We recently watched Rick Burns' amazing PBS documentary on New York City. A must see documentary! One area of particular interest to me was the Empire State Building. Construction began right before the 1929 Crash on Wall Street. At the time it was built, it was the tallest building in the world at 102 floors and 1,454 feet to the top of the lightning rod . It covers about two acres of land, has 6,500 windows and 73 (count-em, 73) elevators.
The fact that amazed me the most about the Empire State Building, given its scope and size, was the construction time. From the time the first scoop of dirt was moved to the completion of finishes in the lobby, 13 months!
How did it get built so fast? Of course, there were many factors, but first they hired the right contractor. Starrett Bros. & Eken were acknowledged as experts in the field of New York City skyscraper construction. Their planning and management must have been spot-on. 57,000 tons of steel came from all over the country. The steel beams that were manufactured in Pittsburgh, left the factory, followed a carefully plotted route to and through the City and were being installed only 18 hours after they came off the production line. It is said that they were still warm to the touch. As many as 3,400 workers at one time put in a total of 7,000,000 man-hours to build the Empire State Building.
Why am I highlighting the Empire State Building in a blog about marriage relationships? As I've said before, I'm more of a thinker than a doer. I tend to get bogged down in details and thinking about projects and problems before they even (or ever) exist. Overthinking. Overplanning. Procrastination. Being slow to finish projects. These have been a source of offense to my wife throughout our marriage.
Gwen paid me a compliment the other day. She told me that I'm getting things done a lot quicker than I used to. It made me feel good to know that such a little thing can be appreciated so much. Whatever I can do to inspire myself (and you, if the shoe fits) to make things happen, I want to do. If they could build the entire Empire State Building in 13 months, it should take me a lot less time than that to paint the kitchen cabinets. Knowhuttamean?
Git'r Done, Son!
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