I recently stumbled upon a quote by Stephen Covey that states "I am not a product of my circumstances, I am a product of my decisions".

Upon reading this quote a story I heard when I was younger comes to mind.

To give a synopsis, an elderly carpenter was retiring and his boss asked him to build one last house.

The carpenter unenthusiastically agreed to build the house, but his heart wasn't entirely in the job any longer.

After a few months of working on his final project, the carpenter went to his boss to inform him that he had finished the house.

The boss excitingly pulled a key out of his pocket and handed it to the retired carpenter and said "Here are the keys to your house, its yours! This is my final gift to you".

The carpenter was caught completely off guard. If only he had known that he was building it for himself he would have built the house so differently.

This story has always stuck with my throughout the years and is truly an incredible life lesson for us all.

As people we often times go about our lives aimlessly, forgetting that our decisions we made yesterday will affect our today, and either destroy or enhance our tomorrow.

Here's a poem a wrote titled "The House I Built"

I hold in my hand a hammer, a nail, and a board; my end product will be what I choose

Take a hold of the wheel of your life, don't leave your car set on the control of cruise

Live with purpose and know that you will have to lie in the bed that you made

Make sure you build a house you'd want to live in, not one you'd want to trade

"I wish I would've done things differently" is a phrase I hope you never have to speak

Don't be afraid to strive for the absolute best, be your life's biggest critique

Make sure to build your house wisely, don't leave any holes in the windows or doors

Work hard and diligently in all that you do, be proud to claim the house as yours

Realize that every choice you make is either building your house, or taking it apart

But the most important step in creating a stable structure is simply to just start.