Have you ever wondered if what you are doing really even matters? I know this thought has raced through my mind on many occasions. Having lived a grand total of 37 years, I will tell you that everything matters. Yes, everything…even the stuff I can’t remember matters.
Daily I find myself moving throughout the day participating in what some call “self-talk”. You know, that little voice in your head that just talks and talks. To you, with you, and about you. Most of the time my voice is positive. I don’t know if it is a male or female voice, but I do know that it never stops talking.
For instance, take this picture of me.
Image of Troy Hamler
How did this picture become the best croppable photo on my computer? Good or not, is not the point. The point is that it is the best on my machine. I don’t know why, but it is… and this is what I’m talking about. The photo was taken because my nephew and I showed up at a wedding in the exact same clothes. He looked like a “mini-me”. Everyone got a big laugh and he and I felt somewhat bonded the entire night.
And now this is the photo that I have pushed out to the world as a representation of Troy Hamler.
Is this what I really look like? That day it was. Attending a family wedding, trying to be presentable, being around family and enjoying myself.
One morning I was driving my 10 year old niece to school, and as I was making small-talk about her big day ahead. I told her that I hoped she had a good day. She pondered and said, “I probably won’t even remember today. Just think about it. How many days do you really remember? Unless something really great or really bad happens today, I won’t even remember it.” She was profoundly right.
There are way more days that I don’t remember than ones that I do remember. But every day, every interaction, and every decision is what shapes us into the people we are today.
Lucky people never cease to amaze me. There are some people that just seem to “luck-out”. My uncle, Ray Sikes, is one of these guys. I actually believe that he has been incorrectly labeled as “lucky”. Let me give you some examples:
- He bought a failing dry-farm / cattle operation and sold out for 10x to developers
- He used the money from that to buy a very good ranch. On that ranch he found a rock quarry that is worth more than the rest of the ranch
- The rock quarry business is tied to development and has slowed, but a construction company just won a large contract for road repair, and they chose to mine gravel from his ranch.
If you listen to people that hear about this stuff you will here things like, “He’s so lucky”. ”I wish I could be that lucky.” and on, and on…
If you were in the “know” you would know that he was able to buy the failing ranch because he took a job as a farmer when everyone else wanted to ranch. The farming wasn’t paying the bills, so he hauled hay to supplement his income. In addition his wife worked full-time in the health care industry to pay the household bills. These decisions allowed him to carry the land as it appreciated.
Developing the rock quarry would have never been possible, except in high school he had taken an underclassman under his wing. Years passed and the guy he befriended became a miner and eventually the two of them worked on a completely unrelated project. 30 years later, when the topic of rocks came up, he was able to call his friend and get the inside scoop.
And that stroke of luck relating to the construction company needing gravel? One of his first jobs was operating equipment for a small local construction company. He made friends with the owner and throughout the years kept in touch with the family. When they needed gravel, in the southeast corner of Colorado they called him.
So, the next time you think that what you are doing is pointless, or that it doesn’t matter, remember that it does. It’s not about having huge days, or even remembering the days, because you won’t. It is about making the most out of them, because in some way, at some time, it will matter.
