Stephen Blair

nice one mate, i find it hard to leave the house in the morning now, before marriage and kids, work was my life. its when i cut back to play huby and dad things went pair shape, i hadnt a plan, i just stopped working as much, but i wasnt in a position to and things got on top of me, now i have the overheads down and no more finance its great. today i was at funworld with the kids for 2 hrs, went a nice walk in the rain and now i am bouncing wee stew on his chair with one foot and watching harry potter with alexander for the millionth time.

lol, good on you mr chill, or have you taken a hammer to the computer and now typing on your spare lap top:scared1:

positive mental thinking, stand up straight and hold out your right arm or left level with your shoulder, ask someone to push down on it while you say the word HATE over and over again and try and push up while they push down. and see what happens. now repeat the same thing except this time say, the name of the person you love the most, and the words, LOVE,I CAN AND I WILL over and over and see what happens this time. the brain is a powerfull thing, they did an experiment on a woman, where they monitored the excretions from her brain while she had horrible thoughts, they extracted some and injected it into a guinea pig, IT KILLED IT. you know that horrible feeling you get in your stomach, or butterflies. its there for a reason. buying stuff like shiny kit goed back to our hunter gatherer days, the kill. we get a buzz out it, but then it soon wears off. so we do it again to get that same feeling. do not sit in silence, get a plan and get some help, you have to change the program in you head. the best book i have ever read is 'how to be happy' paper back 10 quid, gives you an understanding on how your brain works. it will blow you away.

went to the doctors, got my eyes tested. hypno hypno hypno all the way, its all about relaxing mate. its just stress from doing to much tom, everyone will have a level of it in some way or another i think:001_smile:

i used to get that too, i would wake up forgetting to breath.

and you also dont have to try and find all your tools in the chip pile or burnt out rakes and shovels in the bonfire ash:mad1:

i knew the previous owner, he sourced the tractor himself and then got calidonian forestery services to build it. he kept his kit immaculate, that was the only reason i bought mine second hand. he had a trained operator on it and no one else, i new to many folk with pigs in pokes.

good on you mate, i tried the drink thing but my heartburn was too bad, and then i got wind from all the rennie. maybe it wasnt a bad thing:001_smile:

its the employing part that is hard dave. grass cutting is ok until it rains, i did it for years and ran a squad. lets say you start 2 guys, and supply a vehicle with trailer. and by some lawnmowers and a strimmer. you will have to find 5k at least for some not so great kit and wages will be easy 500 a week, fuel 150 quid and then your is insurance and other stuff. i wreckon you need a grand a week just to break even. unless you are the main worker doing the jobs of 3 men it isnt worth it, pretty much like doing trees. if you are rural, and can stick a chalet in the garden, or some kind of self contained unit. you could do 300quid a week easy. i thought of doing a 4x4 offroad unimog trip if i moved to aviemore. or take city slickers tree climbing. but the whole spoon feeding numpties isnt my thing and i dont think its yours mate.

i found running away from it was a quick fix and i would feel better, but it would just build up more and get worse(mostly in my head) once you address the problem. don't go to work tomorrow and keep doing what you are doing, make a list and work your way through what needs done. simple things.firstly buy a pen and paper and a diary. dont rely on your brain to remember everything write it down and close the book. your brain can then think about other things, the next day you open the book and there it is. simples. if you grit your teeth a lot, thats repressed anger. not good. ii used to get "the rage' as i called it. most of my spanners are lying in a field next to the yard lol.the 20%crown thin became a pollard:blushing:climbing became dangerous, my head was somewhere else, rather than on the job. saying no is always good to, but when we work for ourselfs we feel we have to say yes, all the little freebies, all the complaints for no reason that you just smile about, then go home and take it out on your loved ones. i used to call it my B S face. and then their is the guilt of being horrible to them but you are too stuborn to say sorry. if you run your own business and have staff and have never suffered from this, please jump in and give some advice, i can only tell you what not to do, going by my own experiences.

so so so true mate, you obviously know what you want to do and know what to do, so if its a little encouragement you need. go for it mate:001_cool:

i bet you enjoyed that twisty moor rd in your coupe:001_cool:

SWB: In response to all your posts here - RE--SPECT! The 4 words at the top of this are what it's all about. No point in being a millionaire if you're miserable with it - less is more. To those still suffering; you've taken the bold step of sharing it somewhat and that can help loads I think. Best wishes to you from a happy but not rich me. thanks mate, remember why we do this job, to climb trees. i am lucky enough to enjoy the spoils of hyperactivity and maybe a touch of ocd from my latter years. i have property and i have some shiny kit. but you are right mate. it goes for nothing if you are miserable. when i started out i lived in a shack with no heating out in a field. i made a yard beside it and had bonfires all night, my own climbing pole and a motorcrosser for playing in the fields. it was bliss. 160 quid a month and that was it. i drive by it often and pay a visit to my mate that lives in it now, and i feel so at home. i think the secret to life in contentment, even now i am getting restless and feel there is something else i should be doing with my life, this isnt a dress rehearsal, and sods law if there is re_incarnation i will come back as a wilderbeast. if you are 18-25 and reading this, thinking what a lot of rubbish and are having a pint aswell. keep it that way, and enjoy your lovely lifestyle

ok john boy, this is what i do every day, almost. get up and get alexander his breky and i go to work leaving him to watch cbeebies and mrs shrek and stew have a long lie, i go to work where wee scott has all the kit ready to rock n roll. i drive 15mins in mog and have a lovely cooked breakfast at a nice italian cafe. i cut up some trees, have a laugh and eat some lovely food and drink fresh coffee through out the day. finish for about 3 ish and go home to the smell of my arbmeal, take the dogs out for a walk up the woods and then spend the rest of the night on arbtalk and playing with the kids. if it was going to be better than that i would just be selfish:001_cool:

it used to be a little chef, now its called the rowantree.nice pic

good man. cheers for sharing.

petes silky cut vid is on the same page as that one, it must be a sideburn thing right enough andy:001_tongue:

nptc, basic chainsaw and maintenance, and you will need insurance mate. even if you do it for nothing, you might do some small damage and before you know it, the guy in the pub that wanted a freeby is now claiming you wrecked his favourite slab and is going to sue you. be carefull with that one. start off working for nothing then you always will.

thats why there arent any grouse left mate,speak to my brother about it 'sylvestris stew' thanks to the farmers not dipping their sheep he got paid off as the grouse keeper up there. and mat (highland forestery) was one of his underkeepers. i would be surprised if you guys didnt cross paths while you were up there mate

that is a pretty bleak place charlie, you should of got a room at coylum bridge, its about a 30m round trip to the bar from what i have heard:001_cool:

its all depends on the weather mate, but i would stick to the west coast as much as possible if you are looking for amazing scenery but the midges can be terrible, the aviemore,cairngorms are really geared up for tourists and there is plenty of room to find your own space and midges are at a minimuim. but its all good mate:001_smile:

frank get your own picture and give dean his back:001_tongue:

love the last to with the 'har' i think the locals call it, i was at the top of stewarts hill a few years ago at dusk and watched it roll in under neath me, truly amazing. i am getting the cairngorm urge again, i had supressed it for over a year but i am getting it back. time for a holiday me thinks

happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear dean, happy birthday to you. hip hip. hooray. hip hip hooray,for he's a jolly good fellow for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fe e e llow. and so say all of us.

ha ha ha