I’ve been building houses for 30 years. Seen a lot. This life ain’t for everybody. Work doesn’t flood your way, you have to go out and find it. You get zero vacation time. No paid benefits. No insurance. And penalized by the government for being self employed on your taxes. The job is hard. It’s hot, cold, and weather affects you daily. Everything you pay for. Gas, tools, insurance, licenses, advertising, the ups and downs. It’s not easy and it ain’t cheap. And you don’t get rich, by no means. Not the average guy. I see new people all the time. And the debt they’re in is more insane than your average college student. Cept the college student gets taken care of if they get a job on their degree. The self employed, you gotta get it. And then hand over a chunk of it to the tax man who helped you with nothing. I’m fourth generation builder in my family. And I lead my two sons away from this. People don’t have the money to pay you for your work most of the time. And you’re chasing down the rest of it. And even if you do a great job, you’re hoping you’re not taking to court by losers who want everything for free. The trades are not for the softhearted. Everything about it is hard. I had chances to go and do something else many years ago. And many times I regret not leaving this. My body is broken. My insurance sucks. And I’m hoping it stops raining so I can actually start the next house. Thankfully I learned how to budget my money decades ago. In this business if you live month to month, your already done. I can miss a year of work and be fine. But I also don’t own expensive things. And learned that having less is actually having more. We build a dang fine home though. And our rep for my area is very good. But that won’t be my legacy. Once I found Christ, I don’t care about all this and that anymore. My body isn’t gonna hold out. And that’s ok. I lean heavy on Christ nowadays. I’d rather be remembered as a person who loved Jesus than a builder. The builder name, ends with me. And I’m ok with that. I hope anyone who ventures into the trades good luck. As with any job. Don’t let it be all you are. It’s just a job. The smarter man makes more and works less. Look to God for help. Make Jesus a focus before money. And thank the Lord all this ends one day and we can finally rest.