Eight months ago I shared my dream to pay off our mortgage in three years. It was definitely a stretch outside our comfort zone. I created a game called Par for the Course. I made fancy charts to help me keep track of the progress. The goal seemed borderline impossible but I added something to the mix that the original Mike Mulligan (& his steamshovel) did to help him do the impossible – spectators. For those of you who don't know the story, Mike Mulligan operated a steam shovel named Mary Anne. He challenged himself to dig a hole for a new town hall by sunset to prove Mary Anne's worth. The more people that watched, the faster Mike Mulligan dug. He made the goal by sunset. Unfortunately, he dug so fast that he forgot to leave a way out of the hole.
All of you on this blog are my spectators. I'm digging. The goal is to finish this job by December 31, 2021. When I say digging, I mean I'm digging my way out of the sand traps on the course. I'm also swimming underwater for my balls that managed to land in the hazards on several of the first holes. The first seven months of the game have been mostly bogeys. That's okay. As the game progresses, I'm learning how to budget better and improve my golf swing. Like the original Mike Mulligan, I'll need to pick up the pace in order to win the game by sunset on New Year's Eve in 29 months.
The most important lesson I learned about goals is that you must stay in the game no matter how many times you find yourself in the sand traps. If you choose to quit, you lose. There are no shortcuts. My dream of a debt free hut remains alive as long as I keep swinging. This Mike Mulligan has a plan to find a way out of the hole. Spectators are welcome. It may look ugly now but I promise you the game will get really exciting by sunset on the last day of the game. Stay tuned for more progress reports. Have a great day.
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