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Hey – It's Ash!
It's been a while, and a lot has happened since my last email. I hope everything is going well on your end.
Have you ever felt that life's biggest setbacks are often disguised opportunities?
Looking back, everything that didn't go as planned and made me feel angry, depressed, or frustrated—moments that seemed like the end of the world—ended up leading to something much better.
Maybe I'm biased, but it's a pattern I keep noticing.
Today, I want to share a series of events that have completely shifted my perspective on life.
In April, I was supposed to move to San Francisco for three months to join a tech startup and step out of my comfort zone.
I told all my friends and family, boarded an 11-hour flight, and was brimming with excitement.
But upon arrival, I was stopped, pulled aside, interrogated, and detained for over six hours.
Due to a miscommunication and a paperwork mistake between the startup and me, the border officers had to send me back home that same day. Two 11-hour flights in one day.
As I boarded the flight back home, I felt a wave of disappointment and frustration.
The excitement of a new adventure in San Francisco had vanished, replaced by uncertainty.
After the painful ordeal of being denied entry to the US, I felt bitter and struggled to move on.
Then, two weeks later, I got a severe infection in my wisdom teeth, leaving me in excruciating pain and unable to move or eat solid foods for a week.
After a long wait, I finally underwent surgery to extract my wisdom teeth.
If I had been in America, I would have had to pay a big fee to get the surgery done or return home on a last-minute flight, so in hindsight, I was glad to be home.
After recovering from the surgery, I decided to fly to England to stay with my grandma for a month.
That trip turned out to be fantastic.
Not only did I have the time of my life spending quality time with her, but I also met many new fascinating people in London who opened doors for me and inspired me to think much bigger.
Not being allowed entry to the US enabled all these other experiences, which felt much more in tune with me.
When a door closes, another opens.
If we don't let the disappointment of the first door closing hold us back, we can step through the new door, which often leads to a better adventure.
This pattern of unexpected blessings has appeared in other parts of my life as well.
When I transitioned from primary to secondary school, my parents chose a beautiful high school next to our home, in a beautiful park, thinking it would be a perfect fit.
However, on the very first day, some older kids approached me and promised to make my life miserable.
They lived up to their threat, bullying and intimidating me for a whole year.
One Friday afternoon, they followed me to a quieter area where they attacked me, stole my phone, and beat me up badly.
It was four against one, and I was left traumatized, suffering from severe social anxiety for months.
When I began to recover, my parents found a new school for me.
There, I had an amazing time, forming lasting friendships and making wonderful memories.
In hindsight, despite the initial trauma, it was a blessing in disguise.
Without that difficult experience, I would never have met the incredible people at my new school.
Before heading to San Francisco, I lost a $15,000 crypto investment due to a mistake I made when writing down my password.
I felt incredibly unlucky and angry at myself for making such a stupid mistake.
Just two days after losing the investment, I received an email from one of the biggest business influencers looking for an illustrator for her book.
It turned out to be one of the best clients I've ever worked with, and I had a fantastic time with their team.
If I hadn't lost that investment, I would have passed on the opportunity because I was planning to move to San Francisco and didn't want to overload my schedule.
Because of my financial loss, I said yes, and it just happened to become one of my most successful projects to date.
In retrospect, these setbacks weren't setbacks at all—they were redirections, guiding me toward experiences that helped me grow in ways I couldn't have imagined.
Perhaps every obstacle is just a stepping stone in disguise, leading us closer to where we’re meant to be.
In London catching up with Anne-Laure, the founder of Ness Labs!
Check out her articles on curiosity and creativity, they’re fantastic.
Much love and respect!
Ash Lamb
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P.S:
If this story has resonated with you, here's an old Chinese parable that directly relates to it.
Once upon a time, there was a Chinese farmer whose horse ran away. That evening, all his neighbours came to commiserate. They said, “We are so sorry to hear your horse has run away. This is most unfortunate.” The farmer replied, “Maybe.”
The next day, the horse returned, bringing seven wild horses with it. In the evening, everyone came back and said, “Oh, isn’t that lucky? What a great turn of events! You now have eight horses!” The farmer again replied, “Maybe.”
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses. While riding it, he was thrown and broke his leg. The neighbours said, “Oh dear, that’s too bad,” and the farmer responded, “Maybe.”
The next day, conscription officers came to draft people into the army. They rejected his son because he had a broken leg. Again, the neighbours came around and said, “Isn’t that great?” Again, he replied, “Maybe.”
The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity, and it’s impossible to tell whether anything that happens is good or bad. You never know what the consequences of misfortune or good fortune will be.
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