It’s In the Way That You Do It

My grandfather was a highly skilled carpenter. He built many of the homes in my community, but also had finish skills that probably rivaled Jesus and Joseph (I’m guessing here, but he was pretty dang good). Even into his seventies, this guy was building picture frames, building boxes, framing walls. His planes were all sharp, and more than one door in my mom’s house had seen his masterful smoothing technique.

The man had crazy mad ‘skilz’.

Strive to be the best at whatever you do.

Grandpa used to joke about a guy that hired him for a job. The guy kept trying to hang something and it wouldn’t stay on the wall – something like that. So Grandpa went in, did a few measurements, tapped on the wall a couple of times, drove one nail and the thing (a shelf I think) was perfectly aligned and flawlessly hung.

They guy was impressed, until he got the bill. Grandpa had charged him what seemed an exorbitant sum (I think it was like $50). The guy said, “All you did was drive one nail! I’m not going to pay this bill. When you can bring me a more reasonable bill, I’ll pay it.”

So Grandpa took back the invoice, drew a line, scribbled a couple of words and numbers and handed it back to the man. It read as follows:

Driving one nail: $1

Knowing WHERE to drive the nail: $49

The man paid up.

When I read Seth Godin’s post on craftsmanship this morning, I was reminded of Grandpa’s little joke. Whether or not it actually happened, i was never able to discern, but the fact of the matter is that my Gramps was amazing. He built a home for a doctor who insisted on having a solid, plate glass wall running down the middle of the home. Gramps was leery about building it because the guy had small children – and this was before tempered glass. But build it he did.

It was so strong and so well built that when the tornadoes blew through Flint in the 1950′s, the only piece of the doctor’s house that was still standing was that glass wall – flawless an untouched.

Yeah, Gramps rocked it as a carpenter.

Like Seth’s blog indicates, it’s not about what you choose to do in your life – it’s in the way that you do it. You don’t need to be perfect, but you should certainly strive for excellence. If it’s not worth doing right, why do it at all? As grown ups, we can make a lot of choices for ourselves. We can decide that which we’d like to do.

So why don’t you do it?

And when you do it, do it well. Don’t half-ass it as my Mom would say (pardon me, I think you can tell I’m a bit passionate about this). There are people all over this country that are jobless, feeling hopeless, and yet there’s never been a greater opportunity all around us for people to find their passion and follow it to the ends of the earth. Heck, what do you have to lose? ESPECIALLY if you’ve already lost everything?

If you’re a mom, be the best dang mom you know how to be. Really care about your kids. Stop and be more aware of what your life is like because of your children – the joy and the pain – and recognize the gifts you’ve been given for being a mom.

If you’re a business owner – be the best dang business ower you can be. Really care about your work. Stop and be more aware of what your life is like because of your business – the joy and the pain – and recognize the gifts you’ve been able to create because you’re an entrepreneur.

I’m learning that in many ways, being a business owner is a lot like being a mom to a special needs child. Both take extreme amounts of focus, energy and effort. Both are rewarding on so many levels.

As a human being strive to be the best dang human being you can be. Everyone comes to this world for different purposes, on different socioeconomic levels, but that only means you’ve been given a greater opportunity to be the you that God has called you to be. And it doesn’t matter if you believe in God or not, because in this instance, it’s still about being the absolute best you can be – and who wouldn’t want that?

My Mother in Law (hi Mum!) told me the other day that she reads my blog religiously. As far as I know she’s the only family member that’s ever read any of my blogs. The funny thing is, though, that it didn’t change the way I write or the message I’m trying to convey. It didn’t make me want to write better or say things more eloquently, because I already know I’m giving this everything I’ve got. I’m striving to be the best dang writer I know how to be. It doesn’t change depending on the day or my mood or the color of my hair.

My family drove the point home at an early age that half way doesn’t cut it. Everything you do, say and are is reflected in your daily actions and choices. It’s all in the way that you do things. Actions speak louder than words and whatnot.

Who and HOW do you choose to be? Decide with conviction and live with conviction – and do it all with craftsmanship.