The Story I Had to Rewrite · Funnel Junkies

The Story I Had to Rewrite

This post, "BE CAREFUL OF THE STORY YOU TELL YOURSELF..." really hits home for me, and this is my story.

Not long ago, I found myself living a story I never expected to be part of.

Like many people, I followed the path that society tells us is the right one. Study hard. Earn qualifications. Work diligently. Build experience. Climb the ladder. Secure your future.

For years, I invested my time, energy, and resources into building a career. I believed that the more qualifications I earned and the more experience I gained, the more secure my future would be.

After dedicating many years to one company, I was retrenched due to operational changes and economic pressures. It came as a shock. I had always worked hard, been independent, and believed that experience, commitment, and qualifications would provide security.

Suddenly, everything changed.

What struck me most was how quickly circumstances can change, regardless of how qualified or experienced you are. In the corporate world, many of us become accustomed to being told where to be, what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. We work within structures and systems, often believing that if we do everything right, we can control the outcome.

But sometimes the decision is made for you.

In my case, I wasn't given a choice. The direction of my life changed overnight, and there was nothing I could do to prevent it.

For a while, I felt as though all those years of study, sacrifice, qualifications, and effort had somehow been wasted. I questioned everything I thought I knew about success and security.

Then began the search for another position.

Hundreds of applications. Hope followed by disappointment. A handful of interviews. Then the responses started coming.

"You're overqualified."

"We're looking for someone younger."

"We can't meet your salary expectations."

And sometimes, no response at all.

With every rejection, my confidence took another knock.

For the first time in my life, I started questioning my value. I wondered if all the years of experience, qualifications, and hard work had somehow become irrelevant. I worried that I might become dependent on my children when I had always been fiercely independent.

The uncertainty was overwhelming.

I wasn't only worried about finding work. I was worried about my future, my identity, my purpose, and whether life as I knew it had changed forever.

Without realising it, I started believing the stories.

"Maybe I'm too old."

"Maybe I've missed my opportunity."

"Maybe people like me don't get a second chance."

Then something unexpected happened.

While continuing my job search, my daughter came across a three-day webinar for R99. It seemed almost too simple, too insignificant to matter. But that small discovery introduced me to Funnel Junkies.

I prayed about it.

I spoke to my family.

And I made a decision.

Not because I knew exactly what I was doing, but because I knew I couldn't keep living the story I had started telling myself.

Around the same time, I found myself paying closer attention to the hardships others were facing. Stories of people affected by floods, families losing homes, communities rebuilding after disasters, and people facing challenges far greater than my own.

Those stories gave me perspective.

They reminded me that while my circumstances were difficult, I still had choices. I still had skills. I still had the ability to learn, adapt, and help others.

I realised there are many people carrying burdens we know nothing about. There are people feeling lost, uncertain, overlooked, and afraid of what comes next.

Perhaps the greatest value in our own struggles is that they help us understand the struggles of others.

Today, I'm learning new skills, exploring technology I never thought I would use, creating content, stepping outside my comfort zone, and building something completely different from anything I've done before.

Do I still have doubts?

Absolutely.

But I've realised something important.

The biggest obstacle was never my age, my qualifications, or my circumstances.

It was the story I was telling myself.

And the moment I started changing that story, new possibilities began to appear.

I'm still writing the next chapter.

But for the first time in a long time, I believe the story has a future worth fighting for.

And if my journey can help even one person realise they are not alone, then perhaps this chapter had a purpose after all.

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The Story I Had to Rewrite