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Every success book or life coach seminar out there can tell you that failure is just a steppingstone toward success. That sounds easier to accept than it really is. Everybody gets caught up in the day-to-day of work, and it’s easy to forget the basic rules and feel like a failure after something doesn’t work out. So as an example, I asked one of my Ticket To Travel agents, Cheryl, to share a recent booking story. Here’s what she had to say.

THE KNOWLEDGE: Friends and family will often take it for granted that it’s okay to use your travel knowledge but then not book with you. I was asked if I would book a Caribbean vacation for a relative and her spouse, as well as three other couples. They wanted to visit the Caribbean and stay at an all-inclusive resort for seven nights anytime during the months of March or April. Their request was to travel during the least expensive time during that two-month period. Two of the couples lived in a different city so they required packages that included air from a different destination. I spent many hours researching travel packages from both cities and suggested Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

THE FAILURE: I spent hours searching and reading reviews for a resort that not only fit their budget but also included all of the amenities that would make their vacation special. When I presented the package information to her, she agreed that the resort I found was perfect for them and then booked the packages using an online agency with my exact information and flights.

She said found the package online for $20 less per couple. When I discovered what she had done she said she didn’t feel it was a big deal to use me in this manner since I was family.

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THE PAYOFF: A couple of weeks later I was contacted by a couple and their friends who wanted to take an all-inclusive trip to the Dominican Republic with similar amenities requested by my relative. All of my previous research paid off , and I was able to use that knowledge to quickly book three suites at the resort that I had chosen for my relative. The trip turned out so nice that this couple contacted me upon their return and booked an Alaskan cruise with their two kids.

THE LESSON: Your first instinct is to feel disappointed in yourself when the time and energy you invest in a prospective booking doesn’t pan out. However, whether an outcome is a success or a failure, you need to sit back and understand what you learned from your hard work. The more you do anything, the better you get at it.