Hello Friends!  I like to try to start all my posts with some observation in order to generate brain activity prior to boring everyone to death with the technical step-by-step furniture making stuff.  I would like to hear your feedback if you are following along. No seriously stop and drop me a note (good, bad, or otherwise) I would love it.

In the 1960’s when Ali was in his fighting prime and peak of fame, he boarded a commercial airline flight bound for a location that does not matter at this point.  During the pre-flight announcements he was talking and talking and talking as was his custom and the stewardesses of course could not help but notice his behavior from the second he stepped on the plane.  Of course his prideful manner was attention grabbing and engaging.  One of the stewardesses approached Ali and asked him politely to put on his seat belt or the plane would not be allowed to take off.  In response Ali stated “Superman don’t need no seat belt!”.  To which the stewardess quickly replied “Superman don’t need no plane either”.

I have been waking up more and more frequently with thoughts that are unusual even for me.  I would sum these thoughts up as resembling pride, which could be a good or bad thing.  Trust me when I say it’s not that anything great has happened to me recently.  I have not sold a single piece of furniture since going all in, I did not make a measurable difference in lives of others, and as hard as it is to say it I have a long way to go to stand out from the crowd in the fine furniture world.

In this generation and time, it’s difficult to promote yourself without making a lot of noise.  No matter what you do for a living, gross self-promotion and pride are elements that will get you noticed in a noisy world.  We have all known that guy or gal at the office who just seems to keep getting the high profile assignments no matter how strongly we disagree with them and their approach. We find ourselves asking “Why doesn’t anyone else see what I see here?”.

You know what I’m talking about here, and before you know it emotions have derailed your agenda and effectiveness.  It’s almost ridiculous how often I use to find myself discussing rumors and opinions in the workplace that only serve to break down momentum and stifle the real objectives which could lead to the satisfaction of doing your job well and wholeheartedly.

Pride is an interesting emotion with two very different meanings.  On one hand its the sense of attachment toward another person or group of people in response to their choices or actions where you associate positively.  So powerful in fact, that it forces us to reach outward and give a word of encouragement to those whom we are proud of. This can be a instrument of change in your life.

The other side of the emotion is isolating, inward seeking, and falsely self inflating.  I don’t think I need to say much more about it except we all know it when we see it in Others. We just can’t seem to make a genuine connection to that person no matter how hard we try.  But few of us see it in ourselves and we should beware.

One big challenge for me in the construction field was getting the best out of myself (first and foremost) and the people around me consistently, developing trust and building relationship constantly.  My approach was simple and it served me well, be humble, focus on the Client, under-promise, over-deliver, give all the credit away.

So what does this have to do with furniture making?  Nothing, but I find a direct relationship between the satisfaction I feel  from any work I devote myself to, and the direction in which I am focused.  I have to snap myself out of the inward self service thinking, I am great “fill in whatever you want” because it only works for me and that just doesn’t work for me.

Later today I will continue the previous post cardboard creativity outlining the most recent natural leg coffee table build.  The coffee table is now in the finishing process and everyone should be able to view a new set of portfolio pics by the end of the week.  I am trying to stay ahead of my writing segments by staying ahead in the shop, genius I know.  I will do anything to make the writing process easier for myself, short of not writing.

And of course I will continue saying in many words what could be said in few. Thanks for reading and let’s make a difference.