Here's a typical scenario when Erin and I go to Lowe's or Home Depot.
Once inside we split up to get everything we need. In a short while my cell phone will ring.
It's Erin. "Have you gotten everything on your list?" she asks.
My first thought is...."There's a list?"
I've spent the last half hour looking at Dremel accessories that are not on the list. If Erin hadn't been there with me I would have spent another hour looking at power saws.
I do the same thing at the art store where I get stuck looking at all of the brushes.
Eventually a sales associate will start eyeing me suspiciously and I'll buy something and leave.
I look at all those tools and I get caught up thinking about the plethora of things I could make, build and create.... to the point where I have no idea what I should do next.
I become paralyzed by the possibilities.
The problem with looking at all of those things is that I begin to think I can't do anything without them, that I must have better tools to do better things.
I routinely remind myself of a Napoleon Hill quote: "Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along."
When I paint, I typically use the same five or six brushes out of the hundred or so that I own.
Same with my carpentry tools. The tried-and-true get used the most.
The lesson here? Look, but don't buy.
I already own the essential tools for carpentry, art and life.
And most importantly, don't forget......
The List.