What is your superpower?

I was honored to spend three days with the team at Horton World Solutions this week. Everyone on that team has been incredibly successful in traditional construction, but they all wanted to do something more, something great, something forever. 

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle was our guide and after two days, clear but damp eyes, and full hearts, we had their Golden Circle.

Why – Our Legacy is hope for all families.
How – We are revolutionizing construction through simple, sustainable systems.
What – We build homes for everyone.

We build homes for everyone.

I am the person I am because I wanted something different. I grew up in a way that makes people admire that I ‘pulled myself up by my bootstraps’, but really, I think I would have been itchy and jumped into new things no matter how I grew up. 

I was curious and I wanted more. I certainly wanted more physical comfort, but really I wanted experience and life. I wasn’t the smartest, most talented, or prettiest, but I was usually the most persistent. 

The first time I remember jumping in where I wasn’t invited was when I was a Girl Scout. It was cookie selling time and I wanted to sell the most cookies. I lived in a poor area and nobody was buying my expensive and delicious cookies. I knew I had to go where people had some money, so I went to a big office building and told them that I was interested in their work, wanted to learn about it, and that I needed to sell some cookies. My plan worked best at a large law practice. Those lawyers filled my order sheet and gave me a law book to start reading. Three weeks later I delivered their orders in three trips, my red metal wagon filled with boxes of cookies. I didn’t return the law book, they seemed really pleased that I wanted to keep it, I just didn’t want to admit I couldn’t understand a word. **perhaps this was also the start of my persistent imposter syndrome. I was 10.

I learned that people do really interesting things, and they want to talk about them. And, that curiosity and interest in others can move a lot of Thin Mints.

I had an hour before a lunch meeting today and I spent it shopping. I bought some sweet new corduroy trousers. They’re soft and cute, just like the pair I had in seventh grade. I have no idea how many pairs of trousers I have now, it’s a lot. I know how many pairs of trousers I had in the seventh grade, one. 

In seventh grade I tested into advanced placement classes, most of my peers were the children of doctors and politicians and not on the free lunch program. They weren’t just smart, they had social skills, athletic ability, and adorable wardrobes. I was the awkward, gap-toothed, weird-smelling, wise-cracking, smart-ass who wore the same corduroy pants every day. They respected my academic chops, and clearly looked down on my uncool behavior and simple wardrobe. 

I was not going to fit in at all. Instead, I learned how to live in a space where I did not conform, existing without the secret handshake. I stuck with what I was good at, being smart and quick-witted.

Now I am good at fitting in and I am often the best dressed in the room. I am still smart and quick-witted, I’ve added charm and grace to my repertoire, and excel at shining in situations where I don’t know the handshake. 

I’m still a smart-ass on occasion; Did I mention that my butt looks amazing in these new cords?