Fortunate Life

Nature has a way of teaching us lessons we often overlook in our busy lives—lessons about patience, resilience, and growth. Sometimes, the simplest observations carry the deepest wisdom. I grow vegetables in my backyard, and I’ve learned this firsthand. Some plants don’t survive, especially during the rainy season here in the province. There are days when I’m busy or out of town, and I can’t tend to them as much as I’d like. At first, I felt frustrated when plants withered despite my care. But over time, I realized that not every seed will thrive under the circumstances we face. So, I adapted. I started planting cassava. It doesn’t demand constant attention, and yet it grows steadily, silently, and persistently. It reminded me that growth doesn’t always need constant oversight—sometimes, resilience and patience are enough. Nature also teaches us lessons in subtle strength. Take bamboo, for instance. It spends its first years developing deep roots beneath the soil, unseen and silent....

  When I first started freelancing, I had so much hope. I imagined landing projects, building a career, and finally having the freedom to work on my own terms. But the reality was far harder than I expected. Day after day, I sent out proposals and heard nothing back. No projects. No clients. No wins. Each day of not finding work chipped away at my self-worth. Slowly, my hope started fading. I fell into a depression I didn’t talk about with anyone. Pride kept me quiet. I didn’t want people to see me struggling or to think I had failed. It got to a point where I stopped sending proposals altogether. Instead, I’d spend days just watching TV. I stopped cleaning the house. I stopped cooking and would just order takeout. I felt stuck—like I had reached a dead end before my freelancing journey even really began. Then one day, a friend messaged me out of the blue. He told me he had enrolled in a class and was learning so many new things. That message struck a chord. It made me realize t...

Failure used to feel like the end of the road for me. Whenever I got something wrong—whether it was a project that didn’t push through, a proposal that went unanswered, or a decision that didn’t work out—I would sink into self-blame. I’d ask myself: “Why didn’t I do better?” or “What’s wrong with me?” But over time, I realized something I never thought I’d say: failure can be a gift. One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned as a freelancer and trainer is that no matter how carefully you plan, things don’t always go the way you expect. I remember one particular project I was so excited about. I poured in resources, invested my time, and even put in my own money to make sure everything would run smoothly. I believed it would pay off. But then, things fell apart. The project got canceled, and just like that—I lost not only the opportunity but also the money I had put in. It hurt deeply. I felt foolish, like I had gambled and lost. For a while, I replayed the decision over and over in m...

  One of the first things freelancing taught me is that nothing is set in stone. Projects come and go. Clients change their minds. Proposals get ignored. Plans don’t always unfold the way I hoped. At first, I found this exhausting. I wanted stability, predictability, the comfort of knowing exactly what tomorrow would look like. But freelancing doesn’t always give you that. Instead, it teaches you how to bend without breaking. I’ve experienced projects being canceled or put on hiatus all of a sudden, with clients saying, “We’ll let you know when this starts again.” Or those dreaded Friday conversations where a client tells you not to come online on Monday because they lost accounts and had to let people go. Even if I had already foreseen it coming—like when I noticed they were losing clients—it still hurt. Especially knowing that my single fee could easily pay two people on their team. Those moments felt like a punch in the gut. But in hindsight, they also became small lessons in...

We love the idea of growth. We talk about becoming better versions of ourselves, chasing success, and reaching new milestones. But what we don’t always talk about is this: growth doesn’t feel good while it’s happening. In fact, it often feels uncomfortable. Think about the first time you tried something new—your first client call, your first training session, your first big pitch. Chances are, you felt nervous, unprepared, maybe even like you didn’t belong. That discomfort wasn’t a sign that you were failing—it was a sign that you were growing. As a freelancer, I’ve sent proposals that stretched me out of my comfort zone. I’ve said “yes” to projects that scared me because they demanded skills I wasn’t sure I had. In those moments, I questioned myself: What if I mess this up? What if I’m not ready? But looking back, those were the very experiences that expanded my skills and confidence. Growth feels uncomfortable because it asks us to step into the unknown. It demands we let go of...

  If there’s one thing life is good at, it’s surprising us. No matter how carefully we plan, things don’t always unfold the way we expect. Sometimes it’s a small disruption, like a client canceling at the last minute. Other times, it’s bigger—like a career path that suddenly shifts, or personal plans that fall apart despite your best intentions. I used to believe that if I worked hard enough, I could control the outcomes. That if I put in the hours, followed the steps, and stayed disciplined, life would reward me with predictable results. But reality taught me something different: effort matters, but control is limited. And that’s where resilience comes in. Bouncing back doesn’t mean ignoring the disappointment. It doesn’t mean pretending you’re fine when you’re not. It’s about acknowledging the setback, learning what you can, and then choosing to keep moving. As a freelancer, I know how discouraging it feels when you send out proposals—and get nothing back. That silence can ...