The Daddy Chronicles: A Strong Foundation...this one is mine. My foundation has a name...

In one of my other blogs, I wrote about the importance of a strong foundation...you can see it here. I talked about how the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt--built over 4500 years ago and still, of course, standing to this very day--was so meticulously crafted out of millions of stones, some weighing 80 tons, and how the Egyptians workers toiled for nearly 20 years to build it. I spoke about how incredible a feat it was to build such a structure as the Great Pyramid, especially when one considers the tools in which the ancient Egyptians had at their disposal, the amount of attention to every possible detail of its construction, the brutal labor of tens of thousands of workers, and how scientists, to this day, are still not completely sure how the Egyptians were able to construct it.

I also shared that had the ancient Egyptians not been so meticulous...so committed...so driven to perfection and overcoming the challenge that was before them, that the great structure that we've all seen on television (and some in person) would not be here today. The pyramid would have been eroded by the sands of time, and its purpose, a tomb for the pharaoh in his journey in the afterlife, would not have been served. In other words, everything had to be constructed in the manner it was, so that its purpose would be served. And that purpose had to be of great importance to the builder. Paramount importance.

My summation, is that the most important question pertaining to the pyramids, or any other great endeavor, or vision, or goal...is not HOW it is done....but WHY it is done. The HOW something is built pertains to a particular method of its construction...the WHY something is built pertains to its purpose and essentially, its REAL foundation. The foundation of any building, any business, any structure, any task, any goal...anything that a person or group may create, determines how strong, how longstanding, how resistant that creation is to the elements. And what are these elements? Well, they aren't just wind and rain, but elements can also be disappointments, discouragements, difficulty, lack of funding, no help, no college degree, economic recession, or any other thing that threatens to tear down what you are building, or worse yet, keep it from being built in the first place.

Your purpose, your why...IS your foundation. And the strength of your purpose, your why, your foundation, will speak to the strength, quality and the ultimate success of what you have created.

I went into business for myself in October of 2006. I wanted to build something...create something for myself, because I no longer wanted to depend on Corporate America to earn a living. That was my why. It was a decent foundation....but it wasn't strong enough. My foundation...my why...my purpose...had flaws. It was haughty...arrogant...over zealous...based on showing everyone that I didn't need ANYONE. That I could do everything by myself...with my tongue sticking out at the world.

And because my why was flimsy..shaky...uneven...porous...when the ground began to shake and the winds of life as entrepreneur blew...my entire building...my creation...began to shake, shift, and crumble to pieces. I was about to tuck my tail in...hat in hand...and crawl back to where I knew I didn't want to be, back to Corporate America, where they paid on time, every month, and all you had to do was be what they wanted you to be, and do what they told you to do. Besides, it was good money, and money was very important to me at that time...especially when you didn't have enough clients to pay your bills, and you were used to a certain lifestyle.

I was just about to go back...when something amazing happened...something that changed my life forever. Something that gave me a new purpose to keep pursuing my vision...my dream...my creation. Something that gave me a such a foundation, a purpose, a WHY, that I had never previously known. On October 23, 2007, my purpose, my foundation, my why, my reason for trying to build something, came into this world.

My WHY has a name....Daniel. My purpose is silly and loves chocolate chip cookies. My foundation loves big trucks and to be chased around the house by his daddy. My WHY is a gift from God, a gift that allows me to persevere...to continue when things don't go so well. My WHY doesn't care how much money I make (or don't make), what I drive, or if I know "important" people. My WHY doesn't judge me...as long as I have a snack in the car when I pick him up from daycare. My why even created this blog for me...I only have to do the typing. My why is writing my book for me...growing my coaching business..building my charter school...and my other business endeavors.

Part of becoming and being the BEST DADDY EVER, for me at least, is leaving a legacy for my son. For him to HAVE something...to OWN something...something with his name on it...so that he can forgo the struggles that his previous generations endured....and so that he may do the same for his child...and so on.

With this purpose...with this why...with this foundation...I will never give up, I will continue to be meticulous, driven, dedicated, and committed to my creation. So that the generations that come after me, will look at something that stood the test of time, as we look at those pyramids today, and say..."How did great-great granddaddy Malone do it?"

And it still won't matter how...only WHY.....