How a Laid-Off Gen Xer Used Category Design for a Comeback

Don't call it a comeback, I been here for years.

I thought of that LL Cool J line after Fernando and I wrapped our podcast.

Fernando was laid off, running out of money and scrambling.

Even crazier, he decided he wasn’t going to look for a job.

Nope, he chose a different path.

And guess what, he figured out.

And his turnaround didn’t happen because he reinvented everything about himself.

It happened because he finally stopped trying to squeeze back into the same corporate box that kept pushing him out.

He made one shift that changed the whole trajectory:

He stopped positioning himself as an employee and started positioning himself as a category of one.

Once that clicked?

Everything else followed.

Not overnight.

But it finally lined up in a way that felt like forward movement instead of survival mode

Gen X was raised on this idea of being “hireable.”

Be flexible.

Be easy to work with.

Be someone who can fit anywhere.

But eventually you wake up and realize:

When you fit anywhere, you stand out nowhere.

That’s where Fernando kept getting stuck.

He had the skills, the experience and the track record.

But in the job market? He became another résumé in a pile (or the 2025 version of an endless Indeed feed).

Then he made the move most of us avoid because it feels risky:

He stopped trying to be the “safe choice” and positioned himself as the specific choice.

That shift unlocked everything.

Here’s how it happened, minus the motivational nonsense:

1. He quit the job chase.

He claimed a lane: Category Design Strategist Gen X and Boomer Tech Founders.
Not vague.
Not generalist.
A lane with edges.

2. He started posting with clarity.

Not perfect.
Not polished.
Just honest thoughts aimed at the people who needed them.

And for the first time, the right folks noticed—
founders, creators, small startup teams.

3. He joined a community and actually participated.

Not lurking.
Not screenshotting.
Showing up. Asking questions. Helping people.

And the room started seeing him differently.

4. His first client came through relationships.

No hustle hacks.
No viral posts.
Just someone who had been following his writing asking,
“Can you help with this?”

That first small project gave him something better than money:
proof.

5. He stacked the wins.

A tiny testimonial here.
A result there.
More confidence.
More clarity.
More momentum.

That’s what rebuilding looks like in midlife.
Not fireworks.
Pattern recognition.

LL Cool J — “Mama Said Knock You Out”

This song hits a lot different at my age than it did when I was in my teens.

Back then, it was more about puffing out your chest.

Now, this song hits more like F-U I'm doing this. Hold my beer!

Great song for todays theme. I mean check out the opening lines…

See what I mean?

Now put that to music…

You don’t need to go viral.

You don’t need to reinvent yourself.

You don’t need to grind your way back into “hireable.”

You need a lane you actually own.

When you name your category, the right people know where to find you.

Fernando is hosting The Strike Marketing Summit on Dec 11–12 — a two-day deep dive into creating category-defining moments (instead of grinding through slow-burn marketing).

You’ll learn how to:

If you want your next chapter to move faster this is worth a look.

👉 Learn About The Summit here

Corey

P.S. I almost forgot, if you missed it, listen to the podcast I did with Fernando here.