Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
This discussion came from a quick comment here, by Andy Brown in response to my photographs of sculptures I've made for my very modern home.
That's such a nice thing for Andy o say, (......... almost Australian Northern Territory humor, in it''s "wrapped up", seemingly "hostile" invective, but containing a genuinely felt nugget of hopefully, well-earned praise). Andy's nice comment should have been covered with the tendering a simple "Thank you!" The matter would end there and be, in itself, satisfying to the two of us, but not very significant to anyone else!
However, I realize that a lot of folk a locked in paths based on assumptions of what cannot be achieved with one's own resources and capabilities. In fact, the stuff of great adventures is based on the conquest of such opposition. Heroes faced with a block, swivel on a dime and take a new course that they discover only in that acute setback. My belief is that these stories are in fact useful tools for us as we all are far more capable than we'd first assess. So instead of just thanking Andy for his supportive quip, I decided to disclose at some length the framework in which I operate. Perhaps this might give others an approach to materializing their own dreams.
Interestingly, Andy,
I obtained the house by sheer good luck when it was repossessed by the bank from the architect. His builders had taken shortcuts and so rendered the house a leaking sieve. No one would buy it. I had a major builder evaluate it for repair and he said it should be leveled instead. So I made the bank a very low offer that they would have to finance with a small deposit and went off to a medical conference in Munich and then forgot about the whole matter as a lost cause.
Two months later, after the big Los Angeles earthquake, we were contacted by the broker who wanted to know how we like our new home. I hadn't the faintest idea what she was talking about, LOL!
It turned out that the bank had decided that we were their best option and they'd agreed to the special terms! I was totally amazed. Since then, I gradually undid the faults in the house and made it totally sound. The faults forced me to tackle a job way above my grade. Everything I subsequently tackled in the house, I researched thoroughly and used only the best engineering, standards for redundancy and workers to re-fashion that small element in that year. We lived for a long time with many buckets to collect water and fans to dry books and clothes. It took all of ten years to finally have the house in perfect structural and architectural shape. There were big mistakes that forced me to backtrack and take over from a builder and rethink my approach until I got it right. That's a great lesson in life. We're now on a house, the kind that only other people love in and each time I walk along the corridor by the open rooms, I'm still in awe that I'm even allowed in the place!
So that's how one overachieves - simply set oneself a goal one doubts one can achieve and then break it down into small steps! I used that idea as my mantra as I climbed the steps in the tower to go on the very long and high zip lines in Costa Rica this summer. I was very frightened by the open steel stairs and height above the jungle canopy. Notwithstanding my innate dread of heights, I refused to consider any height, but my own relative to the steps below my feet, and so made it to the top. Once actually there on the top platform, despite my utter dread of the open edge, my confidence in the physics of the matter and the tensile strength of the steel cable and the nature of the harness, allowed me to totally relax and experience the freedom and joy of flying above the Forrest, something no sane fellow weighing $230 lb would do at 73!
The only difficulty in toiling above one's grade is to handle one small worrisome step at a time, knowing that, achieving that in itself is a wasted effort if one does not persist.
The troubles in Northern Island made an impression on me which bears relevance to this attitude of persistence. I have always admired the neatly-dressed little girls in Catholic preschool uniform, as they steadfastly passed through a gauntlet of irate, bullying Ulster Protestant intimidators, angry, demon-possessed women, hurling vulgar insults. How such children could get to their classes every day without breaking down inspired me. It's imprinted on my brain. That, to me set my standard to follow when facing seemingly impassable obstacles and pushback.
Asher
That's such a nice thing for Andy o say, (......... almost Australian Northern Territory humor, in it''s "wrapped up", seemingly "hostile" invective, but containing a genuinely felt nugget of hopefully, well-earned praise). Andy's nice comment should have been covered with the tendering a simple "Thank you!" The matter would end there and be, in itself, satisfying to the two of us, but not very significant to anyone else!
However, I realize that a lot of folk a locked in paths based on assumptions of what cannot be achieved with one's own resources and capabilities. In fact, the stuff of great adventures is based on the conquest of such opposition. Heroes faced with a block, swivel on a dime and take a new course that they discover only in that acute setback. My belief is that these stories are in fact useful tools for us as we all are far more capable than we'd first assess. So instead of just thanking Andy for his supportive quip, I decided to disclose at some length the framework in which I operate. Perhaps this might give others an approach to materializing their own dreams.
Interestingly, Andy,
I obtained the house by sheer good luck when it was repossessed by the bank from the architect. His builders had taken shortcuts and so rendered the house a leaking sieve. No one would buy it. I had a major builder evaluate it for repair and he said it should be leveled instead. So I made the bank a very low offer that they would have to finance with a small deposit and went off to a medical conference in Munich and then forgot about the whole matter as a lost cause.
Two months later, after the big Los Angeles earthquake, we were contacted by the broker who wanted to know how we like our new home. I hadn't the faintest idea what she was talking about, LOL!
It turned out that the bank had decided that we were their best option and they'd agreed to the special terms! I was totally amazed. Since then, I gradually undid the faults in the house and made it totally sound. The faults forced me to tackle a job way above my grade. Everything I subsequently tackled in the house, I researched thoroughly and used only the best engineering, standards for redundancy and workers to re-fashion that small element in that year. We lived for a long time with many buckets to collect water and fans to dry books and clothes. It took all of ten years to finally have the house in perfect structural and architectural shape. There were big mistakes that forced me to backtrack and take over from a builder and rethink my approach until I got it right. That's a great lesson in life. We're now on a house, the kind that only other people love in and each time I walk along the corridor by the open rooms, I'm still in awe that I'm even allowed in the place!
So that's how one overachieves - simply set oneself a goal one doubts one can achieve and then break it down into small steps! I used that idea as my mantra as I climbed the steps in the tower to go on the very long and high zip lines in Costa Rica this summer. I was very frightened by the open steel stairs and height above the jungle canopy. Notwithstanding my innate dread of heights, I refused to consider any height, but my own relative to the steps below my feet, and so made it to the top. Once actually there on the top platform, despite my utter dread of the open edge, my confidence in the physics of the matter and the tensile strength of the steel cable and the nature of the harness, allowed me to totally relax and experience the freedom and joy of flying above the Forrest, something no sane fellow weighing $230 lb would do at 73!
The only difficulty in toiling above one's grade is to handle one small worrisome step at a time, knowing that, achieving that in itself is a wasted effort if one does not persist.
The troubles in Northern Island made an impression on me which bears relevance to this attitude of persistence. I have always admired the neatly-dressed little girls in Catholic preschool uniform, as they steadfastly passed through a gauntlet of irate, bullying Ulster Protestant intimidators, angry, demon-possessed women, hurling vulgar insults. How such children could get to their classes every day without breaking down inspired me. It's imprinted on my brain. That, to me set my standard to follow when facing seemingly impassable obstacles and pushback.
Asher
