This post is part 4 of a series on my adventure going to a year-long training program in the remote mountains of North Carolina. To start at the beginning, check out the first post in the series here: Adaptation And The Master’s Mission (Part 1: Initiation)
Previous parts: Part 2: First Impressions Part 3: The First Month
Finishing Strong
Many people have the “guaranteed until first use” mindset. Where you show-off until you get the job, and then once you are there and comfortable, you can start slacking off. How many people have you seen go into a job eager and ready to work, but the other employees who have been there for a couple months tell them to cool down and not work so hard?
That new employee may work hard for a little while, but they almost always conform to the habits of the rest of the employees. In fact, those other employees often make it their personal mission to make sure you don’t work hard so that they don’t look bad when the new guy is accomplishing more than they are.
They have become comfortable, and they don’t want to disrupt that for any reason.
This is your time to shine. Not for an employer, but for yourself. This is when you prove what kind of work mindset you have. Are you going to seek to work as hard as you can and create as much value as you can, or are you going to join the parasites that are accomplishing the bare minimum, sucking life out of the company?
While not an employee, this was incredibly important for me at TMM. I wasn’t there to get lazy. I was there to learn, and I’m a strong believer that you get out what you put in. Accordingly, I was going to put as much as I could in.
How? It’s simpler than people make it out to be. Just be on time, always be attentive, volunteer for the extra work, stay later than necessary, have conversations with people, be flexible.
It boils down to listening and doing.
Listen to what’s expected of you, listen for extra things you can do, listen to the needs of others, listen to figure out pain points. And then after you listen: DO.
DO what’s expected of you, DO the extra things, DO solve the problems of others, DO create solutions for what everyone is complaining about.
It may sound exhausting, but the process of learning and being productive is something that will fuel you. While it takes a lot of work, your energy levels actually go up. You have so many things exercising your mind every day, so your mind is constantly running and ready to go.
Having this mindset allowed me so many opportunities for growth at TMM. Four months after I was there, there was a need for someone to teach Sunday service at the church. I volunteered. I was supposed to teach for one week but was afterward asked to preach the rest of the month. I did this while I was also leading worship at the church. Was this hard? Of course! Did I grow and learn a lot? Absolutely!
By being open and willing to do things that are scary and that others don’t want to do, you create value not only for others but also for yourself.
“Okay, but what did you actually do there?” You might be asking. Sure I was living on this mountain doing stuff for church, but did I actually do anything throughout the week?
The daily curriculum at TMM consisted of an intensive Bible program, which involved an in-depth teaching/preaching practicum. This required students to study and preach in front of a church congregation multiple times throughout the year. Specially designed Bible exams followed each quarter. Each test taking on average 10-15 hours.
Also involved in the day to day was the practical skills training. In which you learn the basics of construction, heavy machinery, drafting, surveying, road/dam/airstrip building, auto mechanics, welding, community development, gardening, water systems, timber harvesting, and animal husbandry.
All of this, you do while living in primitive cabins with no electricity.
Anyone who comes out of the program and says that they haven’t learned has only themselves to blame. I was stretched to the max during my time there. I was challenged in ways that I had never been before. While only learning basics for many skills, I learned how to keep learning them. The construction that I learned at TMM allowed me to get a job working construction right after the program. The mechanics that I learned during the program allowed me to work where I’m working now.
You learn from everything you do, and the more you invest in those things, the more the return will be. While I graduated from the program with a 4.0, this wasn’t my reward. My reward was the many things that I learned and accomplished while I was there. I made a positive impact for everyone on the mountain, which in turn made a positive impact on me.
I think it’s also important to mention that I certainly didn’t do everything right while at TMM. While I had good intentions, I was constantly at war with myself to stay productive. To continue learning when I was tired. Perhaps my biggest regret was not asking more questions. I was in the presence of experts on subjects I was completely new to. While I still learned a ton, I could have greatly increased this by being even more curious about the skills that we were learning.
But that’s the past. I’ve learned from those things that I failed in. Your failures will be signs as to whether you will adapt or be left behind. Now, I’m asking questions about everything. I started asking so many questions I created a podcast asking these questions.
Nobody’s going to be perfect or do everything right the first time, but if every time you fail you see it as a fresh start instead of a roadblock, you’ll be amazed at the opportunities that present themselves.
My time at TMM was a chapter in my story of growing and learning. Being tested in a new environment. Because I was able to adapt quickly, this set me up for future success.
I loved my time there, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Here’s a video by Check Holton from CBN on the Master’s Mission: