It took me a long time to make the decision to leave my old company. In fact, I was working on making the decision even before I was hired on. But when I was very close to the decision, I was spending my time weighing my options. I figured that I’d do some boring work for a while, but eventually, I’d get to the point where I’d be doing web and magazine work all the time. I even figured that I could freelance for my old company if I wanted to, and make some extra cash. They were reliable, after all, even if they were late.

Around that time, I got a phone call from one of my editors. Although we weren’t friends, he was a pretty cool guy to know, and I really enjoyed working with him. He even interviewed me for a job position a few years back, and he always fed me stories to write. It was a good source of work, because the articles came to me, and I just had to turn them out quickly. I had just done that a few weeks before this phone call, in fact, and I was expecting a check in the mail pretty soon.

Turns out, that check would never come.

That’s because two days before print, the parent company decided to shut down the magazine. Another group of talented editors were sent to the unemployment line, and freelancers were left twisting in the wind. My articles were sent to another magazine, but chances are, they won’t run. And if they do, another author will be on the byline, and I won’t get paid. It’s the way things work sometimes, unfortunately. Thing is, there was nothing I, nor my editor, could do about it.

I got this news just a few days before I was planning on putting in my notice. I had banked on that money to push me through November or December, and this cancellation put my whole plan in doubt. Should I really go out on my own? Should I take that step?

That situation taught me something that helps me in my business today: Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. It’s an old saying for sure, but in that situation it really rang true. I was counting on money that I did not yet have – and anything could happen between now and then that could change things. That’s why today, I do my budgeting a little bit differently. That way, I don’t have to worry before things happen.

Which is why the news that my old company filed for Chapter 11 on Tuesday didn’t really hit me that hard. On the one hand, it did – but only because my friends still work there. But on the other, even though I was owed money and it was likely I’d never see it, I knew that things would still be alright. I hadn’t counted my chickens. I knew that this might happen – what with having a bit of insider information – but I still did my job and wrote the stories because they were entertaining to me, and something I wanted to do. The contacts I made from those pieces put me in a better place, and it was really an enjoyable experience. Point is, it wasn’t a waste of my time.

That’s not to say that I’m fine with people not paying me. Fact is, were this not a bankruptcy situation, I’d sue. But knowing that there’s still a slight chance I’ll be paid helps soften the blow a bit, even though it still bites in the short term.

After all, there’s nothing I can do to change the situation. All I can do is keep on rolling forward.