Letting Go of Opportunities

Back in 2015, I had an opportunity drop in my lap. An opportunity to become a certified consultant for a very popular software application used by millions of people around the world. I've used this software application extensively for over 5 years, relied upon it for professional and personal tech information, and have taught a class on this software for beginners. This opportunity would give me increased publicity about my skills as a technologist. I would see increased freelance tech gigs with businesses where I could charge a great deal of money per hour. The path to this opportunity was achievable, and in most cases my typical self would be charging forward with this opportunity like a rampaging bull.

Instead, I chose to let go of this opportunity.

I'm still sorting out why, but my gut reaction was yelling at me that this software application will be experiencing troubles in the future. What once was a great innovation in cross-platform information accessibility a half-decade ago has not seen any updates with new features in quite some time. Also, I'm seeing a number of technologists on the web, some of them are influences of mine, forecasting this software's demise. Plus, I'm seeing a number of competitors rising in popularity; some of whom are real contenders for me to switch. Oh, by the way, this software company just increased their fees around 30% from their previous rate. More money to pay for no value-added features? Color me suspicious. I guess what it boils down to is this: I don't want to invest my time in something that I don't believe in. I don't want to get paid for advising and training others on something that may not be around in the near future. And I don't want to be associated with a technological sinking ship. The software applications I suggest, the websites I publicize, the music I recommend; I believe in them, and I stand behind their quality.