To win, see the silver lining. To see the silver lining, get rained on.

Back in college, my roommate set me up on a date with the woman who is now his wife. She texted me earlier today asking for advice. Her husband was laid off in one of those massive rounds you’re hearing about. Here’s what I said:

• People are rarely laid off from their perfect-fit, dream job. This could be a great opportunity to find something you care about more. Getting laid off is often something very stressful, but also something people are very happy about in retrospect.
  • Another friend lost his job last year. After months of tough (and often disheartening) searching, he found a job that aligns with what he studied in college. His previous job delivered a paycheck. His new job fits his values. It’s no coincidence that those people wanted him: they share values and interests, and we want to be around people with whom we share values and interests.
• List your values, stack-ranking them. How important is it to you to stay in the house you’re in? More or less important than the industry you work in? Reasonable people might have different preferences. Only by knowing your values can you decide in accordance with them.
• Venn diagrams are your friend. For him, the intersection could be philosophy, theater, physical awareness, and getting along with everyone. It might be a specific niche, but someone will pay you for it. Are you willing to travel for it? That’s why you need your stack-ranked values.
• Don’t be the best: be the only. Don’t seek a job where you’re the best; find a job where you’re the only. If you lack competition, people will reward you for solving their specific need.
• Our economy is currently in a big ol’ unpredictable cluster. (One of my favorite financial newsletters wrote about this the other day.) Consider what bets you’re willing to make. I’m taking out long-term, fixed-interest-rate debt on an income-producing asset. I could definitely be wrong (and I don’t have the license to give financial advice), but it’s a bet I believe in.
• If you want help structuring your freelance work, give holler anytime. (I’ve helped a few freelancers make meaningfully more money without changing the work itself: just the structures around it: pricing, packaging, billing, contract drafting, and the like.) 

Half of advice is the advice itself. The other half is listening. The third half is being there for someone: kind, present, and caring. And the fourth half is knowing when to stop. 

Games Played

A recurring ledger of games observed in the wild

• The Global Entry agent at O’Hare Airport hands you a laminated card to carry through baggage claim, then to hand to another agent upon exit. How can this possibly be the best system we’ve developed?
• Groceries in Chicago are like $80 where the same amount would have been like 20€ (~$25) in France. And you have to use the app to clip the annoying little digital coupon. This digital coupon bullshit is so annoying that it would motivate me to shop at a different grocery store entirely.
• I have always believed that laundry is best done naked so one can wash all of one’s clothing. When following this strategy at a guest house in a foreign city, one should recognize beforehand that one will be locked in one’s room for the duration. And may God have pity on you if the laundry machine breaks.