Self Improvemet

It’s Dave’s World

What world do you live in? I have a colleague who I respect much and continues to impress me with his wit. Early on he made the comment, “it is Dave’s world and everyone else lives in it.” A bold and brash statement, but the more I reflect the more I realize how true that comment is to each of us.

My daughter has struggled with some issues during her first semester at college. It is hard, an 18 year old turned loose on the world with all of the authority and responsibilities of an adult, but yet still a child on some levels. We have expectations for our kids when they leave the nest: did we prepare them to care for themselves, will they make good decisions, what if something happens, will they my child focus on school? Each of us matured by passing through tests of right versus wrong and facing “struggles” that life may bring. Our struggles tend to pale in comparison to the true struggles of many: poverty, disease, famine, and war. Our middle class struggles are more akin to a broken phone, a bad grade or possibly a car accident. However, no matter how trivial one man’s struggle is it can be traumatic for another.

So, back to Dave. I recently gave my daughter some advice, advice worthy of all of us considering no matter where we are in life.

First, each of us is the creator of our own world. No one else can be blamed for what happens in our world. We choose our friends, consciously make decisions regarding situations. We choose how hard to apply ourselves. Rules are either followed or disregarded, but through conscious choice. Our diet, fitness, spirituality, relationships and success are all part of our world and determined through our decisions. An 18 year old graduating from high school and foregoing using talents may come to regret the decision a decade later when struggling economically, but he made a conscious choice. I do not subscribe to the theory of “they” – “they made me do it,” “they did this.” You get the idea, there is no “they” in my life.

Second, and more importantly, knowing we are the creators of our own world means we can mold our world to be what we want it to be. For example, I have a friend who has had relationship struggles. There is much drama, much indecision, and a series of repeated challenges. As an outsider it is easy to armchair quarterback his life and give him direction. But, I cannot mold his world, only he can. As the center of his universe he is the common theme to his problems and the only one that can make changes. Similarly, alcoholics know this well and understand a few key methods to success: admit the problem, make amends with those we hurt, and do not drink. In other words, don’t do the things that cause trouble in your life. Thus, is an alcoholic best served by friends that party, drink, and drag him to bars? No, the obvious answer is to avoid those friends and situations. He can mold his world to avoid alcoholism.

My buddy Dave is a wise man. For Dave, it is his world and we all live in it. We each can learn from this wisdom and can mold our world.

I bet if you walked down the street and randomly asked strangers what books influenced their lives you would here lofty answers like “The Bible”, Lincoln’s biography or other epic responses.  Most are probably B.S. meant to impress and given without much reflection.  Give it some thought.  What books did you read growing up that made you who you are?  It might be as simple as the Hardy Boys or a random novel from the library.

We were there novel

I grew up without handheld electronics, the web, or anything on television during the day other than soap operas.  Thus, reading was my escape.  I did read all of the Hardy Boys novels, I used to read juvenile history through the “we were there” novels and I quickly advanced to raiding my parent’s bookshelves to find new fodder for learning.  Maybe reading “Papillon” as sixth-grader was not the healthiest indulgement but I knew I did not want to go to prison!

In the late 1970’s I lived in California. We had moved from Minneapolis to San Jose. It was culture shock for a kid from the midwest but I survived. Among changes that occurred in my life was the coincidental fitness craze across America and the new found love of jogging many had started.

I remember walking into department stores and seeing the book “Running” by Jim Fixx on tables. It was a bold color, red, with just a pair of legs and red running shows and the title in bold white letters. That book and the attention given to the jogging craze inspired me to run. I can remember running around our block. We moved to San Diego and I continued to jog, although I was never consistent. In 1980 I tried to run my first half marathon at the age of 12. At just past six miles my Dad drove by to check on me, I climbed in the car and never finished. However, the book “Running” impacted me and I went on to run track in high school and some in college. To this day I still exercise and it due to that book.

Around the same time I would read books on my parent’s shelves. One of the books I read was “Lucifer’s Hammer.” The first apocalyptic novel I read. In the book a meteor crashes to earth and leaves behind the survivors to rebuild a new world. The main character in the book is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and uses logic and skill to survive. In 7^th grade I found myself identifying with that engineer, wanting to be the engineer that was savvy enough to plan for disaster and solve problems. The book “Lucifer’s Hammer” forever changed my life and influenced me to become an engineer. Not only did it inspire me to be an engineer but more a person desirous of self-reliance and wanting to learn. I realized we only have a finite amount of time in our lives and we must learn all we can.

The third major book to influence my life came from the television commercials in the early 1980’s featuring Victor Kiam. Kiam was an entreprenuer an advertised the Remington microshaver, his tag line was something like, “I liked the shaver so much I bought the company.” He also advertised a book, “Going for It” about being an entreprenuer. I bought and read that book. That single book helped me realize I could achieve success on my own.

