My feet shift nervously on the crumbly mound of soft earth. Waist-high native grasses lush from the spring rains dance expectantly around me.
Turning slowly I let the views wash over and flood my racing mind. My heart quickens. Is it fear? Excitement? Or a jumbled up concoction of both?
Like Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in the movie, “Far and Away”, I grab hold of my land–race stake. Raising it high above my head, I thrust it deep into the dark soil. The flag at the tip of the stake waves high in triumph. CLAIMED!
IT IS MINE.
One hundred acres of unlocked potential. Its full worth is intrinsically tucked inside. It’s more than enough. Its value is only limited by my willingness to take action. An entire world of possibilities lies within ready to be released – it’s simply waiting on me.
What if this were you? If this hundred acres of land was yours? It could be anywhere. Oceanfront property on the Central coast of California, at the base of the majestic Rocky Mountains, or in the midst of the expansive Red Rocks of Sedona – it’s your land. What would you do to maximize its potential?
My dad was a real estate man. He loved land and all the opportunities it contained. On Sundays when most families were having BBQ’s and hanging out in the backyard, we would go on “real estate drives.” With 70’s music wafting lazily through the radio, my sisters and I tucked in the back seat, my mom and dad would drive an afternoon away checking out properties.
Often we would drive our family suburban onto a piece of land and picnic there, my parents intent on uncovering its potential. Released from the back seat, we’d explore gopher holes and collect rocks while they’d unfold a paper napkin and start sketching. Dreams for the proposed house, a grand pool with entertainment area, a barn for the horses and orchards for freshly squeezed OJ filled up the napkin to its outer edge.
With this inherent love for homes and land, we ended up living in a few of these “napkin sketchings” growing up. My dad was a visionary, when he looked at one hundred acres of land or at life all he saw were endless options. I may not have seen it growing up squabbling in the back seat with my siblings on countless real estate drives, but my dad taught me how to dream. I watched him work hard, make connections with people, and put together wildly creative deals. We would build and decorate homes, then live life, entertain friends and raise the family all within its four walls. I also watched him fail numerous times, felt the anguish within our family, only to see him get right back up and try again. I learned from my dad that land like life is worth the fight.
When we get right down to it, we’ve all been given one hundred acres of raw land. It’s full worth resides deep within each one of us. The ultimate sacrifice was paid in blood by another for us to receive this most precious of gifts. Its value is only limited by our imagination and our subsequent drive to unlock its full potential. It begs for us to create a vision, carry out a plan and to take action EVERY DAY discovering new possibilities for our land.
The problem lies in that very few of us choose to develop our hundred acres. We may dream of opportunities but we’re deterred by the hard work. The boulders that need to be removed, the permits that are required, the money it will take – serves to stop us in our tracks. Instead we settle for watching the native grasses grow up every year and take over until it seems impossible to act. Eventually, we decide that we don’t have what it takes to achieve our dreams. The ultimate form of neglect is to turn a blind eye on our tremendous gift. It lies undeveloped and discarded.
Amazingly enough, we’re content to watch others do awe inspiring things with their hundred acres and we marvel at them. From our grandstand seats we applaud the “overachievers” – we laugh and cheer them on. In time they finish developing their land and offer to purchase our deserted lots. We sell to them at a discount increasing their good fortune.
Oh God, may that not be me or you! May we not “sell out” for a lack of effort on our part. Let us not render our land useless by choosing to sit on the sidelines of our one precious life. Help us to embrace the hard work that eventually leads to the beautiful reward on the other side.
Today let’s stand on that mound of soft crumbly earth and drive our stake into the ground of our own hundred acres. Let us claim this incredible gift of life that God has granted to each one of us. We can grab our napkins and start sketching out the possibilities, instead of focusing on the limitations that keep us bound. I’m ready to start unlocking the potential of my land and start building – will you join me?
