So, I kept hearing this name, Dave Van Horn. Mostly in passing, you know, sports talk, stuff like that. Arkansas baseball coach. Didn’t pay it much mind at first.
But then I was stuck on this little side project I had going. Building this custom bookshelf thing in my garage. Simple, right? Turned out, not so simple for me. I kept starting, stopping, changing my mind. Measurements were getting messy, wood pieces piling up. Just couldn’t get the momentum going.
Hitting a Wall
I remember sitting there one Saturday morning, looking at the mess. Felt kinda defeated, honestly. Just about ready to scrap the whole thing. Then, for some reason, that name popped back into my head. Dave Van Horn. I recalled reading somewhere, maybe online or in a magazine clipping, about how his teams were always prepared, kinda gritty, just kept grinding.
Okay, here’s what I did. I decided, right then, to just pretend I was building a baseball program, not a bookshelf. Sounds silly, I know. But I needed a different way to think about it.
- First, I cleaned up the whole garage space around the project. Got rid of the clutter. Made it feel like a proper workshop, not a junk pile.
- Then, I grabbed my original sketches. Rough as they were. I pinned them up where I could see them clearly. Like a game plan.
- I stopped trying to do everything at once. Focused on one step. Just cutting the main support pieces. Measured twice, three times even. Cut slow.
- Next day, just the side panels. Same deal. Slow, deliberate.
- Kept telling myself, just gotta execute the small stuff. Like getting a runner on base, maybe? I don’t know baseball much, but that felt right.
Seeing it Through
It took way longer than I thought it would. A few weekends, bit by bit. There were still screw-ups. Had to re-cut one piece because I drifted. Got frustrated again. But this time, I didn’t stop. I just went back to the plan, took a break, and tackled it again the next day.
Finally got the darn thing assembled. Sanded it down. Put a coat of stain on it. It wasn’t perfect, not by a long shot. Few wobbly bits here and there.
But it was done. Sturdy enough. Holding books now. Looking back, thinking about that coach’s name kinda helped me push through. Not about baseball tactics or anything. More about that idea of just sticking with it, being methodical, even when it’s frustrating. Just grinding it out. Worked for my bookshelf, anyway.
