“It is what it is.”
I’ve often wondered what that phrase truly means. On the other hand, if you spent any time in the military, you know exactly what it means: shit happens. Things fall apart. They don’t go to plan. It is what it is.
After six months in our new home, we finally have some interest in our tiny house. They did not wish to purchase it outright but wanted to turn it into an Air B-n-B and split the profits with us. The buyer inherited some land and needed a way to generate cash flow. The tiny house provides a way to take his inheritance and make it profitable for both of us.
I heard a sound as I opened the door to the tiny house for the first time in several weeks. I listened to the slight hiss and steady drumbeat of faint drips and knew somewhere in the house hid a water leak. I jumped into the bathroom to find the tankless water heater soaking the bathroom floor.
Racing outside, I cut the water to the house. Standing over the little blue cutoff valve, I kicked myself for not turning it sooner. Why hadn’t I thought of doing that months ago? My lack of foresight presented me with a painful price tag on the eve of moving the tiny house to a more profitable location. It is what it is.
The tiny house continues to teach, instruct, and mentor me in hardship. I want to pass on the lessons it gave me over the course of its short life to you today. The tiny house came into our life as an answer to the question of “what now?” after things didn’t turn out the way we thought they would. The lessons it provided are invaluable for anyone on this side of the grave, as you will surely encounter challenges that upend your entire life.
“Don’t panic!”
Elon Musk placed the flagship message from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy on the Tesla he shot into outer space as a test load on the first-ever Falcon Heavy rocket. I remember sitting in Cars restaurant watching that message blast off on a mission that forever changed the human race’s access to space. That memory frequently flashes into my mind when things don’t go to plan.
Once I realized that we had sold our house and moved across the country (Seattle, WA to Charleston, SC) to take a job that simply was not going to happen for reasons far outside my control, I closed my eyes and read, “Don’t Panic” on the dash of that old Tesla as the cowlings separated on the Falcon Heavy and sent it careening into the unknown. Realizing that we had managed to get ourselves into a real fix, it was time to improvise and take action.
Not panicking at that moment allowed me to think. What really mattered? What opportunities were interlaced in the chaos that we could take advantage of? How could we use this problem to reinvent, retool, and redesign our lives? What looked like an utter failure and financial ruin may be gold covered in mud. Not panicking proved the first step on a journey that took us to a much better place than we could have imagined in South Carolina.
Prioritize and Execute
I quickly realized the alligator closest to the boat was a place to live. We needed a house that we could stay in long term. At the moment, we had shacked up with some friends in South Carolina, anticipating being able to move into our own house soon. Once the job’s unavailability became obvious, I knew we needed a place to go.
On our way across the country, I went fishing with two friends from my hometown. One got himself in a fix and got a job that required him to live in a certain place. This led him to have to decide what he would do with his family farm, which he had restored over the past couple of decades. He couldn’t live there any longer but didn’t want to sell it. Leaving it unattended was also less than desirable as no one would be there to keep it safe. His problem gave us an opportunity.
After talking to him, we decided that I would build a tiny house in his back pasture. This would help watch over his farm but also get us out of the fix we were in. I had always wanted to experiment with tiny houses, and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. We had a path forward on our top priority.
Prepare Always and Again I say Prepare
If you aren’t in a fix right now, you soon will be. Not freaking out when it comes and knowing how to set your priorities will get you going, but you will need logistical support as you work. You can be cool as a cucumber at the moment, and you can analyze and plan like a mad scientist, but what you can’t do is feed yourself with food that simply isn’t there. You always have to be prepared for the next disaster.
One of my big takeaways from studying the logistics of grand strategic warfare is the need for prepositioned supplies worldwide. Having fuel, parts, ammo, food, uniforms, and anything you can imagine or think of shoved into a warehouse on the far side of the world often makes the difference between victory and defeat. Your life is no different. You need always to maintain relationships, save money, keep gas in your car, buy next year’s firewood, and do anything else you can think of to get ready for the inevitable crisis heading for you now.
The tiny house was, ultimately, a product of preparation. We managed to fund it with money we had been saving for several years. We found a place to put it because of a relationship we had maintained for longer than that. I built it with a skillset constructed over years of always wanting to learn and embracing a DIY ethic.
Prepare today for the man you will have to be tomorrow.
Hone The Edge