I was in a horrible job. I was desperate to find anything new. I got a career coach and followed her plan to the letter. Suddenly, I had an amazing offer at a company that seemed great, but there was something wrong. My gut was telling me it was a bad idea. I made a therapy appointment and I told my therapist how I felt. She knew how much I was struggling with my current position, but she suggested that I listen to my intuition. I didn’t. I took the job.

At first it was great. I loved what I was doing, the people seemed pretty cool. I had my own office that I was able to decorate the way I wanted. I was making A LOT more money! On the surface, everything seemed perfect, but my gut was still telling me something was off.

It started slowly. The president of the company was in the habit of using intimidation to get what he wanted. I began feeling anxious whenever I heard his voice.

My boss seemed like the supportive leader I had been looking for. My position was new and I was expected to take charge of all new marketing initiatives. However, I was never given a budget and my ideas were often shot down. I started feeling like they really just wanted me to act as a support to the sales team and that my position wasn’t really valued.

After eight months, my boss and another senior executive appeared in my office doorway with two cardboard boxes. “Katie, we are letting you go. We no longer need your position.” I asked if there was something I had done wrong and he simply answered, “no.”

I will always refer to this experience as a blessing in disguise. I should have followed my intuition and now I know that. Unemployment allowed me to have one of the best summers of my life. I was able to take my time finding clarity in what I’m passionate about and trusting my intuition to inspire action for a new business.