Hire the pool guy

In 2011 I bought a sprawling 1971 faux Tudor fixer-upper with a pool in the back. Because I come from a family with not much money, I have always done everything myself, because that's what the generations before me did. And, thus, I began to educate myself about maintaining a pool, which I did for almost 10 years. With lots of mature trees surrounding it, that meant "mucking out" the pool each spring for weekend upon weekend, then cleaning it and filling it with 26,000 gallons of water, all of which was a family affair. 

People told me, "why don't you hire someone?" But my stubbornness and ignorance kept me from it. 

And one spring, my family rebelled and the pool became a swamp. 

The next summer, feeling full of shame, I contacted a pool company and explained my swamp situation, ready for them to shame me further and tell me the thousands of dollars it would take to remedy it. 

Instead they said, "Yeah, we we pour stuff into it, and it makes all the debris gel together so we can pull it out, and we'll have you up and running within a week." 

WHAT?!?

So, for years now I have saved a ton of frustration, time, and money hiring experts. And, I am sad that I didn't do it sooner. 

So, for those of you leading organizations, hire the experts. Hire the contract CFO. Hire the marketing firm. Hire the HR consultant. Hire the attorneys. And, hire the velvet crowbar strategists and problem solvers like me. Experts can get you to your goals faster, with less drama, and usually for less money than doing it yourself. In short, hire the pool guy.