and hundreds of corporate executives and corporate senior leaders today. So pick up the free guide and check it out. Make it optional.com. Also, too. If this is not you, but you know somebody who is suffering because they constantly talk about, I'm just a number, I'm just a number. Share today's episode with them. It's okay. That's only a part of your identity, and it is what it is. But that doesn't mean that's where you have to focus your time, your effort, your energy. Let's focus it somewhere else. Let's get the most out of every single day, so that your energy continues to stay high. You continue to be the best version of you. And by the way, when you share today's episode, make sure that you show that person that you care. Go ahead, give them a call, follow up, so that you can go from theory to really making this a reality, and begin to construct and build that identity, be able to build and create that profitable side business, so that you can have the agency and the relevance that you want and the control over your your life and your future. So with that, guess where I'll be? I'll be right here. While you're going through today's episode, I'll be back. I'll be right here preparing for the next episode. So until then, go out and make it a Great Day. And thank you very, very much.

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