James Brian Kerr
Author & Blogger
Where I've Been, and What I Learned
A few years back, I had an epiphany.
I was sitting at my desk at the big tech company where I headed up communications when I got the call that no one in his mid-fifties wants to get. The new CEO who'd recently joined the firm was making changes and I was being let go after nearly twenty-eight years at the company.
I was stunned. I'd put my heart and soul in that company and thought I would retire from there one day. I had a mortgage and kids in college. What was I going to do?
My head reeling, I left the office and went for a walk - a long walk. Leaving my car behind, I walked the entire twenty-plus-mile commute home. I wanted to see the route I had been unconsciously racing through for nearly three decades, and hopefully in the process figure out what I wanted to do.
Along the way, I thought a lot about the tradeoffs I'd made over the years in choosing a secure, high-paying corporate job when it was never really what I wanted to be doing. I thought as well about a lot of the tough stuff I'd gone through - cancer, near-death accidents, divorce, depression, and now job loss. I thought of the faith and resilience that gets people through adversity.
By the time I got home, I had made some decisions. I would never put my faith in a company again. I would embrace the uncertainty of life and find a way to get back to my dreams of writing and telling stories.
A few years later, here I am. I recently left the corporate world to pursue my passion for writing and storytelling. My new book The Long Walk Home: How I Lost My Job As a Corporate Remora Fish (Blydyn Square Books) is due out in early 2022. I'm healthy, happy, and going after my dreams.
In this blog, I share my journey and things I've learned along the way. You'll find here random musings on fatherhood, relationships, career, the path to enlightenment, and the simple joys of life - all told from a man's perspective. I also share insights into the subtle and sometimes insidious ways that big companies are working to influence your perceptions and buying decisions through their marketing campaigns.