Worth The Wait

I don't have a clue who first coined the phrase "Anything worth having is worth waiting for"... but they were right.

If you have ever been ridiculously hungry, you know exactly what I am talking about. Somehow food that you waited for, and anticipated always tastes better than running to Taco Bell because it is time to eat.

Last week, I was blessed and fortunate to close a business deal that I have been working on for literally 18 months. Frankly speaking, every other person associated with this deal had given up all hope about 6 months ago (right before Christmas) and totally abandoned the project... and millions of dollars along with it.

The fascinating thing is that I have felt so defeated by this project, after having worked on it, believed in it, and struggled to find a way to make it work on my own for so long. Finally, I surrendered. My surrender was not a giving up of hope - but a decision just to keep trying my best, and keep trying even though I may get burned by the outcome. The other interesting point is that it seemed like everyone else gave up... and somehow, with some divine help, I kept working.

We have been working for 18 months in a gridlock between my partners, the bank, the original seller, attorneys, the city, engineers, architects, and a contractor. It has been tough and seemed that every time we would make progress in one area, another area would blow up, and halt any hopes of getting something done.

3 months ago, something happened with the deal. I had continued to communicate with the parties, despite a lot of negativity from some in the deal... and one day one of the groups said, "Jake - you are still working at this. We are not really sure why. If you could wave a magic wand, what is it that needs to happen that we are not seeing that will make this work?"

Somehow, one party came back to the table... and then another, and another. Kind words were spoken to me by some of these gentlemen for the first time in more than a year... "thanks for sticking with it", or "your efforts have been commendable". They don't even necessarily give me credit for the deal happening, but it is gratifying to be know we are moving forward with an outcome that is the best solution for everyone...

Even after the parties got back together, it has taken 3 long months of work to finally structure something that everyone can live with... and Friday May 1st, 2009... we all signed the deal.

While I feel great about the outcome so far, the deal still requires a lot of work and could still fall apart. What has been done so far to get it going again is just the starting point, and has only been the beginning.

In many ways, being a part of the success of this deal will be far more rewarding to me than the participation I had in the easy real estate deals from 2 or 3 years ago, and I won't even be able to take credit for making it happen. I just kept going. Those old deals came easy, and are gone as easy as they came. Learning from those deals put me in a position to appreciate the value of the wait.

No matter what happens with this project, I have grown tremendously as a person learning the lessons from my life and applying them here.

This lesson seems to be showing itself in many other areas of my life.

I started a garden with my kids. I read books, mixed and prepared soil, bought seeds, and have watered it consistently... and there is little to any visible signs of progress in any way! To be honest, it can be very frustrating. I have had a lot of self doubt: Maybe I am just a lousy gardener. Maybe I mixed the soil wrong. Maybe I don't have what it takes.

The very reason I started the garden (other than that I wanted a cost effective, teaching, bonding, and meaningful experience to share with my children) was that too often in life I have been all about INSTANT RESULTS... getting what I want when I want it. Somehow, the people who know gardening have shared that it just doesn't work that way with a garden.

It requires work, and waiting. It requires PATIENCE, and planning, and consistency. (Having to water it, take care of it, etc.) I suppose that each year I garden, I would get a little better at it, and learn a little more...

In life, things worth doing are worth waiting for... and I believe that in some cases, the longer we are willing to wait, to sacrifice, and the more time we are willing to put in with little reward, the sweeter the reward we can receive.

My hope is to be able to have the strength to keep my eye focused on the things of the most value - and invest everything I have into those goals... and I have to hold on to that hope, or that faith that in the end, it can be Worth the Wait.