goals

We all have the same power, it lies within each of us. What are you going to do with it?

My goal is to contribute to society at scale. What contributions would I like to make? I want to eliminate mindless, unnecessary work. I want to inspire people to become self-aware, to stop working for a wage and start working for themselves. I want to teach people. I want people to believe in themselves. I will seek out, connect to and work with like-minded individuals to amplify my impact.

I have the audacity to think I matter. I believe that one person can change the world. I believe that we need to stop looking to others to find the next Nelson Mandela, the next Muhammed Ali, the next Seth Godin.

We all have the same power, it lies within each of us and I am willing to lean in and embrace the tremendous responsibility that it requires. I navigate life using a moral compass, and work to help others find their way leading by example.

“Be the change you wish to see in the world,” right?

I am ready.

Let’s get to work.

“What do you do?”

What I say when I’m asked, “What do you do?”

I work at mind altering heights dangling from a gigantic mechanized fishing rod, or even closer to space hanging from thousands of teeny hairs twisted together, or as a target under multiple sky workers cutting thousands of pounds of debris near me on towering, water-filled conductive plants near power lines with enough electricity to kill me 10,000 times over.

I work with razor sharp cutting implements that could cut of any of my limbs off in an instant. I drag tree body parts over muscle tearing, joint popping terrain, day in and day out. I feed the tree bodies into enormous people-shredding machines on roads packed with clueless zombies and wheeled steel coffins driven at break-necking speeds by oblivious distracted people that cannot see me.

I do not need to do this work. I choose to do this work. I want to do this work. I love to do this work.

This is not work.

This is life.

My mouth drools in anticipation of the challenges this life offers. I look forward to pushing myself past the limit of my abilities to finish what I start. I savor the obstacles fate puts in my path and use them to sharpen my skills and strengthen myself.

What do I do? I challenge myself to take this life to dare greatly and to pursue the triumph of high achievement. What will I do? In the end, I will lay peacefully, knowing I’ve spent myself in a worthy cause.

Leaders wanted

I’m tired. Tired of
– unreliable and under-performing coworkers
– putting in the effort but getting let down
– contributing more and getting paid less
– seniority getting rewarded over production

“James, don’t complain. You own a business. You signed up for this.”

Ya, you’re right. I do own a business. And it’s about time I take ownership and start acting like it. My days of compromising are done. I won’t apologize for holding myself to the highest standard and I won’t settle until I’m working with a team of others who do the same. I’m not going to feel bad about having a positive attitude. If you don’t love the work, go away. I appreciate and respect the hell out of anyone crazy enough to work with me and I expect that road to run both ways. Limits are made to be pushed, skills are meant to be developed, people are meant to grow. If you can’t deal with that then this isn’t for you.

I used to be scared. A lot of people are scared, addicted to hiding from real life in phones, in games, in booze, in drugs, in excuse after excuse after excuse. You see it out there, the culture of ‘I don’t give a shit’ saturates everything. And it’s lazy. I’m prepared to step up. I’m willing to stand up, to say, “I give a shit” and deal with the struggle, the heartbreak, the challenge and the triumph that comes along with it.

How about you? Are you ready?

Look, I could mail it in like 99% of other companies and tell you that I will trade you $18/hr if you can chip a lot of trees. I’m not wired like that. You’re worth more than $18/hr. Life’s too short to trade your time for money. Let’s do something better. Let’s work together to make an impact, to put a dent in the world. Why don’t we eliminate mindless, unnecessary work – work like management. People can manage themselves, let’s build a company that cuts them free, lets them fly and then watch what they can do. Let’s teach people to stop working for a wage and to start working for themselves. Together we can help people take ownership, teach them how to become owners and build something bigger than ourselves from the ground up.

What do you think?

“James, that sounds terrible. I want to sell 8 hours of my life everyday until I can retire so I can do nothing.”

Ok, go work somewhere else.

“James, that sounds awesome. How do I do this?”

Let’s start with what we have. We own Precision Tree Services Ltd, a tree company that specializes in tree work with a purpose – to build a team that controls our own future and specialized in wicked tree work. Precision works full-time, year-round and strives to keep our awesome team working where we live – at home. We are currently executing Long Term Agreement work for BC Hydro, and are in charge of all BCH vegetation maintenance from Courtenay to Port Hardy. And we’re looking for leaders like you. Hell ya, right?

