Friday, August 21, 2015

Teamwork

noun    team·work     \ˈtēm-ˌwərk\

The dictionary defines teamwork as, "work done by several associates with each doing a part but all to the efficiency of the whole.” Synonyms of teamwork include collaboration, cooperation and coordination. Dictionary.com defines teamwork as a "cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.

A team can be a group of colleagues working on a business project, a group of friends planning a party, business leaders brainstorming for a community event, church members planning the next year's budget and calendar, a family or couple devoted to achieving a common dream and shared goals. We are all a part of many cross-functional teams. 

Teamwork is one of the top three qualities needed to attain goals successfully. Every person has strengths and weaknesses that contribute to or hinder the team's success. I believe in order to turn dreams into goals into realities a person needs dedication, hard work, and teamwork. Other qualities and characteristics can be vital as well, but without these three core traits, most good ideas fail in execution.

I believe that God and the universe put people in our lives that are meant to be a part of our team - whether short or long term. There is no way I could have gained the knowledge and wisdom in finances that God gave me without some important people along the way. My dad for starters, my grandfather, Dale, Leanne, Leon, Steve, Chris, Crown Financial, Larry Burkett, Howard Dayton and God bless him, Dave Ramsey. Therefore, they, along with my financial adviser/broker and bankers are my financial team. 

Our family worked together has a team to conquer our debt, made personal sacrifices, and accepted and propelled our family financial goals. We - as a team - did the Crown Financial course and system and adopted Dave Ramsey's theories and strategies too. (They are the exact same steps and system just taught in different formats. Crown is biblical-based whereas Dave has the same foundation but just mentions God less.) I did not make it to Dave Ramsey's 6th baby step (destination 5 of the Crown Money Map 7-step journey) by myself. We did it as a unified team to reach shared results and goals. (And we're still doing it!) Together.

As a team, Chris and I and both children worked in and enjoyed the fruits of labor of the garden at our home in North Carolina. Chris and I have been talking about our farm in the country since before we married in 1999 and that dream got shelved in the hustle and bustle of early married life, bills, debt, kids, jobs. We even got sidetracked a time or two. However, we never forgot our dream and as we paid off the credit cards, consumer debts, and built savings and investment accounts, we knew that dream was so much more possible than ever before. As a collective unit, Chris and I listed all the attributes we wanted in a property and how much we wanted to pay for it.

As a team, we learned what we each needed to learn. Turning to real estate and mortgage experts, I learned all about land loans versus loans for city homes, construction loans and buying property. My regular bank, where we kept our checking and savings that had given us two mortgages in the past did not offer loans for homes with more than 3.5 acres. I needed to know if it was feasible and how to do it before I could begin the actual search.

During a year of search, we never found a property in our Charlotte, NC area or near my family in coastal Carolina. We searched all through North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, even as far west as Louisiana and Texas. We are Southerners and knew we would never go farther than that, besides who wants longer colder winters? With my writing job, I could live anywhere in the world. However, the southeastern United States has a 276-year hold on us that we just don't mind.

In April 2014, Chris and I along with our little boy took a quick trip to Georgia to see some properties. One was of particularly keen interest and the others met the majority of our desires. I felt it when I walked across the pasture at one of those Georgia properties that it was going to be our home. There were tears in my eyes, goosebumps on my arms, and a sense of home plus I could feel my own daddy's approval and joy in the nature of the place. I was careful not to show the sellers and real estate agent my emotions, but it was tough. We went back to NC that same day and the house in NC was on the market two days later on May 1.

We had so much to learn, do and see. Selling one house and finding another that met our requirements and moving without any day of homelessness. And the two houses not even being in the same state made it tough and sometimes it was so stressful I thought I'd just stop the whole process. 

Finally after an agonizing six weeks, my realtor Warren called. "You have an offer," he said so flatly I thought I had misheard. "Excuse me, what?" He repeated, "You've got an offer to buy your house." You know the house we tried to sell in 2008 and in 2011 and for nearly two years on the market never got one offer and suddenly you're telling me I've got an offer?! We were all shocked! It was 4% under asking price. I took it. (Let's not waste time; we got stuff to do today!)

The next morning, I emailed my realtor in Georgia with an offer to purchase a 15-acre parcel of land on the river that had creeks, woods, fields and pastures, a couple of outbuildings, a pool, and a three-bedroom home built in the 1990's. She must have been busy all day because she did not call me until later in the afternoon. We chatted and confirmed the details of the offer and she was going to contact the seller. 

She called me back in less than 15 minutes and simply said, "YOU GOT A DEAL!" when I answered the call. I nearly fell to my knees! I am sure I yelled aloud - loudly! I know I did some sort of crazy dance down the driveway and in the middle of the road because Chris's truck was coming around the corner! He gave me a weird what-have-you-been-drinking look and I hollered, "WE GOT A DEAL! WE GOT A DEAL! WE HAVE A DEEEEEEEEEEEAL!" I never wondered until now if the neighbors heard me or saw me. Oh well, I certainly did not care then or now.

That double-deal acceptance launched a stress-filled, anxious, tunnel-visioned six weeks. It was torture. It was stressful. I lost weight (that was great)! On top of our everyday life of work, kids, house, garden, bills, schools, you know - the norm, now I had a house-selling, house-buying, mortgage-applying, home-inspecting, packing whirlwind. Thank God for the team I surrounded myself for support and sanity. This included my realtors and mortgage broker, Chris and the kids, my mom and my sister, but also my friends Alysha, Katie, Stephanie, Thomas, and a few others who helped me focus, remain calm and prioritize. 

Thank heavens for teamwork! We never have to carry the load all by ourselves! Whether it is your team at work or your team that helps raise your kids (spouse, family, babysitters, nannies, teachers, doctors, nurses, etc.) or your sanity team or your let's-find-our-dream team or your family members. Sometimes you can play the role of cheerleader in a team, encouraging and lifting others up, keeping the momentum going and inspiring the labors of the team. 

Life is a team sport and it would be tough to do it alone. I personally know that while I am great at earning a living writing, I am not so great on physical labor or teaching kids. I delegate those tasks to someone else. Thank God Chris is a hard worker and can do strenuous labor. Moreover, he actually enjoys it. He is thankful that I can effectively manage our finances (with my money team), manage a business, research investments and create a cash flow for our dreams. He and the kids are grateful for my systematic approach to food shopping and preparing delicious foods and meals (from scratch. Daily.) I am so appreciative of my children for helping in the garden with planting and harvesting. There is no way we could get everything done in a day without my teenage daughter's help. She manages the dish washing process, bakes bread, makes tea, teaches and babysits and plays with her five-year-old brother, cleans, does laundry, makes dinner once a month, feeds the dogs, and so much more than I can list. 

Even Henry Thoreau, though he lived in solitaire, had a team. Somebody allowed him to live on their land, someone else had built the home he bought then rebuilt in another location, somebody sold him seeds and supplies, someone bought his garden produce. He could not have done it completely and utterly alone.

Here on our farm, we all work together to get the chores done. We all work together to achieve our goals and dreams. That's what it is all about: striving as a team to turn dreams into goals into realities. Think of the people on your team. Have you thanked them lately? 

This post ranked #1 in our most-read posts of 2015!

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