When the Title Disappears

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In every corner of work today—whether it’s corporate, creative, entrepreneurial, or somewhere in the blurry middle—one truth keeps resurfacing: titles, platforms, and affiliations are temporary.

The job that once felt permanent can shift without warning. The show that seemed guaranteed can lose funding. The client pipeline that looked steady can dry up overnight. Yet many of us still build our identity around whatever gives us stability in the moment: a company name, a role on set, a thriving client list, a successful season, a viral moment.

It feels solid until the industry changes, the algorithm changes, the budget changes, or life itself changes. And suddenly the thing we thought defined us slips out of our hands, revealing how much of our confidence was tied to something we never truly controlled.

That’s why this season is demanding a deeper kind of clarity: Who are you when the title, platform, or project falls away?

The people navigating today’s uncertainty best aren’t the ones with the flashiest résumés or the hottest credits. They are the ones who built their identity on something more durable. They invest in their character, their craft, their relationships, their body of work, their spiritual grounding, and their ability to adapt.

They cultivate a reputation that travels with them whether they’re on payroll, on contract, between gigs, or launching their own thing. They know that roles change, opportunities evolve, and industries reinvent themselves, but purpose and integrity don’t expire.

Jesus once described two builders—one who built his house on rock, and another who built on sand. When the storms came, only one structure stood (Matthew 7:24–25).

If we build who we are on titles, platforms, seasons, or affiliations, we’re building on sand. But when we build on character, discipline, integrity, and the quiet work no one sees—that’s the rock. That’s the part of our life that holds steady when everything around us shifts.

That thought hit home for me in a small but meaningful way this week. When I moved a couple of months ago, my gym routine completely collapsed. I kept telling myself I’d jump back in soon, but the longer I waited, the harder it became to start. This week, I finally stopped delaying. I shared a quick reel about it if you missed it. Check it out: