The Workaround

So I’ve been really diving into woodworking as of late. Included in this deep dive is watching a lot of how-to videos to learn. In a lot of these videos the people making various projects have come a long way in their career and have acquired a lot of fancy and expensive tools and in many of the comments of these videos you’ll see a lot of people saying things along the line of “I could make cool stuff like that too if I had all that fancy equipment.”

This mindset is what we’re going to talk about today. It applies to not just woodworking, but all across the board of life in general. Many times we see a problem and because the solution isn’t simple or easy we just give up. More often than not if you take time to think of the problem you can find a solution or workaround.

Back to woodworking, you want to get started, but have no idea where to begin. All the tools, accessories, and build plans can be overwhelming. What’s a person to do? Well study. Look into which tools do what, what accessory does what, and what projects you want to do/build require. If you’re not sure you can do a quick online search to read about it or hit up YouTube and watch videos of how to make something along  the lines of what you want to build, and follow up with tools used in those videos, then if they’re using expensive things in your budget, look up those workarounds like we talked about before so you can learn how to do more with less.

Just like if you’re wanting to get into investing, but with so many stocks, cryptos, retirement funds, etc. you’ve got to do some research. Read forums, watch videos, take classes, and reach out and ask others who are in that field. They were beginners too and had to do what you’re doing now. If you want to get into sales of some sort, read books, watch videos, ask car salesmen and real estate salesmen how they go about getting that sale. If you want to open your own business, take classes and talk to business owners about what they studied to open a business and what they had to learn or didn’t expect. Everyone starts at the ground and builds up as they learn. Plenty of people are out there who are willing to share their knowledge and experience.

Sometimes you know what you need but can’t afford the best of the best. In that case you just have to get what’s in your budget and over time upgrade. You might not be able to afford that large cabinet saw that you want that costs thousands of dollars, but you can get that one that’s around $300. It might not be perfect, and certainly doesn’t have all the bells and whistles you want, but it gets the job done for now, doesn’t it? You can get that one and eventually upgrade to better quality.

You’re more than likely not going to start a new career at the top. You’re most likely going to start at a lower level. But as you gain experience, skill, and charisma you build your way closer to bigger and better positions. You might not be able to afford that convertible you want right now, but you still need to get to and from work and run errands so you get what you can for now and can upgrade later. You might unexpectedly lose your job and just have to find someplace right away to make sure bills are paid, get some income rolling in again and look for a job more suited to your liking. You might want certain stocks/cryptos, but they’re already above your budget. You can save up to afford them, or start investing in ones that won’t break the bank. Buy a few with each paycheck or every other paycheck. Build those up and then if you really want, sell them or trade them for the ones you really want.

So let’s say you watch a YouTube video for a woodworking project and see someone using a bandsaw to cut and shape a piece, and you’re new to the hobby. The bandsaw is expensive and might not be in your budget. You can just give up because you can’t afford that bandsaw for that project, sure. Or you can get a jigsaw that’s much cheaper to cut and shape pieces from your boards. Maybe you need to cut long strips of wood, but don’t have that $500 track saw. You can buy or even make an edge guide jig for your circular saw to make those longer cuts or even take a board that’s just as long as the piece you’re working on, make sure it’s straight, and clamp it to the board you’re wanting to cut for an edge guide. Simple workarounds for a solution to your dilemma.

Life is full of challenges and surprises. If you can’t train your mind to figure out workarounds for solutions you’ll never get ahead. That business you work for might close down, you might get fired, your health or the health of someone you love may take a turn, or that relationship may end, etc. All of these come with complications and if you just give up because the solution isn’t simple or immediately obvious, then you’re destined to always lose. If you think outside the box, you can usually find a workaround to find the solution you need or at least get you going until you have the rest of what you need to make it happen. Train your mind to find and create the solutions that you need instead of giving up.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you all have an enlightening day.