The Unexpected HVAC Contractor

When I was a kid, I wanted to be someone like Zorro or Robin Hood, a good guy defending people against the forces of evil. The books I loved to read were about mountain climbers, brave explorers, or fearless generals who changed the world or conquered nature. As I moved into my teenage years, I realized these career goals were a bit unrealistic and became a cynic instead. My heart had moved from child-like enthusiasm to bitter disappointment. I had dreams of escaping into nature and fleeing this complicated, often heartbreaking and difficult world.

Then I went to college. Although I couldn’t articulate it back then, those years were a time spent attempting to bridge the gap in my own thinking between the two places I had vacillated throughout my life. How do we live with hope in a world where hope can seem fleeting? What can my life and work mean within such a framework?

Over time I have come to believe, with the help of many others, that our lives and what we do with them matters. I hold onto the promise in the Parable of the Mustard Seed, that small beautiful things, hidden away, can carry the day. I believe that each day we should do good, ordinary work, and then go home to our families and eat dinner with them. I believe that living an ordinary life and changing the world are not at odds. In fact, maybe they are the same thing.

During the course of asking these questions, I found myself in need of a job. As it turns out, I’m not half bad at turning a wrench. I began to fall in love with the science and seemingly endless complexity of HVAC systems. Residential air conditioning has only been around for around 80 years, so in some ways it’s still a pretty new field of study. There are lots of interesting problems to solve, such as dehumidification, ventilation, healthy indoor air quality, energy retrofits, and better business models that serve both the homeowner and contractor. I began to see that in my own small corner of the world, there is good, quiet work to be done.

So if ordinary lives can make an impact, maybe an ordinary business can too.