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An Unexpected, Modern-Day Twist to The Christmas Carol

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It’s Never Too Late to Build A Better Life

As I’m working on goal setting and planning for the new year, I’ve been reviewing the past several years. Looking back can be disappointing and discouraging if things haven’t gone as well as you had planned. And this year certainly didn’t go as planned

While thinking about places I fell short and opportunities I missed or ignored, it caused me to think about the Hallmark Christmas movie, “A Shoe Addict’s Christmas”. In this movie a woman, Noelle, accidently gets locked in a department store where she works. While waiting to be rescued a quirky woman, Charlie, appears. Over the next few days Charlie, a guardian angel, helps Noelle rediscover the life she has been avoiding, by visiting Christmases past present and future.

We all have situations that we can look back on and wish we had done something different. We can’t change the past, but what we do today will affect the future.

You may have heard the story (or some variation of it) that Charlie told Noelle in the movie. It goes like this, there was man who was out in the snow and someone came by in a sleigh and offered him a ride. The man refused. He said, “God will take care of me”. Later as the snow continued to get deeper another man in a sleigh came by and offered to help. Once again, the man refused. “God will take care of me.” The next time a sleigh came by the snow was up to the man’s chin. For a third time the man declined the help and said, “God will take care of me”. Then the man is in Heaven and asking God why He didn’t save him. God answers, “I sent three sleighs and you ignored them all”.

Too often we ignore the sleighs that God sends us.

As long as we’re still alive, even if we’ve missed or ignored sleighs in the past, it’s too late to use the next one. It is up to us to decide. There is a balance of faith and doing. Dave Ramsey says to “Pray like it all depends on God but work like it all depends on me.” We need to take of the blinders off and be more observant of the sleighs. “God moves mountains to create the opportunity of His choosing. It is up to you to be ready to move yourself.”, “The Traveler’s Gift”, Andy Andrews.

If I don’t want to get buried in the snow, I need to shovel what I can when I can and take the sleighs when they come along. I was presented some sleighs this past year and took them.

Learn from the past, look to the future, live in the present.

Watch for the sleighs and make this year the best year ever.

Getting Inspired for A Better New Year

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Some New and Exciting Plans for The New Year

I don’t know about you, but I get excited about planning for the future. Looking forward is exciting. It feels a little like the expectation of Christmas morning. The possibilities and opportunities of the New Year offer similar exciting feelings of anticipation.

If all your goals are always reached, then they aren’t big enough. They need to be big enough to stretch you, make you work harder at building a better you. I’ve never been short on big ideas and plans. To this point we didn’t reach all our 2018 goals. This doesn’t mean that we’re going to quit. God has too many big things left for us to accomplish.

One of the goals was to help more people find solutions for building their dreams through growing the number of people following these weekly posts. We missed it…by a lot. So, what are we going to do? Are we going to quit?

No. We’re going to try some new things because, failure only exists for the person who quits. I DO NOT QUIT!

As we have been discussing ideas for growing our community in this next year my financial assistant/sister had a suggestion. She thought I should share the weekly email that I currently send to my Sunday school class (which she receives).

What a good idea. I have always written these blog posts from a perspective that God is the Architect of our lives and we need to build our lives accordingly. This fits well with the mission of Solution Building to help you “find the solutions you need to build your dreams”. This second “Weekly Solution” posting will be mid-week and have an inspirational focus. I’M EXCITED!

Read the first one of these posts here.

Looking forward we’ve got some new and exciting things that we’re going to implement in the coming year. We want to develop our community and expand our circle of influence. We hope this addition will help with that. Keep watching for other new and exciting things.

One of the important parts of community is communication. Please share this with others who you think would enjoy or benefit from it and give me feedback by replying in the comments below.

5 Ways to Stop Over Promising and Under Delivering

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Asking Questions and Finding Answers to Help You Schedule Better

 

Things taking longer than we expect them to. This is a topic of way too many conversations. Just in the last few days I’ve had this very discussion, in some form or another, with customers, subcontractors and family members. Not to mention it’s an ongoing dialog I have with myself.

Why is this such a common problem? Is there something wrong with my scheduling system or abilities? Is there a better way to manage my time? Am I trying to do too much? Is it just the way things are? I know this is a lot of questions, but asking questions is the only way to find answers.

I think one reason we don’t ask questions, is the amount of time it takes to find answers. If it isn’t a simple answer that jumps out in front of you, it’s easier to just let things keep going the way they are. I’m behind, I don’t have time to look for answers to questions.

Here are 5 answers that you won’t have to look for:

 

  • Find the balance of accuracy and urgency –

This is a big struggle that I have when scheduling. I know that I’m deadline oriented. If I allow two hours to do something it will most likely take twice that long. If I allow four hours, it reduces the level of urgency and I will procrastinate. Something else will take its place. I’ve figured out that If I schedule myself short on time, I focus better, and the increased urgency will get it done faster. Figuring out your balance of accuracy and urgency can be tricky but is critical.

