This is something that I think is important in life, finishing what you started.
Why do I feel this is important? In my life and career I have seen one too many projects started and unfinished.
I am guilty of not finishing what I started. A project I started 30 years ago (which I recently finished) reminded me why it is important to finished you start. It was also the inspiration for this blog post.
The project I never finished was replacing a motor in an old Hamm's beer sign. It looks like the sign below.
This sign has a back story. I lived in Northern Wisconsin on a dirt road, the northern end of that road was a bar that closed in the late eighties. When the bar closed, the bar owner retired (the bar also has a house attached to it). The house needed some assistance with his house and my father who always helped others, especially elderly neighbor's received this as a thank you for helping with the repairs.
When he received the sign, it is suppose to have a rippling affect with water, but that was not working. I ended up taking the sign apart and discovered that a motor was bad in the sign. With it being the early nighties and without the Internet, I did not find a replacement motor and the sign got put in my parents basement.
Fast forward 30 years, I was visiting my parents and i found the sign in my parents basement. I took the sign home and finally found the replacement motor on Ebay.
The next issue I discovered, it was missing a roller. It was lost after 30 years. This roller proved to be the most difficult part to find. I modified a roller from another HAMM's sign and I finally had the sign working again.
Had I put the sign together properly 30 years ago, or completed the project, I wouldn't had to hunt down the roller.
If you leave too many IT projects unfinished or what I call 80% complete, you will pay for it later.
The same can be said for a lot of things in life.
If you eat too much without exercise, you can get out of shape which can lead to health issues. Getting back in shape can be twice as difficult as staying in shape.
IT certifications are another great example. I have heard numerous people over the years start out wanting a certification, but it takes work and dedication and I have witnessed numerous people give up and never obtain the certification.
If you don't finish what you start it can also lead to quitting and that is a bad habit to get into.
Finish what you start, not only will you feel accomplished, it will make your more successful in your career and in your life.
You also will not lose pieces for a beer sign that you have a difficult time tracking down later :)