{"id":1023377,"date":"2026-06-13T05:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1023377\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T05:00:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T05:00:16","slug":"do-what-you-love-papa-how-a-daughter-inspired-her-44-year-old-laid-off-dad-to-launch-a-startup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1023377\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Do what you love, Papa’: How a daughter inspired her 44-year-old laid-off dad to launch a startup"},"content":{"rendered":"

A powerful LinkedIn<\/a> post has gone viral after an entrepreneur decided to openly celebrate his “layoff anniversary” rather than hide it. Reflecting on the toughest year of his career, the founder detailed five vital life lessons on resilience, including a poignant conversation with his daughter that completely altered his career trajectory. Social media has flooded the post with admiration, praising his family’s unwavering support in turning corporate rejection into professional freedom.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe man who restarted his career after being laid off at 44. (LinkedIn\/Himanshu Jha)<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I am celebrating my first layoff<\/a> anniversary. Yes, celebrating,\u201d founder Himanshu Jha wrote on LinkedIn. Sharing his story, he posted, \u201cOne year ago, I was laid off. At that time, it felt like a difficult chapter, maybe even one of the hardest moments of my professional life. But today, when I look back, I can honestly say this has been the best one year of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: <\/strong>\u20b94 LPA job at TCS to make nearly \u20b914 LPA on her own terms: \u2018Couldn\u2019t afford expensive education\u2019”>Kanpur girl leaves \u20b94 LPA job at TCS to make nearly \u20b914 LPA on her own terms: \u2018Couldn\u2019t afford expensive education\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cAt 44, I restarted my journey as an entrepreneur. I chose to build something of my own,\u201d adding, \u201cI chose to follow the path that gave me meaning, energy, and purpose. And today, I truly love what I am doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then shared five lessons that life taught him after being laid off, including a moment with his daughter that inspired him to launch his startup. He shared that the first lesson he learned was how important it was to have your life partner\u2019s support. He further thanked his wife, Arzoo Jha, for standing beside him and believing in him.<\/p>\n

Jha continued that life also taught him that it was ok to restart at any age. \u201cA layoff is not the end. A career setback is not your final identity. Sometimes life pushes you out of comfort so you can finally build the life you were meant to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then talked about his \u201csecret co-founder\u201d – his daughter. \u201c3rd lesson came from my daughter. She asked me to follow my dream, and that is why I lovingly call her my secret co-founder. One day, while playing Scrabble, she said something very simple: \u2018Do what you love, Papa.\u2019 Simple words, but they carried the deepest truth. Her belief reminded me that we should not only teach our children courage; we should also show them what courage looks like.<\/p>\n

Though Jha embraced it as a lesson, he learned that during the difficult times, not everyone stays. \u201cSome friends and relatives may be the first to disappear when you need them the most. But that also teaches you who truly matters, who genuinely supports you, and who deserves a place in your journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The founder also reminded everyone about their \u201cbiggest asset\u201d, their health and how it\u2019s important to focus on self. The founder also emphasised that \u201chealth is your biggest asset,\u201d noting the deep importance of focusing on oneself, routine, and inner peace after years of chasing corporate goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly today, I don\u2019t see my layoff as a loss. I see it as a turning point. And most importantly, it gave me the opportunity to build something I truly believe in. To anyone going through a layoff, career break, or difficult transition, please remember this: Your story is not over. Sometimes the chapter you fear the most becomes the chapter that changes your life,\u201d he wrote as a concluding part of his post.<\/p>\n

What did social media say?<\/p>\n

An individual shared, \u201cMany things in life turn out to be blessings in disguise. The only mistake is to remain trapped in the past instead of moving forward and embracing what comes next. Glad that things have worked out well for you.\u201d Another expressed, \u201cCongratulations on the journey and the lessons you’ve shared. One thought that resonated with me is that major life events often reveal what truly matters is health, family, relationships, and purpose. I also wonder whether entrepreneurship was not created by the layoff itself, but a dream that already existed and simply found its moment. For many professionals, purpose is not always found by leaving the path they are on, but by continuing to grow and create impact where they already are. Thank you for sharing such an honest reflection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also Read: <\/strong>\u20b92 crore US job, gets green card and buys parents a house”>Dharavi-born techie lands \u20b92 crore US job, gets green card and buys parents a house<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A third posted, \u201cHimanshu Jha, the maturity in your observation regarding the \u2018painful but real\u2019 thinning of one’s network is profound. Identifying those who genuinely matter during transition phases is a harsh but necessary part of building a resilient foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fourth wrote, \u201cThis is such a great reminder of how life can throw curveballs at you and you keep going. Not giving up and believing in yourself is the one skill that will let you figure things out. I hope a year later, I\u2019ll come back with a similar story. To everyone facing this, start moving and keep moving. Thanks for sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A powerful LinkedIn post has gone viral after an entrepreneur decided to openly celebrate his “layoff anniversary” rather…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1023378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3094],"tags":[51,16304,282897,3134,75836,3859,3321,16,15,416],"class_list":["post-1023377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-dad","tag-daighter","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-layoff","tag-linkedin","tag-startup","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-viral"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116741042234225441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1023377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1023377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1023377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1023378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1023377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1023377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1023377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}