Dreams Don’t Work Unless You Do

Blog by Tracy Butz, Think Impact Solutions

What is the meaning of the phrase, "Hard work pays off"?

From my perspective, it means that by exerting an intense effort of sweat equity and focused execution, you can achieve the goal you set for yourself. It means rather than relying on luck, set a solid plan and work hard toward it, reaping the fruits of your labor when you accomplish it. After all, you don’t get what you wish for; you get what you work for.

Will there be obstacles? Yes.

Will there be mistakes? Yes.

But with hard work and determination, there are no limits.

As many of my loyal followers know, one of my passions is landscaping—which to me, is the art of beautifying an outdoor space by designing and reshaping visible features of an area of land in an aesthetic, eye-appealing and creative way. And yesterday, I completed a project that I have dreamed about since moving out to Colorado last fall.

See, in Colorado, residential areas often include more rock than grass. And one side of our home landscape was covered 100% in river rock, which lends very little curb appeal, and quite honestly, can be extremely difficult to walk on to get from the back yard to the front. So after our stamped concrete patio was professionally installed, I knew it was time to design a paver walkway that would bring a savvy solution to our issue, offer a creative flair that is unique and beautiful, and achieve an artistic sense of accomplishment that would provide years of enjoyment. Yesterday, my hard work paid off!

Yesterday I finished my dream of designing, planning and executing a 48 foot paver walkway! It started with moving an incredible amount of large river rock with a small hand rake, cutting out the weed barrier, digging through hard clay to form a curvy path, hauling and/or rolling super heavy Goldrush natural patio stones (approx. 16-in x 24-in x 2-in) one at a time, applying polymeric sand under the rocks, laying countless bags of paver sand, spreading even more bags atop the sand with paver base, and lastly placing a layer of decorative pea pebbles to complete the design. Here are several pictures of our natural stepping stone pathway.

Were there obstacles throughout this project? Absolutely! One example was realizing that the natural type of rock I wanted was so heavy that hoisting each of the 26 rocks out of my vehicle and essentially dropping them one at a time into a wagon before hauling them to the side of the house was EXTREMELY labor-intensive…more than I had ever imagined.

Were there mistakes? Yes, again. Because I wanted a varied paver shape and color-scheme, I determined that I had too many of one color and shape, and ended up having to return and replace five of the rocks—which certainly added even more sweat equity to the endurance and pain of the pathway project.

We all have skills and talents unique to us. And utilizing our talents to the best of our ability is essential to helping us make our dreams come true. But remember, dreams don’t work unless you do.

Dig deep and put forth a lot of hard work and determination in your next professional or personal project/initiative—and watch your dream become a reality.