My hope is that this will be an encouragement to those just beginning
Getting to know myself took a little time.
When I was a young man, I went through several jobs. I worked in restaurants for a while and even tried a manufacturing plant. This was good in a sense, at least for me because I couldn’t see at the time, where I was going. What that did was to get me exposed to some different possibilities. I suppose that in a sense, I was trying to “find myself”. Was I lost? You might ask. Well, for me I suppose the answer would have to be yes, but that’s a different story, so on with this one. My first opportunity to build something came in the form of a back yard that needed help. This happened to be a rental house that I shared with another guy.
The yard really, really needed help. I discussed it with my roommate and we agreed that I should build a deck, and landscape the yard with lawn and redwood chips. The yard area turned out nice, but my focus will be on the deck. Please understand, this was not some expansive or gorgeous work of beauty, no, this was a very small thing, about 10 feet by 10 feet and it was less than a foot off the ground. I overbuilt it (I later learned), and not by just a little. You could have parked the space shuttle on this thing! I put a railing around it and installed lattice between the vertical posts which gave it a nice look. We put a patio table, chairs and a large umbrella on it, under which we could enjoy outdoor meals.
When I stood back after finishing, I was truly amazed. Never had I done anything like that in my very long life of 23 years and the fact that I had built it myself gave me immense satisfaction. It was at that point that I realized two things. One was that I could do it, and the other is that I really liked it. From start to finish I enjoyed everything about it. I found that I like helping customers work through the details of a project. I enjoy planning and design, working with suppliers and the satisfaction of a completed projet that turned out exactly as planned. Most of all I like working with tools!
I didn’t realize then that I was a young craftsman in the making, but it definitely got into my blood. Actually, since that time and through my whole life, it has been a fairly obsessive thing for me. Ever since I realized how much I enjoy building (and it doesn't matter what) I haven’t been able to turn it off.
Obsessed, Compulsive or just “Driven?”
Backing up a little – when I was a boy living at home, I did NOT like work!!! I can’t emphasize that enough. I would say that I’m not sure any kid does except that I have a daughter who doesn’t seem to mind it at all. She is quite possibly the hardest working young person I have ever met. Hmmm, maybe it was just me after all. At some point however, things did change for me. I got an opportunity to work part time in a commercial kitchen. I started out at the bottom, but I didn’t care. I was working and making money.
I don’t know exactly how the transition came about for me, but I found that I could really work. I worked hard and loved it! I enjoyed working then and still enjoy working now. After a few years I got the opportunity to learn to cook, which became, and is to this day, one of my passions.
Working with food can be very creative and satisfying. There is no better feeling than seeing the look on someone’s face when they bite into a meal that you made for them and you see that you hit a home run. One of the things I enjoyed most about cooking (and still do) is the variety in many different aspects. It was also really great because – you guessed it – as a young man I could eat a lot and all of my meals were free!
Going forward several years; I was working at a resort camp, and once again it was in a commercial kitchen, however; this place had a maintenance and building department. Talk about being in heaven! I used my time there to learn more about building. I didn’t care what it was. I just wanted to know more, and more, and more. I seemed to have an insatiable appetite for learning as much about any type of building as I could.
A few years later I landed a large deck job for a guy in the church I was attending. Remember when I said the first one wasn’t some expansive thing? Well, this one was. It stretched from one end of a long sun room to the other, then across to the garage, around the back of the garage and on to a tennis court. Complete with railings, gate, steps, etc. YEAH! All the bells and whistles. WOW! That was cool! Best part? I did it!
No thrill without a good challenge
Apparently I like a good challenge. Still do. I have, at times, taken on some things where I really had to think outside my box. Let’s look at what makes me tick. Maybe you can relate to some of it.
* I find work enjoyable
* I like to cook (and eat!)
* Doing something that gives me the opportunity to be creative is really
important.
* I seem to always see the deficiencies in a project and how I could have done it better.
* I'm happiest when I face a good challenge and have plenty of variety.
* I need to feel a sense of accomplishment.
* I take risks.
* I can’t “turn it off” I'm always thinking about building something.
Some of the other things that I have learned about myself through the years are:
- I like to work with nice people and for nice people.
- I can work well alone or as part of a team.
- I really appreciate quality workmanship. It's important to me that I learn better ways of doing things from others, whether it's a different way of looking at something or a simpler more effective method of building or a good "trick of the trade" to make a project turn out better.
- I thrive on learning new things.
There doesn't seem to be enough time to learn all of the things I want to.
I want to say again, I write this to be an encouragement to you. I know I’m not the only one who thinks and feels this way. Maybe you see some of these things in yourself, whatever you do, just know that YOU CAN DO IT! Put your heart into it and make it happen. But whatever you do, don’t give up. Never give up. Never say “I can’t” and NEVER EVER let anyone else tell you that you can’t.