Man, I was really frustrated this morning.
I had a great farm day planned at my house. My driveway was like a washboard even though we’d put nearly a 120 tons of gravel on it just 3 months ago. Yep, that’s a lot of gravel, but I’ve got a lot of driveway.
My truck – and more importantly, Charlsa’s Jeep – was bouncing all over the drive even though we practically crawl up to the house. And it was only getting worse.
So, I rented a tractor with a box blade and a bucket, and planned to level out the drive myself. How hard could this be, I thought. Just need a blade to drag the drive and all will be well again. And besides, this would be an opportunity to show Charlsa that I really need a tractor to maintain this 95 acre paradise and can justify the $20,000 price tag for my dream machine.
When I reserved the tractor, I had no idea what they would be bringing, but when they pulled in the drive this morning, there it was – The Kubota! The one I’ve been coveting.
So, I jumped in the saddle, cranked it up and began dragging the drive to even out the bumps. But as I made pass after pass, the bumps were becoming waves. The bigger the waves, the deeper the blade cut into the drive. It was getting worse not better. After three hours, driving around my 2500 foot U-drive felt like riding a ship in rough seas – up and down, up and down.
Popping some Dramamine for motion sickness crossed my mind.
And I was getting really upset. This machine cost me $250 to rent for the day. And I’m destroying my drive.
That’s where Mike comes in.
Mike and Daniel are two contractors that are working on screening in my basement patio. When it’s done, we’ll have an old-fashioned southern sleeping porch in the rear of the house overlooking the stream. Mosquitoes will no longer be an issue.
Mike and his partner returned from lunch. Mike walked over to the tractor. I shut it off and the conversation went like this:
Mike: You’re just playing around today, aren’t you?
Me: Yes, but I’m not having any fun. This thing is worse than when I started. I thought this box blade was all I needed.
Mike: Go backwards.
Me: Huh?
Mike: Don’t use the blade. Use the bucket. Go backwards, drop the bucket to the ground and take some weight off the front tires. That’s the trick.
Me: But the blade…
Mike: I know. It seems wrong, but trust me. The blade is for finishing. The bucket is for fixing.
Within an hour, I had the driveway leveled out. And I was in reverse the rest of the day?
Who knew?
Well, that’s the point of this post. Somebody always knows. And yes, there ARE shortcuts, tips and tricks.
We always suspected there’s a shorter, simpler, faster, cheaper, more efficient way of doing things. Knowing who to ask is the key. That’s why Mark Hendricks is my coach and mentor. Every Monday morning he tells me when I need to go forward or put it in reverse. And sometimes, I didn’t even know there was a reverse. That’s why I need to talk to someone who’s been there and done that before me.
Mark’s my main mentor. Sometimes, I need a specialist. Today, Mike was my mentor – in how to drag a driveway.
At the Niche Affiliate Marketing System workshop, we bring together about 18 of the top mentors and coaches who will teach more than 150 students in a 3-day intensive. You should use the opportunity to shop for a main mentor.
You’ll find someone with whom you’ll click immediately. Hire them on the spot. Buy their products. Find out what they do and how they do it. The savings in time and money will be well worth it.
By the way, if you haven’t gotten your NAMS4 ticket yet, better hurry. The price jumps $100 Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. EST.

So when does your new tractor arrive?
Not soon – I can tell you that. Part 2 of this debacle is coming tonight. I finally figured it out, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t be better off outsourcing this stuff…