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Pam's Tree
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Phillip Ramsey explores the parallels between his enchanting home and life lessons in this episode of the Uncommon Wealth Podcast. Delving into the story of Pam's tree—a memorial tree representing love, legacy, and growth—Phillip reflects on the importance of letting go and allowing others to nurture what we hold dear. This personal tale extends to business and personal life, highlighting how sometimes, relinquishing control can lead to unexpected growth and fulfillment. Join Phillip in considering what in your life might be ready to flourish if you loosen your grip.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Uncommon Wealth Podcast
00:00:00
Speaker
Everyone dreams of living an uncommon life and the best asset you have to achieve your dreams is you. Welcome to the Uncommon Wealth Podcast.
00:00:12
Speaker
We're going to introduce you to people who are living uncommonly. We're also going to give you some tools and strategies for building wealth and for pursuing an uncommon path that is uniquely right for you.
00:00:26
Speaker
Hello everybody. This is the Uncommon Wealth Podcast.
Philip's Dream House and Its Origin Story
00:00:29
Speaker
I'm your host, Philip Ramsey. Today, i have a, i guess a, don't know what you'd say, but parable? Let's go with that. ah But I love our house.
00:00:39
Speaker
So hang with me here. So I bought my house from a dear friend of mine, ah Tom Butler. He's a rock star, rock star real estate guy. He built this house with his family with his wife as as their forever home.
00:00:53
Speaker
And this house is beautiful. I can't believe i I get to wake up in it. That's how amazing it is. He's done everything right. He did all the greatest things like the doors are like solid doors. It's just a nice house.
00:01:05
Speaker
The reason why we got into this house is because we had the smallest little house ever. um My wife and I with three kids up in the north part of our city. And then we decided like, Hey, it would be kind of nice to have a little bit bigger property, but we're not really unhappy with our house. We're totally fine with where we're at.
00:01:23
Speaker
And I wanted three things, but I should say I wanted one of three things. There you I either wanted a pond in my backyard. I wanted ah park in my backyard or I wanted woods. I kind of wanted something that wasn't going to change basically.
00:01:38
Speaker
And the reason why is because our house that we were currently in at that time had a a farm like behind it. And so it was pretty. So you wake up in the morning and it'd be like a farm field, like perfect Iowa, what you would picture as an Iowa, right?
00:01:51
Speaker
You get it. And then it changed. And then there's apartments that got built. There's houses that got built. It just changed very quickly. And I remember I was like, man, I don't love that. I liked it when it was a farm.
00:02:02
Speaker
Like I liked when we were kind of by ourselves. So in the next house I wanted to get, I want to do this. All right. So wasn't really looking, but if I was, this is why i would. So it was fun to look at Zillow because all I would do is look at the debt, like geographical area behind it. Like, Oh, there's woods. Let's look at those areas or there's a pond. Let's go look at that.
00:02:21
Speaker
or there's a park, right? So it was kind of neat to kind of narrow down. Instead of looking at the house, we were looking at more of the backyard. All right. So I'm not sure exactly how it got started, but my, my friend, Tom at the time was like, well, I have all three in my, my house. I have a pond, I have woods and I have a park. Would you ever want to come look at our house?
00:02:45
Speaker
And I was like, Oh my goodness. Like, sure. I guess.
Pam's Legacy and the House Sale
00:02:49
Speaker
Okay, but let me back up because this was Tom's forever home and Tom's life. God had a very different plan than they even had, but his wife at the time, his, her name was Pam.
00:03:00
Speaker
They were rockstar believers. And the reason why I know Tom so well is because we were in eldership together at a church. So we've been in the trenches together and, and I didn't know Tom when Pam was sick.
00:03:13
Speaker
But I've heard of him and I just i just knew he was a solid guy. And then later I got to really get to know him after his wife actually passed. She passed of cancer. um This is so tragic. But at at her funeral, Tom got to preach the gospel and he really got to, it was amazing. There were so many people that loved Pam.
00:03:34
Speaker
She was realtor as well and impacted a ton of people just because she was just such a godly woman. And she really impacted many, many people. All right. So at the funeral, I don't know how Tom did it, but he basically gave the message and and just told him like, this is the reason why Pam had so much joy. it was really cool.
00:03:54
Speaker
Okay. So she passed away and that was the reason why he was selling the house because i think five, oh man, I could be botching this. Five years later, um he got remarried.
00:04:05
Speaker
um, to an amazing woman. Um, and they actually were, uh, her husband died of cancer as well. So both of their spouses passed away and then they got connected and long story short, they got married.
Acquiring the Dream House: A Story of Generosity
00:04:18
Speaker
Well, his new wife was like, Hey, I love your house, but it's just not our house, which totally understand.
00:04:24
Speaker
So then they started in the process again, he's a realtor. So he's looking for houses and then But he didn't want to just sell the the house that him and Pam had this whole vision of living their life to anybody else, right? Or to people they didn't know.
00:04:37
Speaker
So when he heard that I was looking and he heard my qualifications, he was like, well, I got all three. You want to take a look at our house? So I remember my wife and I came over to look at It was a January.
00:04:49
Speaker
And he was like, Hey, just park in the garage. Well, the garage has a heater. And like, that was not where we were at our old house. Like, but it was amazing. So we get in this garage and it's heated and I'm like, Oh, that's top shelf.
00:05:04
Speaker
So we walked through this house and I remember telling Aaron, like, don't touch anything because like, we can't afford this at all. Um, and so we get done and I'm like, my eyes and jaw probably just hit the floor. Like, this is a beautiful house. Like, thanks, but we'll just go back to our car now and make sure we don't touch anything and and kind of exit the stage left.
