Mike, your journey resonates deeply, echoing the shifting sands beneath so many of us. Your experience with layoff and the subsequent struggle in the job market is a stark reminder of the need to constantly evolve and adapt.

One approach I've found useful is to cultivate a "portfolio career," where you have a core set of skills but always work on developing "edges." Think of it as a core, surrounded by nascent options. Your core might be project management, but an edge could be data analysis, UX design, or even something outside the traditional realm, like podcast production.

This echoes the Wardley concept of pioneers, settlers, and town planners. Your core skills may be well-established (town planners), but it's the pioneers at the uncharted edges that provide future resilience and optionality. I spent several years developing my coding skills (as a pioneer), even though my core was operations. That edge later allowed me to navigate a period of industry disruption, almost effortlessly.

The future belongs to those who can build a raft of such edges, creating a dynamic and adaptable portfolio. The question isn't just what you're good at now, but what you could be good at tomorrow. That exploration is how we not just weather the storm, but harness it.

What novel edge will you begin exploring today? That, my friend, is the question that defines not just our careers but our very essence in a world that never stands still. The comfortable path may vanish, but the uncharted path always holds opportunity. Which will you choose? For in the echoes of our choices, we define ourselves, and shape a destiny worth living, a future carved not from certainty but from courage.