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Building A Dream Life

Little Things Are What Big Things Are Made Of

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The Importance of Paying Attention to Details

 

Big things start out as little things. I’m sure that you’ve heard it said, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” I would argue the opposite. I think the small stuff is exactly what we should sweat. Little things accumulated over time are what big things are made of. The things we read, listen to, watch, eat, say, think, do, use, etc. become bigger and bigger even if we aren’t paying any attention to them. Sometimes especially when we aren’t.

Details are critical to every outcome. We start in one direction only to realize later that we aren’t where we wanted to be. Whether you’re building a model car, a building, a business or your life. You need to constantly be paying attention to the details to be sure things are proceeding the way you want.

 

1/16” is a measurement small enough that many people don’t even know where it is on a tape measure. This seemingly insignificant dimension can have a profound impact. When laying out a 100’ long building foundation, being off by just 1/16” in the first foot will increase to more than a 6” mistake in the end.

 

How about a little thing like a nail? What if when building a house, the builder decided that nails were too small to be concerned with. A detail that would take too much time to worry about. How well do you think that house would be built? A 1200 -1500 square foot house typically uses around 12,000 nails. That’s a lot of little things to leave out.

 

 

Often if someone sees a penny on the ground they will leave it there. It isn’t worth bending over and picking it up. It is just a penny, one cent. Most of us at some time have saved loose change in a piggy bank or a jar. It always amazed me how much could be accumulated in a relatively small period of time. The first banker that I met as a teenager told me, “If you take care of the pennies, the dollars will take care of themselves.” Another small thing that can make a big difference.

 

Time is another big thing made up of little things. There are 86,400 seconds in a 24-hour day. 86,400 is a big number, but that’s only 3,600 minutes per day. 60 seconds per minute multiplied by sixty minutes per hour multiplied by 24 hours per day. And that quickly 86,400 seconds have been spent. We all know how fast time goes, so we need to be intentional how we spend each and every one of the seconds which we have been given.

 

 

My Grandpa told me that “if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right”. Paying attention to the details is a part of doing things right

 

Paying attention to details is one of my core values. Find more about my other core values here:

https://www.solutionbuilding.net/using-core-values-as-my-life-filter/

https://www.solutionbuilding.net/getting-back-to-the-core/

https://www.solutionbuilding.net/the-importance-of-intentionality-for-building-your-dream-life/

https://www.solutionbuilding.net/taking-off-the-blinders-helps-you-see-the-big-picture/

 

A book full of examples of little things that I would recommend reading, is “The Little Things, Why You Really SHOULD Sweat the Small Stuff”, by Andy Andrews.

 

Taking Off the Blinders Helps You See the Big Picture

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Without A Vision…You Run into Things

One of my core values is, “take off the blinders, be more observant”. I told you in a previously post that I would go into each of them in more detail later, so here’s the third one.

Core values are foundational for the life that God designed for each of us. They are critical for building our best life.

We all have core values, whether intentional or not. You may not have given much thought to yours, but they are there regardless. It is important to think about the ones you’re building your life with and choose the right ones.

I decided to write about this core value while reading “The Seventh Most Important Thing”, by Shelley Pearsall. In the story Mr. Hampton leaves a hand-written message for Arthur on a piece of cardboard, “where there is no vision, the people parish”. Arthur is a teenage boy struggling through adolescence and the death of his father. He has no idea what this saying means. At this point Arthur can’t see past all the bad things happening in his life. He has blinders on.

I think there are a lot of people like Arthur. They just show up to life each day without any vision or plan for what their life could should be. Trudging through life focused on a narrow image. Neglecting or are unable to see the bigger picture. It is like they have blinders on that allow them to only see the slim view of what is directly in front of them.

I chose this as one of my core values because I certainly can be too focused on my work and neglect other areas of my life. My core values serve two different purposes. One is to confirm my natural strengths. The other is to remind me of my weaknesses. I need to keep both of these in sight to help me “find and maintain the balance” (another core value for a later post).

I want to work toward building the dream life that the Master Architect designed specifically for me and “honor God in all that I do”. If I am going to do this I need to take “intentional action” in the construction of that life. I also need to be open to new and different ideas and input from other people and places. I need to “take off my blinders and be more observant”.

It has been my experience when building a building that people have a dream of what they envision the finished project to look like. The problem is, they don’t know how to get that dream from their head to a physical structure. This is where vision comes in. The vision is the process of taking the imagined and turning it into reality. This provides a clear and intentional plan for building the dream.

