It was stupid, yes, but had to be done.
Two nights ago, we were expecting some inclement weather here in St. Louis. A kind of icy/rainy storm kind of thing. I realized that our gutters have been full of leaves for a few days and if this storm was going to be what they said it could be, I needed to make sure our gutters were able to do what they needed to do.
So, I went downstairs, popped a charged battery into the leaf blower, went back upstairs, stepped out of the dormer window and started doing my thing. It was cold. It was wet. It was dark. It was dangerous. It was some top-notch dad/husband kind of stuff. Check me out.
It was also stupid as hell but let’s not get into that right now, ok? Focus, people. Focus.
The point is that it was my job.
There was no one else at our house that was going to go out there and take care of that. If I didn’t do it, it wasn’t going to get done and our roof and gutters would get all jacked up and blah blah blah.
The whole time out there, with ice coming down and me out there like an idiot scooping leaves out of the gutter and using a battery-powered leaf blower, I could hear my mom’s voice in my head: “Be careful! What are you doing out there? Get someone else to do it! Don’t slip! Wait until tomorrow to do it! You’re being an idiot!”
It’s worth noting that when I hear my mom’s voice in my head yelling at me, it’s in Marathi (a Western Indian dialect) and not English so it’s super funny.
It made me think about how things have changed and how things like this are my job now. I am sure there are people more qualified, but if it’s going to get done right now, it’s on me.
Experts, experts…everywhere.
I used to work at a large communications agency and everything was done by an expert, respectively. Budget and timelines were done by someone that was good at that. Graphic design and creative direction was done by talented experts. Writing was done by seasoned copywriters. Web development was done by technical masterminds. If you needed something, the person who was in expert in that one, very specific thing was usually a short walk from your desk. When you went on vacation, you had someone very capable covering for you.
But now, as someone that has started and is building a venture on their own, it’s all on me. Don’t get me wrong — I know when it’s time to get help — but otherwise, it’s my job.
Do it or it won’t get done. It’s literally that simple.
While starting and building a brand from scratch is difficult in almost every way something can be difficult, there is the refreshing simplicity of knowing who has to do what has to be done. Hint: it’s always me.
As for the gutters on the roof. They were leaf-free for a good 12 hours so I’ll be back up there again soon. My kids thought I was very Spiderman-esque so…yeah…I have that going for me.
#bewhatyoumake