 

  • Give as much importance to my schedule with myself as to others –

When I put things on the calendar that are for myself, I tend to be more lenient. This is different than when I have a meeting scheduled with someone else. If I am going to honor God and others, I need to also honor myself. This is hard for me but is one of those areas where I need to be more accountable. If I hope to spend my time efficiently, I need to be realistic when scheduling with myself and honor it.

 

 

  • Stop trying to do too many things –

But there are so many important things that need to be done. If I don’t do them, they won’t get done or they won’t be done right. This tendency of trying to do too many things has always been a characteristic that I have been proud of. This is what movers and shakers do, right. Being a micro-manager doesn’t help either. There are just too many pieces to put together by myself. I need some clarity of focus on what my time is best spent on and stop trying to do everything if I want to be the best steward of my time.

 

  • Take in to account the number of things out of my control –

The bigger the project being scheduled, the more things there are to schedule. One small delay can have a snowball effect by pushing more and more things farther and farther back. There needs to be some margin scheduled in to cover these delays. The difficult part is to not let the margins become areas of wasted time. It is critical to communicate clearly to those involved the importance of being on schedule. I use two different schedules with projects. One with the customer and one with the producers.

 

  • Plan for unforeseen things that interrupt the plan – 

There are always things that can’t be planned for. It doesn’t matter how well you plan if something breaks down or there’s an accident. The priority and focus can change quickly. This is a thing that is also out of my control. The difference in the two is the frequency and the level of disruption. We can only plan for these things to a certain point. It is more about the awareness that it can happen and being ready to deal with it the best we can when it does.


The key to unlocking the door to better scheduling and planning is self-awareness. It’s about knowing who you are and asking questions. I know that I’m a recovering perfectionist and my level of expectation is high. I know that this makes things take longer. I also know that if I want to build the best business and the best me, I must be willing to ask questions, find answers and put those answers to use. It all comes down to me and my willingness to make the necessary decisions.

What are some answers to scheduling questions that you’ve found?

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

How to Build A “Rainy Day” Fund for Your Business (part 1)

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The Nuts and Bolts for Saving Money

 

Last week I wrote about the importance of having a savings, both individually and in business and the high percentage of people who don’t. This tendency to spend everything you have is a problem when the unexpected happens. This isn’t to say that you should put all your money, after paying the bills, in a savings account hoping to retire someday on that savings. What I’m talking about is having money ready for big planned purchases or unexpected emergencies. This way you can use your own money and don’t have to pay someone else to borrow theirs.

Last week I told you about the tool that I use for this, the “Savings Transfer Sheet”. This spreadsheet is easy to use and makes saving simple. What it doesn’t do, is force you save. Maybe I should figure out a way to hook peoples’ deposit tickets up to electricity so that they would get a shock when depositing money without saving.

The biggest problem with saving money is not having a plan to do so. It can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out how much should be saved when depositing revenue. One of the things that makes it hard is inconsistent amounts. If every day or week you deposited the same exact amount, you could decide once and always put aside a set amount for savings.

It’s rare in business that every job or every customer pays you the same amount every time you do business with them. There are some businesses like lawn mowing, hair cutting, pet boarding, etc. that a preset recurring price has been established, even so the number of recurrences each day or week is going to vary.

The purpose of this spreadsheet is to provide a simple accurate way to know how much money the right amount to save is, regardless of the amount being deposited. The most difficult part is the initial set up. This part requires some research, thought and time.

First – look back through your financial records of the last several years. The more research you do the more accurate your understanding will be of your financial history. Even if you’ve only been in business for a short time it will give you a place to start. This will let you see areas of unexpected expenses as well as dollar amounts.

 

Second – determine what things or areas that need to be saved for. Some examples of what these could be are:

Repairing and/or replacing equipment

Equipment increases or upgrades

Repairing or replacing vehicles

Large building repairs or maintenance items (HVAC, new roof, etc.)

Building or facility upgrades, expansions or purchases

Taxes (income, property, sales, etc.)

Irregular payments (bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)

Retained earnings (emergency fund because they are going to happen)

 

Third – take the dollar amounts for the different areas that you have determined to be above or outside your normal operating costs and figure the percentage each one is of your net revenue. This will give you a place to start when setting up the “Savings Transfer Sheet” for the first time.

Building a “Rainy Day” savings is critical to the foundation of your business. It is one of the solid cornerstones that will help your business weather the storms of life.

Next week we will go into the “Savings Transfer Sheet” deeper still and see how the information we gathered fits in to it.

 

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.

Trying to Spin Too Many Plates at The Same Time Can Make You Dizzy

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The Same Thing Happens When You Try to Run a Business Without a Plan

 

Most of us have seen plate spinning acts done in some form or another. When I was growing up I remember seeing Erich Brenn performing his plate spinning act http://www.edsullivan.com/artists/erich-brenn-plate-spinner on the popular Ed Sullivan Show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ed_Sullivan_Show. I remember the running back and forth, trying to keep all the different plates spinning at the same time. It was really pretty amazing.

