Granddad’s Grand Coffee Table

You can be proud when you push out petty projects

Wes, Project Manager for 3 Kings Environmental, an excavation and demotion solutions company based in Vancouver, WA told Session 3B of the Leadership Development Lab™ (LDL):

"At Session 3 we were challenged to dust off a stalled project, something we had started and forgotten, or given up on. As a reminder to apply 5X more enthusiasm, "commitment in action," to our stalled project we were given a red dot with 5X written on it. When I got my 5X Red Dot, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to complete a project I'd been talking about and pushing off for over seven months. My project was building a River Coffee Table for my wife's granddad. She wanted to use his favorite color epoxy, peacock blue, which signifies for him his favorite bird, a hummingbird. Just a few days after I got my 5X Red Dot assignment, I got to work!

"First, I spent several hours over the weekend designing exactly how the table should look. Then I bought the supplies I needed, gathered materials and tools. Now I was ready for work to begin.

• Step 1: I flattened and cut the slab in half, then squared up both ends.
• Step 2: Then, I created a template for the epoxy glass.
• Step 3: I routed an inset area into the slabs for the glass.
• Step 4: I shaped live edges and removed loose bark.
• Step 5: I sanded the slab thoroughly to remove some of the tool marks.
• Step 6: I filled the holes and cracks with epoxy.
• Step 7: I cut the leg pieces to size, the joineries for the legs and fastened the legs to the top.
• Step 8: I sanded and put on the final finish.

"The finished project came out better than either my wife or I could have imagined. She was so proud of me and happy we could give her Grandad the grand personalized gift! You sure can't buy one of these in the store!

"The lesson I learned from this experience is not to let the fear of failure cause me to procrastinate trying new things, not to wait until I know exactly how to do every step of a project before I take the first step.

"The action I call you to take is to dive right in on any of your many incomplete projects, be they big or small. Don't push out or off a project just because you're unsure of all the steps. With the end result in mind, 'take the first step with 5X more enthusiasm, then the next step will be given.'

"The benefit you will gain as you check your projects off your list is an earned sense of accomplishment and greater confidence."

It is the why that will keep your eye on the prize.