Learning the value of incremental progress…

I’m currently on a flight back from Chicago to LA and as we took off and I looked out the window, I realized that I completely forgot what city I had just left! Its been a long 9 or 10 days since I left Los Angeles sometime last week. I remember boarding an early flight from LAX to Midway (Chicago) to Cleveland – that’s right it was Mother’s Day! (Bonus points for me with my mother!!!) The trip was to accomplish many things but mainly get my investment house in Akron back on track and to get our condo in Chicago ready for a moving company and rental.

While in Akron, my parents were wonderful enough to drop me off each morning at my property and always returned back later that evening to pick me up! Thus far with this house I’ve learned an enormous amount of lessons – most of which have transferability to life and raising a child.

First Lesson – “Plumbing.” Some times, despite how well you think you can sweat pipe because you saw two episodes of DIY and have an amazing hi-tech gadget that makes the torch irrelevant, its still easier to spend $4 more and buy the ’sharkbites’ that make welding a thing of the past! Parenting Translation – if you buy cheep diapers you will be cleaning up two messes.

Second Lesson – “Ladder Placement.” Just because you put a cinderblock under one leg of a ladder and it feels sturdy from the second step, it doesn’t mean by the time you climb up and get to the second story window that it won’t tip over forcing you to jump off. Parenting Translation – Stable ground is always a bias viewpoint and varies greatly depending on where you are standing. Take a chance but be prepared because sometimes you need to fall down before you realize how quickly common sense can leave your decision-making skills when you develop tunnel-vision.

Third Lesson – “You Get What You Paid For.” If you choose to use free labor and you neither of you are ‘professionals,’ don’t be upset when you get burned because you didn’t properly evaluate your role in the task. No real parenting lesson here but just don’t be the dummy who agrees to hang on to the bottom of a copper pipe that is being welded from the top.

Fourth Lesson – “Laugh.” Part of owning your own business means determining who you want to work with (the other part is dictated because of your budget!). When you make that choice, embrace it and make sure you mindfully embrace every moment and remember that you could be clocking back in on a 9 to 5 gig! I’m lucky enough to be working with my father and its been the best mess we’ve every created. I haven’t laughed this much at myself or him while working our tails off – I hope everyone takes a chance like this and just really learns to embrace it. Parenting Translation – He’s a tough act to follow but all I can do is ensure I’m just as supportive for my child!

And that’s where I stand, the house is not quite finished but its a lot closer than it was when I first got there. I’m sure that this will not be the last one that I flip (I’ll be paying someone to paint on the next ones – but I really like demolition day!!!). Once we get finished, I’ll post some pix – its been an amazing transformation and not just for the house. At the end of this trip, I’m exhausted and really miss my wife and Boo (AND CONSISTENT 70 DEGREE WEATHER WHERE IT DOESN’T RAIN EVERY FREAKING DAY!). My big lesson on this trip has been the value of incremental progress – always moving forward and building off the successes and failures from the previous day. With the support of my wife, parents, and close friends/advisors, I finally feel like I’ve hit my stride. Thanks to all (especially my parents!) – I’m forever grateful.

Just a taste of the progress…

Before:

After: