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Five years ago, I sat under a tree and cried. It was Cinco de Mayo 2020, and I woke up to an email: I was being laid off from my dream job as a global creative lead at Airbnb, one of 25% of the company being let go that morning as the pandemic hit the travel industry hard. I walked to the park in a daze, fully masked (remember those days?), found a tree, and broke down. Around me, life went on. Kids laughed. Dogs barked. Sun filtered through branches like nothing had changed. But for me, everything had. Layoffs surged to their highest levels since COVID-19 as of July 2025, so if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you or someone you love has felt this sting recently, too. First, I’m sorry that happened to you. I know how disorienting and painful job loss can be. The grief is real. The uncertainty can feel overwhelming. And the identity shake-up? That hits different. Here’s what I also want you to know: This may be the end of one story, but it’s also the start of a new, more incredible story that you can write entirely on your own terms. Whether you’re navigating a career transition or just hearing that quiet voice whispering “Maybe there’s something more,” I want to share two storytelling practices that helped me find my way post-layoff. They’ve since guided hundreds of my Story Coaching clients through their own turning points, too. Choose what kind of story you want this to be In the weeks after my layoff, I ping-ponged between anxiety (“Apply to jobs NOW!”) and grief over my lost identity and work community. But then I realized I was in a “turn-the-page” moment. I would tell this story again and again. What kind of story did I want it to be? Psychologist Dan McAdams calls this a “narrative choice.” How we frame our experiences to build personal meaning. And these choices have real consequences. People who carry contamination narratives (stories that start good and end bad) experience higher rates of anxiety and depression. But people who frame their experiences as redemption narratives (stories that start bad but end good) report more confidence, connection to purpose, and better mental health. In other words, his research shows that shifting our narrative predicts and precedes psychological well-being. Consciously choosing a redemption narrative will set you on the path to feeling better. After my layoff, I told myself: “This is a story of the time I lost my job. But it’s going to be a story of the time I find myself.” Your reflection prompt: After you’ve had your moment crying under the proverbial tree (we all need it), you have a choice. You can frame this transition as something that happened to youthat youre a victim of circumstances who has to take whatever comes next. Or you can see this as an unexpected plot twist that becomes the catalyst for your most intentional and aligned chapter yet. The narrative you choose will determine every action you take next. Name your past career chapters to shape your future Once I stopped panic-applying to jobs, I took time to ask: What do I really want to do? I’d spent 15 years telling other people’s storiesfrom the Obama campaign and Airbnb to a wild summer working on a Bravo dating showbut had never explored my own. So I cataloged my career chapters with names like “My Year of Hope and Change” and “Post-Airbnb Identity Crisis & Reset.” Patterns emerged immediately. I loved creating spaces for people to use their stories to create impact, but I seriously dreaded office politics. I thrived most when I created and shaped a role myself, but I struggled in positions with narrow job descriptions or restricted responsibilities. This clarity gave me the confidence to start my Story Coaching business instead of returning to a more traditional role. Now I spend my days doing exactly what lights me up, which is helping individuals and teams navigate crossroads using their personal stories as a guide, all without the corporate bureaucracy that always drained me. When we take a pause to map our experiences, we discover themes and threads we can’t see when we’re moving too fast. Your career chapters hold clues about what energizes you, what drains you, and what you’re uniquely built to do next. I call this practice Narrative Navigation: Using your past, present, and possible stories to create a compass that transforms “what now?” into “this way forward.” Your reflection prompt: Take some time to outline your career chapters. Give them creative names, and reflect on what you liked (or didn’t) about the work, people, and compensation. What patterns emerge about what you love, what you’ve outgrown, and where you want to go next? If you want to dive deeper into this exercise, I’ve created a worksheet that walks you through mapping your career chapters to uncover your unique wisdom and direction. Your story is still being written Five years later, that moment sobbing under the tree launched my journey as an entrepreneur. The ending I feared became the best beginning. The layoff forced me to figure out who I was beyond my job title. Reflecting on my own stories helped me get clear on what I actually wanted to work toward. Now I get to witness my Story Coaching clients having similar breakthroughs every day, work that feels infinitely more meaningful than anything I did in corporate life. Now it’s your turn. Pause. Reflect. Choose the narrative that serves you. Trust that everything you’ve lived has prepared you for what’s coming. When you’re ready, don’t forget to share your story. You never know who needs to hear it or what doors it might open. Your next chapter is waiting around the corner . . .
