I’ve been in advertising my whole career, so I’m very aware of the churn happening in the industry: ageism, downsizing, clients opting out of the business model. But this weekend, I saw a glimpse of another field that felt scary and eerily familiar.

Last Saturday, after finishing up a freelance gig, I took a Lyft to beautiful LaGuardia Airport. As we hit the road, I noticed the driver was about my age, lived in a nice town in Westchester and was driving a Mercedes SUV. So, I was curious as to how and why he became a Lyft driver.

It turns out he was at Goldman Sachs for 17 years, got pushed out, couldn’t find another job, and ultimately became a Lyft driver to bring in some money.

I was floored. I assumed that once you left Goldman, you’d have your pick of where to go next. Apparently not. He had been out of work for 18 months with no bites.

I’d also assume that if you worked there for 17 years, you’d bank enough to retire when you want. Also, apparently not.

On top of that, in the months since he’d left, other guys like him had been pushed out too. Goldman has reducing head count and hiring younger, cheaper people. All of which means the field of available ex-Goldman guys is suddenly pretty crowded.

The good news is he finally got a job last week. Not as prestigious as Goldman, and he’s going to have to work a lot harder to get by. But at least he’s working full time again. But until that money starts coming through, he’s still driving too.

None of this feels that different than what advertising is going through. In fact, it’s identical. I guess things are churning all over. So I’m glad this guy channeled his inner Rick Ross. Because the lesson seems to be if you stay in the game, keep hustling, keep the faith, things will eventually break your way.