In my last post, I spoke about work done by Henry Cloud and William Bridges about transitions and endings. In today’s post, I dig a little deeper into some endings of my own that led to new beginnings. With 43 years in the workforce, I have had many endings as well as many beginnings and I plan to have even more beginnings in the next phase of my life.

The ending I will speak about today regards my work in the Talent Acquisition world. My work in TA started in 2001 when I became the head of Human Resources for SSR, a consulting engineering firm headquartered here in the Nashville, TN area. SSR presented me with my first opportunity to learn and spend time in the talent world and this experience also gave me the confidence to move forward into entrepreneurship when I launched my own firm in 2006. The ending involved my relationship as an employee with SSR, but the beginning opened a new series of doors that led to experiences growing and guiding my own firm, for four years under the umbrella of another firm, but then solely on my own in 2010. Even this beginning had an ending when I left the umbrella of the other firm and charted my own path.

If you are young (meaning under 35) you may not remember what the economy was like in the 2008-2010 period. Being self-employed was a real journey during this time and I quickly learned the difference between a “need” and a “want” when it came to spending money. I was heavily leveraged during this period and we had two sons finishing college in 2010 and then in 2012. It was a time for resilience building.

Here are the things I learned during the endings in 2006 and 2010:

-People do business with people and not as much with brands or brand names
-There is a big difference between a want and a need
-Focus is an important virtue
-Process matters
-Perseverance pays off (usually)

I also mentioned in my last post that I would reflect on several issues regarding beginnings and endings. Here are some important takeaways for me:

-I have a pattern that shows I get bored with a certain role after about 5 year
-I have a knack for becoming a learner when something new catches my interest
-The relationships I have formed in one part of my life may/will carry over into a new segment of my life
-Involvement in cause-related organizations/not-for-profits has been a major way for me to build relationships
-I have always been a seller or promoter in my roles

The ramifications of what I listed above are far-reaching. I’ll speak more about this when I write again in the next week or so.

What have you learned from reflecting on your endings and beginnings? You will be surprised when you begin to peel back the layers.