The hardest part of writing a blog is getting started. I mean, who's to say anybody really cares what I have to say? Once started, the blog does need so say something somewhat meaningful and relevant; at least if anyone at all is to read it. Finally, there needs to be something in the material that make the reader want to come back and see what else I might say.

Then again, there is great freedom in the thought that no one will read it at all. That's the freedom of a diary. The writer and the reader are always the same person, and the reader is infinitely interested in what the writer has to say. Especially later, when the emotionally charged moment is a memory and the only thing that remains is the history. Then the reader can look back and see how accurate the excitement or fear of the moment was.

I'm going to try and write this as if I were the only reader. I want that freedom. I think you want that candor. Let's see if I can pull it off.

Today I want to write about the experience of losing my job. It was terrible / horrible / wonderful all at the same time. Let me explain...

I had my own business for 6 1/2 years. We were mildly successful - enough to attract the attention of a larger public company called Inter-Tel. I sold to Inter-Tel in January 1994, and enjoyed myself in various positions until the company was purchased by Mitel in August 2007. Mitel, a private company, went very deeply in debt to buy Inter-Tel. The plan was to take two sub- $500M companies, streamline them, and go public again, making more than a few millionaires in the process. The only problem; the economy collapsed before Mitel could go public. No one would try to go public in this economy.

Mitel started with laying off overlapping positions. When they had trimmed the overlap, they began cutting where it hurt. They began laying off the people who made the most money. Finally, on November 6th, 2008, the President of Mitel US walked into my office. I looked at him and said, "Is it my turn to go home?"

This was not totally unexpected. I had quit taking vacation as soon as the acquisition happened, and had 8 weeks saved up. With just shy of 15 years with Inter-Tel, I also got 14 weeks severance pay. I had 22 weeks to find a job.

I had been praying for God to give me strength to survive the situation mentally. I don't think I ever considered missing any meals, but emotionally I was struggling. I had only looked for work twice before in my adult life. I was unprepared. I put my resume on Career Builder, and applied to many locations. Most never even responded. Except insurance companies. i must have gotten 2 dozen responses to my resume from insurance companies. I wasn't interested.

My former boss, Ray, was laid off the same day I was, about 30 minutes earlier. The owner of Fulton Communications in Atlanta, also an Inter-Tel alumni, had reached out to him to see if he was interested in starting a branch of Fulton in Phoenix. Ray asked if I was interested. In all honesty, I quit looking for work at that moment. Ray, however, was not yet ready to commit. That would come later.

In the meantime, I was slimming down our budget. I cut out cable TV and got the cheapest satellite available. I cut Internet down to the slowest non-dial up available. I even dropped caller ID from the phone. We were not in terrible shape financially, as we had been paying down credit cards for the last year. We had just the house, my truck, and one credit card. That credit card was no small bill, however. I had paid off a timeshare with a 0% interest transfer offer, and the monthly was huge. I signed up for Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University" through my church. I needed to learn how to create and follow a budget.

I cannot recommend Dave Ramsey's program enough. We now had a budget and knew we would make it. If only that job came through.

With God's help, we are now doing as well or maybe even better than before, even though I am making about 60% of what I used to. So, what have I learned?

I cannot count on mankind, jobs, luck, or anything else to give me and my family security. I can only count on God.

My wife loves me, and she trusts God more than I do. She trusts me more than I do too.

Money is not the issue. How I relate to money, how I use money... That's what is important.

Oh, Fulton Phoenix began operations on March 17, 2009. It is really hard getting people to buy in this economy, but I am betting we can win enough business to make our office worthwhile.

God Bless,

Cliff