Linda Webbon is a single, professional woman living in San Jose California. She is a mother of two adult married girls and “young” grandmother to five “spectacular” grandchildren.

Her most recent work was as a Senior Account Manager with USA TODAY… having been with this national newspaper for over 18 years. This was a job she loved, where she was frequently recognized for above average performance, handling partnerships with the hotel and hospitality industry. She loved USA TODAY coworkers and considered her business partners like family.

Linda included God in every aspect of her job. She prayed for guidance to make the right decisions at work that would provide win-win results for both the company and their business partners. She also took a stand on not participating with anything she did not believe in which caused some occasional concern with management, yet this was tolerated due to her overall performance.

While Linda now considers herself a Christian, she believes her resistance to organized religion and Church doctrine is what led her to a deep personal relationship with God. Her text shows that integrating spiritual and human factors in a simple way brought the results that she wanted.

Global conditions at time of author’s job loss included President Obama’s imminent inauguration, US economy sliding into recession, questionable Government bailouts of financial institutions, automobile manufacturer bailouts under consideration, and global economy and conditions negatively impacted. There were a high number of home foreclosures, the stock market in decline, and job losses growing nationwide. Predictions were for conditions to get worse on a global scale and the tone was one of fear and uncertainty.

Over the last 18 years, Linda found that she had become excessively devoted, happy, secure, and complacent with the job she grew to love so much. She sees how she let work fill the majority of her needs and time… disproportionate to her deeper personal needs.
She did not want to leave her comfort zone, being happy and mostly satisfied with the status quo. She would not make any life changes, so God enabled life changes with a sudden job loss. While initially shocked and scared, she realized she had been limiting God. He had different plans for her now that would enable her to reach a greater potential, with even greater rewards.

As Linda puts it, “First things first… in time all will be revealed if I simply trust, believe, and follow Him.”

Almaden executive writes a book on 'joy of job loss'

By Stephen Baxter

Almaden Resident
Posted: 06/19/2009 12:29:50 PM PDT

For 18 years, Almaden Valley resident Linda Webbon had made a comfortable living at USA Today, where she was a senior sales manager in Pleasanton. In December, she lost her job.

Webbon said she was shocked and frightened at first, but in the weeks that followed she kept a journal to try glue her life back together. She said she drafted a life plan that addressed her spiritual and emotional needs far beyond her career, and in January she found a Los Gatos publisher to release a book based on her journals called "The Joy of Job Loss."

The 60-page book is intended to lift the spirits of the recently unemployed while offering some principles to find deeper meaning and opportunity in a job loss, according to the publisher.

"It's really intended for those who have lost their job, who know someone who has lost a job or someone who fears losing their job," Webbon said. "I think my story is an example that can have a positive impact on that group."

Webbon, who is single, said that writing helped her realize that stopping work was not a crisis but an opportunity, and her faith in God helped her realize what is important. She has not yet found another job, but she has been promoting her book since it was released in February.

"The Joy of Job Loss" is available for $10 through Amazon.com and Roberts Publishing at www.rp-author.com/Webbon/

  Pae 16, July 10 - July 16,2009