What happens when your plans don’t work out?

Adventure is what happens when your plans don’t work out and you have to improvise. (This is the South Coast of Crete)

My plans in 2001 were to help develop a new product offering for Sun Microsystems. Unfortunately for my plans, Sun offloaded several thousand of us in an effort to become profitable.

As a result, in April of 2002 I found myself on the Southwest coast of the Island of Crete researching lost cities for a historical fantasy I was writing.

I had chartered a small boat so that my guide and I could explore sites of ancient cities accessible only by boat. As we moved eastward on the empty sea, the morning sun dispelled mist from the towering cliffs and turned the water the brightest blue I have ever seen.

Sometime during this morning, I realized that I had embarked on an adventure that would never lead back to working in a cubicle again.

It is now six years later and the memories of that research trip are still with me. It wasn’t a vacation. It was a learning experience of the highest order and it all came about because my carefully executed plans for a life in high tech did not work out.

I still make plans and strive to execute them, but if circumstances change for reasons beyond my control, I am reasonably sure that adventure waits ahead. It always has and is now something to look forward to.

May those of you currently facing adversity find a similar adventure on the other side.