“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” Author Unknown
When we arrived in Texas in 2017 we plugged our boys into a great school. That was literally the only part of the plan we knew. We had packed up 46/47 years of life in the only hometown we had ever known to move 1600 miles away to a place where I had never set my feet until 9 months before.
We knew this: 1) together we had a law degree, an architecture degree, and combined about 35 years “professional” experience in the construction industry (not counting all the years Derek worked for his dad for ice cream cones, cleaning job sites, summers hanging siding and every other miscellaneous job he could do at his dad’s side and the jobs I had answering phones, filing invoices and counting inventory at our family’s plumbing company), and 2) construction blood was flowing through our veins. Fun side fact: my dad was a plumber and Derek’s dad was a carpenter and they had worked together in the trades in the 60’s – before we were even born.
We also knew Texas was open for business and construction was booming. So although moving felt like a giant leap of faith off a cliff, we had the confidence in our abilities and trust in our God to know that we could probably figure out how to build a hang glider on the way down. The ground was rapidly approaching though, we’d have to act.
One of the things we knew that we needed to do was to get plugged into community – through school or church or any otherway to meet people. We needed people. We attended some amazing churches and heard some great messages. Interestingly, so many of them confirming the decision we had just made. I mean how many times and how many ways was it going to take for us to hear the story of Exodus before we were confident that we were called to leave what was comfortable and familiar for a promised-land filled with opportunity if we would just trust God to direct our steps and resist the urge to grumble and groan at God when things got hard and we didn’t know what to do next.
Then one day sitting in another church we were visiting we heard a word from a visiting pastor (I can’t recall what church or what pastor, but the words I’ll never forget). He told us that each of us are called to pursue God-given dreams. They aren’t arbitrary or capricious, rather they are connected with our specific gifts, talents and unique history God had given us. He said we may not be called to pursue our dream right away. And we may not even know what our dream really looks like for many years. In fact he said, until that time, help someone else build their dreams. Serve others, gain experience, continue to pray for your own dream, but when it’s time, take that leap and chase that dream.
When we walked out of church that day I looked at Derek and said “You’ve been building someone else’s dream for over twenty years, it’s time to build our own.”
That day was a milestone moment. We spoke words into the air that we knew could change our lives forever. The entrepreneural spirit in which I was raised growing up was bubbling over in me. We knew we had the education, the experience, the financial means and the love and support of or families (I can still hear my dad cheering us on), but did we have the guts to take the risk?
On October 21, 2017, just three months after arriving in this land of opportunity that is Texas, Story Builders was born. A new company and a new name but a lifetime of experience that had pointed us to this place. And FAITH like never before. We’ve had to trust God in ways like we haven’t in a long time. In California we knew the rules, what was expected, what our next steps were on the corporate ladders. But when you chase your own dreams there are no clear paths, no sign posts and no ladders.
So we keep our eyes on Jesus, the true beacon of light and hope, and the more of our lives we give Him, the more He gives us in return. And although I do mean He’s done that financially, giving us the best professional year we’ve ever had between our construction business and my coaching buiness (that, by the way was totally portable and traveled with me and kept me surrounded online by amazing strong women in all the transition – phew, I needed that!), more importantly, He’s given us people and relationships, and community and spiritual family. He’s given us amazing clients and subcontractors and vendors and real estate agents. He’s also given us more time with our boys than ever before. We have the ability and flexibility to be at every sporting event, to take crazy RV trips and we even enjoy the time just working side by side together with our boys at a job site.
Hear this. It has not been EASY. In fact it’s been the hardest thing we’ve ever done. We’ve stretched our faith, our finances and our 24/7 like never before.
I learned a life-changing lesson a few years ago from Pastor Matthew Barnett in his book “The Cause Within You.” He said we were all given specific gifts and talents and we are called to use those gifts and talents in our service to others. When we do that we will find the sweet spot in life – the JOY that comes from doing what we were created to do.
I’m not boasting in our own abilities. In fact the opposite is true. My heart is to share this to give all honor and glory to God and His faithfulness to us on this jouney. Friends, He is trustworthy and He has a good good plan for your life.
Do you know what your God-given dream is? If not, pray and ask and seek and in the meantime, help someone else build their dream. But if you know and you are sensing that impression in your spirit even now as you read this, it’s time to chase your dream.
What would you do if you knew you could not fail? Go do that. Now.
And let me know how can I pray for you. I’m over here cheering you on.
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