He had a feeling of accomplishment already as he drove to see Keith Noble. His mind was working through what he would do once the journal was complete. There was no doubt in his mind that this project had made him a changed man.
Jeremy pulled back into the construction company’s parking lot. Keith’s blond curly hair and large frame was already busy. There was no mistaking his presence. Keith again welcomed Jeremy into his office.
Keith was excited. His gestures and mannerisms could not contain it. “Today is a good day so far. My company just won the bid on a housing project. We will be building at least two hundred homes.
We were not even the lowest bidder, but the quality of our work came through. It helps to have a good reputation as well. I am excited about the contract and it means success for a lot of people.
Blake did teach me one thing about that. He said that success is not permanent and failure is not fatal. That is so true, but after awhile it is easier to alleviate factors leading to failure.
You see, I have developed a unique approach to projects over the
years. It takes a lot of analysis. I go through multiple scenarios of each
plan in my head and on paper. I identify every potential point of failure.
Finding every place where something can go wrong takes a lot of thought. Then I develop methods, strategies and processes to alleviate every potential point of failure.
Lowering those risk areas increase the likelihood of success in my work. This is true for every task we undertake. Removing or solving for every place something can go wrong increases the chances for success.
Unforeseen things can still happen, and do. Almost every project has unforeseen circumstances that pop up, little problems that have to be solved.
I learned a long time ago that as long as I have a process to solve problems as they arise, my chances for success increase. I do not have to panic and go into fire drill mode every time something happens.
Solving the problem becomes easy. Actually, the solution has been broken down into four stages. First, give the problem a name. Call it something that describes what it is. Name it something that you can use as an understanding reference.
Then, break it into tiny parts. Each part of the problem can be split into similar actions to address. This can be done by priority, logic or even preference. The main thing is to list each part of the problem. Usually, problems average four to six individual parts.
Next, take each individual part of the problem and come up with a step-by-step solution for that problem. Simply address one section at a time and figure out the list of actions that need to be taken. Organize those steps into a sequence that makes the most sense.
The last part is easy. Start at the beginning of your list and follow the steps in each section solving the problem. Keep a level head while you do this and problems get solved very fast.
One other thing that I do is to keep the project in balance. Each project actually has three deliverables in it. Those are scope, budget and completion date.
Scope is the actual work to be done, it contains the expectation. The baby if you will. No one wants to sacrifice content of the project. I cannot build a home without wiring or windows. It has to be complete.
Budget is the amount of money provided to accomplish the scope. Unforeseen problems can eat away at a budget until there is not enough left to finish the scope. Going over budget is not acceptable.
Completion date is when everything has to be done. It is easy to run out of time in a project and still have budget or work left. Some dates cannot be changed.
Keeping these things in balance can be a challenge. One of these things becomes at risk in almost every project. People want to increase scope without providing additional budget or time. Or, budgets get cut and the scope expectation with insufficient funding for materials and labor is still the scope expectation. In my case, building more houses with no additional budget or extended completion date.
Dates can change too. People may want the work done sooner. Increases in scope can be addressed making the scheduled work run out of time.
This is a hard balance to maintain. Keeping these three things under control does make the difference between a failed project and a successful one.
These are the kinds of things that experience provides solutions for. Sometimes one of these has to be compromised in order to finish the project. It is always a good idea to prioritize which can be compromised and which cannot.
Sometimes we have to move the deliverable date back, acquire more budget or reduce the amount of work. It is better to plan this out and make the decisions on the front side. Knowing the answer can prevent unnecessary delays or disappointments. This is the difference for success.
Come to think of it, Blake was a great mentor and teacher too. He taught people about life and how to live it. He had a unique way of getting people involved where they would be challenged and actually care about the learning.
This went well beyond what he showed me about success. This was deeper. He had an intuitive way of knowing just what a person needed to learn most. Blake would show them directly with both good examples and indirectly with bad examples.
His methods were, at best, eccentric. Yet, they always worked. It did not matter if he was consulting in a company or working one on one. He would teach the desired result.
Blake cared about what he did. He was good with people and believed that teaching was everyone’s responsibility. He told me once that there is a lesson in every conversation. Every interaction teaches something. They showed more than just the message.
The way a person delivered the message would display virtues or attributes, bad habits or weaknesses. Those were truly valuable lessons. A person only had to recognize which traits were worth adopting and, harder still, which traits they possessed that need to be ostracized.”
Jeremy thought for a moment about all of the people he had met this week. He recognized his own learning from them in some small way.
He thought back over his own life. Jeremy wondered how much wiser he would be if this was done with everyone his whole life.
There would be many experiences that would have turned out for the better, many mistakes that would not have been made. Many ways his life would have turned out differently had he the benefit of those ignored lessons.
