Your friends: In your face or behind your back?
During the remodel I didn’t travel. At all. To some extent, put my entire life on hold. I dropped out of golf, started working out at home, scaled back serving on charity boards, took sabbatical from lunches with friends and became very…
Need or want? Me and my stuff.
A funny thing happens when you have your house torn down to the wood studs. As the demo crew hacked up the plaster walls, pulled out the frayed nob and tube electric, and disconnected the century-old rusting galvanized pipes, I felt dizzy….
Symbols–How Oscar Meyer keeps me on track
In past posts I’ve written about teachers, mentors and situations that have edged me along on life’s path. Guides that have been invaluable in providing directions during my 47 years on the planet. Maybe you’ve had similar experiences. But as you…
Kindness versus weakness: Does it have to be one or the other?
“Hello up there,” I shout, standing at the bottom of the proverbial hole that I swore to never step into again. “Hadn’t I learned this life lesson already?” With a heavy heart thumping in my chest, I conclude I still had work…
Mentors: Need one, Want one, How to become one.
“Got a minute?” The cro-magnon looking plumbing contractor hollered from the front walk. I dropped the two, 55-gallon trash bags I was carrying and raised my eyes to see the hulky man trotting up the front walk. “What’s up?” I asked, bending…
Experts: The sure fire way to know if you have the real deal.
During my eighteenth month stint generaling my own house remodel, I met and hired my share of experts. People who said they had a comprehensive and commanding skill set in a particular work description. Pretty straightforward right? You’d think so, but have…
Writer’s Block on the Job: Truth or Urban Myth?
Most mornings, I use John Dufresne’s book “The Lie that Tells a Truth” as a practice guide to help improve my writing. (I typically post the daily drill on my Facebook fan page.) The point of the book, at least in my…
Flight of the Porta-John and other on the job mishaps.
One of the most difficult things about managing people is to understand when to be firm and when to ease back on the throttle. An issue, I’ve learned, that is not specific to my construction site. Recently I was in Las Vegas,…
Unexpected House Guests–A Construction Nightmare
I open my eyes to see a glimmer of light. Dawn, the horizon on the verge of exploding with pink yellow light. How lucky. I stretch admiring the east facing bedroom window that frames the budding sunrise like a piece of invaluable…
Moving On Up–The Remodel
Two hours later, I could barely catch my breath. Fingers trembled. My insides twitched. Lightheaded as if drifting in and out of an early morning dream, my mind scrambled to sort out if I had just willingly come face to face with…