I'm Failing and I Can't Get Up

Message to the Unemployed

By Brad Lindemann

The following is an excerpt from from Brad Lindemann’s forthcoming book, In Business For Life: What Being In Business For Life Has Taught me About the Business of Life.  Sign up for news and updates from PumpJack.me Thought Leader Marketing and Brad Lindemann.

 Few things will change a person more profoundly than the experience of standing in the unemployment line over a long period of time. I’ve met with many such people over the years and had the privilege of providing some with their first job in many months…sometimes years. Given the demographics of the IT industry, most of the unemployed people I’ve encountered have been men. As such, most were the primary breadwinners in their families. It’s been my painful privilege to walk with many of these men down the humble highway of unemployment. Given my own brief time in the unemployment line, I have a great deal of compassion and empathy towards anyone who’s out of work and usually go out of my way to help them find it. Unfortunately, I can’t help them all.

I never met our former employee, “Greg.” He worked out of our Denver office. Greg was very accomplished within a unique skillset that our largest client desperately needed. So, we were surprised when his contract was terminated early. Greg was devastated. Unable to find another job over the following 18 months, Greg took his life on New Year’s Eve. The news of his passing cut me to the core. I grieved the loss of the employee I never met and vowed to redouble my efforts to do all I could to help every unemployed person whom God brought into my life.

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That’s when I first wrote my “Message to the Unemployed” and published it on our web site. Updating that message has become a New Year’s tradition for me. One that brings me back to center no matter what else is going on at the time. I’ve received some very kind responses from people who have read this message and been deeply touched by it. I take no credit whatsoever. It’s a message that emanates from the heart of God. I’ve just been privileged to be the messenger:

Message to the Unemployed
January 3, 2014

From our President/CEO/Founder: Brad Lindemann

As we approach our 25th anniversary on April 1, 2014, I'm once again thinking about the many unemployed professionals I've met with over the years. If you're currently among them, it really doesn’t matter what the rate of unemployment is. For you it’s 100 percent and that’s a tough situation to be in. Economists may have called it a recession, but if you lost your job in the midst of it, for you it was a depression. That’s why I offer these words of encouragement…for you.

As with any advice, you should always consider the source. If the one telling you how to live your life has never walked in your shoes, proceed with caution. Such is not the case here. I was ruthlessly fired by my previous employer and have survived two near death corporate experiences over the last 25 years. 2009 was far and away the most difficult year of my life, both personally and professionally. I clung for dear life to the words of encouragement that I’m about to give you…and it worked! God showed up for me and He will show up for you.

Do not lose hope. THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE. I know. You’ve heard it all. I’m sure you haven’t been wanting for career advice from well-meaning family members, friends and former associates. No matter what they say, what you hear them saying is, “Get a job!” It hurts at the core of your being. As you click-through another unemployed day on your Outlook calendar, with it goes another shred of your ever-shrinking self-esteem. If you’ve been the primary breadwinner in your family, the mounting financial pressure seems unbearable at times.

So, how can anyone bear the burden of unemployment? The truth is no one can…alone. The truth is people were not designed to bear such burdens alone. The truth is, God alone can and will bear your burdens (job-wise or otherwise), so that you don’t have to bear them alone. YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.
The God of the universe is with you. Your reading this message is no accident. Read on, to hear what God Himself has to say…to you:

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

This short passage is so very relevant to your current situation. Please don’t discount it. Right now, God is saying, “I care about you more than you can possibly imagine.” Right now, to you, God is saying, “I know what you’re going through. It hurts me to watch you suffer. Please let me help you.”
Right now, God really is saying to YOU, “Give me the burdens that you can no longer bear. I want you to literally throw them at me, so you can stop worrying about them.”

I don’t know you, but I do know that GOD LOVES YOU...with or without a job. I do know that if your circumstances seem impossible, then it’s time to turn them over to the God who makes all things possible. I do know that if you’re feeling like a failure, then it’s time to turn to the One who will never fail you nor forsake you. I do know that if you’re lacking bread for the table, then it’s time to turn to Him who is the bread of life.

Only you know if it’s time to turn to God. Is it? If it is, then the Ambassador Prayer Team would be honored to take your requests before Him. Just let us know how we can best pray for you.
Could Ambassador be the answer to your job prayers? It’s possible, but we don’t want to build false hopes. If you’re a seasoned IT professional, please make sure we have your up-to-date information in our data base. If we can help you, we will.

My friend, there is always hope…you are never alone…God loves you. May you and yours know God’s presence, peace and providence—both now and forevermore!

God’s best,

Brad Lindemann, President/CEO/Co-Founder
Ambassador Solutions

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