Excuses are for Losers

 March 16, 2021

Chad E Foster

Excuses are for losers. 

Those are strong words. Fighting words. And, I don't mean fighting someone. I mean fighting yourself. Look in the mirror, look yourself in the eye and say, "Excuses are for losers." And, see how you react. Go for it. I'll wait. What feeling did you first notice?

“This stuff is so easy, I could do it with my eyes closed.” The interviewer burst into laughter. At that moment the applicant knew he landed the job. 

Recently I was skiing in Snowmass, Colorado. As is my nature, I struck up a conversation with the other people on the lift. Two of them were wearing bright yellow vests. They wore these because it would be easier to see them on the slope. Not a bad idea. However, people haven’t run into me too often. I don't wear a bright yellow vest. During our conversation the two yellow-vested people shared an experience of skiing down the double-black diamond run at the Cirque headwall and how awesome it was. (Item to note: This is no small feat. Of the four Aspen Mountains; Aspen, Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass, this is the most difficult run.) At that point one of the yellow-vested guys turned to the other yellow-vested guy and said, “You would never have done that run if you were sighted.” Wait, wut? Yep! The skier is blind and the other guy was his guide. 

Blind Ambition

Chad E Foster is a true inspiration. He told me he wrote a book, "Blind Ambition". I have been known to read a book to two. Within moments I had purchased the book and I let him know. He gave me a fist bump. I couldn't wait until I got home to read it. So I didn't. I downloaded the Audible. On the 10-hour ride home from Glenwood Springs, I listened to the audiobook. He has a chapter in his book titled, "Excuses are for losers." It made me pause, internally reflect and I could only agree. 

Another thing he said which is so profound, impactful and truly remarkable: "I am blind for a reason. I am blind so I can help others see their potential." Stop for a moment. Re-read that line. Here, I will make it easy for you: "I am blind for a reason. I am blind so I can help others see their potential." Wow. What an amazing attitude. And, he cannot even look in the mirror to look himself in the eye. Know what else he wrote? Ha! You have to read his book to find out. I can't do everything for you. Oh, you don't have time to read? Excuses are for losers. 

My recommendation? Stop reading, buy the book or download the audible. Go ahead. Do it now. I will wait. 

As I share my vision of our project in Sierra Vista I am amazed at the accomplishment. I am the eyes in the field for you. That has a whole new meaning for us, doesn't it? 

Now, finally, we get to the part where we discuss what you have all been waiting for. Where are we with Thunder Mountain? What has gotten completed since our last bi-weekly update? As a reminder, that is once every-other-week. Americans are so good at making simple things complicated. For more details on this meaning, simply scroll back a few blogs and read what I had to share on this topic. 

Things are exciting! So, let's get started. 

Digging up the Drive

The parking lot / driveway is getting cut up, dug up and tore up. What are we doing now? We are adding the dedicated water line (finally) for the sprinkler system. I am not going to dive into detail on that one besides sharing that the first way we were going came to a bureaucratic dead end when dealing with the private water company. If you are curious to what happened, simply scroll back in time and read my other blog entries. It's worth your time. Free entertainment with nuggets of wisdom. At least that's my opinion, which doesn't matter. 

Window Wall Mudded

We are taping and mudding inside the units! And, when I say "we" I mean "they". The construction crew is keeping their foot on the skinny pedal and making things happen. And, by the skinny pedal I mean the gas pedal. Next time you get in your car, take a look. The skinny pedal makes you go and the harder you press the faster you go. Try it! Let me know how that goes. 

Kitchen Mudded - Looks Nice!

The taping is looking awesome. 

The doorways between the units which make up the 1-bed are getting trimmed out. This will certainly get to more finished look. 

Trimmed Doorway

And, some of the bedrooms in the 1-bed units are framed in. In essence, we moved the door which we removed from between the two units and reinstalled them in a newly framed wall to form a bedroom. This way visitors can use the bathroom and the bedroom can remain a private bedroom. 

Who Framed the Door?

This will take some imagination. Say you just walked into this hotel room. But, it was a few months ago. On your left there would not be the open doorway. Straight ahead you would see the motel room. Now, look at this picture. To the right of the open doorway is another doorway. The next one to the right leads to the bath. And, the open doorway on the left leads to the kitchen and the living room. If you scroll up you can see what they look like today. 

Isn't this fun to see?

Now close your eyes. Imagine that you have seen your last sunset. From now on, everything is black. That's what Chad did, except he didn't imagine it. And know what? He's awesome. It makes him who he is. He is blind so he can help others see their potential. 

And that is our project from my corner of the globe ~Bruce