Do you fit here? We love:
– how essential our work is to our families and our community
– working on a wicked team
– using technology and data to do more work with less effort
– being disciplined and managing ourselves
– setting financial targets and going after them hard
– sharing profit
– laughing at weird jokes and ourselves
– challenges like climbing mountains and fractions
– being outside, away from artificial air and plastic people
– adrenaline-inducing activities not for the faint of heart
– being healthy
– comics and/or superheroes and/or supervillains

We want to work with new team members to develop skills and earn certifications in:
– first aid
– traffic control
– operating a chainsaw (slashing, felling)
– driving a commercial vehicle
– climbing trees
– aerial lift operation
– Certified Utility Arborist, ISA Certified Arborist, Falling Bucking Endoresment
– arboriculture
– business
– financial literacy
– tree care, assessment, and maintenance
– being an even awesomer human than they are now

We take pride in pushing the limits of skill development, providing a complete Skill Development Checklist and accompanying training from experience industry leaders. We have a standing offer to all people to train them from the ground up to the sky. Think of Precision as a ladder to your success. We are building a team that less than 1% of people out there will qualify for. Once you’re in, we will do whatever it takes to help you get to where you want to go. It doesn’t even have to be tree work in the end, helping the best people get to where they want to go means that not everyone will end up with Precision. That’s just reality and we might as well be straight up with each other right off the bat. The trade off? You act like an owner – you show up, you give a shit, you are ready for work (and leave work ready for work) and you own and take responsibility for your mistakes. Simple? Hardly. Worth it? Damn right.

Steel toed boots are mandatory, all other safety equipment provided. You must have a valid driver’s licence to qualify for consideration.

Our company is a non-smoking workplace and this position is for non smokers only.

Our pay structure looks like this: Precision Tree Positions 2019/20 Position Rate + Profit Share Level (% of additional pay available as bonus if max target reached) = Total Possible Rate (wage plus max profit share)

New Hire (probation) $17.50 + 13% = $19.78
Groundman 1 $18.24 + 13% = $20.61
Groundman 2 $19.58/hr + 13% = $22.13/hr
Saw Operator 1 $20.48/hr + 14% = $23.35/hr
Saw Operator 2 $22.56/hr + 14% = $25.72/hr
AUA 1 $24.05/hr + 15% = $27.66/hr
AUA 2 $25.65/hr + 15% = $29.50/hr
AUA 3 $28.82/hr + 15 = $33.14/hr
CUA 1 $30.44/hr + 16% = $35.31/hr
CUA 2 $32.06/hr + 17% + $37.51/hr
CUA 3 General Foreman $35.66/hr + 18% = $42.08/hr

Benefits available after 6 months. You give your time, we cover the cost of training.

Position Agreements outlining requirements for each Position will be provided.

Shortlisted candidates will:
1. Be e-mailed
2. Get a phone interview
3. Have references checked.
4. Get interviewed in real life
5. Earn a try out with the team
6. Have a second debrief interview
7. Get offered a Position, which will require reviewing and signing a Position Agreement prior to commencing work.

Please include a cover letter telling us what you will do to improve our team. Maximum effort yields maximum results. Don’t half ass it. Low/No effort applications – ie those without cover letters – will be reviewed with equal effort. Which is none. Which means we’ll trash them without a look.

Thank you for taking the time to read to the end of our really ridiculously long posting. Maybe you should apply.

~James, Team Captain, Precision Tree Services Ltd

It’s all rented

your couch

your expensive dogs

your white fireplace

your library of books

your fast car

your jacked up truck

your big clean house

your shiny watch

your trendy shoes

your spotless driveway

your holy underwear

your wedding ring

your fucking job

your stress sweat

your scars

your itchy crotch

your stubby fingers

your perfect finger nails

your frizzy hair

your slanted smile

your slightly crossed eyes

your friends

your feelings

your diagnoses

your disease

your sickness

your wellness

your health

your notebook

your money

your name

your time

your things

these

these things

these things are

these things are all

these things are all rented

you

you own

you own nothing

you own nothing except

you

The only thing that lasts

Hate and you will be hated.

Praise and you will be praised.

Love and you will be loved.

It’s so easy, isn’t it? You can sit there in your soft chair and clickity clack.

Read this

Watch that

Flickity flack.

Why bother? Why do you do anything?

It’s so hard, isn’t it? The struggle you face every day, your life takes so much effort.

If only it was easier. Somehow someone could make it easier.

Maybe your friends could help. Too bad they’ve all passed you by.

Not necessarily.

The friends didn’t pass you by, you left them.

Be a friend and you’ll be friended.

But you stopped answering their calls a long time ago, didn’t you?

And why? For what?

The goal you chase, this race you’re running,

running so fast you’ve left them all behind, all of them.

The race you’re running is over.

You’ve already won.

You’ve already lost.

You’ve got what you wanted, it’s right there in your head.

You have achieved.

Now what?

You should celebrate

Have some drinks, stuff your face, stay up, sleep, roll around in bed.

Take it all for granted.

Hold on.

You’ve woken up dead.

Nobody sees you anymore. You’re a ghost.

And you bang on the window, the invisible wall that separates you from people,

people you love and people you praise and people you hate,

but they don’t see you anymore because you’re gone.

You took it all for yourself, all of it, ate it all up.

You didn’t share a crumb.

And now what is it, what is it that drives you now that you’re dead?

You’ve been forgotten.

You’re less than a memory.

All that’s left, all that’s left, are the people you touched.

Did you touch anyone, while you were alive?

Before your crazy train left the station, before you consumed it all?

Did you share anything? Did you teach anything?

You might not think, but you’d be wrong.

Maybe he swings the bat the way you showed him,

planting his back foot, right elbow cocked back.

