Failure is as Common as Success

It doesn't take much brain power to realize this, because we prefer to hear success stories.

But failure stories are just as common.

I was visiting with a friend yesterday who had gone from riches to rags, without realizing it. An amazingly common story.

She was working for an American couple, helping them rent their house in Turrialba on airbnb. The perfect job for her, because she speaks Spanish and English fluently and she has a car. She would do a meet and greet in Turrialba, and then show them the way to the house by driving on the mountain roads up there, closely followed by the renters, in their rental car.

The view from the house, looking down on the valley below is magnificent, with a view of the Turrialba volcano in the distance, making lots of steam. The house is fully equipped, with food in the refrigerator. This is the easy part.

When the rental ends a week later she has to get busy. Everything in the house has to be cleaned, especially in the bedrooms. She has local help to do this for her, but she has to make sure it is done.

The same for the outside of the house. Weeds grow rapidly, and they have to be cut down. Even the rocks have to be picked up, so everthing doesn't roll downhill. And all this has to be done it one day, to make it ready for the next renters!

It gets done, and Airbnb reimburses the owners, who also pay her adequately. She makes enough to have a fine new car. She works hard, but only for a little while. She makes plenty by local standards.

What happened to mess this up? I do not know, but it did happen. And I know she did not know it had happened. When I last visted her and her family they did not know either.

Ignorance runs in families.