A Career on a Treadmill
The "Before": A Career on a Treadmill
Early in my career, I felt overwhelmed. It seemed like every time I checked something off my list, three more things took its place. I was constantly reacting to problems, not in control, and I felt like there wasn’t a clear path forward. I had done everything I was told to do—gotten good grades and gone to college—but my hopes of getting to a place financially where I could do more than just cover the bills were never going to become a reality. I felt like I was letting my family down by not earning enough, even though I was putting in a ton of time at work and coming home drained.
The "Aha" Moment: A Leap of Faith
As a last resort, I had a crazy idea of starting a residential construction company with a “if they won’t promote me, I’ll just be the boss” mentality. But then I realized that despite my two college degrees, I had absolutely zero training on how to sell. I stumbled across some videos of a guy talking about construction sales and took a leap of faith, investing money I really shouldn’t have been spending at the time into his sales training program.
Over the next several months, my entire outlook changed. The communication and mindset skills I learned made me a better leader, husband, father, and friend.
The results that training got me have led me to unapologetically believe that training is the best investment you can make. You essentially trade money for skills you can use for the rest of your life. When done right, you can buy YEARS of trying to figure it out on your own.
The "After": The Climb to Operations Manager
While I later decided that I couldn’t see how I was going to start a company from scratch while being a present father and husband, I used the skills I had learned to lean in on my career. In a matter of three years, I went from an overlooked green project manager to third in command at my company. My new role as Operations Manager gave me:
- Better control of the chaos inherent in most construction companies, which reduced my stress level.
- More flexibility in my schedule so I could be there for important events in my kids’ lives.
- Double the money I had been making.
- A rewarding opportunity to build and pour into a team of Project Managers.
It’s still hard work, but I feel respected, like what I do matters, and the payoff has been way more worth it.
The "Why Now": Building The Lift Plan
I am so grateful for the shift in my mindset and skills that made this change possible, and I want to share that possibility with others.
I believe that by helping leaders grow, I’m not just helping one person get better, but everyone they lead can benefit too… both at work and at home.
We only get to live this life one time, and I choose to pursue something meaningful: helping other people leverage a strong mindset and leadership skills to reach their career goals through The Construction Climb and The Lift Plan.