Cara Brookins: How a House Built a Family

Cara Brookins is an internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, #1 best-selling author of nine books, and renowned thought leader in the science of motivation. Her actionable strategies empower audiences worldwide to overcome odds that seem insurmountable and thrive in any situation.

Brookins is best known as the mom who built her own house with her kids using YouTube Tutorials. With her eager construction crew consisting of her four young children, Brookins laid the block, framed the walls, and even ran the plumbing and gas lines for her 3,500 square foot house. She shared her story in her #1 best-selling memoir Rise: How a House Built a Family.

Brookins’ incredible story went viral amassing more than two billion views in over 100 countries in two weeks’ time.  Media outlets including The New York Times, The Today Show, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, NBC, CBS News, USA Today, TIME, TLC, ABC News, BBC, Fox News Insider, People Magazine, and CNN have featured Cara's compelling journey, and it’s been optioned for film, television, and reality television. 

With two decades of experience working as a senior software analyst and no construction experience, Brookins was the least likely person to build anything — let alone a house. The idea that ordinary people can do extraordinary things is a constant in her work, including her latest self-help book Unstuck: End Procrastination Using The Ancient Psychology Behind How-To Videos and is why she was inducted as a member of the prestigious Society for the Science of Motivation and the National Speaker Association.

Told through stories on her unconventional family construction site, Brookins’ entertaining keynotes reveal proven strategies to overcome odds that seem insurmountable. Brookins has shared her motivation strategies with the world’s most respected organizations, including Walmart, Google, Kimberly Clark, YouTube, CenturyLink, Artemis, US Law Network, Lincoln Financial Group, Capital One, and many more. She also works with the United Nations in her role as a United Nations Association Advocate to raise awareness of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Takeaways:

Some of the specific takeaways from our conversation:

1. Punching back. Could life have been punching Cara any harder?  We’ve all been in situations where life just seems to punch us relentlessly.  A lot of times, it can seem truly HOPELESS.  Cara was there.  Until she started punching back.  In doing so, Cara proved that it’s never hopeless – even if all you have is…YOU.  When life appears to give you no options – sometimes you gotta go out and make your own.
2. Committing to your BIG goal.  Once we figure out a big goal that we MUST achieve – and sometimes it takes getting backed into a corner to realize it - we need to fully commit to it.  Within a week of having the idea to build her house, Cara bought the land where she was going to build it.  She was all in.  She had burned the boats.  Cara explained how we need to present our new plan as THE plan to our own brains, so it won’t find another easier path for us to follow.  Then go at it with all you have – simply refusing to let ANYTHING get in the way.
3. Pride.  How many of us have said the words I just mentioned – All In.  Burn the Boats.  No going back.  But, then stopped because we were embarrassed about how the pursuit would look, how stupid we would look – either in the process or, God forbid, if we failed.  Cara let none of that stop her – from the very beginning when she said she wasn’t afraid to get rejected by the first few banks she approached for a loan.  This continued throughout the building of her house.  I love how she said she was willing to try 100 ways and didn’t care how stupid she looked.  How many times have we all stopped short because of pride, of being embarrassed, of what others would think? 
4. Consistent small wins leading to the big win and building a team in the process.  Cara talked about the momentum that was built as she and her children got started working together.  They got satisfaction from learning how to use a tool.  From completing a wall.  And all of the other small wins that went into building each part of the house.  All of these were steps that brought them closer to the vision of the house that they kept close by – whether it was a picture or a model of the house or where certain pieces of furniture would be once the house was finished.  More importantly, they got to know each other as a family.  Each of their talents came out and they bonded as they came closer to their goal. 
5. Rise/fall structure of book. I love how Cara structured her book – as she said, she followed a rise and fall process to the book. Her reasoning?  Because THAT IS LIFE.  This is the reality we all need to face.  Enjoy the wins and bounce back and learn from the losses – because, as Cara said, neither of them will last forever. 
6. Foundation.  As you know, this is probably the word I’ve said most on this podcast.  It’s part of the goal of this show – to help us all build our own strong internal foundations.  Cara said that building the foundation of her house was the hardest.  Yet, it’s also something she would never change.  It was through this hard process that her family bonded and started to transfer from victims running from life to a family that was making a stand and taking charge of their lives.  When they were done with the house, Cara wondered if it was all worth it…until she heard her son say to her daughter “you built your own house, you can do anything.”  This is why Cara’s book has such a great title – how HOUSE built a FAMILY.  The family foundation – and the internal foundations of each member of the family – was set for life.  This is how we all need to approach the building of our own internal foundations – do the hard work – do whatever it takes to build them in the right way, made of the right things, built to last because then….we too can do anything.

Please follow Cara:

Links:

Website: https://www.carabrookins.com
Books: Rise, How a House Built a Family and Unstuck, End Procrastination Using Ancient Psychology Behind How-To Videos
Instagram: @carabrookins
Twitter: @cmbrookins
Podcast: The Cara Brookins Show