Build – Dave Glardon

Good morning! I hope your day is off to a nice start.

It’s raining here. Not that rain is an inherently bad thing, but I neglected to empty the RV’s holding tanks last night. You know, when it wasn’t raining. In my defense, the tanks weren’t quite full. Kinda like a trash can that’s not quite spilling over. The big difference is, I can’t put my foot in the holding tank and smash it down to make more room. I didn’t even try.

Years ago, my daughter and son-in-law were living with us. To say he was a trash-stacker is like saying Al Capone dabbled in crime. He could recreate the Eiffel Tower using egg shells, paper towels, and empty milk cartons. I finally put a piece of tape on the wall behind the can and wrote “FULL.” Like he could see it behind all that trash. Okay, like he could read. But that’s another story.

If I said anything about Mount Trashmore, he would simply put his size 11 foot in it and smash it down so tight you needed a blowtorch and a prybar to get the bag out. And on those rare occasions when he actually did take the trash out, he simply set it on the front porch. Not like it was raining and the dumpster was full. He was just lazy.

I guess that’s why he never made it as an RV dweller. He bought an old motorhome with the intent they’d live in it. They tried for a week or two, but it didn’t last. My daughter said they gave up because it was too cold. I think his tanks filled up.

Daily chores are a lot like holding tanks. At first, it’s just a little bit of stuff in the bottom that you never even notice. But tanks have a way of filling up. And don’t let anybody fool you with those little orange sachets that promise to cover up the smell. All they do is turn the poop orange. Kinda like those “debt consolidation” loans. Sooner or later, you still have to pay.

A friend once told me that getting rich is easy. Just do for people the things they’re not willing to do for themselves. It’s the very essence of the service industry. The nastier the job, the more you can charge for it. When the drainpipes are clogged, you don’t ask the plumber how much he charges. You just open your checkbook and let him fill in the amount.

To be fair, there are certain things we shouldn’t attempt on our own. Wiring your house to the light pole is one of those jobs that could go seriously wrong. Demolition is best left to the professionals. And have you ever seen those videos of a do-it-yourselfer in a flannel shirt with a chainsaw? Let me summarize it for you … somebody’s about to lose a trailer.

It’s easy to understand why we would farm that work out to somebody better suited (and more heavily insured). And sure, we can always make the kids take out the trash or cut the grass. I even taught my grandson how to empty the tanks. Those are jobs that have to be done, and ignoring them will only make it worse in the long run.

But when it comes to your dreams, it’s easy to put those tasks on the back burner for a day or two. You know, until you’re better rested and you have a little more time. The problem is, days turn into weeks, and weeks turn into decades (yes, I skipped a few steps there). All the while, the dream still waits.

Those are the tasks that nobody notices except you. There’s no telltale sign to let anybody know they were missed. They just sit there, invisible to the world. To everybody but you. But in those moments when you’re looking at your life as it is and how it could be, they stand out like a flashing red light.

It’s been said that we’re either building our own dreams or somebody else’s. But there’s a third option – just sitting around, exchanging oxygen. And don’t get me wrong. Oxygen is a pretty big deal. But whether we’re building our dreams or just thinking about them, we use pretty much the same amount. So, why not put it to good use?

It’s easy to ignore those jobs that don’t get us in trouble. Nothing stinks, and nobody cares. But at the end of the day, you still know. And the question we all have to answer is, if you were paying somebody to build your dreams for you, would they still have a job? For most of us, the answer isn’t pleasant. But it’s one we have to face if we want anything to change.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Follow @dglardon

Good morning, and happy Friday! I hope your day is off to a great start.

I was listening to a motivational speaker not long ago who made a bold statement that I didn’t quite agree with. He said that no matter where you are in life, you’re exactly where you want to be. Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but this is not the life of luxury I’d always dreamed of, and I’m working to change that. Clearly, this is not where I want to be. Can I get an amen?

But then the speaker went on to explain that presumptive statement. He said maybe this is not exactly where you want to be, but it’s where you’ve worked your whole life to be. Because everything we’ve done to this point has led us to exactly where we are. Any change along the way would have put us in a different position today. Okay, it hurts, but he makes a good point. I did this.

Every decision we make in life, even the little ones, stack up like Lego® blocks to build the life we now enjoy. At least I hope you enjoy it. After all, you built it. And if you think back, you can probably see some of those decisions and how they affected the direction of your life. Some of those decisions may have been forced on you, but they affected the outcome regardless.

An architect sits in an office and creates a vision – a drawing of the perfect structure, something that will fill a purpose and create beauty both at the same time. There’s a certain amount of ego involved. Every architect wants to outdo the others and create something that will dazzle everyone who sees it.

At first, it’s nothing more than a series of drawings. Then along comes a team of workers to dig a hole. All they have is a blueprint telling them how big to make the hole. They may not have any idea how the finished building will look. But the hole they dig will form the foundation for that building, and any mistakes at this stage in the game could have a profound effect on the finished product.

And so it goes with each team that comes along. Steel workers bolting and welding one beam to another, vertically and horizontally, one floor on top of the other. Gradually the building begins to take shape. Along come the masons to work their magic, and then plumbers, electricians, interior finishers, glass and flooring installers, and all the other teams that make it happen.

The finished product is the sum of all the effort that went into its construction. Every beam, every block, every piece of glass, they all form the building as it exists today. And any change along the way would have changed the outcome. The architect could have come along at any time and said, “Change this” and the building we see today may look entirely different.

The same is true of our lives. We are the architects. We are the ones who envision something so grand it defies the senses. Or maybe not so grand – after all, some buildings are a little more ordinary than others and that’s okay. They all serve a purpose.

We are also the builders of that life – we lay the foundation, we put the blocks in place, we create the internal structure that holds it all up, and when the time comes, we put on the finishing touches that complete the project. The life we enjoy today is exactly the life we’ve built. That doesn’t mean we don’t want something better. People move into nicer houses all the time. But it’s where we are now.

The first step in moving forward is acknowledging our role in being where we are now. It may not have been the life we’d envisioned, but it’s the life we built. And if we can acknowledge that, it opens our eyes to the reality that the project isn’t yet complete, and we have the power to change our current direction and build something better if we so choose.

Just as the things we’ve done to this point have created the life we now enjoy, the things we will do today and beyond will create the life we enjoy tomorrow. We may not be able to tear down what’s been built so far, but we can renovate it and add a little flair. And any time we want, we can build on top of that to create something bigger.

Every day, we build our future life whether we want to or not. If you’re happy to stay right where you are, make the most of it. But if you want something better, you have the power to make it happen. And it all begins today.

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

Tag: Build

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