Throughout college I read books even though I was in school. I theorized that we have only a finite amount of time on earth and it is essentially impossible to learn everything that could be known to man. In other words, why reinvent the wheel? Thus, if I could read biographies and learn from others I should do so. Thus, I read Lincoln, Trump, Schwartzkopf, Hughes, and many others. I soaked up learning from great men, leaders, and entreprenuers. I learned the consistent theme was drive. You must be driven to succeed.

A friend of mine summed this up as something he shares with his kids and I now repeat it often. “It is easy to be average.”

Pick up a book, turn off the television and electronics.  Read.

OK – it was supposed to bathroom renovation in a day.  However, nothing ever goes as planned.

Our cabin in N. GA.  is about 14 years old and the original builder did not spend an extra dime on anything.  When we bought the house even the interior doors had not been painted or stained.  Since 2007 we have done numerous projects and upgrades, but the two bathrooms had been neglected.

However, I had replaced the faucets in each and made repairs to the toilets.  On my last trip in November the drawer in the downstairs half bath came apart in my hand and the cabinet itself was rotted.  Thus, an obsession to renovate the bathroom came upon me.  I had this weekend because I have to be in Atlanta tomorrow and it made sense.

The goal – minimal cost, rustic, but not over the top cabin decor.  It will probably last 10-15 years so something that is not trendy was required.

Concerns – removing the cabinet base: what would I find underneath.  Second, what about the walls where the cabinet was?

The plan:

• Obtain a pedestal sink (scored a brand new sink on Craigslist for $40).
• Repaint the bathroom (using the red paint from James’ room at the Florida house)
• Keep the toilet
• Keep the faucet
• Use a pallet to get the reclaimed wood for the wall where the mirror is
• A new light fixture with mason jar glass housings

I started Saturday morning at 9:45am. We finished Sunday evening at 5:15p.  Saturday we (my Dad and I) wrapped up at 5:15p. Sunday was about the same – total time roughly 12-13 hours with two hours break each day for hardware store and lunch.

We used metal roofing tin for the side and back splash below the sink.

The toughest problem?  Hanging the sink as we had no brackets or instructions.  We used 2″ metal conduit to create a holder in the back of the sink and wall anchors reversed as toggle clamps against the underside of the sink.

It was a great project and I got to spend the weekend with my Dad!

Do you waste time?  Start here and read these quotes.

I do not, or try not to, have time wasters in my life. Do you?

For instance, our family does not have cable television (remember cable is dead, that is why it is buried!). Our television is on only to watch the news in the morning and is generally off except for Friday and Saturday evenings when we gather as a family to watch a movie. I do not waste my weekends, Monday nights, or Thursday nights watching millionaires play games. I can’t tell you whose “Voice” was a “Survivor” on “Jersey Shore.” Most notably, I have heard Kim Kardashian’s name but I may be the only person in the world that couldn’t pick her out of a criminal lineup. Panem et Circenses.  Click the link and learn, are you a victim of the 24-hour entertainment cycle?

Regardless of personal wealth we all have the same amount of time. Each day the clock strikes midnight and rich or poor we all have 24-hours, 1440 minutes per day. The question is how do you use your time? Do you watch Oprah, Ellen, American Idol, NFL football? Why? What if you learned a new skill during the same time?

Have you heard of Coursera? Did you know you can take classes from some of the most renowned institutes in the world for FREE? What if you gave up just three hours per week to take a class and learn something new. That new knowledge could be applied to starting a business, writing a book, or even relaxing through a new found hobby.

Imagine watching football.  Just pick one team for the season.  16 games per team (NFL Games played during the season).    Each game lasts a minimum of three hours, closer to four when commercials and overtime is factored in.  For sake of argument, we will use three.  Thus, 48 hours are spent watching football for just one team. But, who watches just one team or game per week?  Keeping our math easy we will use 50 hours.  The equivalent of a single college class!  Or, assume you make $20/hour.  Time and a half would be $30/hour – a cost of $1500 for not working overtime!  What about health?

During the same time the following fitness benefits could be realized:

• 1 hour walking 300 – That is 15,000 calories!
• 1 hour jogging 700 – That is 35,000 calories!
• 1 hour bicycling 700 – That is 35,000 calories!

Keep reading…Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you’d lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).  (from the above article).

PLUS – you are not sitting on your ass consuming calories.

In the early 1990s a good friend of mine gave me a hard time.  He was stunned, he couldn’t believe I did not watch the superbowl on a particular Sunday in January.  Why?  I was writing a piece of code.  That piece of code became part of a software program that I sold approximately 10 months later for $10,000 – my first commercial application.  In my entire life I can remember less than a handful of times ever being at a Superbowl party and I even then I do not remember watching the game.

Be cautious concerning time wasters.  2015 is a new year.  What are you doing this weekend?  Spending time with your kids and family?  Working around the house?  Exercising? Or, wasting your day?

Time is infinite but our lives are not. Don’t waste time.