Just a quick heads up: this isn’t my usual type of email. But I think you'll get something out of it anyway! Just a short story about something that’s been sitting with me. |
What would you do when the going gets tough?
For years, I’ve joked that if I ever got laid off, I’d open a café au lait and beignet stand. It’s one of those half-serious, half-deflecting jokes that I make when I’m talking about burnout or how fragile our tech careers can be. Especially for us old timers.
But it’s more of a fantasy. It’s a way for me to laugh without actually having to imagine actually doing it.
But the truth is, I don’t think I’d have the guts to actually follow through with it.
But Dr. Ari Zelmanow did!
When he got laid off, he didn’t just spiral into applications and hope. He didn’t wait for the system to recognize his credentials, his network, or the fact that he did everything “right.” He started popping kettle corn.
Not as a gimmick. Not as a LinkedIn pivot post (like when I announced I was writing a book 🤣)…
Dr. Ari actually did the damn thing!
​Laid Off Dad Kettle Corn is Dr. Ari showing up for his family, handcrafting small batches, and doing the thing that actually pays the bills when none of the “smart” advice works out.
“At my core, I’m just a dad who got laid off and decided to start popping instead of pouting.”
As a dad with two kids, a mortgage, a car note, and more credit card bills than I care to admit… that line hit me hard. A lot harder than I expected.
There’s a version of this story we like to tell where it’s a side hustle or a real job. As if one is a failure state and the other is the respectable outcome. Dr. Ari already proved that binary, black-and-white is nonsense. He tried to get the job. He applied. He leveraged his network. He taught. He spoke. He was connected to everyone we’re told matters.
And when none of that showed up on payday, the only thing he could depend on was taking action himself.
Some days are good. Some days are bad. And that part really matters. Because Dr. Ari’s story isn’t a glossy reinvention story written for a Hallmark movie. It’s a story of survival and a guy who does what he needs to do for his family when the going gets tough.
I ordered a couple of bags (dill pickle and caramel apple) and it’s really good kettle corn. My kids weren’t a fan of the dill pickle, but I thought it was great. Maybe I’m weird?
The kettle corn is good, but what I’m really getting out of this bag of kettle korn is the reminder that courage doesn’t always look like confidence. Sometimes courage looks like doing something “unglamorous” because your family needs you to.
I don’t know if I’d have the guts to open that beignet stand.
But watching Ari makes me ask myself, “Why not?” And maybe it’ll help convince my wife that it’s actually possible. 🫣
If this resonates with you, grab a bag of Laid Off Dad Kettle Corn. No pressure, just good kettle corn and a story worth supporting.
P.S. This is 100% not a paid endorsement. Dr. Ari is one of my favorite people, and I genuinely like his product, and I think it's worth sharing!