Actions speak louder than words

Last October I was laid off from my government contracting job, again. I find myself looking for a new job on my birthday, which happens to fall on the fiscal new year. I spend a few weeks frantically throwing out resumes in hopes that it will land me an interview for a job with a good salary and benefits for the family. Every year I would finally get an interview around the time the last day of my saved vacation time was about to burn up and then I would talk my way into a job that I was largely unqualified for just to keep the train of inevitability on the tracks for just a little while longer. I would talk them into hiring me and then spend the next 6 months scrambling to get up to speed with the requirements and settle into a routine. About the time the routine was getting established I would have to start looking for another job since the contract is only ever just a year long. I would come to repeat this process over the course of the last 6 years, and it never got easier.

When I first saw the potential for doing leathercraft as a full time job I told my wife we should consider that as an option and she responded as any sane wife and mother of three kids should. She encouraged me to keep up with my hobby but I was out of my ever-loving mind if I thought for a second that this hobby would ever amount to anything that resembles a steady and predictable income and source of health benefits. I saw her logic and continued to bang my head against the same wall in hopes that I could find the path that would give us everything we want. I was looking for the day the planets would align and all of the roadblocks would be magically removed and I could have my cake and eat it too.

If anyone reading this is married and/or the parent of children you know this never happens. There is never a perfect time to take action. There is never a moment where dreams worth acting on are without risks. I knew that if I continued doing what I was doing I would ride that roller coaster of insecurity and paranoia until it flew off the rails and dragged me into the abyss. I took a deep breath and declared my intentions to never go back into the contracting world and take the business full-time. I would raid my 401K to pay off as much of the bills as I could and we would not be able to afford healthcare (ObamaCare is not an option). If its the right thing to do then God will provide the means to these particular ends.

Turns out I was right….about most things…so far. Three days after I made my Declaration of Independence I was approached by a company to provide 500 custom belts and buckles for the employees attending a conference. I spent four months proposing, planning, and preparing the belts and the details of the event and scored a huge victory. Everyone was happy and they want more. As luck would have it, the years I spent banging my head against the wall with those other jobs taught me a few things. Years spent as a Health IT Trainer and consultant for Medical Tech conferences introduced me to the environment I found myself working in. That crazy Project Management Certification (that I never used professionally) has always played a role in my personal projects but in this case it helped me plan an event that impressed a $1.5 Billion dollar company.  My experience as a leatherworker helped me lead a team of 9 people over two long days as we adjusted our game plan to accomplish our mission with excellent results and a (relatively) timely manner.

Because of this success we are looking forward to other opportunities with the same company and others that were scouting us out during the event, unbeknownst to us. We have tremendous growth in the number of people coming to us for work to be done and others to come to work with us. The mood in the shop is light and lively as we learn new skills and help each other through various projects. My time with my family is quality time. They are the reason I am doing any of this and they continue to keep me grounded and bolstered for the challenges that come my way.

I could sit around forever waiting for the perfect set of circumstances. I can talk forever about the endless potential ahead of us and all the things we could do if we were just given a chance. I did that for a few years. I will never do that again. I know I am doing what I am meant to do. God blessed me with life, a strong and supportive family, and numerous skills that I can use to help others. As long as I continue to honor these blessings and act in good faith I have no doubt that we will be successful.

Wishing for something to happen will never produce the same effect as taking action and seizing the moment.