HVAC Mentors Bonus Thoughts On 2025

Morning everybody, just heading on into work. It's about 6 AM. Thought I'd get on here and share a little bonus, uh, video to go with the podcast. I think that what we're gonna do is have our guest on and then maybe a few d— a few days later— sorry, morning brain— maybe a few days later we'll, uh, do a little debrief. And just talk about that, that interview. So, you know, one thing I appreciate about Jennifer and about a lot of the people in the community is that, that motivation to do what's right because it's the right thing to do. The thing that, thing I see a lot of is, you know, yeah, I'll help you for a price or yeah, I'll teach you for a price. And I mean, don't get me wrong, we have valuable skills and, and knowledge. And, you know, I mean, if you're gonna run a full-time school or you're gonna do a full-time thing, but, you know, I mean, people need to make money and there's nothing wrong with, you know, if you're a really good business coach and, and you've got some good gifts for teaching people. Um, no, I mean, yeah, you know, if people are willing to pay for that and, and it's of value to them, I mean, that's fine. But Um, you know, everything we do doesn't have to be about money, especially when it comes to big picture stuff, you know what I mean? Like, like if we're helping, like if, if it's helping us at large, like the, the total group, the whole trade, you know, everything we're doing here. Um, most of us work full-time jobs. As you know, Jennifer, I mean, she could quit one of her jobs. And really just devote full-time, uh, to— or actually quit 2 or 3 of her jobs and just devote herself full-time to one of them. And, you know, she'd probably have a lot more peace. But, you know, she loves what she does. She loves all the things that she does, and, uh, it's obvious. Um, you know, I, I appreciate that, um, at her heart, you know, Jennifer loves her family. I mean, if that doesn't come across Quick, then you're not paying attention. Um, that, that lady loves her family. She loves her kids. She loves her husband. She loves her home. You know, her extended family you see her interacting with once in a while. Um, it's obvious that her motivation is her family. And I, I think that part of the reason that we're drawn to people like her within the community is that that's our motivation, you know. If, you know, I mean, I love to work and I love the work that I do, but would I do it as much or work as hard if it were just me? You know, I don't know. But, you know, maybe. But I can't say 100% yes. So I don't know. I mean, I'm pretty driven, but, you know, what about you guys? Do you think that, you know, and some of you might be single, it might just be you and you're just that driven. But I don't know. Like, what do you guys think? Like, if it wasn't for your, your husbands and wives and kids and, you know, the people who you love, would you do as much? Would you work as hard? You know, the other thing is, you know, I remember when I was teaching in trade school. So I guess the other side of that question is, what is it that drives you? When I was teaching in trade school, you know, Midwest Technical Institute, their slogan is remember your why or something like that. Remember your why. I might have that a little wrong, but your why is your reason, your whole motivation behind doing what it is that you do and pushing yourself so hard. So I'd love to see in the comments, and maybe we can talk about it a week from Saturday in our HVAC hangout on Reddit. Excuse me, on Reddit. So yeah, Mike needs more coffee. Oh, Mike needs all the coffee he can get. Sorry. On Discord a week from Saturday, and maybe we can unpack that a little bit more. Like, what, what is our motivation? You know, we're just getting back from Christmas and we got the warm and fuzzies and, you know, we're feeling good, we're feeling positive, we're feeling charitable. Some of us still have that kind of momentum built up, but, you know, I hope we can keep that going because the thing that resonated with me and why I wanted to get involved with the HVHX Coalition And everything they do is that it is simply helping the trade for the sake of helping the trade. Okay, because it's a thing that we believe in. We all depend on it. Yes, we make our money from it, but, um, you know, I think most of us love seeing others succeed and seeing others have a win, you know, even if it's not something that we're gaining, you know, monetarily or materially. You know, it's, it's I think that we want to win collectively, you know, as, as a group and as a community. That's, you know, one thing I appreciate about y'all. I mean, so many of you are willing to help and, you know, in launching the podcast and in doing the, the online teachings. And I still do have a goal to put together some virtual courses this spring, but I've got some other Some other cards that are still in the air that haven't landed that I'm wondering what's gonna— that, that could actually become the online instruction and courses. The live virtual courses is what I'm talking about. So I'm waiting