Profile by eric dyer

One of a Kind

A profile on Bill McCleary

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he irregular clicking of a keyboard resonantes up and down the hallways of the poorly lit office. The sound bounces off the gray cubicle walls and the snowwhite fiberglass ceiling tiles.

In between these partitions is a young man sitting at his cluttered desk. He lets out a sigh and looks up at the clock which reads 12:00. His eyes then move to the three towers of paperwork on his desk and then back to his computer screen. The next morning, he plops down at his desk. His eyes are bloodshot and wa-

tering as he yawns. He takes a sip from his coffee mug and looks to his left to see that a new memo had been placed on his desk reminding him to put new cover sheets on the TPS reports.

Whether it’s base jumping from Burj Khalifa or eating raw cookie dough, everybody gambles with chance. Understanding when to take risk is another big part of life. Yet, risk is something that is always feared. How many of us actually know when to take

the risk? How many of us know what risks to take?

In 1977, Bill McCleary was that young man who was sitting at his desk contemplating his future. Was he to stay at his desk job where the pressure was immense and the work was not entertaining?

Or should he leave and find a new job? He eventually decided that the risk was higher if he changed jobs while raising a family. As a result, he began searching for a new occupation. He found the answer at

a Homestead High School Reunion when asking a friend what he is doing to pass the time. His friend told him about a class he was taking at nearby college. His friend was studying to become a farrier, a forger of horse shoes.

Bill listened and realized this could be his opportunity. Bill took this chance to change his profession and starting studying how to become a farrier.

This required much dedication. He was changing from a secure job in a growing industry to being self employed in an unknown industry. It was a risk he decided to take that few people would have taken.

Practically none in modern day Silicon Valley.

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But what is a farrier?

What do they do? According to Bill, “a farrier is an offshoot of a blacksmith.” Originally farriers and blacksmiths were interchangeable. Now, a farrier is a specialist in horse shoes. Horses need shoes in order to protect them from debris on the ground and natural wear and tear on their hooves. These shoes are made from steel and aluminum and a farrier’s job is to forge them to fit onto the horse’s hoof, and putthem on. A farrier’s job begins by removing the previous shoe from the hoof. Then, they take the new shoe and hold it up to the horse’s hoof. If it doesn’t fit, they take it back to their anvil and make adjustments to the shoe until it fits.

Once they have adjusted it to be the right size, they have to nail it onto the hoof. This process requires force but precision. If the farrier nails into the horse’s hoof incorrectly, it could cause the horse to “spook” and to possibly injure the farrier. It’s a risky job that requires a lot of fitness. When the farrier checks the sizing of the new shoe, he has to hold up the a good amount of the horse’s body weight is about 1,100 pounds.

Having a profession that is so physically exerting takes its toll. “I remember through one of those experiences, he broke his foot.” says Bill’s daughter, Jamie Brown.

Bill has also experienced back

problems due to the weight of the horse being on him for such a long period of time. Travis McCleary, Bill’s son, also recollected the many injuries his father has endured, stating that “he’s broken bones and fingers… These was this one time

unpredictability of working with horses. Bill says that, “Some people think it’s like digging ditches. Who wants to do that? But really it’s an science and an art.”

Bill’s profession is indeed one of the more

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nancially, it has provided many bonding experiences with his children and has had a profound effect on him as a father. Bill would take his kids to work sometimes.

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dangerous profession out there and has warranted visits to the ER and to the chiropractor, but as Jamie Brown puts it, “He loves it and it’s hard to disconnect but he’s a pretty smart person.” She believes that her father should continue his passion because he loves it.

where he was hammering in a shoe and the shoe wasn’t in all the way. So the horse kicked it off.” That shoe ended up flying into Bill’s cheekbone, inches away from blinding him in his left eye.

Although, Bill says he likes his profession very much. Bill is a unique man who has walked away from the safety of an Bill’s profession has not office job for the danger and only supported his family fi-

They never would get into the gritty, dangerous parts of horseshoeing. Still, he gave them jobs to do that would help him get his work done.

Jamie Brown said, “Sometimes he would give us little bits of money at the end of the day.” Teaching his kids about how to work hard would not have been as easy if he was working in a cubicle for eight hours every day. That being said, Bill respected his child3

Providing Travis this opportunity to see the outdoors allowed him to find a passion in wildlife. Now, Travis is a wildlife preservationist and a farrier part time. Travis wouldn’t have found his passion if it weren’t for his dad’s decision to leave Four Phase Systems to start his own business.

When that young man was sitting at his desk late at night, wondering whether he should leave his job or not, I doubt that he imagined how much it would affect his family and his kids’ futures. His kids

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were raised to follow their passion and to chase their dreams, just like their father did in 1977. Find whatever makes you happy. Bill’s ability to see when and where to take a risk was what changed his life. That risk ultimately paid off. There were many things that could have gone wrong with the transition but Bill knew them. He was able to look past them. Bill McCleary knew when to take the risk. Ultimately it paid off for his family. Maybe Bill’s parenting style isn’t all that should be taken from his rich

and full life. Whether you are looking to start a business or lose some weight, we all have pressure surrounding us. Bill didn’t let the pressure of the tech industry affect him. He instead left the high pressure environment and started on his own where he was in control. He took the risk. Bill made the decision that we all would dread to make but got the result that we all desire.

Maybe we should all think about that decision a little differently.

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