When life throws you curveballs, you've got two choices: duck or swing for the fences. On May 1st, 2023, I found myself unexpectedly standing at the plate, career-wise, with a fastball hurtling towards me. I'd been discharged from my last position—no warning, no game plan. They say the best way to get a chuckle out of the universe is to announce your plans. Well, the cosmos must have been in stitches at mine.
But here's the thing about curveballs—they can turn into home runs with the right mindset. In the aftermath, I decided to take a tally of all the runs I'd scored in my career, all the bases I'd touched. Back then, my following was a modest crowd of 900, huddled in the bleachers of my professional journey. And my newsletter? A nascent idea without a single subscriber, aptly titled "POV from Bill"—my musings on leadership, management, and the pulse of today's workplace.
Content creation was like stepping up to bat in an empty stadium. Each newsletter was a pitch to myself, a reminder of my value to the teams I'd led and the businesses I'd helped flourish. It was a testament to the fact that when I stumbled, I stumbled forward.
Flipping through those early editions, each one mirrors a day in my life—some days I needed a pep talk, other days I was reflecting on the wins. Each entry was soul food, and if it nourished someone else out there, then that was a bonus run on the scoreboard.
My sign-off— "Thanks for reading, William Rochelle, but you can call me Bill"—was my handshake with the reader. It's personal. It says, "Hey, we're in this together. And yeah, I appreciate you."
Fast forward, and that modest crowd has swelled to a stadium of over 10,000 unique followers, with a chorus of 4,500 newsletter subscribers. In one week alone, I've seen 28,000 engagements. I'm humbled by the cheers, the feedback that's more gratifying than any corner office or executive title.
I wrote to lift my spirits, to keep my chin up in this fog of joblessness. Yet, it's become a lifeline not just for me, but for others navigating their own fogs. If my words have been a beacon for even one person out there, then I've hit it out of the park.
So, thank you. Every like, comment, and share—it's felt. It's not expected, but it sure is appreciated. I'll keep walking through this mist, taking it step by step, day by day, ready for the next pitch.
Stick with me. We've got more innings to go.
Thanks for reading,
William Rochelle, but you can call me Bill
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