on that, but that is still a goal. But, you know, I've had several of you encourage me in that, and I appreciate that because you know what, brothers, sisters, I need you. I have got all the voices in my head that I need. To, you know, dragging me down just like the rest of you do. Um, the, uh, you know, and even some voices outside of my head, hey, you know, that's too much, or hey, you know, you really, you know, maybe you need to get a few more decades experience. Um, but you know, the truth is that every single one of us has something to teach. We have something that we can share, uh, something that we can, uh, instill in others. And my hope Through this, you know, is that, you know, maybe I can help some of you all break that, uh, you know, kind of break that surface, you know, crack out of that shell and become, um, I don't know, become a content creator yourself, become an online instructor yourself. Look, you don't have to do it. I'm a little obsessive, I'll admit. I, I do way a lot of stuff, uh, because I love it. And that's And that doesn't make anyone else any less. But if you create one video and you do it really well and it, it's beneficial to a few people, then it's worth it. Totally worth it. You know, if you're a YouTuber and you got one video, but, but you know, the people who watched it, it was very meaningful to, and it's really helpful. I don't know, maybe you're just really good at tracking down a low voltage short and maybe you just wanna create a video showing your method. Do it. We need that. We need all of it, man. Okay, maybe you're just really good at testing a capacitor. That seems rather mundane. I mean, God, most of us would say, yeah, yeah, you really shouldn't be a technician at all if you don't know how to do that. Well, put a video out showing it. 'Cause here's the thing, guys, there's no content that I've created that hasn't already been created, you know, at least a dozen times. But there are certain truths, and especially those foundational truths, Basic thermodynamics, electrical theory, uh, you know, switches, relays, um, you know, the refrigerant loop, the, the, the gas furnace sequence. I mean, it can't be stated enough, especially because a lot of that stuff not only has a mechanical— you know, there's a mechanical lesson behind it and how the systems work, but there's also safety, and we can never overstate safety. So So, you know, the thing that we're building in this community, and I'm so blessed to be a part of it and to have Jennifer and many of you others who are motivating me and pushing me on to do greater and greater things. Part of what we're doing is we're trying to build up more instructors and more teachers. So another thing I'd like to hear besides your why is, you know, what are things that You know, if, if you had the courage, or if you had the time, or if you had the ability, which all I got is my phone. I went and bought a rather inexpensive microphone on, uh, on Amazon that I, I haven't even used in any of my content yet. Um, but really it's my phone, and then I have a pretty cool video editing studio available at the library. Um, but so resources really aren't an excuse. Um, but yeah, if you had the time, if you had the resources, if you had, you know, the, the courage, if, if whatever it is that you feel you're lacking, if you had that, what, what would you create content on? Like, what, what's your passion? I think everyone has sort of a— within HVAC, I mean, it's such a broad thing. Like, you know, you could say you're in HVAC and, God, you work in an industrial setting. Are you going into people's houses? Are Are you in kitchens? Do you work in a healthcare facility? You know, is HVAC only one of many parts of your job? You know, it's so broad. Like, what is it? What is it that drives you? Like, what is it that you're really excited about that you love? Like, what's your specialty within HVAC? And what would you teach? Like, if you if you could just open up your camera. And create a training video, what would it be on? I'm curious. Um, because if some little 5-foot brunette from Maine can, you know, put herself through school and go into, you know, a trade and, and start creating content and, and become, you know, this kind force within the HVAC community, then, then you can too, man. If some overweight, bearded, bald, ugly dude from the middle of Illinois can start creating a podcast and start creating content and people seem to like it, then so can you. Thing that I've learned, uh, recently from a lot of these content creators that I've been blessed to start getting acquainted with is they're regular folks, guys. They're nothing special. I mean, there is, because these are gifts that we all share. I mean, they are gifts. They are, they are things that, that are, that make us, um, you know, that— not— I don't know if I want to use the word special, but, but you know what I'm saying is they're just regular folks, man. Um, You know, Ty Branneman, I haven't met him yet, but just from his content and just from his general demeanor, he's just a regular dude. Uh, John Ellis, who I actually have