Never, ever give up!

Their presence triggered mixed emotions

Recently, at Sabbath prayer services, a group of young men were in attendance

Turns out that they attended a NYC yeshiva that I had interviewed at when I was in process of leaving Atlanta eight years ago

That job search, like a few others, had come up empty, and again I was feeling low

Especially after the demeaning way that the dean had managed the process and eventually ended my candidacy

(Which I was told years later he had come to regret, but anyways)

When it was clear that I’d was moving my family north to a more expensive area with no guaranteed income source, I faced two options

One, get a job as a school leader

The other, make a career as a school consultant

Neither path was wide open or promising

Numerous (albeit each less than ideal) job opportunities had presented themselves, but all had reached dead ends

More than one person told me that no one they knew had succeeded in consulting full-time

The clock was ticking, and things were feeling desperate

But with faith in God and resolute belief in my ability to succeed, I put my nose to the ground

And worked harder than I ever had before

Which, if I’m being honest, is really saying something

Fast forward 8 years

My path has been far from steady and there were many points when things did not look good

But I stuck with it

And am I so glad that I did

During those 8 years I have:

🏫Served scores of schools and nonprofits through leadership and teacher training, leadership workshops, and mastermind groups

🏢Coached many business owners on how to scale their impact, increase profits, and live a more fulfilled life, through 1:1 coaching and mastermind groups

🗣️Presented at numerous events (national, regional, and local) to audiences in collective thousands

📚Wrote a leadership book that has taught my school of hard knocks to many others so that they could hit the ground ruining and avoid many of my mistakes (with another one, on productivity, on the way)

👥Built and incredible, empowering network

🎤Started a podcast

✒️ Penned hundreds of articles

👨‍🏫Developed skills I didn’t know I had, or could help others with

😌Become independent, able to decide who I would work for and when, and no longer beholden to board members or other power brokers

🔮And see a future in which my impact will scale MUCH more in the decades ahead

All because I refused to give in and “accept my fate”

We all have moments when it’s easy to give up

I’m here to say “don’t”

Believe in yourself

Work harder than ever

Have faith

And never, ever give up!

Learn more about my struggle in my book, Becoming the New Boss

Naphtali Hoff, PsyD, (@impactfulcoach) is an executive coach who helps leaders and their teams become more productive. Download his productivity blueprint and take his productivity assessment. Reach out to him to learn more about his high-powered mastermind groups that help leaders power up, problem solve, and get more done.