Brick by brick
I had an interesting chat with a good friend of mine. He told me the story last month where his wife was away on a girl’s weekend. She received a text offering congratulations on her husband’s inclusion into The Irish Times Rich List. It was the first my friends wife knew about it. In fact, it was the first my friend knew about it. With a puffed out chest he told me the story how his perceived wealth was greater than that of Rowland Keating.
This is the same friend who told me a story in the height of the credit crisis. Times were tough especially after investing heavily into property. Cash flow was tight and progress slow.
“Every day is about small steps, doing lots of little things moving towards the bigger picture. The foundations are laid, it’s now just laying the bricks” he said.
My working life is following that pattern. We are creating a building. The foundations have been laid, we are now building the walls, brick by brick. Sometimes we have a day when there are no bricks in stock, others we have to be the hod carrier preparing (i.e. the 100 day plan). Other days we turn up to work, the bricks are there, the sun is out but only to find the water supply has been cut off and we cannot make the cement.
Other days, we are flying and we can sit back at the end of the day and see real tangible results.
In these difficult economic times, we have to remember that each day is about small steps. Creating our masterpiece will not happen overnight, but as long as we are still laying the bricks –day in day out – we are moving in the right direction.
Excellent thoughts, Jeremy. I remember an American friend once saying, “An inch is a synch, a yard is too hard.”