talked with on, on, well, messaged with quite frequently, and just with following him, he's about one of the most regular, down-to-earth guys you'd ever want to meet. I'm looking forward hopefully one day to meeting Brian Orr, you know, and I keep Keep, uh, wondering if I should keep meeting all my heroes because they say that's a bad thing, but so far I haven't been disappointed. But Brian Orr is one I really want to meet. I, I love his intellect, I love his wit, and, uh, I just— I have a feeling that him and I could probably, if we had enough coffee and enough time, we could probably sit and waste us an entire day talking about life. The trade, everything. Um, but clearly regular dude. Um, I know if he sees this video, he's probably gonna say something along the lines of, no, I'm not normal, I was born on Krypton, and, you know, try to allude that he's Superman or something, which he might be. Um, you know, but no, my point is that there's nothing that separates them from you that would prevent you from creating your own content. So thinking about your why, thinking about your motivation, and thinking about what it is that you specialize in— like, what's your thing within HVAC? Like, what is it that you think about and you're just like, yeah, that's mine, that is my baby, I know a lot about that? Thinking about those things Like, you know, how could your why be a motivator to compel you to create a training video or, or a little— or a blog? It doesn't even have to be a video. You don't have to record yourself. Write down a little instruction manual. Produce something, something written. And here's the cool thing too. I think Part of our motivation in this life, the longer I live, is to leave a legacy, right? We do that with our families, with our children, nieces, nephews, children of friends. You know, we want to instill something and leave something behind in the world, especially once we get into our 40s. We're very aware that, you know, wow, you know, I'm a lot closer. I'm Closer to retirement now than I am to high school. Ain't that? That that hit me like a bag of bricks one day when that math clicked. And you know, I want to leave something behind even even if nobody remembers my name. Maybe something that I taught online might stick with somebody and and help, and therefore you know part of me lives on. Um, I don't want to get too heavy and too dark, but, you know, I think all of us want to leave a legacy behind. You know, we all love instilling our knowledge into mentor— or mentees and apprentices. Um, and there are some good-hearted folks in this community who I think would make excellent mentors and teachers, um, and instructors. The, um, You know, the combination of your why and your specialization, I think, is a great motivator for creating content. And if you think about it, you know, maybe, maybe this year, this new year, if you're into resolutions, maybe this might be the year that you create something, publish something, produce something, put, put a blog post out there on the chicks. Uh, you know, Blogspot. Um, you know, put out a training video on your, you know, 10 steps to test flame rectification. God, if you need that many steps though. But you know, your little magic method, man, your special juju, something, you know, that you bring to the HVAC community in a way that only you bring it. And I think that that would be a very valuable thing. If you need help doing that, by the way, if that's something you want to accomplish this year, um, you know, don't hesitate to reach out. I'm on Facebook Messenger, I'm on, you know, TikTok, and, uh, you know, YouTube, obviously. Um, don't hesitate to reach out. I'd be more than happy to help you produce something. And here's the other thing, guys. Um, you know, maybe you don't want to create a whole channel or a whole profile or something just for your one thing, and that's fine. One of us would be more than happy. I, I'll put myself out there. I'd be more than happy to host your thing on my YouTube. You know, this is, this is what we live for. We are a community. HVAC is a family. Um, that's really what a trade is, and, and I think that that's what people are craving, and that's, that's what we're getting. Uh, because that's something that we're all looking for. We're looking for our village. And I want to thank Jennifer for being on the show this week, and I want to thank all of you for creating such a special and, and wonderful community. It's really been, uh, great to be a part of this. So I look forward to 2025 growing with you and the things we're going to accomplish together. So that said, I need to get my butt to work now that I've arrived. So for some reason they keep expecting me to be productive around here and fix shit. I don't get it. Ah well, I guess they didn't hire me for my pretty face. Hey, that's definitely no question there. Hey, have a good one guys. Thanks if you've listened this far, uh, appreciate it. Of course, the, uh, you know, thumbs up, comments, likes, and all that fun stuff. Uh, and shares. And, uh, yeah, have a good one. Stay safe out there. Until next time, bye.