The job security myth is the belief that a good employer will look after your future, and author Scott Allen argues it leaves people waiting on someone else's decisions. In this conversation with Jeremy Van Wert, he explains why he left a corporate career, why he treats failure as data, and how to build your own path before layoffs or change arrive.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Scott believes that waiting for someone to hand you security, a promotion or a chance leaves your future in other people's hands.
- He describes failure as data, not a verdict, and says the question is what you do next.
- Scott argues that changing your life means changing your identity, and that a job title should not be all of who you are.
- He recommends finding someone who has already done what you want and modeling their process.
- Jeremy and Scott both question whether school prepares people for money, work and self-direction.
- Scott's rule for work: when the music stops, have a chair to sit in.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠThe job security myth: why waiting for others is the real risk
Jeremy describes a former colleague who, ten years ago, was waiting for his boss to retire so he could take the job. The boss is now in his 80s and the colleague is still waiting. To Jeremy, that is ten years of treading water in a role that does not fill him with purpose.
Scott agrees and says he has always been big on creating his own destiny. He watched one colleague finally reach the promotion and be laid off about six months later, and another see the job given to someone else after years of waiting. His takeaway is that there are no guarantees either way, and that if you are not making the decisions that move your life forward, someone else will make them for you.
Asked about common mindset mistakes, Scott names two. One is waiting for someone to give you security. The other is expecting success by default instead of putting in the work on yourself. He adds that if you are not working on yourself, you are probably spending that time on something else, and he asks what it is.
ᚢFrom the corporate 9-to-5 to writing books
Scott spent about 20 years in a corporate job in Japan. He calls it a good job that provided income for his family, but not work that spoke to him. In the early mornings and late nights he wrote books, drawing on what he had learned from mentors and coaches such as Tony Robbins.
Scott says he was never satisfied by being comfortable, and the question of what was possible drove him. In the introduction, Jeremy says his books, including Do the Hard Things First, Fail Big and Relaunch Your Life, have been translated into 16 languages and sold more than half a million copies.
Jeremy knows corporate life too and holds two master's degrees, including an MBA. You can read more about Jeremy's background if you want to see where he is coming from on this topic.
ᚦFail Big: why failure is just data
Scott says fear of failure holds many people back, partly because school teaches that failing means punishment. In the real world, he says, failure is simply data. He points to Thomas Edison's thousands of attempts as an example.
He says his book Fail Big grew from his own fear of failure and from reframing experiences he had once called failures. When a first company he started failed, he asked what he could have done differently and applied it to the next one. He adds that failures will happen anyway, and how you define them is up to you.
His advice is to analyze what happened without overanalyzing, then move on to the next step. Scott says he is all about momentum, and that if you do not know your plan, you should write it out in a journal or work with someone to figure it out.
ᚨIs the corporate world more volatile now?
Scott thinks so. He says companies are willing to let people go for someone cheaper and that there is little commitment. He contrasts that with his grandfather, who worked in an oil refinery for 40 years, and notes that even in Japan, where jobs were long considered stable, he now meets people let go after 5, 10 or 15 years.
Jeremy points to the hypocrisy of the line that we are all a family. Scott's own father was let go three years before retirement with no plan and few hobbies. Scott says watching it made him want to avoid becoming a victim of circumstances, and it also made him ask what he could have done to help.
ᚱHow to reinvent your identity and build your own path
Asked which skills help people stay flexible, Scott begins with knowing what you want. He says transformation is really about changing your identity, because identity is the one thing you control. He describes leaving an earlier lifestyle he no longer wanted, connecting with mentors and building a belief that a different life was possible, which led to travel and a move to Japan.
He warns against making your job title all of who you are. If a lawyer's identity is only lawyer, he asks, what happens when that is gone? He says that happened to his father. Scott's version is to see himself as a flexible sponge, able to learn a language, a culture or a business quickly.
He also recommends spending time around people a few steps ahead of you, which helped him with a scarcity mindset. If you want others to think alongside you, the Mindful Mutiny community offers real conversation and live Fireside Chats.
ᚲFailing high school and what came next
Scott grew up in a middle-class home in Canada. As a boy he organized the neighborhood kids to build a multi-story fort and charged them a dollar to stay overnight, and at 14 he asked for a lawn mower for his birthday and started a business.
He failed high school, two credits short of graduating. After two years of hard outdoor work, he took correspondence courses in physics, math and calculus, passed them and went on to engineering school. He says he did it for himself, not to prove anything, and that anyone can do this if they decide what they are willing to accept.
Scott also credits a question: now what? He says it keeps him out of the victim mentality, which he wants to destroy along with the scarcity mindset.
ᚷSchool, money and why you may need a chair when the music stops
Jeremy argues that school is linear and rewards conformity, while building a life is not linear. Scott says no one taught him about money in school, and that he wishes he had learned how it works and how to handle having it. He believes much of what he needed is available free online if you are intentional.
Jeremy also raises skilled trades, noting that fewer young people choose them while many graduate with large debt. Scott adds that degrees take years and may be outdated by graduation, and he suggests universities may shorten or become obsolete, which is his speculation. His approach is to find someone who has done it and model what they did.
His closing rule is that when the music stops, you should have a chair, and if you do not, you build one. If you are asking what your own chair could be, Jeremy offers a private 30-minute conversation about your next step.
ᚨ Questions people ask
Is job security a myth?
Scott's view is that there are no guarantees either way. He says people can work 10 or 20 years and still be let go, so he prefers to build skills and an alternative of his own.
What does Fail Big mean?
Scott describes it as accepting that you will fail along any new path and choosing not to let it push you back. He treats failure as data and asks what could be done differently next time.
How can you reinvent your identity?
Scott says it starts with knowing what you want and separating who you are from your job title. He describes building a new belief system, finding mentors and putting yourself in new situations.
Can you succeed after failing high school?
Scott says it worked for him. He took correspondence courses, finished the credits and went on to engineering school, and he says anyone can do the same if they decide what they will accept.
How do you build your own path?
Scott suggests getting clear on what you want, writing it down, and modeling someone who has done it rather than starting from scratch. He also recommends early-morning time for meditation, breathing and reading.