It is helpful to have experienced professionals (architects, engineers, contractors, etc.) guide the construction process. The same is true in building a business or life.

If you have questions about turning your dreams into reality contact us below.

 

The Importance of Intentionality for Building Your Dream Life

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Because It Isn’t Going to Magically Build Itself

For years people have asked me where I came up with the business system and procedures that I use. As I thought about it, I realized that my business and life had been developing for years without much intentionality.

After my accident in 2012 it caused me to think about what my life was and what I had expected it to be. Not that my life was terrible before, it just wasn’t what I had envisioned it to be. I had been living without a clear plan and there was so much more that I wanted to accomplish.

At that point I decided to become more intentional. I’ve always been a planner but it’s sad that it took a hit in the head for me to realize the importance of being intentional about the plan.

When we’re young the tendency is to think that we’ll have all the time we need. There’s no hurry to plan for the future…we’ll get around to that someday. Then one day we wake up and realize life is flying by and we haven’t done all those things we wanted to.

 

You don’t have to wait until you’re smacked in the head to become intentional.

 

While explaining my business operating system to my team, it became evident that even though I now have an intentional plan, it needed to be written down. When working alone, I would just do the next thing that needed done. I didn’t need a written plan, so I thought. Not only do I need a written plan to communicate to my team, but it helps me to be clearer.

Think of your life or business as a construction project. It all begins with a dream. You can see the vision of the completed project in your mind. The tricky part is getting that dream out of your head and making it a reality? Having it drawn out will let you see if it looks like your dream or not. It’s better and easier to make changes and corrections during the planning, rather than the construction. It improves the clarity of communication between all parties involved.

It’s also a good idea to have the help of a professional when drawing out your plans or building your dream. Their experience, knowledge and skill, can save you time and money. Done well, it will make the entire process more enjoyable.

In last week’s post, it once again was reinforced how important intentional planning for the future is and how rarely it is done.

Having a clear picture of what it is that you want your life or business to look like when you’re finished building it, takes intentionality.

Be intentional.


Don’t wait to be smacked in the head to get intentional about planning for the future. Let me know what areas you need some help with planning or building the life or business of your dreams

Retirement Should Not Be Your Goal in Life

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Enjoy the Life You Have Now with Reason and Purpose

 

I hear a lot of talk about retirement. It seems the closer I get to 60, the more it’s a topic of conversation. This is the problem with having so many ‘old friends’. I regularly get things in the mail from the Social Security Administration or AARP. This has to be a mistake. These things are meant for old people, not me. They must have the wrong address.

Most people seem to be looking forward to retirement. Often, it’s viewed as the target that we should be aiming at. Once we’ve reached retirement, everything is smooth sailing from there. We can sleep in, don’t have to get up and go to a JOB; no more rat race for us. I’ve worked hard my whole life and now I get the ‘retirement prize’.

I think this attitude about retirement is not only wrong, but misleading.

This perception causes us to focus on the wrong thing. It puts the emphasis on the pie in the sky future, rather than where it should be – living everyday of our lives to its fullest, while living out our purpose.

Don’t take this wrong. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t retire. I don’t even care if you do it when you’re 35. What I am saying is that it’s not a very good plan to make retirement your goal in life. You need be intentional and consider what it is that you want out of life and start living accordingly now.

Where did this idea for retirement come from anyway? That at some point in life (to be determined by someone else) you will reach the time to quit working (maybe receive a stipend from the government) and start enjoying life.

As is the case with most things, it’s origin had merit and reason. Historically, most people were forced to work for a ruler, required to serve a king or had mandatory employment to some dictator. This gave little or no freedom for personal choices or for the opportunity to live the life of your dreams. Retirement, as it is most commonly thought of today, can be traced to a program designed by Otto von Bismarck, a German Chancellor, in 1881 https://www.ssa.gov/history/age65.html. He felt that people who had spent most of their lives working with little or no choice, deserved to be cared for once they were no longer able to produce.

In most countries where retirement is a part of the culture today, people aren’t forced to work a job that they don’t want to. We have the freedom to pick and choose our vocation. However, much of the time people forget they have this freedom. It is as if they are still living in one of those situations and working for some overbearing ruler.

I think this is the core of my feelings about retirement. Things have gradually shifted from the freedom to do the work you want, to working for a dictator named Retirement. Retirement has become the carrot dangling at the end of the stick; the reason people work.

Just know that you have options; lots and lots of options. Don’t live for retirement but live the life you want. Make the choices now. Live the life of your dreams. The life that you were put here to live.

Early retirement, late retirement or work until the very end…you choose.

