It's a funnel.

Years ago, I vented to my husband, Carl, about a project that I had wanted to do but couldn't get funded. The proposal fell through at the last minute, and I was sad. Now, Carl is 8 years older than me and has plenty of life experience to show for it. He has been not just a partner but also a guide and a sounding board for me over the years. When I expressed my frustration over the failed proposal, he just shrugged. 

"It's a funnel," he said. A career in academia means constantly watching your work get filtered, sifted, and funneled, until only the your very best work remains. You have 100 ideas, but only 50 of them turn into actual proposals. Of those 50, statistically speaking, only about 5 will get funded. Based on my experience, only one will work how it's supposed to, but if you're lucky, you can squeak out a few published papers anyway. It's a funnel.

I'm right in the middle of the funnel right now. This week, I have worked on 3 different proposals and had discussions about a handful more. The white board in my office is full of scribbled titles - ideas for future projects that may or may not come to fruition. Some of them will get filtered out; some of them will be forgotten. A small percentage will make it through and see the light of day. Even some of those that make it will take years of waiting and several stubborn attempts on my part before they are finally funded. But they will make it in the end.

I have always been a firm believer that things happen how and when they're supposed to. I suppose I trust the funnel. And let's be honest, coming up with new ideas is a very fun part of my job! I enjoy proposal writing, so the funnel can stay.