Category:
E-Commerce
For many private companies, going public is a long-term goal that leaders want to get just right. When considering an approach to the public market, there is so much work to do at so many levelsfrom equity awards and compensation plan design to tax planning, from liquidity and trading strategies to planning for business as usual before and after a transition. Whether your company is three months, three years, or three decades into its strategy, the question is: Where are you in your trajectoryand are you heading in the right direction? Lets walk through three essential equity plan management considerations to weigh and discuss with your providers along with any move toward the public space: 1. Is your company currently positioned for private or public markets? The private market is growing across venture capital, private credit, private real estate, infrastructure investments, and the equity and debt of privately owned companies, with assets under management up roughly 20% per year since 2018. In fact, with global IPO volume rising, stalling, and reopening in 2025, we still often see later-stage private companies waiting longer to go public. As you weigh the timing and choices for your company, focus on key goals and consider what your company would look like in the public market. Map out all the pros and cons of a transition. For example, an IPO can potentially provide significant capital infusion while offering liquidity options for early investors, equity holders and employees. However, an IPO also means companies must be ready to navigate complex regulatory requirements and increased scrutiny from investors and analysts, which can be both time-consuming and costly. Meanwhile, by remaining private, companies may have more freedom from the pressure to meet shareholder expectations and can focus more on long-term strategy. Whatever path you choose, private or public, remember that its never possible to time the market to know exactly when an IPO would make the biggest splash. What is possibleand essentialis to control your transaction-readiness by implementing the right platform and stock plan administration practices while your company is still private. 2. Do you have the right systems in place? Preparing for complex transactions like a liquidity event or IPO takes a significant amount of planning, so look for opportunities to implement systems that can help you scale effectively and hit the ground running. It can help to have a plan for scaling infrastructure, processes, data practices, and platforms before your company needs them. In fact, mirroring the operations of public company stock plan administration cycles can potentially help reduce friction and errors when a transaction is on the horizon. Give yourself enough time to build solid governance procedures and establish working relationships with trusted providers so you can execute effectively in changing environments. Picture what things should look like or your companys stock program three to five years from now, and whether your current systems can get you there. A smooth IPO would require seamless integration for systems and processes to align and automate equity compensation, financial reporting, and compliance. For instance, stock plan administration should be fully integrated with payroll and HR systems, allowing for real-time data flow and minimizing manual interventions. An IPO-ready system would have automated data feeds, robust audit and reconciliation procedures, and a comprehensive calendar of deadlines that all stakeholders can see. It would also include a well-defined process for grant approvals and participant communications, leveraging technology to deliver educational resources and updates. The goal is to help capture equity transactions accurately in financial reports and maintain tax compliance across all jurisdictions. Build the infrastructure as well as clear communication channels. Conversely, a system that is not IPO-ready would rely heavily on manual data entry, lack integration between key systems, and have inconsistent or incomplete data, leading to potential reporting errors and compliance issues. Disorganized financial records, unclear strategic direction, and inadequate internal controls can cause roadblocks. 