The Wave

When you read the two words in the title, it’s likely the first thing you think of is a stadium filled with people, rhythmically rising and falling, causing a wave of hands around the stadium.  But, that’s not what I am talking about here at all.  I am talking about the classic rural Iowa wave, two fingers raised over the steering wheel as you meet oncoming traffic.

The phenomenon is amazing.  When you get off the Interstate and onto county roads throughout the state, you see this.  And part of the amazement is that when you put those of us who were born and raised here back in our own territory, it starts to happen without you even thinking about it.  My kids laugh at me because we no more than cross the county line into Keokuk County and I reposition my hands so I am able to raise two fingers to oncoming vehicles.  I never really thought about it until a week or so ago, when a person I respect talked at Rotary about going home to Creston and that the minute he gets close, he starts waving at people.

I spent time wondering where this began, and quickly gave up on that.  It is obviously a colloquialism that probably has been around as long as people were meeting on the road driving teams of horses.  But when I really started mulling it over, my question became more about why than when.  As I have thought about it and replayed the action in my mind, I think I have it figured out.  When any of us do the wave, what we are really saying is that although I may not know the person I’m waving at, I am in a small enough geographical area that I probably know someone who knows them.  This may sound a little crazy to those of you from other areas, but that is really the way we think about it.  A cousin and I look a lot alike and I remember years ago being chastised by that cousin for not waving at a friend of his who’d met me on the road. I didn’t wave because it was not someone that I knew, but we are a waving group.

My hometown refers to itself as “Just Naturally Friendlier,” but I really think this holds true for much of Iowa. Just like stories you hear of people at Starbucks who begin a chain of paying it forward by purchasing coffee for the person behind them, waving at strangers has a tendency to brighten a day.  You realize that someone took the time to wave at you and then your mind goes through the exercise of who they are or how you might know them.  More than likely there is some biological response our system has for this which helps us feel a little better about our day.

Now, with all that said, my encouragement for you is to take the time and the chance to wave at someone.  Not that special wave which happens when one driver cuts another off in traffic, but a friendly wave that tells others to enjoy the day.  People might look at you funny, but if enough of us do it long enough, we could make a difference.  Remember the parable about the mustard seed and plant a wave today.

Fragility

The world has really pointed out how fragile we are as human beings these last few weeks.  My mother-in-law spent several days in the hospital because she was dehydrated.  Think about that.  Hospitalized because she was low on water. What is so amazing to me is that this happened while she lives in a facility where she should be cared for by qualified personnel.  I attended a funeral yesterday for the wife of a friend of mine from Rotary.  Chemotherapy drugs damaged her system so badly it was run over by normal bacteria living in our bodies.  As my sister said, medicine has reached a point where chemotherapy is so good we forget the knife-edge that people walk who are going through.  Amen sister.

Then I was talking to someone about how many people turn one hundred years old each day.  I’m not sure if this is correct or not, but I was told that Al Roker from Good Morning America had been forced to quit announcing those celebrations because we had reached a point where there were just too many of them.  Isn’t that a fascinating dichotomy?  There are more people turning one hundred than ever before, but the very medicine that helps people to get there can be the most deadly thing anyone ever faces.  Wow.

So, what does this have to do with the Toybox? Or woodworking? 

Several years ago, I used the following quote to end my Christmas letter, “The purpose of life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave with a well-preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways, completely used up, yelling and screaming, wow-what a ride!”-Author Unknown. 

This is what woodworking and spending time at the Toybox do for me.  This has been a long and not overly uplifting week and I said to someone this morning that I needed to re-boot, to take some time and get back to a better place and be ready for next week.   Woodworking helps me re-boot, and fight the fragility that comes on over time.

I have to find a way to shed things that happen to me throughout any given week and prepare for the next one.  Those times in my life when I didn’t have a shop were the times I felt the most fragile, like there was no reserve for me to reach down into and find the strength to do it all over again.  Years ago, when I was deciding what to do with my life, I considered two options: teaching Industrial Arts or going to business school. A very wise person counseled me to leave something I loved for my life outside of work.  This has been tremendous advice as woodworking/working in the shop has always given me an anchor to help steady the course in turbulent times.

