Well, 2022 has come to end and we embark on 2023 with hope, excitement and enthusiasm. 2022 came with a lot of challenges, but for us it was a fantastic and prosperous year. When we set off on this journey 3 years ago, with only a glimpse of what our reality is now, we are grateful for all the love and support from our local communities. 

We start off 2023 with some challenges. Interest rates are up from the pandemic days, jobs are unsteady, whispers of layoffs are looming, and it seems the common feeling amongst most people is fear and uncertainty. Even with all the uncertainty we are not backing down. We are set to double down on our marketing efforts and our charitable giving this year. So be on the lookout for our brand in your community and local non profit events. 

I read a book 3 years ago called “Think and Grow Rich” which is the book that actually set me on this journey. I am currently reading the extended version of that book called “The Law of Success”. In the first chapter called “The Master Mind” it talks about the fear consciousness that came to us through physical heredity. I encourage you today to decide to overcome these 6 fears in 2023. 

The Fear of Poverty 
The Fear of Old Age 
The Fear of Ill Health 
The Fear of Loss of Love of Someone 
The Fear of Criticism 
The Fear of Death 

Find what gives you strength this year to overcome these and put all of your focus on those strengths. Happy New Year! We pray your year is blessed and Prosperous. 

Resolutions, Resolutions, Resolutions! 

Around this time they come a dime a dozen. Everyone is talking about them and everyone is making them. It's so much fun to make them but not quite as much fun keeping them. An article by people.com stated that in 2020 the average time dedicated to their New Year's Resolution before it phased out was 36 days. 

When it comes to making huge changes in our life such as losing weight, getting organized, becoming a better you or buying a house it can be overwhelming to say the least. What begins to happen is that goal exposes the state of our current condition and once the reality of the daunting task of correcting it sets in, we tend to choose the easier route of escape. 

Here are a couple of things that have helped me over the last couple of years to accomplish my goals:

Assess Where You Are
You cannot get where you are going until you determine where you are. 

Set Small Daily Goals
Keeping the end result in mind, do one thing each day to help lead you toward your end goal. Working backwards from the end result is always helpful. Just like a new year brings a fresh start so does each day the sun rises. You just have to be a little bit better today than you were yesterday. 

Make Fear Your Friend
Most motivators would say to eradicate fear from your life, I say learn how to live with it. Fear is a normal reaction to greatness. One of my favorite quotes is by Seth Godin, "Just as a runner finds somewhere to put the tired when running a race, so should we find a place to put the fear when doing great things."

If you are wanting more information on accomplishing your goals send me an email and I'll get in touch with you.

laurelhomesllc@gmail.com 

Happy New Year!!!

The Holiday Season is here! I'm sure, like our oldest daughter, you have been playing Christmas music since September. Ok, maybe not, but for a lot of people it is their favorite time of year. I understand that for some it can be difficult. For instance you may have lost a loved one, maybe you lost a job and it's going to have to be a Hard Candy Christmas and maybe you are just wanting to give 2021 the middle finger and move on to 2022. 

As I look back on the past holiday seasons I realize that it is the memories that make it my favorite time of year. It's the time spent with our families, the gift of giving, the love shared, the conversations had, the moment you realize you thought you blocked that family member from the Facebook invite and they found out anyways. It's burning the turkey, forgetting pecans for the pecan pie, realizing they are out of graham cracker crust and you wonder how the Oreo crust would taste with the pecan pie. It's your dad beating you at Cornhole after you just talked a lot of smack to remind you of your place in this hierarchy.  Could it be that it's not really about the Season but about the memories that are created during the season?

So what makes a house a home? It's the memories. It's the holes in the walls created by your children fighting. It's realizing your daughter has been quiet for way too long and walk in on her coloring the walls. It's the laughter heard when your wife is on Facebook watching funny videos. It's the memory of the conversation of the loved one lost as you sat on your back porch. So as we end this year think back, not necessarily on the building that you call home but on the memories created in the house you call home.   

Leave your comments below of some of your memories. 

Home building has truly been unpredictable in the last year and a half. Who would have ever thought a pandemic would spark a house buying/building frenzy? It has been a great time for the home building industry but it has come with many challenges and obstacles. Regardless of what anyone may tell you no one saw this coming and none of us have been here before. With this being said let me say thank you to all of our current, past and future clients for the following things:

Not killing us 
They say patience is a virtue, I don't know who "They" is, but they sure are right. Patience goes a long way in building a home and I don't think anyone understands that more than my wife and I and those in the process of building home. Just an FYI, it's pretty normal to want to kill your contractor at some point during the process. If he or she is truly doing their job they will understand that and do the best they can to accommodate you within their means. 

Understanding 
We could have never predicted nor planned for the issues that we have experienced over the last year: material shortage, lumber price increases, employee shortage, shipping shortage, trade shortages, 3 hurricanes and the list could go on and on. Having an attitude of understanding goes a long way.

Not Calling Us A Liar At Some Point
As a contractor it is our job to hold our trades accountable to a schedule and quality. Asking questions until you get the right answer and not being accusatory is valuable through this particular time. I think most of us are doing the best that we can to communicate to our clients what our trades are communicating to us and here in the last year that has changed daily. 

We don't think that some of the issues are going away anytime soon, so we will adjust and continue to build homes that you can create memories for a lifetime in. It just may take us a little longer than expected. 

Once again thank you all for the support that you all have shown. We appreciate every one of you.

It's been a long journey for Lauren and I to get to this point. A lot of endurance, tough decisions and sleepless nights. But, when faith mixed with creative action was implemented, the impossible soon became the reality.

You are your biggest enemy when it comes to doing great things and doing things greatly. It ultimately comes down to the battle of the mind. The mind is a battlefield, (I know it's cleche and overly stated) learn how to manage your thoughts. Learn who you are and what you are capable of, either good or bad. 

About 11 years ago a great man wrote a scripture on a piece of paper for us, he is no longer with us but I have carried it with me to this day.

Isaiah 58:9-12 (MSG)  

If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, 
If you a generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down and out, 
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. 
I will always show you where to go. 
I will give you a full life in the emptiest of places-firm muscles strong bones. 
You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. 
You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. 
You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. 

Stay tuned for what is to come from us, it's going to be a wild ride!!!

Recently, I encountered a decision that a company made that at the time seemed like the right decision based on the situation. That decision once implemented created a problem that was even worse than the initial problem it was intended to fix. Instead of admitting the mistake it was left alone to spiral out of control. 

Sometimes we have to admit that we screwed up and that there were unforeseen implications of  a decision we made. 

To avoid this here are some suggestions 

Start from the bottom up 
    Make a list of everyone that that particular decision affects and start working the decision backwards. 

Make sure the people that it affects have the capacity to take on the workload.

If you are adding workload, figure out a way to alleviate another aspect of their job.

Ask questions and input from all whom it affects. 

If the decision is implemented and it begins to spiral out of control, please have the decency to admit that it was the wrong decision and begin to work towards resolving it.  

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Value
Our process is more than just building a home. It’s an experience which provides connection to the place you will call home. Whether we are building one for you or you are buying one from us we are always thinking about the families that will make this house into a home.

Knowledge
We produce content multiple times a week to inform you of the latest news about the industry. It provides security and knowledge to you throughout your home buying/building experience.

Connection
We use our knowledge and value to connect you with a place to call home. Our focus is you the individual while building a safe haven for you to come to at the end of the day.