Maybe he loves the way you showed him,

holding hands and opening doors.

You don’t last, don’t be so vain.

Names fade into names that fade into names.

Nobody remembers your feelings, they remember how you made them feel through your actions.

You can choose to do whatever you want to do.

The only thing that lasts

is what you gave.

The reward

To succeed, you must believe you can succeed

Belief inspires actions

Before you become

You must do

To become successful

You must do the things successful people do.

You must persist.

Because the walls are difficult to climb

Be grateful for the challenges,

for they allow you to show how bad you want it.

Persistence is imperative.

Doing comes before being.

You need to do love

before you feel love.

You need to do success

before you are success.

Don’t get confused, intimidated, down.

The walls are a part of the process.

For nothing in life is free

And no great achievement comes

without sacrifice.

In the end your reward is not a thing

Things come and go

You’ve earned more, that thing which cannot be taken away,

What is it, after the

struggle?

work?

persistence?

The reward

in the end

is you.

Could be

I chased it around town

And, to my surprise

Caught it quite easily

They tell you it’s supposed to be hard

That you have to bleed and sacfrice and hurt

And chase, and chase, and chase and chase

So I did

And got tired and sick and lonely

So I quit

I threw it all away

And went for a walk

And found it

It was quite sunny, unusually warm for the morning

I picked up a coffee

I walked

Not fast

Not slow

Just walked

And there it was, at the end of a beautiful morning

Sitting on a bench beside the water

So I sat beside it

Here’s what I found

Could be

You could be one on someone’s wall

A pinnacle of yourself

Adored

You could be the one they call on and ask

Esteemed

You could be a friend

Trusted, loved

You could be beautiful

A pinnacle of yourself

Your unique you

You could smile

And share your beauty with people who aren’t your friends yet

Could be

Growing, asking, questioning, learning

You could keep it all inside

You could miss it all

And die alone and bitter and sad

You could

Could be happy

Are you?

Find a patch of sun and lay in it

Frankie’s key to a successful, happy life.

Early morning. Sitting in my chair. Drinking coffee.

Our 3, 5 and 7-year-old sons are continuing the slow demolition of our house. My wife is reading. I’m searching for the end I need to begin with to be a highly effective person.

“Look at that dog,” my wife says. Frankie, our French Bulldog, is laying in the only patch of sun around. Totally at peace. And then it hits me.

The key to a successful, happy life is to find a patch of sun and lay in it.

In order to achieve this pinnacle of success is to:

Find a patch of sun
Lay in it

Do not accept anything less than a fully engulfed, blazing patch of sun. Quality is of the utmost importance. Your life, your success, and your happiness are worth the effort.

Then lay in it.

Do not:

plan your future
reminisce about your past

You must be. Let the warmth penetrate your skin, feel it in your core.

Now, carry the feeling you feel at this very moment throughout the rest of your life

and be that sun for others.

Swinging

Why can’t I be like that?

The popular crowd gets drunk and drives around with baseball bats. They hang out the car window and swing away, smashing merrily down the road. Sometimes the mailbox gets run over. That is even better.

I start drinking to be normal. You see, I have this constant narrative running through my head. I want to drink enough that the voice goes away, just for a bit. I want a break. My head hurts. Nobody else seems to mind the messed up situation we are in. Why can’t I be like that?

The successful crowd gets funded and starts companies with weird names. They call themselves CEOs and drive around in Beemers and Audis, blinging flashily down the road. Sometimes the status gets televised. That is even better.

I start working to be successful. You see, I have this constant narrative running through my head. I want to work enough that the voice goes away, just for a bit. I want a break. My head hurts. Nobody else seems to mind the messed up situation we are in. Why can’t I be like that?

What is this? Stop it. You can be whatever you want. Drunk. Criminal. Successful. Full. Empty. You get to choose. The labels, they’re just people, just like you and I. Nobody is popular. Nobody is a CEO. People are not their status. People are people.

You get into trouble when you label people. Projecting your own assumptions onto others is a recipe for disaster. Don’t do it. You can’t be like that because there is no “like that,” it’s all in your head.

We find ourselves in each other, becoming those we imitate. Swing away.

Clinging

What do you want?

Forgive me, Father,

For I have sinned.

I pursued the goals of Others,

At the expense of my Own.

I pushed to the limits,

To the detriment of my Self.

I’m not special,

The only skill I have is an ability to work harder, to outlast.

I cling to this belief.

I refuse to give up,

I endure.

I race, seeking proof.

Never stopping to think.

If I succeed?

I’ll be alone.

Be careful what you ask for.

“What makes someone your friend?” I ask.

Somehow I forgot.

“They pick up the phone when I call and we’ve had some laughs,” he says.

“That’s a great definition,” I reply.

I haven’t answered the phone in months.

You might just get it.

I can’t tell if you’re my friend. I like what you say. Am I in a funnel? This feels artificial.

Are we all just funnelling each other?

Time slips through fingers like dust,

And blows away.

Be careful what you cling to.

You are special.

You might just get it.