This week I took on another client, which is just as well, the Network Rail contract is now in wind down mode and will finally end by April. It’s been good for me, but it was always a short-term opportunity and I made the most of it – it has paid for my new R1200RT LC. However, as I still have a few weeks left, I told the new client that I am booked up until February. His response was that as I am a busy man, he had better get into the diary as soon as he can, so booked time in February and March.
I was reflecting on this with one of my motorcycle training colleagues yesterday – it seems the busier I get, the more work comes in. Indeed, during the summer, I was so busy, I was turning work away, which went against the grain given my experience of a couple of years ago. And it was this, I mentioned to my colleague – it would have been nice to have been in this postilion when I lost the contract I was working on when living in France. The collapse, the rushed house sale at a loss and the trashing of my credit rating – not to mention the anguish – would all have been avoided.
Yes, she pointed out, but that would have meant I wouldn’t be doing this. And she is right. At no time had I considered motorcycle training. That only occurred when I had exhausted all the other avenues and I started to wonder about what else I could do to get me out of Sainsbury’s. There is also another point here – had it not been for that collapse, I would still be servicing large debt run up as a consequence of trying to commute from France and working for a client that was somewhat tardy with the invoice payments. The result of which, I ran up huge credit card debts just to even out the cashflow. That horrible period meant that I was able to settle my debts and stay debt-free since. It means that I can save for what I want – yes, I should have been doing that anyway, but matters once out of hand just got worse.
So, yeah, it was bad, but on reflection it all turned out for the best in that I am in a better place now for it having happened than I would have been if it hadn’t.
Makes you think, eh?
“…but on reflection it all turned out for the best…”
But not of its own accord, old lad:- I believe the fact that you got off your backside, looked around and actively sought something (as opposed to sitting back and whingeing about benefit levels) might just have had something to do with it.
As I said to my son, “Life isn’t fair:- life isn’t unfair either. Life just is. It’s up to you what you do with it and make of it.”
Well, yes. I wasn’t going to sit about hoping for something to happen – but what strikes me is that the pain has proved worthwhile. A kind of washing away the poison, leaving me able to start anew.
XX it seems the busier I get, the more work comes in. XX
“Word of mouth effect?”
Quite a lot of that as it turns out.