He then thought about the last ten years of his life. How the wisdom would put him ahead of where he was now. Even the last five years could have propelled him into a different and better life altogether.
Jeremy realized how much time he had always spent talking, trying to impress his own thoughts and opinions of others. There was a wealth of wisdom in front of him. That was all ignored for the sake of hearing himself talk.
It made him realize that he himself chose to ignore the lessons that were always in front of him. There was much too, just in the last week that was worth learning.
The realization dawned on Jeremy that he could apply what he learned this past week for the next year. Even the next five or ten years would put him in such a better position emotionally, physically, and mentally that would set the stage for the rest of his life.
Jeremy realized that it compounded as well. Each person that he interacted with could, in some way, teach him something. He had seen how asking better and more probing questions provided more information.
That learning, combined with what he already knew, and what he learned this week would be a personal mentor guiding him. That amount of knowledge and experience would make him unstoppable against any goal he set for himself.
He suddenly appreciated more fully all that he had gone through. These thoughts flowed through his head while Keith kept talking. Jeremy was absorbing it all realizing what a different person he was now than just a week ago.
Keith concluded their conversation with a few thoughts. “Just remember Jeremy, learning is like wealth. It serves no purpose in and of itself. It only has a benefit when it is either used or shared.”
Jeremy sat in his car a long time after that meeting. He wrote at length in his journal. That journal suddenly became the most valuable book he owned. There was a feeling of accomplishment as he drove home. His work was, so far, finished. It was done with more caring and thoroughness than he had used in years. He thought of the task ahead. Writing the eulogy would indeed be an honor.
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Jeremy sat on the chair next to his kitchen table. He spent the afternoon reading his journal cover to cover. He recognized value in the words captured in his own hand writing.
He picked up the telephone calling Simon Webb. The attorney was in. Jeremy reported that the interviews were complete. Simon exhaled deeply slightly surprised to hear back from Jeremy Worth so quickly.
“Mr. Worth, it is good to hear from you again, and, so soon. I did not anticipate hearing from you for a month.” Simon paused providing a void in conversation where Jeremy could speak. He had to wait a little longer than was expected.
“Mr. Webb, the eulogy is not done yet. I have spoken with all of the people on that list as Mr. Kudrow wished. It is just a matter of organizing my notes. What is the next step?” Jeremy realized he was already beginning to use the probing questions.
“I am to schedule the honorarium. Can you be ready to present the eulogy in four days?”
“Yes, that should be enough time. The work will be ready.”
“Good. Here is the address where the eulogy will be presented to. Simon provided a downtown address. “Seven P.M.”
Jeremy did not immediately recognize the address, but was familiar with the street name. “Thank you, Mr. Webb. See you then.”
He hung up the phone. One phase of the task had been completed. Suddenly the responsibility of writing the eulogy was daunting.
Lingering in the back of his mind was the thought that there would be a public presentation.
An audience intimidated Jeremy. He had never been comfortable with public speaking. Somehow delivering a man’s eulogy to a group of strangers made him even more nervous.
A suit was selected and taken to the cleaners. Jeremy returned to his home settling in on the couch with a pad of paper and the journal.
He planned on taking notes, then organizing his thoughts on paper. He read the journal cover to cover two times. Still not a single word was written on the paper. This was not going to be as easy as he thought.
Jeremy was resolute about producing a quality work that would do justice to the task. He had put so much effort into the journal and learned so much during the week. He wanted to some how capture all of it.
Jeremy organized his thoughts and spent the next few hours writing seven pages of information. He reread his work, crumbled it into a ball and then threw it away. He began again, this time aware of how little he knew about how to write.
The pencil again scurried across paper, leaving a trail of words for multiple pages that again proved to be insufficient. This was not an easy task. It irked him that his writing lacked real depth. He judged his own work to be unsatisfactory.
He got up and walked outside. Jeremy sat on the porch allowing the change of activity to clear his mind. Thoughts and memories flowed like a current through his head.
Faces of those he met with flashed in his thoughts. Distinct
impressions came to him about each person. In some cases, a single
word could sum up the individual. He laughed to himself wondering what word people would use to describe him. Surely that word changed in the last week.
He grew emotionally spent and found his creativity was left wanting. Jeremy returned into the house deciding to take a nap. The toll on his emotions caused him to sleep well into the night.
At three-thirty in the morning, Jeremy awoke with inspiration. Seizing the moment, he climbed out of his bed and retrieved the pencil and paper outlining a format to deliver the eulogy.
He wrote. He erased. He marked out. He edited. He wrote some more. He started over twice. He moved sentences around. He changed some ideas. He reread his journal. He added content. He rewrote the entire work to be legible. He finished.
Jeremy was so lost in the effort that time escaped him. His mind was ready for sleep. He had worked to early afternoon without stopping for food or something to drink. He could not recall the last time he had put so much of himself into a project.
For the first time in a long time, his effort was his only focus. He read the work. It surprised him that this quality of work was produced by his mind. He did not know that he had this in him. He knew that he had accomplished something. With that feeling as a blanket to comfort, he napped.
The skies were dark when Jeremy awoke. He felt hungry and proceeded to fix a healthy dinner. After dinner he read through his journal and the written eulogy. He picked up his pencil making some minor changes and improvements again. Another idea came to him as an introduction to open the eulogy. It fit into the second page causing a rewrite of those pages. He wanted to do justice to his work. He felt that it just may be the most important thing he had worked on in a long time.
Chapter
Twenty Seven
Four days passed until it was the night for him to present the eulogy. Jeremy was dressed in his suit and had even taken the time to shine his shoes.
He drove to the address allowing himself to feel nervous. A banquet room had been arranged with many tables set for a quality dinner. Many people were already gathered and the room was filling fast.
Many faces were unknown to Jeremy, yet several were familiar. He recognized some from his visits. It only made sense that they would be invited. Others looked familiar, but he did not know from where.
Simon Webb approached him from across the room. He invited Jeremy to sit at his table for dinner. “Jeremy, we will present the eulogy right after dinner. I will open then introduce you. Are you all prepared?”
Jeremy Nodded. “As ready as I will ever be.”
Simon had Jeremy occupied with small talk until everyone arrived and dinner was served. He could not remember ever having such an exquisite meal. The food had to be prepared by master chefs.
After dinner, the lights dimmed. Simon stood and walked to the podium. “Tonight, we gather to honor the legacy of Blake Kudrow. That duty belongs to my acquaintance, Mr. Jeremy Worth. Jeremy, if you please.” Simon stepped down returning to his seat.
Jeremy stood before the podium. He cleared his throat. The lights illuminating the podium were in his eyes keeping him from seeing the audience in any detail. He smiled and began to speak.
“The honor of preparing and presenting a eulogy to recognize Mr. Blake Kudrow was left in my hands. This is the first time an honor like this has been entrusted to me. My intention is to pay homage and do justice to this responsibility.
Accomplishing this task has been quite ajourney. To begin with, I
really had no idea what to do. So I looked up ‘eulogy’ in the dictionary.
To my surprise, the dictionary defines a eulogy as a speech honoring a person or thing with high praise. Previously, I thought it was a speech given at a funeral. The definition put my thoughts in the right direction.
Unfortunately, I did not know Blake Kudrow in person. The man had to be shown vicariously through people who made an impact on him. At times it was as if I walked in his foot prints. My task was to honor Blake. As it turned out, this was my honor and it changed me. Blake had touched yet another life.
For me to honor Blake now, I have to share how I was touched and made better by this man. Many of you may recognize what I speak of.
During the preparation for this eulogy, I walked a mile in Blake’s shoes. The people he knew and the places he went were part of my journey. To honor Blake, I have to honor what I learned from him on this sojourn.
You see, I was shown the detriment of sins found in mankind, as well as virtues that lift us above human nature. Many transitions were made and lessons taught. I will never again be the same pers
on as before.
Blake Kudrow taught me the frailties and limitations of my own. These were not imposed on me by anyone other than myself. The shortcomings in my life were of my own making.
I learned to recognize the slothfulness in myself. How being lazy and unproductive leads to procrastination and failure. It was my own unrealized immaturity that allowed my character to be slothful. Now I choose to avoid that.
I was shown lust in others that was resident within my own thoughts. How these insidious thoughts bound me to lowly things. It chained me from rising above my lower nature. These were chains that I willingly locked on myself. These chains were false illusions that kept me from fully living life. Now I choose to embrace life instead of carnal illusion.
Greed was taught. The trappings of physical possessions were almost worshipped by those who had them. Good people put the value of money above the value of people. I too was guilty of that. It was something that was most difficult to release. But it was disgusting in others and therefore had to be the same in me.
Behind greed came envy. People want what others have, no matter their station in life. Someone has something that is more appealing. I had to see it in someone else to recognize it in myself. I then found satisfaction with my own life.
Deceit was shown to me too. People have many motivations to make things or themselves appear to be other than what they are. At first I did not recognize this flaw within myself. It seems that I had deceived myself for so long that truth was elusive. This was a difficult thought pattern to break.
Gluttony was an ugly display, both in the practice and result. It was a substitute for some void in people’s lives. I had to surrender desires that were overdoing it. Gluttony is an easy habit to acquire but difficult to let go. I let go of it anyway.
Pride was my worst. I had a big ego. I had to see it in others before it was visible in myself. It hurt to let go of myself as all important, but with the exception of this eulogy, it was managed.
The Legacy Inheritance Page 10