Clearly, it won’t happen this way to everyone. But there is a lesson to take from the story of Bob Croak, the man responsible for making “Silly Bands” a household name. You see, Croak was a bar owner/operator who ran afoul of the law. As a stipulation of the judgment against him, he was ordered to refrain from being in the alcohol sales business. In effect, he was pushed out of his career. Did this sink him? Did he end up destitute and living beneath an overpass? No. Quite the contrary, he struck off in a new direction and ultimately discovered what would become 2010’s hottest kiddie craze, the ubiquitous “Silly Bands”. If you haven’t seen the colorful silicone bands in different shapes that adorn the wrists of nearly every American kid from ages 4-14, you should get your eyes checked. Croak is sitting atop a toy empire and is making far more money than he ever could as a bar owner. The moral of this story — especially for those who decided to enter the field of medical billing and coding after losing their jobs in other fields — is that the loss of a job is not always a negative occurrence. Sometimes, unscheduled changes on the career path are just what a person needs to give them the time and space to explore entirely new horizons. Sometimes, those horizons are at the edge of successes beyond their wildest dreams. Clearly, it won’t happen this way to everyone. But there is a lesson to take from the story of Bob Croak, the man responsible for making “Silly Bands” a household name. You see, Croak was a bar owner/operator who ran afoul of the law. As a stipulation of the judgment against him, he was ordered to refrain from being in the alcohol sales business. In effect, he was pushed out of his career. Did this sink him? Did he end up destitute and living beneath an overpass? No. Quite the contrary, he struck off in a new direction and ultimately discovered what would become 2010’s hottest kiddie craze, the ubiquitous “Silly Bands”. If you haven’t seen the colorful silicone bands in different shapes that adorn the wrists of nearly every American kid from ages 4-14, you should get your eyes checked. Croak is sitting atop a toy empire and is making far more money than he ever could as a bar owner. The moral of this story — especially for those who decided to enter the field of medical billing and coding after losing their jobs in other fields — is that the loss of a job is not always a negative occurrence. Sometimes, unscheduled changes on the career path are just what a person needs to give them the time and space to explore entirely new horizons. Sometimes, those horizons are at the edge of successes beyond their wildest dreams. 16 Responses to “How Job Loss Can Lead to Untold Riches”
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I have a couple of things to share that tie in with this post. My pastor when he was much younger and new in the church, found himself unemployed. He was unsure how he would survive. He was an Engineer by trade. He had a vision to start his own business, he bought several business cards, he didn’t really know what the business would be at the time, but he invented the finger print software that is used to lock you laptop. The moral of this is to go with whatever is given or shown to you, or idea that comes to mind because you never know where you will end up, follow your heart.
The second thing is don’t get discouraged when the right job doesn’t come your way, keep seeking and looking it will come in time. Make sure when you are looking for a job, don’t take any job offer where someone is asking you for money before you can start working this should be an immediate “Red Flag”.
The stories above are lessons to all. Whenever one door closes, sometimes another door will open if you have a positve outlook. It is important not to give up regardless of the situation. It is important to make the best out of any given situation. Even though I have a career, I decided to learn medical billing and coding because I found the concept quite interesting.
Job loss can lead to greater things but it also may not. Most items that take off are of a gimmick of some sort. So is that all you need , a great gimmick to move on to better things? I like to beleive that when one door closes another will open (evantually anyway). Times are tough. We need to stay focused and look behind all doors for we never know what opportunity may be waiting for us. The greatest risk is the one that we never take.
I think that there is a good lesson to be learned in this story. Life does not always take us exactly where we thought we would go but there is always another option. It is amazing to me that something as simple as a gummy bracelet in the shape of a animal or building and a splash of color can generate so much happiness in people and one huge income for a single individual! For all the future medical billers and coders out there I think the lesson here is don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith, it just may pay off in the end!
I was really ecited to hear about Mr. Croak’s story. I recently had to be away from my 8 year old for a few days and she gave me two “silly bands” so that I wouldn’t feel alone. My oldest daughter had begun to wear them and I was curious where and why these things had just popped up.
I have been out of work for over a year now and this story gives me hope that maybe, just maybe I may have an idea that could end up making an opportunity for me to make some extra money and may one day expand into something that a lot of people would use.
I feel that there is a great opportunity to explore different options and possibilities. I know that eventually I will end up seeing my dreams come true. Thank you for the information on Mr. Croak, his story is an inspiration.
I believe that with the way the economy is right now we need to take a deep breath and look at our options. Instead of taking the easy way out and going straight to unemployment we should look at what we can do to keep maintain our lifestyles. This could be changing your career field and going back to school or starting a business of your own like this person did. I believe that if you put all of your efforts in and you are persistent it will pay off in the long run. I have a disability that requires me to be off of my feet but I did not let that stop me. Instead of going on disability I researched what I would be able to do with my disability and got the proper training.
This is a true lesson in life. If a chapter in your life is closed, a new one must begin. Before joining Allen School, I was in a dibilitating car accident. After years of physical rehabilitation, hard work, and a new focus, my life has a new direction. You never know what challenges are ahead, so it’s important to be versatile, and have the ability to regroup ones self to meet adversity
I myself had this experience, the company that I was working decided to cutoff employees to reduce labor cost, I was the unfortunate one to be laid off, so from their on, I had struggle finding new job, sometimes I would even felt self pity and depress, it took me years and years to apply until a friend told me to apply for a freelance online job so I fill in some info and build profile and portfolio online and bid projects from then on till this time, I had been working freelance job, though I have no employee benefits, but I earn
Terrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
Thanks for the insight – sometimes it difficult to see, but there are commonly “blessings in disguise” (not to sound too cheesy. I think the idea here is that certain situations push people to mental/emotional areas they might otherwise not reach, and it can end up with good situations like this, that focus on entrepreneurial tasks, or it can go the other direction, where people become discouraged. A lot of what you can accomplish is how you perceive your situation. Thanks again for the nice post.
It is actually a great and helpful piece of info. I am satisfied that you shared this useful tidbit with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think anyone is more blown away by Silly Bandz mania than Robert Croak, he’s so immersed in his business that he recently sold his home to move into a loft he carved out above his company headquarters which takes up the better part of two city blocks.
The man is simply a success machine!
In exploring opportunities you must need managerial skills that would be the requirement in success. It is better to know your career path since it gives you a good future .
I believe one of the character traits of successful people is that they don’t sit back feeling sorry for themselves when they meet with disappointment. They get up, dust themselves off, look for the best ways to deal with the situation and take action.
This is what Bob Croak did. It’s stories like his that can truly motivate us and show us that everyone has infinite possibilities if they have the courage to follow their dreams.
You need to have good skills when looking for new opportunities. If you don’t then I doubt you will get very far. Why not look at increasing your skill set by learning from home or try your local community college.
This thing doesn’t happen with everyone, there is a need to get proper direction for good jobs.