If you’re an employee, you probably feel like you’re running in place.  You might even feel like you’re stuck in quicksand.  You may not have a lot of money saved up yet to start your own business.  You might not have done very much investing yet.  You might be stuck brainstorming on ideas for products, etc. 

Sometimes it helps to shift your focus to the future in order to speed up your efforts in the present.  One method I have found effective is writing your very own farewell e-mail.

If you work in an office environment, you have probably received these types of e-mails before.  The subject line usually states “Farewell” or “Good-bye.”  The person leaving reminisces of the friends he or she has made and how he or she will miss working in this particular job.  The e-mail will provide some new contact information, perhaps even the e-mail address at the person’s new job. 

I have read so many of these, and they are all mostly the same.  Nevertheless, it helps to write your own, and you can even have some fun with it.  It allows you to write your own rules, instead of succumbing to the rules of others.   

For instance, I was on Above the Law (a blog for lawyers) the other day, and I found this MASTERPIECE of a farewell e-mail: 

From: [REDACTED]
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2004 1:11 PM
Subject: FW: Goodbye…
As many of you are aware, today is my last day at the firm.  It is time for me to move on and I want you to know that I have accepted a position as “Trophy Husband.”  This decision was quite easy and took little consideration.  However, I am confident this new role represents a welcome change in my life and a step up from my current situation.  While I have a high degree of personal respect for [NAME OF FIRM REDACTED] as a law firm, and I have made wonderful friendships during my time here, I am no longer comfortable working for a group largely populated by gossips, backstabbers, and Napoleonic personalities.  In fact, I dare say that I would rather be dressed up like a pinata and beaten than remain with this group any longer.  I wish you continued success in your goals to turn vibrant, productive, dedicated associates into an aimless, shambling group of dry, lifeless husks.
May the smoke from any bridges I burn today be seen far and wide.
Respectfully submitted,
[SIGNED]
P.S.  Achilles absent, was Achilles still.  (Homer)
My favorite part is the quote at the end that he takes from Homer’s The Iliad (the greatest poem ever written).  Although, by using this quote, he’s embellishing his departure a bit more than needed, I still think it’s a great touch.  Obviously, one of the partners labeled him a “trophy husband” for deciding to leave the firm (and, perhaps, the practice of law).  However, his point in using the quote from Homer is that he is more formidable and has more integrity than the degrading “trophy husband” they have made him out to be. 
A similar underestimation occurred in The Iliad.  Achilles withdraws from the war, and the Trojans begin questioning whether he is, in fact, the unstoppable, fearless warrior legend says he is.  After Hector (the Trojan prince) kills Patroclus (Achilles’ cousin), Achilles returns to the fighting.  He challenges Hector, fights him in an epic one-on-one clash, and kills him.  The ensuing passage describes the mood after this epic battle:
At last is Hector stretch’d upon the plain,
Who fear’d no vengeance for Patroclus slain:
Then, Prince! You should have fear’d, what now you feel;
Achilles absent was Achilles still:
Yet a short space the great avenger stayed,
Then low in dust thy strength and glory laid.
The point is that Hector and the rest of the Trojans should not have underestimated Achilles and, instead, should have feared him.  Even though Achilles was “absent,” he was “Achilles still.”
You can approach your current employee life with the same attitude.  The bosses above you underestimate you.  You’re just a cog in a machine designed to build someone else’s business.  However, you are destined for bigger and better (i.e., non-rat race) things.  Look ahead to those days, and work hard at achieving them.  In the midst of that, however, pause, take a break, and write your own farewell e-mail.  Have it ready to go when the day of your departure arrives.
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