DMB Digest: It's not that big of a deal.
Seriously, anyone can do it.
When was the first time you realized you were really good at something you had previously thought everyone “could just do?”
You know what I’m talking about. Or maybe you were at a dinner party that played out something like the following. A guest asks you what you do for a living. You say, “I teach middle school P.E.” The other person responds “Oh dear God” under their breath before they can stop their utter horror from slipping out.
You try to downplay the matter. “Really, it’s not that bad. We do some square dancing…” the other person’s face contorts as if you’ve just told them you’re a prison dentist and they’ve got sixteen cavities. You scowl and try again, this time with considerable trepidation, “Dodgeball?”
The other person places a hand over their mouth, “I think I’m gonna be sick.” They scurry off in search of the powder room. A guest who knows you well, puts an arm around your shoulder and comforts you. “Not everyone can do what you do. As a matter of fact, for some people it’s their version of hell.”
This exact process is how I have become a house painter. It had nothing to do with intentionally developing a skill set. Nothing to do with creating a business plan or even a business card. I’ve never solicited painting jobs. For years, I thought painting was monkey work that literally anyone with thumbs could do. You hold the brush, and in the words of Mr. Miyagi, you “paint the fence.” Perhaps this simplified attitude toward painting originated from my early years of painting pipe fence on the family ranch. Wearing a wool paint glove, painting pipe actually is work that anyone with thumbs can do. Now that I think of it, thumbs are totally optional.
Over the last decade I’ve had the same conversation on repeat:
“Your wife says you can paint.”
I shrug, “Yeah.”
“She says you’re really good at it. That you don’t even need to use tape.”
This last bit is usually mentioned in a hushed tone like the person thinks they might be on Candid Camera or that I might make fun of them for saying something completely ridiculous. I frown, “You mean when cutting in with a brush?”
At this point the other person looks at their spouse with impossibly huge eyes. “It’s true!” Then they look back at me. “Oh God, I hate painting. I have a job for you.”
I hesitate.
“Please tell me you’ll do it. The last time I hired a painter that jackwagon must have watered down the paint or something. It looked terrible. Streaks all over the place. I tried to do it myself, but it turned out even worse!”
This conversation has happened enough for me to know how it’s gonna play out. I simply smile and nod, “Sure. When do you want me to come out and take a look?”
I swear, I’m not a professional house painter. I’ve got four jobs lined up for this summer…and I’ve already turned one down. I don’t know. Does that make me a professional house painter?
At the Desk This Week
I guess I’m gonna be spending the next few months painting stuff. I can’t complain. I enjoy the work, but it means I won’t be spending a ton of time behind the desk. I’ve already found a nice used sprayer and a solid ladder. The guy selling the ladder wanted me to paint his house. I turned him down. At this point, I think I’m only gonna paint houses for old ladies I already know. That seems to be a reasonable method of keeping the work from overwhelming me.
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