3 Lessons from building my teardrop trailer

Welcome to a tour of my latest teardrop trailer build project “Feenix”. 9 months of challenges, hundreds of hours and the satisfaction of being able to tow this sweet monkey 21 hours for her maiden voyage throughout Washington to the ocean.

This was one of the biggest projects I’ve ever taken on and it’s been sssooooo fulfilling to have it ACTUALLY WORK. So many times I have scoured the internet and the aisles of Home Depot trying to find solutions for how to make this happen… so many convos with my very smart friends who have helped me. Thank you. And this is for all of the people on this planet who are trying stuff because it’s in their heart to do. 

This was a dream. And I hope that this can be some sort of inspiration for you (whoever you are) to dream big. Try that thing. 

I was able to complete this… not because I’m an awesome builder but I was somehow able to push through the disappointments and challenges this past year to make this dream become a reality. What were the lessons that I learned? Allow myself to elaborate…

As I always told my kids… you’ve gotta follow what’s in your heart.

Welcome to this world Feenix.
❤️

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LESSON #1: OOOOOH THAT SNEAKY LITTLE VOICE OF “FAIL-BITCH”

One of the things that I talk about with my coaching clients a lot is the concept of the “Saboteur”. The voice of the “inner critic”. The voice that pulls you away from living according to your values. The voice of fear. Feeling like you’ll NEVER BE ENOUGH OR DO ENOUGH. Sentences often begin with “… you SHOULD…”

It’s been there and will always be there… it’s a matter of what you do with that voice. How do you hold it? How loud is it? What is the “other” voice of love and encouragement and inspiration to invite you to be more of who you want to be (and know you COULD BE without the shame piece).

Fascinating.

Well, I have come to name my voice and she is affectionately called “FAIL-BITCH”. And it is incredible how often this voice was screaming in my head during this build… every time I’d make a mistake or couldn’t figure something out. It’s an old familiar voice / feeling that feels like freezing. Fear. Many many times I had to take a deep breath or a hot tub… take some space and remind myself that it’s all going to work out. I think this is why I wanted to share the struggles along the way with this project so it doesn’t just look like I magically built this thing with no issues. I had my moments of being discouraged, scared, pissed off, and satisfied.

LESSON #2: ASKING FOR HELP IS NEAT

Why is it so hard to ask for help? Maybe because I never want to be a “taker” or a “bother” to people. And I have to say that the help I got from my friends made this trailer build even possible. Especially for things like the wiring where I was totally lost.

I think that because I spent hundreds of hours on this by myself, any little chance I got to have someone there with me felt less lonely and super encouraging. Even sharing my journey on socials was quite a sweet process… having my friends along for the ride was a beautiful addition that helped me push through the head-scratching challenges.

LESSON #3: PRACTICE DREAMING

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a home where I was encouraged to dream. To follow my heart. There was never any pressure to be someone I wasn’t or to pursue a profession or direction that didn’t align with what was in my heart. We tried to pass along this same vibe to our kids.

“You’ve got to follow your heart…”

This project was doing a lot of that. It started out as a little dream. I tried to buy one a couple of years ago on Craigslist and ended up getting ripped off when the guy took off with my $1000 deposit. Oops. This teardrop trailer build was therapeutic in getting me through a hard winter and stretched my mind (and skills) but it just felt right.

May you follow what’s in your heart… and as Ingrid (my late wife) would always encourage me, “DREAM BIG”.