Building the Best Life, Means It’s Always Under Construction

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My Life Lessons Learned From Almost Forty Years of Building

 

It is amazing to me the similarities of building a quality structure and an excellent life. The longer I do it, the more amazing it becomes. These parallels have been in place since the beginning of time. When God made the world these building principles were used. These time-tested practices work for physical buildings as well as great lives.

At an early age we begin the process of planning our lives. We have an image of how our life is going to look, what we are going to do, who is going to enjoy it with us, etc. Sometimes those plans are well thought out and designed. They come with pages and pages of blueprints including all types of details, complete with engineering calculations. Some plans are more the ‘scribbled on a piece of scrap paper idea’. Either way we have that picture of what we think our life should be.

It is important to note that we have access to the ‘Master Architect’. He offers this design service at no cost, it has already been paid for. If we will take advantage of this offer, we will end up with the best finished project.

Like building, the better the plans are before we start, the less problems we will have during construction. This doesn’t mean that it can’t be built without plans, it just means there may be more change orders needed.

A solid foundation is the next thing in the process. A good foundation is what supports the building and keeps it straight and standing tall. The better the foundation the better it weathers storms. This doesn’t mean that some storms won’t come along and knock it down. Even if a storm scatters our lives, a good foundation will still be there to rebuild on.

Once we complete the construction of a building, it doesn’t mean that we’re finished. Nothing in this life is permanent. Everything wears out or deteriorates over time. If we use better quality building material it will last longer, but everything needs maintenance. Often people neglect this part more than any. It is easy to get in a rut and forget to periodically do a checkup, whether it is a building or a life. We need to be good stewards of what we have been given. If we intentionally keep working on it, it will be better in the end.

Remodeling and additions are common in construction. We come across something new that will be an improvement, or there is a change in our circumstances. These things are true for our lives as well. If we aren’t working to improve then we are deteriorating.

 

A message from the Master Architect’s Blueprint –

…but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. 20 You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building. 21 The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.

Ephesians 2:19-22

 

Let us know if you need help finding solutions for building your dream life.

Running a Good Race Is the Best Way to Live Life

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7 Examples of How Auto Racing Teaches Great Life Lessons

 

I love motor sports, especially NASCAR. The roar of an internal combustion engine that can I can hear all the way down in my chest. The aromatic smell of burnt racing fuel mixed with tire rubber. Ah…the great outdoors.

It is March and the NASCAR season is just getting started. This caused me to think about how life is like racing. Even if you aren’t a race fan I think you’ll appreciate the similarities in racing and life.

 

1. Life goes by like a car at 200 MPH –  

It is common to have a conversation about how fast time goes by or how much of what we had planned didn’t get done. Just like in a race if we don’t ease up on the accelerator going into a corner, it’s likely there will be a crash. The same thing is true in life. We need to know when to stop pushing so hard.

 

2. You need the help and support of a pit crew – 

None of us can go through life without the help of others. Sure, some people are more ‘hermit’ than others, but even they need help and support if they want to win the race. We race much better and faster when we have someone else putting fuel in and changing the tires. Our pit stops would be a lot slower if we had to get out and do it ourselves and not as much fun either.

3. The importance of a pit stop for refueling and fresh tires –  

When someone loves what they do as much as I do, it can be hard to slow down long enough to take a pit stop. I just want to keep driving and driving. We’re made in God’s image and His plan is to stop every seventh lap for tires and fuel. If we don’t take some breaks, eventually we run out of fuel and we can’t win our race that way.

 

4. Every driver has their own individual driving style –  

Some drivers are aggressive, some are more patient. Different styles work better at different times in different races on different tracks. The important thing is to know your style, how it works and when to use it. Often people don’t take the time to understand their own strengths and weaknesses and how they can help or hurt in the race of life.

 

5. There are different tracks throughout the racing season –  

The NASCAR season is made up of a variety of sizes, styles and configurations of tracks. Life is also full of different and changing situations. Sometimes we find ourselves on a high banked, high speed superspeedway. Other times we are on a short, tight track where there is a lot of bumping and banging. Or maybe it is a slower, winding, right and left turning road course. The important thing is to excel at the times in life where we are good and to survive the others.

 

6. Being aware of the clock –  

Time is speed, but speed is not always the fastest time. There have been many times when I have seen drivers slow down their MPH and have ran a faster time. This seems counter to what one would expect. In these cases, what happens is that the car isn’t sliding through corners as much. This same thing can happen to us. Sometimes if we slow down a little we are more productive.

