Dirty Jobs

Happy Tuesday!

Here’s a clip taken from chapter 8 of my book, Make me a Legend. Read the clip and then we’ll chat about…

the dirty part of the job
Nervous people demanding split second results; this is our world. And when today’s achiever can’t measure results in terms of above ground progress; they usually jump ship in search of something far more immediately gratifying.

It’s comical to watch how enthusiastic people are when they first encounter a sizable vision like ours. Springing up so quickly–out of no where, unreservedly committing their blood, sweat, and tears to nothing more than a well pitched dream–only to fizzle as they calculate how much longer it could take before they will be able to personally benefit from this dream.

Building foundations takes a very special kind of people. Building extravagant foundations takes the rarest of all! Successful foundation workers have a remarkable degree of foresight. With bizarre enthusiasm, they bed down in dirty places for however long it takes to lift a towering dream into the air. They’ve counted the cost, knowing they may never experience the pleasure of standing on their own platform. Foundation workers accept responsibility; they welcome responsibility–for the dirty part of the job!

Throughout history, former generations have given up everything to lay the foundation for a better today. And even though we may feel especially enticed to kick back and freeload off their labors, we must welcome our commission to labor hard for the greater blessings of a future generation. We should be so privileged to work just like them, underground for the larger portion of our lives–sweating in the dirty places for a better tomorrow. Possessed with dreams, people like us stand firm on little more than the intangible possibility of what could be–and that is more than enough for us!

Recently, I was having a conversation with my son about his purpose in this world. At 18, he’s thinking and praying about so many things these days.

At 38, I’m thinking more and more about the kind of world I’m creating for him and my daughter… and for their future children.

On some days, it seems as if my life is moving at a snails pace… as if my lofty dreams are a few lifetimes away!

Have you ever taken the time to consider what might happen to your DREAMS if you were to die young? Maybe you’re uncomfortable thinking of such things… but for me, its very enlightening.

Sometimes, our progress is more easily identified when we look beyond our funeral… maybe even 20 years beyond our funeral… or even farther than that!

I’m not a perfect person and neither are you, but I predict that when our lives are over, people will say, “Those foundation workers sweated their lives away in dirty places, possessed with the dream of tomorrow’s better world! They stood so firm, on nothing more than the intangible possibility of what COULD BE… and LOOK AT THIS EXTRAVAGANT FOUNDATION THEY HAVE LEFT FOR US!”

If all you and I leave behind is a new foundation, then we should be able to rest in peace. If we have to spend up our entire lives in the dirtiest places… we must have a deep confidence in the generation behind us… that they will make our sacrifices count… and that when the time comes, they will stand up tall on the platform we have built for them!

I hope todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing life! Just take a deep breath today… recognize how we are riding the sacrifices of a parent generation and how this is OUR TIME TO TAKE WHAT WE’VE BEEN HANDED and MAKE IT BETTER and FORWARD IT INTO THE FUTURE to a well able emerging generation!

Love you all!