Builder Milestone - Never Give Up
Yesterday I achieved a big milestone in my life: I passed my residential builder’s license exam, which makes me eligible to become a licensed residential builder. I’ve always loved houses and dreamed of one day getting the chance to create my own. As a little kid, I would spend hours playing with building blocks and Legos, making structures left and right. I knew one day I’d want to do it in the real world.
Many people tend to think that building a home is simple and that it doesn’t take much. But the truth is so much more complex and because it is such a scientific process, it takes a lot of studying and intelligence to fully understand both how to build and take a home apart (or fix it). There are always complications that can change the way a structure can be built; water elements, weather, and soil are just a few that affect the overall condition of a property. So it takes an incredible amount of knowledge to foresee those issues and work to prevent them from adversely affecting a home.
The path to passing the test wasn’t easy by any means. In fact, I failed the exam the first time I took it; but that ended up being the best thing because it forced me to study and really immerse myself in the housing codes, which can be dense and difficult to understand. It gave me a respect for the overall science of building and for how homes are built to meet residential requirements. When I finally felt I was ready to retake it, I registered, and a few days later found myself again staring at several hours’ worth of questions and wondering if I would pass. About 20 minutes into the test, I wanted to give up because I started to let doubt creep in. But then, I started to get a couple right, and then a few more, and soon I was on a roll and my mindset had totally shifted. I thought to myself, “Hey, I can do this.”
And you know what? It was completely worth powering through. I passed, but more than that, I was reminded again how important it is to never give up and to keep following your dreams, no matter what obstacles block your path.