 

7. Sometimes wrecks are our fault and sometimes we get caught up in someone else’s –

When there are thirty or forty cars all on the same race track it is inevitable that cars are going to wreck. Whether it is a mechanical problem or a driver’s error, it is going to happen. In life the same thing can be expected. Sometimes we are going to make mistakes that will cause us and maybe other people damage. Because we aren’t on the track alone, sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that is no fault of our own.

 

In Hebrews 12:1, we are encouraged to follow Jesus’ and other great people’s examples, to “…run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.”, ERV.

Run your race well.

Building the Life of Your Dreams and Loving It

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A Builder’s Valentine Message

 

I love my vocation. The purpose for which we have been created, is so much more than a job. I love waking up every morning and knowing there are countless possibilities and opportunities to help people build their dreams. I mean I really love my life. Is it perfect? No, not by a long shot. Are there bad days? Sure. But perfection isn’t a requirement for loving the chance to fulfill your purpose.

I thought this topic was appropriate since I am writing this on Valentine’s Day. The day most associated with love.

What is love? Webster’s Dictionary defines love as –

 

A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preeminent kindness or devotion to another... or especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for… or affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will;…

This is a pretty good description of how I feel about my life, but I like what the www.bible-truth.org site says even better. Love is a “purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another.” I think this is what we should all be about as we interact in our daily lives.

Last year I shared my core values in “Using Core Values as My Life Filter” and in that post, I said I would go deeper into each of them. A few weeks ago, I started that when I wrote about “Intentional action” in “Getting Back to the Core“. In that post I said that the next core value that I would write about was “Finding and maintaining the balance in everything”. Well guess what, that’s not what this is about.

Since this is Valentine’s Day I felt that “Honor God in all that I do” was a more fitting topic.

I believe that everything we have or do, belongs to and comes from God. In that case, it is only right that I HONOR HIM by showing my appreciation, by giving Him the credit for my life. By loving Him.

As a builder I really connect with God as a designer/builder. He has drawn a blueprint for each and every one of us. He has made all of those plans different. Some may be similar, but every single one is unique. It is our job to learn to read our own blueprints and start swinging the hammer and driving the nails to build who we were designed to be.

I have been reading Shauna Niequist’s book, “Present Over Perfect” and she points out that the “…God of the universe planted deep inside of each of us a set of loves and dreams and idiosyncrasies and we can ignore them as long as we want, but they will at some point start yelling. Worse than that, if you ignore them long enough they will go silent and that’s the real tragedy.” Don’t ignore your blueprint.

Look for and find your blueprint and start building your dream life. There is no better way to Honor God than this.

Getting Back to the Core

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Ideas Without Actions Don’t Do Anybody Any Good

 

“I AM A PERSON OF ACTION.”

“My future is immediate. I will grasp it with both hands and carry it with running feet. When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act!”

Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

From the book “The Travelers Gift” by Andy Andrews

We are already almost a month into the new year. It is crazy how fast time goes and there are so many things that I want to do this year. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating Christmas and beginning the process of looking forward to the new year. I have some big plans for this year so we have to get to work.

I was a dreamer at an early age. I had big ideas and plans for my life. Then there was a portion of my life where I became disillusioned and accepted that my dreams were just that…dreams that couldn’t and wouldn’t come true. I decided that I was just kidding myself the whole time. Then in 2012 I had “A Life Changing Wakeup Call” and realized that I had gotten sucked into the world of doubt. I had given up and quit dreaming. I was just accepting what life was giving me and that was just the way it was. Since the accident I have become reenergized about dreaming and about life. It’s great to be excited about life again!

One of the conclusions that I came to after this accident was that dreams are just dreams if there isn’t any action taken. It can be hard for those of us that are dreamers to move things from ideas to doing. This is where the ‘rubber meets the road’ or in builder lingo where the nail meets the board. I told you in a previous blog, “Using Core Values as My Life Filter”, that I would come back to the ‘Core Values’ and here we are. One of those core values is “Intentional Action”. This is a simple, straight forward value, but it requires me to move things from the dream to the action. This part is critical to the outcome. It is like seeing a beautiful picture of a dream home, but never being able to live in it if you don’t start nailing boards together.

Another self-realization that I discovered was my tendency toward planning. I like to plan. I can plan things to death if I’m not careful. It’s good to have a plan to avoid as many problems as possible, but finding a balance in planning and doing is important. Planning is like dreaming, nothing is built until you physically move some boards and swing the hammer. Like dreaming, planning requires action to get things accomplished.

