FOUNDATIONS
“When nothing seems to help, I go back and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it - but all that had gone before.”
- Jacob Riis, journalist and activist
***
Not long ago, I was out on my regular early morning walk in my West Hollywood neighborhood, and approached a fenced-in lot surrounded by construction vehicles where a house was being built from scratch.
I curiously peered into the site through the green thatched fence. Looking down at the gaping hole where the house would eventually be, I was shocked to see just how deep the area was for the foundation that was starting to get laid. The people that were building it were working hard, under the hot sun, dragging around heavy concrete and big tools.
The foundation covered more area, and there was more effort going into building it, than I ever imagined happening with foundations…when I imagined them at all.
This was even more fascinating to me because when a house is fully built you can barely even see the foundation - you’re too caught up contemplating the soothing water feature in the yard, or the beautiful windows, or the cozy-looking front porch, or making up stories in your head about the people living inside (or maybe that’s just me).
This got me thinking about what so many people I speak with (not to mention I) feel at times: we churn and work and persevere, but often it takes what feels like freaking forever to see the results of our efforts and passion and achieve what we want to achieve or get where we want to go.
What we do see a lot of (especially on social media, of course) are the seeming overnight successes showcasing their jaw-droppingly flawless lives or their vaunted company successes, and sharing their magical manifestation secrets for getting there.
But what I’ve learned is that overnight successes really are one in a billion: like unicorns, they’re mythical. Almost all “wins” in life (and the deep satisfaction that comes with them) take time. Working toward something requires consistent baby steps, even when you don’t feel like it, even when that sun is beating down on you and you’re sweating it out. Brick by brick, layer by layer.
And then, suddenly, things start to shift.
Like that place in my neighborhood. Sure, there were a few delays in the build. And one morning, I noticed a window on the side had broken and then was replaced. Another day, the front yard looked like the setting for a mud wrestling match. But then, almost right before my eyes, it transformed from a massive gaping hole to a gorgeous dwelling. The house was built.