It is my sincere hope that you have something have something like this in your life and that you recognize it for what it is.  Life is fragile and fleeting and having an activity that helps us handle it is important.  For those of you who are woodworkers, share your projects, successes, and failures here so we can join in your excitement.  On the other hand, if your passion is cooking, find a woodworker and you will probably find someone who appreciates your creations.  If you can’t, give me a call, I will help.  If you have other hobbies or activities that will send you sliding in sideways, share those here as well. I look forward to sharing the ride with you!

OK, something kind of exciting.  In two weeks I am going to begin creating a tool that I will use in the shop.  I have never taken on a project like this and can’t wait to get started and share the process with you. Check back with me then for pictures and progress. 

Anticipation

There has been a whirlwind of emotions around the Toybox over the last few days.  It struck me that this isn’t unusual in woodworking, or anything else which holds our passions.  We hope that same type of passionate emotion is found in work.  Anticipation has been the prevailing emotion, though, this week,   most notably with the addition of a new member to the Toybox family. 

I am the proud new papa of a Puma 60 gallon 3HP vertical air compressor.  Oh goodness, the joy. 

You may ask, why do I need so much air compressor as a simple woodworker?  It’s an easy answer - Anticipation.  I bought my first air compressor when I was 13 years old.  I have no memory of what brand it was but it was red and was a small horizontal model.  Even then, I had dreams of the day I would have a shop where I could plug in air just like I plug in electrical items. 

Anticipation.  I rebuilt that first compressor when the tank rusted out and then years later I bought a new Bostitch pancake compressor and retired old “Red” to a used tool sale my church was having.  Still, I anticipated the day I would be able to have lots of compressed air in my shop.  Last night about 9:00 when Andrew and I were pulling it off the truck, I realized that I was closer than ever before.  But, I’m not fully there yet.  Anticipation continues to hold my attention as I look forward to the moment  it is all plumbed and I can turn it on for the first time.

Part of the joy of woodworking is the anticipation.  The process of getting a new piece of equipment has been wonderful, but even more important is working to plan a project, get materials together, and watch as it moves toward completion. 

I have been working on a little step stool for my daughter.  It isn’t a big project … just something she can use to step up and get things off the high shelves in her dorm room.  But the great part of this project is that while I am working on that step for her, I think about her.  I think about how she will use the stool when I finish it and I wonder if she will think about her dad when she puts her foot up on it.  I wonder if it will be one of those things that moves forward through her life and if a day will come when Meg’s kids ask her where the little stool they use to get cereal out of the cabinet came from. Will it be repainted, modernized, or repaired.  How long will it be part of the ongoing fabric of time?

As many of you know, I have plans to drive the Toybox to a point when at least part of our total income is derived from work I do out there, but I know it will never be a production shop.  It is too important for me to know the person or family I am making something for, because it drives the anticipation of what they will think about it.  After I complete a project, I ask repeatedly how the piece is working and if there are changes that could be made to it.  It is all just part of the creation process for me.

I wonder if the process of creating things in other areas is the same.  Does a quilt maker have the same connection to the person who will use their quilt?  How about a painter? Does an author think about the people who will read the book? What is the level of anticipation for those who create as the complete a project and deliver it to the world?

This might be something magical that comes as part of the woodworking experience. I anticipate a connection that grows as we discuss things you need me to build. Creativity that flows back and forth from the creator to the end user allows each of us to know each other more completely. 

What do you anticipate as you create?

Failing Fast

I participate in a monthly roundtable with a group of executives from other industries. We meet once a month and typically one of the members presents a current problem they face. The group spends time helping them dig deeply into the issue and almost always offers solutions which had yet to surface.  The exercise is always enjoyable and offers an opportunity to stretch mental muscles in ways that aren’t possible in our daily activities.

This week our meeting was a little different.  A guest speaker spoke on innovation. Following his presentation, the members of the group talked about our own past innovation as well as that which we are currently involved in, and when we thought it might finally affect our daily lives.  This was really interesting for me on an introspective basis. I had to admit my life’s work hasn’t been as much about innovation as it has been about seeing how things are done in one environment and figuring out how to remold those processes to work elsewhere.  I often say that if you can find a really good idea and print it on your letterhead, it becomes yours.  As I look back over my career, that is one thing I excelled at as a District Manager - recognizing the strength in one location and seeding the knowledge to the rest of the organization.  I always figured I was “spreading the wealth” but I guess that some might consider that quite innovative.

In November 2011, I posted a blog entitled, “Tripod.”  I wrote about a person I met on a trip to China and the tripod he used to determine if the possibility of having fun when in his endeavors.  I feel fortunate to say he has become a friend and I continue to learn from him regularly.  What he has taught me in combination with my roundtable introspection is the concept of “failing fast.”  If you are attempting to penetrate a new market, open a new business, or really get anything done; you should charge forward so that in the event something goes wrong, you have time to try again before anyone else has an opportunity to try the first time.  This is a really bold form of moving ahead, but I will tell you I can see how it would work.  At the same time, I know that one thing which sets entrepreneurs apart is their ability to set failure aside as though it never happened.

I could use more of that confidence, and I bet there are times you could as well.  Seth Godin tells us that we have to “ship.” All of the good work or thought we have doesn’t count if we don’t send it out into the world. I must admit I am average at best because I FEAR failure so much.  So, as I continue to figure out how to get things done in my shop, I must embrace the concept of failing fast and getting things out. This is the only way the world can let me know if I have created a good product.  I must have the faith to let the world tell me whether I have hit the mark or not.  If I miss, then I have to find a way to use that information to try again and get it right the next time.  Interestingly enough, I’m pretty good at allowing the folks who work for me to move forward in this manner, but I have more difficulty accepting it in myself.

Now is the time to embrace the concept of “freedom to fail.” Go ahead and get something done. Release it to the world to see what happens.  The first step for me today is to post this blog.  Take a minute to shoot me a note and tell me what you think.  Thanks.

Time

Several weeks ago, I had the good fortune to hear Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, speak about leadership.  One thing he talked about was that in identifying your true leadership skill, you will also find that is where you seem to have the greatest insight.  I thought it was interesting, and have obviously been thinking about it, but I have come up with an idea equally as powerful and maybe more directive in our lives.

I contend that when you identify the activity which causes time to stand still, that is the center of your true passion.  There is no question that the place this happens for me is in the shop.  Sara would be the first to tell you that in all the years of our marriage, it is the one place I go and really lose myself.

Interestingly enough, time does stand still at the Toybox, not just figuratively, but even more than that.  I have three clocks there, all of them battery powered, the kind of movement which uses a AA battery. They typically run very well and for a long time.  But that is not the case at all with these clocks.  I have to replace batteries often to assure I have the correct time.  I have come to believe it is the universe’s way of telling me that the Toybox is where I belong.

So, what deep and profound thought should I take from that?  The beginning of January is always a good opportunity to look back at the last year and forward to the coming year.  If you are a regular reader, you know something about my last year.  It was a year with many challenges, but overall, it was a great year with plenty of things to marvel at. There were more than a few messages telling me there are times when someone was looking out for all of us.  One thing I haven’t really written about is that 2012 was when I decided to take more control of my own health, and I currently weigh less than I have in a more than a decade.  Time will tell if I can continue this journey, but, so far so good. 

Now what about looking forward?  Since I bought the Toybox I talked very quietly about things I wanted to do and now it is time to make them happen.  In 2013, I will have an Open House to let folks know what I have been doing at the Toybox, and I will make it enough of a business to cover its utility bills.  Just to be clear, these aren’t monstrous hurdles, but I believe we get to big results by beginning with small successes. 

So, I guess that you could say this is my manifesto.  It is what I commit to in 2013 in order to change what has been my life and to spend more time in the place where time stands still.  I have a handful of friends who have been doing the same over the last few years and I am very proud of them.  I am a late starter, but I have begun.  I know each of you have a secret passion and you would like to let it loose in public.  Will 2013 be the year that you finally make it happen?  Is there a way that I can help you find your way forward?  Let’s work together to move this whole tribe forward.  When we come to the end of 2013 and look back, let’s meet back here and share the progress we have made as a group.  Are you ready for the challenge?