As I was recovering from the accident I had time to reflect. I discovered things about myself that I naturally knew, but hadn’t slowed down long enough to evaluate. This time of self-discovery was a big help to me and was one of the Intentional Actions that I then began to implement regularly. I know that everyone of us is different and we all have our own individual strengths and weaknesses. This is why it is important to give some time to knowing yourself. It is easy to get sucked into the daily routines of living our lives, but if we hope to achieve our purpose in life we need to be Intentional in our Actions. In the next Life blog, we will discuss “Finding and Maintaining the Balance in Everything”.

Don’t Get Snowballed by Poor Planning

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It Only Works If You Use It

 

Here it is the beginning of another year already. It is crazy how fast they go by. I was talking with someone earlier today about how poorly I had done at writing blogs this past year. I told them it had been six months since I last posted. I am going to do better this year. When I looked back I realized it has been almost a year since my last post. So, right then, I started writing this blog. Like I said earlier it’s crazy how fast time goes by.

 

It seems like human nature is to over schedule. We think we can do one more thing or that that whatever it is we are doing won’t take as long as it does. Then, there we are again, behind schedule. And when you get behind an hour or a day or a week, it is going to take three times longer to get caught back up to where you planned to be. The farther behind you get the bigger the mountain is to dig out off. It’s the snowball effect. The bigger it gets the faster it goes and the bigger it gets. And, before you know it, it’s been a year since the last blog post and you’re buried under a pile of snow.

As we at Timber Creek Construction / Solution Building look forward this year we are setting some big goals. So that we don’t get run over by a giant run away snowball we are implementing some accountability and breaking the big mountain into shovel size pieces. For our planning, we are using Andy Andrews 90-Day Results Plan. We will separate the big goals for the year into smaller 90-day pieces. By doing this and regularly reviewing the progress we will be able to keep the snowball from getting too big and rolling over us.

 

It is good to plan, even plan big, but one needs to be realistic also. You don’t want to get pulled into the New Year’s resolution tendency of setting a goal and then abandoning it a few weeks or days into the new year. Not planning and having no clear direction will just leave you wondering out in the snow. Snow is a beautiful thing unless you get buried under a huge pile of it because you weren’t prepared. Last year I started the year without having all my plans for the year ready. The goals that weren’t planned for, didn’t get done well and the goals that were planned for were accomplished.

 

The new year is full of possibilities and opportunities. I hope you are as excited about them as I am. I will do better at blogging this year and look forward to sharing this adventure with you. So, as you go into this new year be ready to keep the snowball as small as you can and have a shovel with you in case you need to do some digging.

The Wisdom of a Life Plan

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Instructions from an Old Man On a Mountain

 

Since the beginning of the new year I have been working to get my ‘life plan’ for this year completed. As a part of this process I spend time looking back over the last year specifically and my life in general. I am naturally a people pleaser, so it would only make sense that I also want to please God. The hard part is figuring out the details of what God wants me to do and who he wants me to be. To find my purpose and live the life that He intended for me.

As a part of this process, this year I am incorporating ‘The Seven Decisions’ from the book “The Travelers Gift” by Andy Andrews. The second decision is ‘The Guided Decision; I Will Seek Wisdom’. This ‘Decision’ is based on King Solomon. From the time I was a kid and heard about King Solomon I was inspired by him. His asking God for wisdom instead of all of the other things he could have asked for (2 Chronicles 1:8-13). I have always wanted that kind of wisdom.

I have always seen wisdom as just knowing the right things to do. Not some old sage living all alone in a cave on a mountain that has all of the answers to life’s questions. However, the more I think about it, the more I wonder if this image isn’t pretty close to what wisdom actually is like. Let’s break this down and look at it.

Old: Their age would mean they have lived through or witnessed more of life’s experiences and had the opportunity to learn from them. The more information that we have the better our decisions should be.

Living alone: This solitude would have less distractions and interruptions. It would allow for more thought and self-reflection. We need to regularly take some quiet time to be alone; to think and contemplate.

The cave: This would be evidence they realized the importance of seeking the right things in life. Living simply and not being sucked into the desire for accumulating a bunch of worldly stuff. It is easy to be drawn into this vortex of accumulation. Having stuff isn’t bad, unless it becomes the focus above all else.

The mountain: Would represent the importance of looking outward. Intentionally taking time to see the beauty of the world around and not being self-absorbed. It is hard to see the beauty around us if we’re always looking in.

Okay so on second thought, maybe I do want to be a wise old man living on a mountain.

As I mature, take time for introspection, keep my focus on the right things and observe the beauty around me I will seek to live the life that God has given me and fulfill His purpose.