You have no idea how much a normal job adds to definition in your life. It is massive. I was recently asked and then submitted a tender to do a piece of work for a company. It really is a wonderful and exciting project and I am more than qualified to do it. I got excited by the prospect of doing a little consulting on the side. Unfortunately, it looks like I will not get this piece of work and that is just the way it is. I am massively disappointed, funny that!

For me, I can decide to learn from the experience or I can decide to crawl into a hole and feel sorry for myself. I don’t like option B and so I need to learn something, fast!

I suppose that there are lessons to be learnt. I should be learning some serious humility, and I am. I am also learning to deal with disappointment. I suppose that I have not had too much failure in my life and so it is about time that I do learn the lessons that it has to offer. I clearly remember one of the first major disappointments in my life, not passing my drivers license first time around. For some or other reason, this cocky self assured little youngster decided that he did not need all of the allowed space to complete the three point turn. Duh, did not make it and was in a state of mild shock when told that he had failed. Many years and many disappointments later and I find that I have not yet worked out how to deal with it.

So my BIG learning is that perhaps there is a bigger plan out there for me. I have yet to see out my year off and already I am looking to sell off blocks of my time. Perhaps there are bigger lessons and bigger opportunities out there for me. Faith that God has a plan for me is really my saving grace, and this realisation has given me some peace of mind.

Time seems to make all of the hurt of failure fade away. How many times have you looked back on your life to times of immense disappointment and actually been glad at how things turned out in the end? I am positive we have all had this experience, so I intend to take it all in my stride and run with it!

Anyway, this was another of those nothing ventured, nothing gained kinds of experiences. Not getting the work really does not make a big difference to my plan although it would have been fun, full of learning and a great experience. So, I committed emotionally, I sold a small amount of my time and I did not get what I wanted. I will survive and I will try again!

My wife tells me I am supposed to be writing a book and that I should get on with it. Point taken!!!