From Cocky Ghostbuster to Tired Forrest Gump

Before the Financial Crisis and this real estate cool down, it had become routine for me to be feeling pretty triumphant as I left a closing after selling one of my resurrected properties...like Bill Murray and the Ghostbusting team shown below.

 

However, The Bungalow with it's Detached Garage and The Duplex have been different.  I bought it all as one property at the start of 2008.  Two Pig's Ears, one gigantic sow, and the worst property on the street by far.  You know what they say, "Go big or go home."  Well, I did just that.  In the worst economy since The Great Depression, I subdivided the land...so I owned the two worst properties on the street.  (see Subdividing the Bungalow and The Duplex).

While trying to be a husband, father, and step-father, I juggled; stacks of water, electric, insurance, and tax bills, credit card and credit line payments, and the schedules/needs of contractors, tradespeople, inspectors, and vendors.  And on top of those usual challenges, I also had to deal with drug dealers infiltrating part of the property, someone trying to steal a pricey air conditioner for copper, the loss of a new friend in the neighborhood who was cheering me on until he went to be with The Lord, the eviction of a pair of Waffle House waitresses who weren't paying rent, and an irritating medical issue that's too personal to share (but pretty funny for everyone else when I do).  Then to add to my neurosis, I was borderline OCD about keeping twelve different doors closed and locked when I wasn't there.  (See It's An Adventure.)  So I signed my name over and over again today and then let out a sigh while my daughter sat next to me at the conference table with her coloring book and crayons. 

I came, I saw, I finished my mission.  I don't feel like the Ghostbusters.  I feel more like  a worn-out Forrest Gump and I'm glad I have a Jenny of my own to give me a comforting hug and tell me she's proud of me even though I have nothing to show for it but my pictures, lessons learned, and some stories.

I didn't make any money on this pair, but I got back what I put in.  Some may see this as a loss.  Others may look at it as a tie.  I worked pretty hard to get there and I'm glad I made it.  I think I'll see getting back to where I started as a victory and begin looking forward to the next chapter.         

Break It Down

If you’re renovating a house for the first time, adding a master suite, planning the redo of your kitchen, or some other endeavor with a seemingly infinite number of things to do, consider the words of M.C. Hammer or D.J. Lance and break it down.  Steven Covey is the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  Habit 2 is: Begin with the End in Mind.  You want to have the finished house in your minds-eye from the start, but I want to encourage you to break things down into smaller pieces so your plans aren't snuffed out before you really get going.

Consider for a minute that you where embarking on a mountain climbing trip.  Would you be fixated on the top of the mountain as you marched forward each minute?  I doubt it.  Each day, you'd probably be mindful of where you wanted to get before nightfall and you'd surely break that down into a smaller objectives of how far you expected to trek before having a rest, stopping for lunch, and so on.  And think of marathoners who break down their training into do-able segments and have their 26.2 mile mission broken into parts that are marked with mile signage as they get closer to the finish line on race day.  In reality, climbing a mountain, running a marathon, or renovating an extremely run-down home are similar in that they're just a whole lot of smaller steps and tasks put together into something that's greater when it's considered in it's entirety at the end.

I love actor Bill Murray's work and have enjoyed the film What About Bob? more than a few times.  Richard Dreyfuss just wanted Bob out of his office and he used the message from his 'groundbreaking new book' to help make that happen.  If you've never renovated a home before, it might seem overwhelming (like everything was for Murray's character Bob).  However, your home renovation goal is like anything else and needs to be reconsidered in smaller parts.  The interior and exterior.  Then, each room on the inside and the landscaping, the homes exterior, and the roof on the outside.  From there things just get broken down further into small parts that you can knock out one by one.

In addition, when you have a big goal out in the distant future, be certain to celebrate the smaller accomplishments along the way and if you're renovating, remember to look back at your pictures frequently to remind yourself of how much progress you've made (see Step 1 - Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!).  You don't have to have a block party after you successfully knock out each task, but enjoy each accomplishment for what it is and take a moment to savor what you've done before moving on to that next item on your list.

So if you're thinking of climbing a big mountain, becoming an Ironman triathlete, or renovating a extremely run down house (aka - Pig's Ear) start by breaking it down again and again and again into achievable pieces and begin taking small steps ahead toward the moment at the summit, the finish line, or the house you imagine.