Sometimes you know you're going to hit a home run--you know the campaign is tight, you know you have the right insights, you know it's right to take that new job, you know the competition is not expecting what's coming at them. Of course that's often the exception, not the rule. And that's OK. But when the timing is right, you know it.
Sometimes it's just slightly off--it *should* work, it's *supposed* to work, but it's just off by a bit. Maybe the opportunity is the right one but it's just not quite the right time to move to it. Maybe by all accounts the customer should have signed but something suddenly came up and they didn't
The key in all of this is to have the awareness that it's all fleeting--when the timing is right one time it's not the other--when things are off suddenly they realign themselves. The other key is to see through the ups and downs and look at the goal you're trying to achieve. Stay focused on it, and the timing tends to work itself out. It may not happen right when you wanted it or expected it, but if you are clear on the goal and what you're trying to do, the timing tends to work itself out in the end.