A man was walking by what had once been a vacant lot for many years.
He noticed a man doing some masonry work and asked him what he was doing.
The man, with great indifference, responded, “I’m laying bricks,” and he went back to his task. The inquirer felt as though he had intruded on the bricklayer and went on his way.
This went on for several days until he noticed a different man doing the brick work and he approached him as well.
“What are you doing,” he asked.
“I’m building a wall,” was the response of the new bricklayer.
Again, this worker was there for several days before a third man appeared in his place.
The curious passerby approached the new mason and asked the question a third time.
“What are you doing,” he asked as he had done with the two other men.
“I’m building a cathedral,” the man responded with great pride.
This is an old tale of which I am sure many of you are familiar. It is one that stirs great emotion for me every time I hear it or read it.
Each man is doing the exact same task but all three have completely different mindsets.
Those mindsets range from very small thinking to really big thinking.
Last week I had a conversation with a friend and we both shared that we really struggle to think big. In relation to the tale we are merely bricklayers.
We both have great desire to be cathedral builders but need to change our mindsets in order to get there.
I want to think bigger! I need to think bigger!
One of the pieces of our discussion centered around a correlation between our own sense of worth and value and being a big thinker. I don’t know if that’s a proven theorem or not but it was a point of our discussion.
At this point, I’m not sure what being a cathedral builder looks like for me but I am exploring that now.
I am finding it takes great courage to review why I am the way I am.
One of the ways I am doing this is by taking an online course titled, “Mastering the Craft of Creativity.”
The facilitator of the course, Bob Stromberg, has a Masters degree in creativity. Bob very clearly asserts that creativity is for everyone and practicing it just a few minutes a day actually changes your brain.
That’s what I need, a change in my brain to go from being a bricklayer to being a cathedral builder.
Bob will be opening his course again in October and I highly encourage you to participate. It is well worth the investment and Bob is readily available to personally assist you on your journey to finding your creative self.
So, what are you? Are you a bricklayer or a cathedral builder?
What would your life look like if you were a cathedral builder?
Do you have the courage to find out?
I’ll keep you posted on my progress and would love to hear about yours!
Ephesians 3:20
Have a STRONG and COURAGEOUS day!
Question David……what if you have already built that Cathedral, and now the question is: “Is that all there is?” Remember a story once in a Sales Training Class where the Instructor suggested that many people make the great climb in life to get to the Top of the Mountain, the pinnacle of their profession, only to say, is this all there is…….
I am a bit ashamed to admit this has been my major concern in later life. Having spent all the hours, effort and energy, missing the kids growing up, family events, precious time with wife and kids, vacationing etc., and then reached the presumed summit, only to find there was nothing special at all.
My Courage fight now is to re-discover much of what I missed, and trying to make sense out of my life! As you might imagine, this has become extremely difficult and sometimes very depressing to realize that what has past is gone forever, but my hope is new opportunities will present themselves for me to participate, and maybe, just maybe find the joy I had hoped was waiting for me at the top of the summit!
Be the brick layer or Cathedral builder, but make sure that in the process you never forget your loved ones and friends, because at the end of the trail, that will be your reward for all the effort and work to climb that mountain in your life!