Saw something about Dwayne Johnson’s mother, Ata Johnson, the other day. You always see her there, cheering him on, big smile. Seems like a rock, you know?
Made me think, funny enough, not about celebrities, but about my own mom. Especially back when I was trying to get my first workshop off the ground. Man, that was a time.
That First Workshop Struggle
Right, so picture this. I’d quit my okay-ish job, thought I knew it all. Decided I was gonna build custom furniture. Rented this small, dusty space, barely had enough cash for the first month’s rent and some basic tools.
First few weeks? Crickets. Absolutely nothing. Doubts started creeping in big time. Was calling suppliers, trying to get wood on credit, basically begging. Felt like a total failure before I even really started.
I remember calling home one night, trying to sound upbeat, but Mom knew. She always knows. Didn’t lecture me, didn’t say ‘I told you so’.
What she did was simple.
Next weekend, she just showed up. Drove three hours. Didn’t call ahead much, just said she was ‘in the area’.
- She brought groceries, like, a ton of groceries. Said I looked thin.
- Spent the whole Saturday just… being there. Helping me sweep up, organizing screws into jars, didn’t matter that she knew nothing about woodworking.
- Mostly, she just listened. Let me vent about how hard it was, how scared I was.
She didn’t offer miracle solutions. Didn’t lend me a big chunk of cash (we didn’t have it anyway). But her just being there, calm and supportive, not judging… it was like a shot in the arm. Made me feel less alone, less crazy for trying.
Sounds small, maybe. But it wasn’t. That weekend visit, it didn’t magically bring in customers, but it gave me the grit to keep pushing for another week. And then another. Seeing Ata Johnson, always there for her son, kinda reminded me of that quiet strength my own mom showed me that weekend. Just showing up makes a world of difference. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