3. Are your people prepared? An IPO can also introduce new financial opportunities and challenges that affect staffing, whether its changes in leadership or challenges maintaining talent continuity. Beyond creating new roles and responsibilities to manage increased regulatory and reporting requirements, an IPO transition can also lead to changes in compensation structuressuch as the introduction of stock options and equity plans, which require specialized administrative support and expertise. The influx of capital from a liquidity event can also lead to rapid expansion and the need for additional staffingwhich, in turn, can affect company culture. On top of this, employees who hold stock options or shares may experience a substantial increase in personal wealth, which can affect their stress levels, motivation, and career decisions. Plan ahead and invest in robust equity education programs and access to financial support to help your talent navigate their experience. Your equity plan can help tie awards for leaders to strategic company goals, provide vesting schedules to encourage longevity, and provide employees with a sense of ownership in your companys next stages of growth. Whatever you do, involve employees in your company’s vision and keep communication open. Especially during transitions in leadership or preparing for a major event like an IPO, its important for employees to have a clear understanding of how their ownership stake in the company is affected and what it might mean for their future. Employees will also require different support as your company growsfor example, equity recipients may need access to subject matter expertise as they navigate new stock plan steps, rules, and regulations that can affect their personal financial choices. Employees may be subject to lock-up periods or restricted by insider trading rules, as well as company-specific agreements that further limit executive stock sales. Make sure to develop employee communications that share available information appropriately about the timing, structure, and nature of the upcoming transaction, as well as where they can find additional guidance and support. Before implementing new strategies with respect to their company shares, executives and other insiders may benefit from working with an equity planning specialist who can make tailored recommendations for their unique situation. Ultimately, the decision to remain private or pursue an IPO is about what makes the most sense for your individual company, how you want it to grow, and what infrastructure you can arrange to help support the next phase. In defining what a successful IPO would mean for your company, remember the equity plan experience.
Category:
E-Commerce
Rare aesthetic: romanticizing childhood memories you thought were unique, only to realize theyre universal. A new TikTok trend has users posting nostalgia-laced memories of mundane but oddly specific childhood moments, ironically tagged as rare aesthetic. The clips are often set to the track “Gorof (Elixir) (feat. Sahra Dawho)” by Somali disco legends Dur-Dur Band. One example: Rare aesthetic: going to swimming lessons and being jealous of your mum sitting in the cafe, a TikTok user posted, alongside stock images of a swimming pool and its adjoining cafe. @laurenzopotenzo Hope this dont flop #fyp #rareaesthetic #foryou #trend Gorof (Elixir) (feat. Sahra Dawo) – Dur Dur Band If that stirs something in you, youre not alone. The post has racked up more than two million likes and over 10 million views. Why is it so specific and why do I also have this memory, one person asked. “Does anyone remember how good the taste of crisps was after youve been swimming or just me,” a second person wrote. These cafes were so comforting, the smell of coffee beans and cookies and hint of chlorine, added another. Other memories have gone similarly viral. Nearly 900,000 users engaged with a TikTok post about waking up at dawn to travel to the airport. There was always this certain smell that I cant describe in the air on those mornings, one person commented. And its always so cold, said another. And for some reason you always feel nauseous, added another. Turns out, we all felt this. @flopically.bojayna Most eerie but best feeling ever #foryoupage #rareaesthetic #trend original sound – maphinz love child Nostalgia is saturating culture right now, from movie reboots and music to viral TikTok trends. More than 60% of Americans report feeling nostalgic right now, per CivicScience data. Research published in Psychology of Popular Media also finds that people consume more nostalgia-inducing media during times of crisis Rather than a pull to reflect on personal memories, nostalgia has instead become a communal experience. One that people participate in via trends, helping to combat loneliness and be transported to a time when the biggest worry was which movie to pick out at Blockbuster that week. Some social media accounts lean on AI-generated scenes to spark those feelings of longing. Others simply resurface innocuous childhood moments and frame them through rose-tinted glasses. Rare aesthetic: School mornings during winter, another post reads. The slideshow shows damp streets lit by streetlights before sunrise, a cold drizzle in the air, and kids trudging to school. Low-key miss it, one person wrote.
Category:
E-Commerce
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