00:05:26
Speaker
And, uh, Tom, like such such a good good godly man. We get done and I was like, okay, this is an amazing house, Tom, but like we got to be honest with you. like It's not in our budget.
00:05:38
Speaker
and and I was like, thanks, but you know like we just can't do that. and He's like, it'd mean a lot to me if if If we could work something out because I would love to see a family use the house, how we had an intended hosting people and bringing people in the house and like being hospitable. Like Pam was like, it would be really meaningful if we could work something out. And long story short, we did.
The Symbolic Tree and Its Lessons
00:06:02
Speaker
We did. And he had to come down way more than I had to come up. Let's just say that he was super gracious. And so we got into the house and it was amazing. But here's the story and here's the parable. Okay.
00:06:14
Speaker
um When Pam passed away, his small group, Tom's inner circle, let's just call him that bought Pam a tree and a tree in the backyard. And this, this tree is beautiful.
00:06:27
Speaker
And I know that Tom still to this day Will text me as a, Hey, can you take a picture of Pam's tree? That's what we call it. Pam's tree and Pam's tree in the fall is the the most beautiful tree in the neighborhood.
00:06:40
Speaker
Kid you not. And I can't believe it's in my backyard and it like stays red for the longest time. So other trees are like long dead. And I'm telling you, Pam's tree is like a bright shining star, which is so perfect for the way that she lived her life and the way that God was in her life. It was awesome. So Pam's tree.
00:06:59
Speaker
Okay, so I know that Tom loves pam treat Pam's tree and his small group, again, bought it for him. They planted it. And when they planted it,
00:07:10
Speaker
Let me just back up. So when we got the house, I remember like, oh, this is amazing tree. Like I, but i'm praying like that nothing happens to Pam's tree under my watch. Right. um And so we're in our house and I'm mowing and this was maybe three or four weeks after we get the house and my neighbor's like, Hey, can I, can I show you something?
00:07:30
Speaker
I'm like, yeah, sounds good. So we walk over and he walks towards Pam's tree and i was like, oh dear. And when they planted Pam's tree, they had two like stabilizing bars in the ground and then they had cables that would wrap around. So it wouldn't like if it was a big wind, it wouldn't, I guess that that's fairly well known when you buy a tree, they put stabilizers in there. Well,
00:07:57
Speaker
Um, Tom just kept living his life, right? Like he loved looking at Pam's tree. I'm sure he just loved it. Well, in the course of the five years, it started to grow and those wires started to like go inside. Like it the tree almost started like growing around it, I guess. Like it was really suffocating the tree if I'm being super honest.
00:08:20
Speaker
And and i was like, oh my goodness, like we got to stop, you don know? like So I cut the stabilizers off at that point. And I'm telling you within like two years, this tree has grown.
00:08:32
Speaker
and And I was like, this is such an amazing parable of how many things in our life we want to just try to protect with everything we have. And we just...
00:08:44
Speaker
Just really close fist something. And yet maybe we're suffocating it. And maybe the things that we think are most important, we should let go and let, let God or let the next person, you know, shepherd and and kind of do this now.
00:08:59
Speaker
the The tree is thriving. And I just met with palm with Tom because we still meet. We have a good relationship but earlier this week. And he was like, hey, if you think about it, will you take a picture of Pam's tree, which I do every year? But was like, absolutely, man.
00:09:12
Speaker
And it made me think about just how much he cares cared for his wife. So that's amazing, but also cared for that tree as a representation of his wife. And in that, he never actually unsnipped the protective...
Reflections on Business, Parenting, and Growth
00:09:28
Speaker
I guess cables that were, were, were supporting it. And I thought, what a really cool picture as business owners, as I've seen them start transitioning out and and retiring.
00:09:40
Speaker
And just this thought that they are just so white knuckling their business that maybe there's another person that can step in and make the business even better than they ever imagined.
00:09:51
Speaker
Um, I don't know, let that sink in. But it really hit home for me. It's like, what am I like white knuckling that I can't just open my palms and say, Lord, this is yours. And if there's somebody else out there that can do a better job or I don't know, do a better job. Just have a different vision than what I had. And it's better and more glorifying to you. Like, please be do it. Like, and, and I would say there's been times that uncommon wealth partners that there's been employees that have really leveled the bar up. But recently Cody, as you guys know, has done such an amazing job better than I ever could do.
00:10:27
Speaker
on things that I'm like, I'm just not gifted in. And our company is far better off because of it. We're way more efficient. And I'm like, this is a perfect example. Like Lord always helped me have open hands to let other people do things that I never even thought was possible and and see what happens. And I think that's a perfect kind of like story just to talk about Pam's tree. It's thriving.
00:10:50
Speaker
And I get to take pictures every year and I get a smile and know that like, well, for this season, I get to shepherd this tree. Um, but really the Lord's doing it all because honestly, I'm not great with anything that grows in the ground, but, uh, the Lord is. And so anyway, I hope this story kind of resonates, makes you smile, but, um, it has nothing to do with ah our house. Uh, but it has everything to do with how many things that we think is are really ours.
00:11:15
Speaker
And then we just protect it so much that we can't even let it grow. um this could really apply to my parenting too. So, Anyway, there's a lot of application here, but I hope that you got something out of it. Thanks for listening. Thanks for going on this journey with me
Closing Remarks and Call to Action
00:11:28
Speaker
at Uncommon Wealth Partners. I really appreciate it. If there's any way that we can help you or serve you, we'd love to do that. Until next time, go be uncommon.
00:11:37
Speaker
That's all for this episode brought to you by Uncommon Wealth Partners. Be sure to visit UncommonWealth.com to learn more about our services. Don't miss an episode as we introduce you to inspiring people who are actively pursuing an uncommon life.