In one of my earlier posts, I spoke about my biggest losses and the lessons learned. I was asked why I had focused so much on the losses. When things go to plan, it’s so easy to focus on the win, so we don’t take the time to learn the lessons on what we did right, whereas with the losses you’re forced to contemplate where you went wrong.
Presently, I’ve found myself reflecting on everything especially the times I’ve been lucky. In this post, I will share a quick story based on recent events.
Some will call me extremely lucky, I believe God came through. I will also share the lessons this situation taught me about life.
Ross, you always seem to land on your feet. – Frank T
This was my friend’s response when I told him I was being let go. I was so angry when he said this.
I replied, “how can I land on my feet with everything that’s happening”?
He responded saying, “in the years I’ve known you, you’ve always done what you said you would”.
I was partly surprised that my friend held me in such high regard, in most cases, the self-belief and faith I have empowers me to overcome most things. But this time just felt a little different.
We were a week into the lockdown and my client announced they were letting go of all the contractors due to COVID – 19 declining their revenue.
My contract was meant to finish in July, so I was caught off guard. In hindsight, this reminded me that we can plan for tomorrow, but we are not in control. Under ‘normal conditions, I wouldn’t have been too worried. However, with the lockdown, hiring freezes, and talks of a recession, what were my chances of finding another contract?
I was overwhelmed to the point I fell ill, I’m not sure if it was coronavirus, but what I will say is I’ve never felt like that before. I had the sweats, felt weak and had a bad cough. Despite all of this I knew I couldn’t lay down feeling sorry for myself, I had to do something. I woke up the next day and performed to the best of my abilities at work, I’ve noticed when people know they’re leaving their standards start to drop, I wanted to be remembered for my work ethic.
At lunch and after work I applied for every Business Analyst contract possible. I repeated this action over and over again. Some say the harder you work the luckier you get, I prefer the saying faith without work is dead. I repeated that action for 20 days and hadn’t got a single response. I started to question myself but committed to the same process. I am a believer that once you have the right process in place, the results will eventually come.
Finally, I received a call, however, the role didn’t meet my salary expectations. I had a decision to make, do I take the first thing offered, or do I trust something better will come? My confidants were advising me to take the role until things get back to normal, but I had faith that something better would come.
Out of the blue, I got a phone call from an ex-colleague about a potential contract. We had worked together in recruitment, so he was familiar with me in that aspect, but he didn’t know how good I was as a Business Analyst. He had reservations about putting me forward for the role. I explained my relevant experience and told him to give me a chance and put me forward. As it was so late in the day, he agreed to put me forward and look for other CVs the following day. He called the next day and said I had been invited to an interview. I was nervous because I really wanted this role.
The interview went well, but the interview was short, it was 38 mins. I was of the mindset that the longer the interview, the better. I was doubtful. I briefed the recruiter, and he said they would probably want to see more CVs.
He then called 20 mins in disbelief, he said that they don’t want to see anyone else. They’ve offered you the role, when can you start, I dropped tears of joy. For this to happen, in this season is either God or luck, I’ll let you decide.
Lessons this taught me:
- Plant the seeds, but remember you don’t control when they sprout. Do the work and trust the process.
- Block out the noise – Focus on your goals, block out the noise, negative comments, and distractions.
- Maintain Relationships – Be kind to everyone you encounter, you never know when you might need them
- Faith – Know what you want, trust it will happen, and take the steps. Thoughts and Actions.
- Belief – Believe it will get better, a positive mindset is mandatory. I’m always expectant of the best.
- Bad Times, don’t last – Life won’t be all smooth sailing, but at this point, I learned to keep positive regardless of what is happening around me.
Be it luck or blessed, I’m thankful. I’m thankful that I was able to learn lessons. There are lessons in everything we just have to learn to pay attention to it.