Stay In Your Lane.

That’s what they don’t say—but always mean.

I’ve lost jobs not because I didn’t do the work. I did exactly what was asked. And then I had the audacity to do more. To offer ideas. To care. To say, “Hey, what if we improved this?”

Wrong move.

At every job I’ve had—retail, freelance, agency, whatever—I see systems that could be better. Stockrooms I could organize. Teams I could help streamline. Stories I could tell more honestly.

But that’s not what they want. They want the illusion of order, not the real thing. The owner wants the stockroom a mess—his mess. Because denial of access is power. Because if I clean it, if I make it better, suddenly I’m too useful. Too visible. A threat.

In corporate America, elevating others means your own crown loses jewels. So keep your head down. Do the job. Don’t ask questions. Don’t shine too bright.

Meanwhile, on LinkedIn, it’s applause all around for “thought leaders” posting humblebrags dressed up as wisdom. “So honored to announce…” “Grateful for the opportunity…” Yay corporatism.

But if you post something real—like how selling shit people don’t need for a living makes your soul itch—you’ll get silence. Or worse, the career coaches show up in the comments to scold you.

Career coaches. Media trainers.

Fucking whittlers.

Slicing off the parts of you that matter—the strange, beautiful, jagged parts—so they can hand you back a bland, safe version of yourself. One they can bill by the hour.