The Difference

Yesterday I wrote about how my wife helps me find things.  In yesterday’s blog, I miss wrote the word ‘Parochial,’ spelling it as ‘porocial’ instead.  I thank my wife for detecting this and correcting me. I also am sorry for anyone who may have been offended.  And, to the nuns who used to teach me, OK, your right, I cannot spell.

Today I am looking at the difference.  The difference between working with others or just setting out on your own.  We can all take some actions to get where we want to be.  We can also be alone faking something until we stumble on how to do it effectively.  Yet, the things we create on our own often feel superficial and hold less meaning than the things we do with others.

When we work with others, we find new ideas and perspectives.  These new thoughts help give everyone at the table a unique presence and a deeper understanding of the concepts and issues at hand.  The French used to do this in their late nite dinners with people such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.

The real difference is that you can think you really understand something, yet until you try to explain it to someone else, you just do not know.  As a teacher of adults, I always believed,”If you want to know something, take a class.  If you’re going to learn something, try teaching someone else.”

This is very true.  The students in the class will ask you different questions and in different ways than you have ever thought of before.  If I teach a class, and I do not learn something new, I did not do a very meaningful job for those students.

Thanks for being with me today.  I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof