Decompression

When a SCUBA diver dives deep, or stays down too long, they must make stops at calculated intervals to decompress on the way back to the surface.  This is to ensure the nitrogen doesn’t bubble out of their blood and cause sickness or death.

Over the past month, our family has been thrown into the deepest ocean, figuratively, and we are slowly trying to come back to the surface, making stops along the way to assure that when we get there we will be healthy.  My daughter has been diagnosed with a type of bone cancer that happens in children just as their bones stop growing.  At a time we should have been celebrating her transition from child to young adult, she was dealt a tremendous blow and as long as I live, I will never forget having to go to school to get her and tell her she had cancer.

What do I mean by decompression stops?  At this point we all KNOW that she will be OK, but between now and then there will be some horrendous times.  But between them, we will stop and breathe, and know we made one more step toward the surface, and toward normality.

Last Wednesday, when my daughter went in for her chemo treatment, she was told she might not be released until the following Tuesday when the levels of the toxins fell to the right levels in her body.

On Thursday she was told that her levels had come down more than expected but she had a long way to go.  On Friday morning, her oncology doctor, Dr T, told her the levels had dropped so much that they were sure the labs had made a mistake and they were going to re-run the test.  Friday evening, an amazed intern came into her room and told her the level was low enough and she could go home.  With that, my family breathed a collective sigh and we had the weekend to relax and enjoy each other.  This was a decompression stop for us.

Out of all we are going through, we are again reminded that when you have a good day, it should be celebrated. You don’t know when the next one will come.  When a bad day arrives, smile and get through it. You do know it won’t last forever.  In the middle of all of it, find a place or an activity (you have seen mine) that lets you maintain your sanity and get to the next good day.  Those small decompression stops will get you to the surface.

Oasis

Do you have a place that is just yours?  A place where although you may let others visit, you truly feel belongs only to you?   I have a space like this again, for the first time in years.  You have been watching me put it together and now, my space is finally ready.

But … ready for what?  Ready to build new projects for our home.  Ready to fix things that would otherwise end up in the landfill – giving new life to items that had outlived their expected life spans.  Most importantly though, it is ready for me when I need to do something physical and put all of the thoughts of the day behind.   I hope each of you have a place like that as well.

I’ve written about passion and money and I want to return to that today.  A friend sent me an article about passion that really made sense to me.  We must learn things to support our passion, even if they aren’t directly on course. 

“Knowledge, discipline, generosity. If you pursue those with all the determination you possess, one day before too long, without you even knowing it, the chance to realize your most spectacular dreams will come gently tap you on the shoulder and whisper... let's go.  And you'll be ready.”           TED’s Chris Anderson addresses Harvard’s graduating architects

I would encourage you each to read the entire speech Chris Anderson gave to that graduating class.  He had a lot of good things to say, and many made me consider where I am, and where I would like to be.  I have put in place the mechanism that can catapult me to the place I would like to end up, now I will continue to pursue things that support my passion. 

This means three things to me.  First, I will continue to be engaged and involved with those that I know.  This group has always been the most supportive and has always helped me to think about what is next.

Second, I will continue to develop skills that make me a better craftsman.  This means I will continue to build for family and friends, working diligently to find better techniques and ways to do things. 

And third, I will think about what skills I need to add to the set of personal “tools” that I possess now.  Do I need to be a better public speaker?  Do I need to learn to weld? 

And then I need to show patience and perseverance and wait for the opportunity to present itself….and it will.

As many of you know, we’ve had some troubling medical news in our family as of late.  I will do anything and everything my daughter needs me to do to help her to be 100% again.  But, and I know she will agree with me, part of taking care of her is taking care of myself as well.  And for any of us to do that, we need to continue to grow.  So, grow I will.

How about you?

Perspective

Interestingly enough, I listened to a speaker on Monday night tell a group of high school Juniors and Seniors that if they followed their passions, the money would take care of itself.  Hum … I am just not sure I necessarily agree with that.  So, I’ve been thinking about it the last couple of days, particularly in light of some really nasty medical news that my family has encountered.  And, as is typically my case, I have some observations and would love to hear back from any of you with opinions of your own.

I have told you in past writing that I tend to keep my passion as an avocation rather than making it my profession.  In doing that, I’ve probably never gotten as good at it as if I would have jumped in and said, "I will be a cabinet maker."  I have tinkered with woodworking, learning a lot but never really perfecting the techniques that I use.  I can and do make pretty furniture and beautiful casework, but I know that had I committed to it with my entire being I would be better today.

At the same time, I did commit myself completely to the management of people.  And in this arena, I believe that I am very good.  This has provided a very comfortable living for myself and my family, and put me in a position that I believed would allow me to retire someday.  For those of us in my generation, this goal has become much more elusive in the last few years than it was in our "early" years. 

That all changed last week.  There has been a change in our family and I have already decided, without reservation, that I would and will spend every cent I have to make it right again.  And, I know we will make it right.

So, the question for me comes full circle.  If I would have followed my passion, would the money have taken care of itself?

Wow, how do you even think about that?  On one hand, maybe with the commitment that I would have made I would have ended up as one of the most prestigious craftsmen in the country, commanding tens of thousands of dollars for a single piece of furniture.  On the other hand, maybe I am as good now as I ever would have been and I’d be living today with much less, but I would have followed my passion all of those years.

So, it kind of becomes one of those chicken/egg arguments.  Which came first?  Here is what I have come to believe in the last little bit.  We all have to do something that makes us smile … EVERY DAY.  If what we are doing does not do that, we have to stop what we are doing and regroup.  Life is just too short to do anything else.  So, I am going home tonight to make sure Andrew loves Engineering and to let Megan know that if she wants to swim with sharks, I will take pictures.  As far as Sara, it is time to get after her quilting business.

Please think positive thoughts for my daughter.  She is beginning a long journey back to good health.  Keep her close to your heart.  Thanks

Carpentry vs. Cabinetmaking

While I was working on the remaining section of my stairs the other night, I asked myself the question, "Are you a cabinetmaker or a carpenter"?  For me the answer came easily.  I am a carpenter.

For what I do, being a good carpenter is enough.  I put things together in the best way, and joints typically fit the way that I want them to.  I end up with projects that are functional and have the right form and fit.  But, from the perspective of a cabinetmaker, I am not there.  There is no "grace and beauty" to what I do.  I am not a cabinetmaker, nor am I a furniture builder.  I do however aspire to be both and I will continue to strive to accomplish these levels of craftsmanship.  But what am I doing to achieve these levels?

I wonder if there is a like comparison in other endeavors.  I am sure there is.  It seems to me that sometimes we go through our lives in a state of mediocrity, happy with the level of our performance and hoping that we will be able to improve our performance to something better.  What happened to the way we approached things when we were young?  I remember Andrew’s second Pinewood Derby.  He absolutely believed that we would win; because we had worked on his car together and there was no way that anyone could be better than that.  We didn’t win, and he was crushed.  Is that the start of limiting ourselves to just be OK, so it doesn’t hurt so much when we are not great?

We all know excellence when we see it.  It is going to the Drake Relays and watching a world class athlete set a new record.  But it is also watching a mother in the grocery store deal with three kids who are having fits appropriately, not screaming or grabbing them by their arm.  I need to take time to recognize excellent behavior in others and tell them about it, and I need to challenge myself to excellence in my own life. 

Speaking for me, it is time to stop accepting the mediocre - in my personal life and in my professional life. I need others around me to do the same.  I will push toward a higher level of expertise in my carpentry until I call myself a cabinetmaker. 

Life is a journey.  Standing still in the place where we are comfortable doesn’t move us forward and doesn’t move us past mediocrity.  I will move forward.  I will challenge and encourage you to move forward as well if you will do the same for me.  This is how we can make our part of the world just a little bit better.

Are you in?

Steam

OK, I promised to get back to man-caves and here I am.

On occasion you get a chance to see someone’s passion exemplified in the shop they have.  Such is the case with Jay Leno.

I watch and absolutely love the television series “Modern Marvels” on the History channel.  My kids, Andrew and Meg, give me crap about it at times, but I find pure joy in discovering the history of things and how they work.  I’ve watched everything from engineering disasters to the history of the shovel.  My son continues to give me a hard time about that episode – who calls the shovel a “Modern Marvel”?

Anyway, one of the latest episodes was about steam power and how it shaped our past and powers our everyday. Enter Jay Leno and his shop.  Many of you know that Jay is very much into autos and has a garage/shop.  It is 17,000 square feet!  The space I am working in is about 800 sq. ft. and I can’t believe how much space I have.  Jay has a fully functional machine shop in the corner of his shop; I have a small space that will eventually be an office.  BUT, either way, both are filled with what we love.

When I was young and thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up, my father told me I should find work that I like and leave what I love for my avocation.  I’ve tried to do that with woodworking.  There are those with greater skill than me when it comes to woodworking, but I doubt there are many who love what they are doing the way I love working in my shop.  I get excited even when faced with a long list of next steps to improving my space and projects to be done.

In the meantime though, let’s appreciate those who have already made the trip.  In this case, Jay Leno who has automobiles, steam cars, and stationary steam engines in his shop.  To a gentleman that added a steam generator behind his shop to power his steam engines – my hat is off to you, Jay.  It shows your passion.  Job well done but don’t quit now.  Show the rest of us the way to go.  And for any of you who are reading this and have a shop, drop me a line and tell me about your space and your passion.  I might just include some of your stories in a future post.

Have a great day and keep after it.

Twenty Years

I spent a lot of the last few days in meetings and on the road.  In the past, this always meant I had a lot of time to think.  Historically when I would come off the road, the people who work around me just waited for a download of the things I worked out while traveling.  This week was different.

This week I spent time wondering how I lost twenty years.  I was thirty - then I was fifty and there just wasn’t twenty years of time in between.  Don’t misunderstand me; there are some great memories in there: having children and watching them grow; friends and acquaintances; both good and great adventures.  However, there just aren’t twenty years of memories in there.  So, upon deeper thought and consideration, it strikes me that the part that I can not remember is the work.  Most of my work history during this time was spent in the lumber industry, both retail and distribution.   I learned a ton, all of which I remember, but I can’t remember the time itself.  Do you suppose this was a survival mechanism, or a flaw in me?

Those twenty years were hard years.  The greatest chunk of time was spent working at Payless Cashways, fighting to save a company that wasn’t to survive.  I can say that now, looking back; but when in the middle of the fight, it was impossible to have the long view that history brings.  The group of people that I worked with was (and still is) very committed to companies that we worked for, spending untold hours and long weeks making sure everything was (and is) done at the highest possible level.  It was the right thing to do.  Or was it?

So, from my travel and thought processes this week comes the following challenge - not to the people that I work with, like usual - but rather to myself and each of you.  How do we make sure that our children, our friends and even our future selves, don’t get lost while doing the right thing for the job?  How do we make sure that we capture every day as a gem to hold and remember?  How do I make sure that I teach this to my son and daughter?

Well, the first thing I am going to do is talk about it … a lot.  This is the beginning, but it isn’t the end.

Thanks for taking this little detour into my thoughts.  The next thing that you will hear from me about will be mancave stuff again.  I have a couple of GREAT thoughts going on there.

Plateaus

Tuesday night I was working at the Toy Box when it struck me how many ways we plateau in our lives. The one that is of course the most personal to me regards weight as I have spent a lifetime attempting to lose it, only to plateau time after time and find myself unable to push through to the next level. 

It is surprising though as you really take time to contemplate it, how many other examples there are.  Take the project I am in the middle of.  I have about exhausted the lumber I bought for the project and have nearly accomplished all of the work I was committed to in this stage.  I have hit a plateau.  And as I sit and think about it, I kind of seem to be rocking back on my heels, saying "That is OK."  Why am I not pushing forward to the next step of the project?

At work we all face the same thing.  I have spent a lifetime of trying to make things better: operations, sales, etc.  I have had a good deal of success in many of these things, but have always faced a plateau level that I seemed to be comfortable with.  And, as I look back across my career, that is typically when I got bored with what I was doing.

Alright, some of you know that one of my favorite authors is Seth Godin.  I think I may be having a moment where Seth would tell me that I heed to push my lizard brain out of the way and just "ship."  For those of you not initiated into the Godin way, in this case this means "Just Do IT."  So, I will regroup, set a larger goal and try to not let progress flatten out into a plateau.  This is my commitment for the day.  What is yours?