I’ve concluded that most businesses are being operated in a way that feels a lot like trying to keep all those plates spinning at the same time. Just like the performer who keeps putting more and more spinning plates up on the end of sticks, we keep trying to do more and more.

There is a limit to how much a single individual can do. We can only run back and forth keeping the plates spinning for so long before they start falling and breaking. This means there is a maximum number of people that I can provide my services to by myself.

As I have been looking to serve more people, I have been adding more help in the form of assistants and subcontractors. The difficulty with this is that my business system has been developed and stored in my head for forty years. It’s hard to present a clear plan to others when it’s in my subconscious.

This is why I’ve started the process of sorting through the system in my head and putting it on paper (and in there is a scary place to work). Just like constructing a building can be done with a plan in someone’s head, it’s much easier to share the plan and the work when it’s drawn out for others to see.

 

Most business systems are going to be very similar. They are going to consist of the same basic areas of operation.

Sales/Marketing:

  • Prospecting for customers
  • Follow up on leads
  • Meet with prospective customers
  • Pricing and Proposals
  • Sales Reports
  • Advertising/Promotions
  • Marketing and Sales Planning
  • Customer Relations
  • Market Research
  • Public Relations
  • Product Development

 

Production/Operations:

  • Project Management
  • Project Assignments and Scheduling
  • Productivity Monitoring and Control
  • Quality Control and Documentation
  • Production Team Prep. & Development
  • Communicate with Team Members
  • Project Troubleshooting
  • Inventory Planning and Control
  • Purchasing and Vendor Relations
  • Customer Service
  • Equipment Maintenance and Repair
  • Facilities Maintenance & Repair

 

Administration/Finance:

  • Computer Systems
  • Team Member Records
  • Team Member Policies and Benefits
  • Office Support
  • Office Maintenance
  • Information Archiving and Distribution
  • Data Processing
  • Communications
  • Contract Preparation
  • Budgeting
  • Invoicing
  • Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Financial Reports
  • General Bookkeeping
  • Accounts Payable
  • Taxes
  • Banking

As you can see here, even just the basics are a lot of plates to keep spinning and there are a lot more to spin than just these. All of those plates going around and around are making my head spin.

I plan to share my adventure as I get this system out of my head and on to paper, so that I can get those spinning plate neatly organized.

Keep following along if you would like to know how to organize your plates.

 

What Is the Cost of Cheap?

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The Importance of Knowing What You’re Getting, Before You Write the Check

 

Too often people decide to move forward with a construction project without asking the right questions. It is important to get the answers before you start. What is the purpose or reason for the project? Who is going to do the work? What is it going to cost? The answers to these questions will have significant impact to your satisfaction (or lack thereof).

The number of horror stories that I have heard from customers about previous construction experiences is unacceptable. A construction project is a big investment and should be a fun, exciting and dream fulfilling incident.

Just recently I served as a professional witness in a small claims trial between a home owner and a contractor. Both sides had valid arguments, but the whole problem could have been avoided with better communication. The project was started without any written agreement. It was destined for problems from the very beginning. The contractor didn’t get paid for some of the time they had spent working. The home owner had to hire someone else repair some work that had been poorly done. They both had to pay court costs and neither won their case. When the trial was over it cost both parties more money, more time and more heartache.

Cost is so much more than just dollars. It is also time, contentment, enjoyment, etc. Remember…ask the questions before rather than dealing with problems after.

 

  • How much is it going to cost? – It amazes me how often projects start without this question being answered. I understand that it requires time, experience, and commitment from a contractor to prepare this ahead of time. Just like in the situation above, starting a project with no agreement, no clarity of what the project consists of, just a verbal hourly rate, leaves too many unanswered questions.
  • What is the purpose of this project? – Why am I considering it? What is the reason or reasons I want to do it? It may be the need for extra space for a growing family. It might be to fix some problems or issues; leaking roof, sagging floor, unsafe wiring, lack of insulation. Maybe it’s just because you would enjoy a nice new kitchen, a man cave, a walk-in closet, an attached garage or a nice new deck. The list of reasons can go on and on. The important thing is to get clear on the reason(s) before you start.
  • What do I want in a contractor? – This is an answer that will be as different as the people asking questions. Your preferences might be quality, personality, integrity, price, etc. The important thing is for you to decide what is right for you before starting the project not after.

“Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish.”

Luke 14:28-29, (MSG translation).

There are many factors to consider and questions to answer when doing a construction project. If you do it before, it will make the whole experience better.

What questions do you have that need asked before you start your project?

 

Here are a couple of other posts that you might find helpful

Six Ways To Find Your Right Builder

To Hire or Not to Hire, That Is the Question?

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”.