A Solid Foundation

Foundations are an integral part to any sort of structure. Without a solid foundation the whole structure could collapse. Or, perhaps worse, it could slowly get worse as the years go on and the occupants don't realize something is wrong until it's too late to repair.

Yesterday I took a look at a building for a friend. We were having a conversation about what could be done with his building. Repair it? Tear it down? What can we built on the lot? What would it be worth? What could he make for rental income? And so forth.

The picture below shows how much the foundation has sank over the years. The thing to look for is how out of level the brick is above the windows and door. It looks as though there was a modification done at some point over the last 105 years and the back portion of the home has slowly been sinking. My friend knew something was wrong but did not know what. Part of the problem was that he did not know what to look for and the other part is that he had been living in the house for so long it had become normal to him.

The good news is that he knew who to contact :)

This is typical for our lives. Often we're trying to build something but we have not taken the time required to build a solid foundation on a solid base.

We build relationships with loved ones without first building a relationship with ourselves.

We take care of others without first taking care of ourselves.

We build a business without understanding whether or not the business is making money.

We workout at the gym without understanding proper technique.

We want instant gratification and are often willing to sacrifice the long term success for the short term gain.

I've done all of the above...

Whatever it is you're building, ask yourself:

• Are you building on a solid foundation?
• How do you know?
• Who can you contact to make sure?