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.
Gary Vaynerchuk: Honorary Renaissance Mom
So I just read “Crush It” by the ‘thunderous’ Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee on twitter). You’ll see a video book review in a later post.
But today, I decided to make Gary an honorary Renaissance Mom, and here’s why:
Gary's '3 Rules' make him an Honorary Renaissance Mom
Gary’s 3 Rules
- Love your family
- Work super hard
- Live your passion
That’s the foundation of what The Renaissance Mom is all about. So many women think they have to sacrifice their career to have a great family, or that their family has to suffer in order for mom to be successful.
That’s crap. I say that in love.
The truth is, you can have both, but you have to work like heck to make it happen (thus, rule number 2).
And you have to do all three, or success will never taste sweet. Don’t want to work hard? Forget it.
Terse words, but not near as terse as what Gary offers in his book:
“With enough passion and swat, you can make anything happen.”
“The person who can dominate in hard times is the person who can dominate, period.”
“Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless.”
“Quality is a tremendous filter. Cream always rises, no matter how many cups of coffee you pour.”
‘Nuff said.
And for that, Mr. V, you become my first honorary Renaissance Mom.
Let me know where to send the shirt (and what size you wear).
Overture… Curtain lights… Chicago!
So in my mad ramblings, I don’t talk too much about my personal life. I figure there’s more important stuff going on in the world besides me.
But today, I’m sharing pictures from a recent birthday party.
What makes this party so unique is that the attendees were, for the most part, cast member from a local production of the musical, Chicago.
One cast member, Aaron, celebrated his 20th birthday and invited all of us cast folk to join in the soiree. He’s the Blonde in that first picture, standing next to Anthony.
It was such a blast to see the cast reunite for something like this. We spent a few months together working our BUTTS off for this production. Choreography was tough – at least for locals that haven’t had a dance class in eons. Music was challenging, but we were blessed with some very talented cast members that could out-sing some of the greats on the karaoke stage – and some of us really tried, believe me.
So we ate, drank and had pickles – it’s a tradition, the pickles. You’ll have to ask me about it sometime.
But why is this in a Marketing Blog, you ask? Well, a couple of reasons. This blog also doubles as an occasionally personal blog (deal with it), and because it emphasizes what a good story (Chicago), a loyal customer base (the cast and crew), and a powerful product (Vertigo Theatrics) can bring about.
Ted, the guy that runs the show over there, is really a humble giant of a guy. In our many conversations, one of the things that he’s touched on is the fear that he’s not making a difference in the lives of people in our area. Now I’ve worked with Ted on several other productions where the cast and crew become close in an almost magical way, but he always wrote it off as a fluke. Well, I think the third time’s not a coincidence: it’s what makes a good theater company GREAT:
Jen and Steve, to my knowledge, have never done a show together before. This show stretched Steve in a leading role. Jen had to dig deep for some amazing choreography. This show really brought them together and gave them a new “thing to do” as husband and wife.
New friendships were forged – some of which transformed lives. People came to this show with broken pieces, and somehow, through the power of theater, shared trials and a good belly laugh, they found themselves on the mend.
Super HEROES came to the rescue. Anthony’s folks gave us an amazing set, and raised the bar for all of Ted’s future productions. And don’t get me started on the amazing job Barb did on the costumes. Selfless giving. Yeah, they’ll say it was because they wanted Anthony’s first production to be spectacular, but few people give of themselves that way for total strangers – even if their kid is involved. And the tireless day-in, day-out work of Ted’s “better half”, Jacque is a testament to the passion they both have for this community.
And me? I just took it all in. Making notes so that Ted couldn’t backpedal on this one. There was so much joy in a room that never would have been there if it weren’t for companies like this, productions like this, and people like Ted and Jacque who found a passion and nurtured it with “Class”.
There were others in this cast of characters that didn’t hang around long enough to pose, and others still that couldn’t make it to this seemingly simple birthday party.
But this was a party unlike most. This was a cast of strangers that became friends for a time, who reunited for one of their own to celebrate, remember, and be grateful. These people have their own paths in life and will take new directions now that the show is over.
But I think it’s safe to say we were ALL transformed by what a little passion can do.
THANKS, TED! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARON!