Need Topics

I am struggling this morning. I have written two whole blog entries and not been happy with either one. They are both saved as drafts but I doubt I will ever publish them. I'm having a hard time being happy with the content of my blog. It seems like my mind wanders in the middle of writing. I go different directions by the end of the blog than I intended at the beginning of the blog. Then it is hard to "fix it".

I would love to have your help. Give me some topics to write on. Give me some pointers on how to focus my writing. Give me some tidbit of advice you've received when writing. Give me something to stick in my writing arsenal.

Maintenance

Lots of things in life require maintenance to stay healthy. Cars need their oil changed, house air conditioners need their filters changed, pools need chemicals and cleaning, etc. Sometimes maintenance can be simple, reoccurring fixes. Sometimes maintenance is a little bit bigger and a little more invasive. The point of proper maintenance is to avoid major breakdowns and expensive repairs or replacement.

Humans need maintenance too. In fact, humans need more maintenance than a lot of the other machines I mentioned (cars, houses, etc.). Maintenance activities for humans range from clipping toenails to annual physicals and dentist visits. You could also consider eating healthy food and exercise maintenance because it is purposeful and intended to make the machine work better. 

I perform maintenance on myself in my job. I take classes to brush up on certain skills. Every year TAR releases new, updated documents and I spend time learning the differences. These are the processes necessary to maintain the professional level of service I provide my clients. 

Sometimes our relationships need maintenance. This area seems to be the most difficult for people to recognize. If you have an argument with your friend and can't seem to work it out on your own, the "machine" that is your relationship will break down. So what do you do? Seek help or do something purposeful to maintain that relationship. Maybe your version of maintenance for that friendship is for the two parties to go to a social event together. Maybe it is to do some physical activity together (hiking, swimming, etc.). Maybe you build something together. I don't know but you have to recognize what makes that relationship special and worthwhile and do that activity. 

Marriages are no different, just closer relationships. Its ok to seek help in maintaining your marriage. Sometimes you just can't keep it together without some purposeful, and sometimes assisted, maintenance. Its ok to go to marriage counseling. Its ok to hire a sitter and purposely have a date night. Its ok to set aside time to discuss a long brewing unpleasantness. So many people are reluctant to seek assistance and instead let the marriage breakdown. If it was worth doing to begin with, its worth working to keep it together. 

Asking For Help

This has got to be one of the hardest things for me. I believe in self-sufficiency. I don't want to be a burden on people and I don't want folks to feel obligated to do something they don't want to do. I am also a bit on the proud side. It could be the way I was raised, my dad is a pretty self sufficient guy and my mom is pretty independent as well. It could be my own stubborn pride. It could be that I have been very blessed and don't feel like I have the "right" to ask for help. Either way, it is a problem I struggle with on a regular basis.

That's right, not asking for help is a problem. Here's why:

1. When I don't ask for help (but I need it), I over-extend myself and can sometimes do a bad job. Over-extension inevitably leads to stress and hurry and not my best effort
2. When I am stressed and in a hurry, I forget to do important things like pray with my kids or help get them to school/daycare or pay attention to my wife or spend time with friends
3. When I don't ask for help I forget to make other people feel important. I like to help other people. It makes me feel important, like I have a mission. When the task is complete, I like the feeling I get when someone says, "Thanks man, I couldn't have done it without you." Other people like that same feeling and when I don't ask for help, I rob someone of that feeling.
4. When I don't ask for help, I miss opportunities to build stronger relationships. Nothing will build camaraderie like a good day's labor together or solving a problem together. If you do everything on your own all the time, you don't get this.
5. When I don't get someone else's opinion on complicated tasks, I don't get to learn. I am a pretty smart guy. I know a little bit about a lot of stuff. However, there are A LOT of people that are A LOT smarter than me. If I don't enlist help sometimes, I never get the opportunity to learn from someone better than me at that task. In other words, I lose. 

The funny thing is, most of the time people don't ask for help because they "don't want to bother" someone else. A lot of times, that someone else would truly LOVE to help someone. They would love to be important enough and held in high enough regard that the person would ask them to help. It makes us feel good to help. So ask and I will too. Just don't over do it. You can change your own light bulbs (unless they are way high up, then don't call me, I'm scared of heights). 

Things you can help me with right now:

1. I need some listings to sell. If you or your friends or your friends' friends are thinking about moving, tell them about me. Give them my phone number. I want to meet them and see if I could help them.
2. I would love some buyers! I need some clients that are ready to buy. Taylore and I would love to work with you and your friends to help you find the perfect home.
3. I need some agents!! I am hiring!!! If you've ever thought about starting a career in real estate, I want to talk with you. If you are currently in real estate and feel stagnant, I want to talk to you. If you are in real estate and want a fresh approach or you don't like where you are, I want to talk to you!!!
4. I want to hear from you. I am on Yelp, Facebook, Zillow and several other sites. I would LOVE for you to provide a review on these places. 
5. I would love for you to pray for me. Last year I helped almost 60 families make a huge life decision. That is incredibly humbling and almost a little scary. Pray that I do a great job for my clients and offer the best advice for them.