No matter how hard we try to deny it, we are a product of our accumulated experiences.
This summer I have been going back to Michigan every month to finish a long-term project. We have had a new tack room on the list of things to finish for a couple of years now and I finally said, it’s time to get this one off the list. It’s been in the in the stud wall stages for about three years, so this was the summer to finish it and give the boarders a proper place for their horse tack.
To date I have done all the hands-on work at the farm. From fence post, new stalls to wash racks, and electrical, it’s been me. For almost 10 years now. I don’t consider myself a carpenter or even all that smart. I’m more of a measure once and cut twice carpenter.
Sometimes I cut it twice and it’s still too short. But if I study something long enough, I can figure it out. So, when I started to build the new lockers for the tack room, it took about a full day of sketching and thinking. I bought the amount of wood I figured on and had just (3) 2 x 4’s left over. Just as calculated. Then my daughter says to me, “It always amazes me how you can get it so close.” Then it hit me, I am a product of my lifelong experiences.
A quick history lesson. I left my family business back in 1984. I felt stagnant. So, I took a job with a new startup company called Knight Industries. I knew the owner for many years, and he left his family business as well to start his own business. I was his first shop employee, a welder fabricator. I worked for Jim and his partner Mike for 28 years.
It did not always seem like it but looking back, this was some of the best times of my life and some of the most informative. They refined my shop skills, and I watched and learned everything I could about business. I apply these same skills and lessons today at Hava Java today. I remember a job that Jim gave me.
He had purchased a new CNC Strippit machine. This was a several hundredthousand-dollar machine. It was so big that it needed its own cement foundation poured with a custom steel mounting structure that had multiple anchor points. Once this structure was set in the foundation and cement poured around it, it better be correct.
You see you only had one shot and had to be right. I tack welded the structure and went to it to ask Jim to check it with me before fully welding it. He looked at me and said, “No. This is what I pay you for. Make sure it’s right.” You have to understand, Jim always had an open door to ask any question you had. But he was telling me that he had confidence in me. However, “Did I sweat when the riggers placed that machine on its new foundation?” You bet I did! But it lined up perfectly.
I later became a division manager for now Knight Global. It is now one of the largest companies in its field. A multi-million-dollar company. I like to think that I was a small part of it. And the lessons I learned over those 28 years are irreplaceable. They made me the person that I am.
Of course there are many other examples of lessons along the way. I’ve always had friends that were much smarter than me. I learned from each and every one of them. I stated in last month’s article that if you’re lucky yo will work with the absolute best in a field. I have been blessed many times this way, and Jim and Mike are just one example of the best.
So, this month’s thought is you may think that your current experiences are not getting you anywhere… but trust me. All the stuff you go through will add up, and if you let them, they will make you a better person. It just takes time.
Please like and follow us on our new Facebook page – Hava Java Mesa-Beans, Beer, Wine, Music.