The Month Everything Changed
On paper, this month was supposed to be a setback.
After spending almost sixteen and a half years at Bell, my career came to an unexpected end. For most people, losing a job after that long would be remembered as the month everything stopped.
Instead, it became the month almost everything accelerated.
I had a choice to make.
I could spend the severance package trying to preserve the past, or I could invest it in building the future I wanted.
I chose the second option.
Financial Stability Before Everything Else
Before buying a single project part, I made sure the foundation was solid.
The June and July mortgages were paid.
The Family Suburban was completely paid off.
My credit card balance was paid off.
There were no missed payments. No financial panic. No digging a deeper hole.
The severance wasn’t treated like free money.
It became transition capital.
Building the FlatLander
The FlatLander absorbed an incredible amount of time this month, but nearly every hour pushed it meaningfully toward completion.
The underside of the truck was cleaned, prepped, and painted, including the frame, suspension components, floor pans, side steps, radiator support, and fuel tank skid plate.
The engine bay, cowl, tops of the inner fenders, hood underside, brake assemblies, and hubs were all restored and painted.
Sound deadening was installed throughout the cab and front bed area.
The rear bed area was coated in Raptor Liner and thoughtfully finished.
Premium Bilstein shocks and a new steering stabilizer transformed the suspension.
One-inch rear wheel spacers were installed.
The radiator support wiring was cleaned, loomed, and reorganized.
Rear wheel-well fillers and numerous custom brackets were fabricated and painted.
The license plate light opening was cut, license plate fasteners were installed with rivet nuts, and the lighting components were test-fitted.
Rear wiring was sorted while a replacement harness was ordered.
New parts were installed throughout the engine bay, and I converted the old R12 air conditioning system to a modern R134 system.
I purchased the complete paint system needed for the restoration.
The wheel-and-tire combination was finally selected, and the remaining major restoration components were ordered.
Improving the Shop
The shop itself changed almost as much as the truck.
More than thirty bags of trash left the building.
Old projects, forgotten equipment, and years of accumulated clutter disappeared.
Studio equipment, a crashed drone, musical instruments, a 1972 Honda motorcycle, and dozens of unused items were sold.
Those sales generated more than $4,500 while creating valuable working space.
The paint booth received two air-conditioning units I already owned, along with powered studio monitor speakers, making it dramatically more comfortable and productive.
The new Ingersoll Rand air compressor was installed in a clean, permanent layout that should serve the shop for many years.
The workspace feels different now.
Cleaner.
Simpler.
More intentional.
Building New Income
Replacing income mattered just as much as restoring trucks.
During the month, I completed a three-and-a-half-hour leadership interview followed by a two-hour offer meeting with a respected local manufacturing company that has been in business for more than a century.
Exactly one month after leaving Bell, I started my new position as Blast & Paint Supervisor at City Machine & Welding.
Alongside that full-time role, I secured a recurring video production retainer.
I also added two additional recurring video clients.
Instead of depending on a single paycheck, I’m slowly building multiple streams of creative income.
Continuing to Create
The creative work didn’t stop simply because life became uncertain.
I produced several FlatLander videos documenting the restoration.
I created a graduation and birthday project for family.
I created videos for new commercial clients.
I released a five-song EP under Cole Younger.
I also released three additional singles documenting this chapter while continuing to grow a catalog that has become one of the most consistent creative projects I’ve ever pursued.
Creating remained part of daily life.
Not after work.
Not someday.
During the transition itself.
Making Time for Family
In the middle of everything, our family still made time for a vacation to the South Texas coast.
That mattered.
Major life transitions shouldn’t only be remembered by the work accomplished.
They should also be remembered by the time spent with the people who matter most.
Looking Back
When I first lost my job, it would have been easy to define the month by what disappeared.
Instead, I chose to define it by what was built.
A paid-off vehicle.
A healthier financial position.
A cleaner shop.
A dramatically transformed truck.
A new career.
Three recurring creative clients.
A growing music catalog.
New videos.
New momentum.
Most importantly, proof that difficult seasons don’t automatically become wasted seasons.
Sometimes losing the job you’ve held for sixteen and a half years becomes the push to invest in the life you’ve wanted to build all along.
This month wasn’t about surviving unemployment.
It was about using uncertainty as fuel.
Looking back now, I don’t remember the month I lost my job.
I remember the month I built the foundation for everything that comes next.
