Getting fired from my dream job was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I was handed a job at a successful but still young tech startup two years after college after impressing the CEO with an insightful question during a lecture Q&A.

It was my dream job. I was sure I would succeed on my marketing intuition.

I got let go two months later on a Friday at 5pm. No warning, no apologies.

But about 24 hours after walking out the door, nursing my wounded pride, my lesson began to surface:

“You are not in the least bit prepared for work at a startup.”

The one piece of advice I was given just before leaving was “find a job at an established company where they will train you and give you the process you need to make informed decisions.”

My next job was just that. I am learning how to take my marketing intuition (my greatest asset) and combine it with solid process and well-reasoned, data backed arguments. I’m also applying what I learn to my side business which is growing rapidly.

If I didn’t get fired from that job, if I was coddled, I would be just as in the dark about my own ignorance as I was before my startup job.