Have you ever watched a Cell Phone Tower being built?
I hadn’t until this summer…
Our neighbor signed a contract with T-Mobile to place a 197 foot tower on his property. We have been watching the progress each day. It will be a single pole tower, sort of like a giant metal traffic pole (only BIGGER.)
Each day, we have watched as they cleared the area, built an access road and then started work on the foundation. As I was walking our dog and marveling at the engineering required to build the tower, I received one of those wonderful “Aha” moments. In an instant, I was given the awareness of several messages that this tower has to share.
Intuitive Insights from a Cell Tower – Part 1
A Strong Foundation…
The first step in preparing the foundation was to dig a deep hole. It was a square, flat bottomed hole about 15 feet deep. At the bottom they laid out large, strong, metal rods and built a grid framework. In the center they added more metal rods curving up from the bottom grid and arranged them in the shape of a circle in the center of this square frame in the bottom of the hole. Finally, they built a wooden frame around this circular group of metal rods rising up to the top of the hole.
Next came the cement trucks. Truck after truck pulled in, dumping their load of cement into the hole. The cement flowed in between and all around the metal frame in the bottom of the hole. Once dry, it would create a solid, secure, inseparable foundation for the tower. The center circular frame was also filled with cement. At this point the hole had been filled 1/2 way.
The following day, they removed the wooden frame from the center cement column and filled in the rest of the hole with the dirt. They spent the day pressing it down and leveling it off. When they were finished, all that could be seen of the foundation was a small section of the inner circular column, rising a foot or so above the ground, with metal rods and large bolts sticking out the top.
The foundation had been built!
It is a lot like the foundations we create in our lives and in our businesses.
We often have to start by digging deep! Digging down to the core of our being, until we reach that level surface, that secure layer, upon which to start to build. In our life, this involves discovering what our true values and priorities are. In our business, this represents unearthing our purpose and direction. As well as, taking the time to identify our ideal clients and the services and work that we will be offering. These are the pieces that are needed to build a strong foundation.
Once we have done our digging, we begin building the framework that will support our life or business goals. We put the framework in place with our education, experiences and our trial and error. We cement it all together with our faith and belief until we have a strong, cohesive foundation upon which to build.
Finally, we can fill the rest of the hole back in, with dirt and soil, allowing new ideas and thoughts to sprout and grow there.
So how do your dig down and discover the things you need to know to start building your foundation?
Just like engineers, you take your idea, create a model and then test it.
With your business, one of the best ways to test an idea for a new product or service is to create a small version of it and offer it for free. Then you make note of the feedback you get and the awareness and insight you receive, so you can refine your design and do it again.
But…where or how do you find people to help test your ideas?
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- One way is to offer a beta test group. This works well if you already have a large list to offer the beta testing too.
- Another way this can be done quickly and easily is to combine your testing with a promotional event. Not only do you get more people to help you test your idea, you can gather feedback from your peers as well as potential customers. Then tweak and test again!
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If you are interested in combining your testing with a promotional event, I invite you to check out the two giveaway events that Rev. Anne Presuel and I host each year.
We are currently accepting JV Partners who wish to offer a free gift to visitors in September.
Our spring event: DivinelyConnectedBiz.com will available in the spring of 2016
So true, without a good foundation everything we create lacks stability. But once we have that solid foundation to build on, the framework of our lives or business is strong enough to support us as we move toward our dreams.
I agree. I guess the part I hadn’t thought about is that it runs very deep and often is covered up and not visible or obvious on the surface. So, when we look at others who we think are “magically” doing better or more than us, what we don’t realize is all the work that they put into building their foundation. It’s that old “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” sort of thing. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!