Make More Roof

Ok so when your roof is leaking big time and there is a gusher coming down in the middle of your living room. Since the living room is direcly below lil’ Tommy and baby Ann’s room, this downspout has drenched your new born’s crib and her big brothers bed. What do you do…. worry about making more roof?

Ever have someone after describing their money problems say to you- “I just need to make more money.” This may be true once and a while, say 1 person out of 5, but for most of us (myself included) this is too simple of a diagnosis and may be covering up the deeper root cause.

Spending Side & Earning Side

For one thing, worrying about making more money is like worrying about the weather. You need a sophisticated super computer to run data sets and statistical modeling and employ experienced analysis to generate an accurate prediction --- we will leave that to a later blog. At this point our crude thinking and wobbly intuition, oft given to exaggeration and bias, is not equipped to properly forecast your revenue side.  But for the time being, we can focus on the hundred little leaks and set up for a deeper reckoning.  (The actual path of your hurricane is too hard to predict and when your in the middle of the storm you need a few simple things to anchor your  focus on and get out of harms way.)

The problem put simply nine times out of ten is the gaping hole inside me that I am trying to fill with everything and the kitchen sink. Our coping mechanisms: Distraction, Denial, Soothe and Self-Medicate are helping us get by, but this symptom-maintenance is feeding the folly by avoiding what’s truly responsible and slowly sinking the boat. 

When you put the focus on what you CAN manage and do the action within arm’s reach then the rest starts to conform and fall in line. You start to generate momentum that can get you over the hill. Settle in on your own insanity (blindspots & bouts of ; blackouts- getting sidetracked for hours ) and things directly in touch will be affected.

I love the saying: "It's an inside job." There is no quick fix, we want a slow recovery so we can build a super strong foundation. At the same time, there is no perfect foundation – unshakeable. There is still wind and there is still rain.  But we are made to be flexible to bend with the wind and to seek coverage during the rain.

I write this as much for myself as for you. I am in this process too and obviously not the perfect model. But I see it as creative process and I am hungry to learn new things and willing to put myself out there. So keep showing up, engaging, learning and together let's earn our lives back. I welcome your comments, feedback and ideas! We can't know it all in advance, but with just enough faith and trust to take the next step we can continue the journey.