Life Business™ #1
Name: Shop by the Stream
Strategy: Rising Stars/Create/Recreate.
Past Performance: 8
Future Importance: 3
Notes: 2/12/14
- Purpose: This is a sub business of “The Simple Life” Once we have sold our current home in Chapel Hill (Our kids are all out of the house now) we plan on finding a smaller place our in the country that is quiet, has some land, and space for me to build a woodworking shop. I was a furniture maker for a few years in my early 20’s and really enjoyed the work! It was creative, relaxing, and quite enjoyable. My dream has been to have a shop of my own, out in the country. 2/3 of the structure would be a woodworking shop, and 1/3 would be designed like the dojo (The Quest Center), where I practice martial arts. My children have agreed to come home for a week or so and help me build the structure. It will be a relaxing place to work, be creative, exercise and reflect. If there is not water on the property, I will build a water feature outside the sliding door that leads to the dojo end!
- Objective: To have a place to be creative, use my woodworking and design skills, exercise, meditate and energize myself.
- Goals for business: For me this is a true example of enjoyment of the process. The whole idea of this gives me pleasure and creates wonderful body sensations. As I type this I feel those great feelings. The actual process of imagining, visualizing, planning and then actually implementing this plan are rewarding in themselves. I can see myself and my children building the structure, myself spending joyful hours searching yard sales and old shops for equipment to purchase. As much as I enjoy furniture making, if I never make a stick of anything it will not really matter to me. The entire process is exciting, fulfilling and enjoyable!
- Why this is important to me: Keeping active, mentally, creatively and physically have become more of a focus as I have grown older. Activities that keep me mentally and physically agile are a joy and a pleasure to engage in. Creating an environment in which I can engage all of these activities and potentially bring other together in the same pursuits is a key element in how I see my life progressing and thriving!
The above was written in early 2014 while our Chapel Hill house was on the market. This was written as an example for class and coaching students to use as a framework for outlining their own Life Business™ business plans.
We have since sold the house, moved to Durham to a wonderful house that sits on a pond and has a 2 car (or should I say 1 Wood shop) garage.
Here are photos of progress to date:
