A Blessing for Job Seekers in Covid

A word on this piece:
I am in the process of workshopping something with my team at Nimbly via Bionic, which is why I am publishing this short piece. I look forward to sharing more about our research and resources. Until then… be well, be rested, and be yourself. -Leslie

Gardening on the farm in late July 2020. Shout out to my sister and her husband for planting everything before she gave birth to their little bundle of joy, Nika. Shout out to my mom for doing watering every day, it’s a lot of work. Shout out to Sean Woodland for hyping up weeding as a proper workout (about dem roots!) as I am enjoying the heck out of it. And now on with the show…

May you water your garden, fill your cup, and administer regular self care. The saying ‘life is a marathon, not a sprint’ has almost lost its luster because it’s been used so often. George Orwell warns us of dead metaphors in the Politics of the English Language, using ‘rule of thumb’ as a great example of something that we use often and take for granted its origins (fyi: it means that you cannot use a thatch thicker than your thumb to beat your wife).

• What feels like play for you? Do more of it.
• What makes the hair on the back of your neck rise? Find more excuses to engage in this activity.
• Who makes you light up when they walk into the room? Be with them in person or virtually, more.
• What smells make you relax? Buy them and have them on hand near your bed, your home office, your backpack, your purse.
• When’s the last time you brought back napping and baths like you were a toddler? Give yourself permission to melt into relaxation like you’re a kid again.
• Walk slower. Especially at sunrise and sunset.
• Eat outside.
• Find drinks that enliven you and don’t extract — more electrolytes (e.g coconut water, Pedialyte) and probiotics (e.g. kombucha). Less caffeine and alcohol. But everything in moderation is also a form of self care ;)

May you find your most essential self. Maybe you were told a story when you were young that roles like lawyers, doctors, stock traders, and business owners were the only acceptable routes to take. Maybe you believed it.

• But in the reckoning, awakening, tragedy, and blessing that Covid-19 has been for each and every one of us, it’s broken us open.
• It’s shown us our most essential selves in all their pain and glory.
• How we’ve shown up for our friends, family, and community has been beautiful, and real, and imperfect.
• This is who you are at your core. Honor it in this next chapter.

May you release yourself of shoulds and embrace the world of “what ifs?” Much like the voices from society and well-meaning family members telling us what valuable jobs look like, there are voices about what you should be doing right now.

• Maybe the voices are talking about ‘take whatever you can get’ (and maybe you need to cover bills and do that until you can stretch back out into your destiny).
• Maybe the voices are telling you that a more lucrative field should override your hearts calling to a more fulfilling field (spoiler: a life spent making money doing something you, deep down, don’t love… has one of the highest opportunity costs you can imagine: your happiness and by association, the happiness of those you care about most. Don’t do it, it’s truly and economically not worth it).
• What if… you did something you loved and were good at, and got paid for it? What if that wasn’t just a cheesy saying your guidance counselor said to you back in the day and it was actually how you showed the f*ck up for your life in this moment.
• What if… you’re Dorothy in your own personal Wizard of Oz movie and you have the answer to what’s next for you right inside you, this whole damn time. Listen to her.

May you find your tribe. There is a dog whistle that you create when you are in your flow state—and like a dog whistle, very few can truly hear it. And that’s okay.

• You want to ward off any false prophets who might try to exploit, bottle, and sell your giftings without in return strengthening, fortifying, regenerating, and helping you grow in the process.
• Hold out and hold fast until you find a large enough population of your tribe in your next role—at the top, middle, and entry point of the organization.
• You cannot thrive in an environment that doesn’t hear and see you, and amplify and honor you in the process.
• And you cannot have upward mobility if the only turtle tribe members you have found are around you but not also above you.
• Ask hard questions, dig into who and what you are getting into, and don’t feel “lucky for the interview” as much as they should be fortunate for having the honor to meet you. Reframing it in this way ensures you have confidence and the energetic power in the room (errr, Zooom) is balanced.

May you have courage in the face of fear. I do not believe in fearlessness. There are too many cellular triggers from our ancestors’ genetic evolution that look out for danger to say that we, in this lifetime, will reach an evolved state in which we will not sense fear.

• However, I do believe that courage combined with decisive action is what brings about real change.
• Have courage that this too shall pass and this too shall work out. It always has in your life, that is how you arrived here in this moment. But you also didn’t come this far to only come this far.
• Keep pressing into things that are uncomfortable because, heck, it’s all pretty effing uncomfortable right now. The more you train your cells to react and move through the challenge, fear, and pain… the more they will be responsive and supportive each time you face difficulty.

May you give grace and receive grace. This is an unprecedented time in human history. The number of people out of work is only outdone by the number of people who are risking their lives to go to work everyday to box up our Amazon orders, deliver our Seamless and GrubHub meals, and tend to the ill, wounded, and suffering.

• You are not alone. You are surrounded by a state, nation, and world that is with you in this moment.
• You are doing the best you can in all the ways you can. And that’s more than enough.
• You will get through this, we all will. But it will take time and it will continue to be hard, even when it feels like it’s getting easier.
• When people offer to help you, take them up on it.
• When you have enough in the tank to offer help in return, pick one or two people you can meaningfully reach.

May you rise up, you warrior princes and princesses to step into the thrown that has been waiting for you your whole lives. You have trained for this moment in pain and in victory. Rise up and be your most essential self, with courage and grace. Amen.

With love, support, and gratitude ~Leslie

Leslie Bradshaw is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Bionic, where she unlocks and unleashes people to be their best and fullest selves to take on the worlds biggest challenges from inside the worlds most legendary companies.

Outside of Bionic, Leslie unlocks and unleashes her “Turtles” to also be their best and fullest selves through her life school: Turtle Academy. You can reach her via Twitter or Instagram DM if you are interested in learning more, joining the school, or supporting a cohort.