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.

If You Need Help Finding Something  

If you are looking for something online and running into roadblocks, I would be glad to help you. It is not that I am some kind of know-it-all, I just know two heads are better than one. 

You may think I am crazy, and in some way you may be right. I will dedicate two hours a day to helping anyone who emails me and asks me for help with something.  

Why? I believe that helping is the greatest thing anyone can do for someone. If I can truly help you with something, I am willing to give it a try.  

I am not a miracle worker, and some things are easier than others. I will be up front with what I can and cannot do. I will also let you know if something is beyond my comfort zone. 

 Send me your email and a short description of what you are looking for, and I will send you a fact sheet on what I do and How I do it. We will work through email. Please contact me at mikeb@reveille.rocks.  

Thanks, 

Mike 

I am Building My Black Friday and Cyber Monday Offers Now  

I Have a new course on happiness, Books on creative training for finding jobs and many other items. I am not here to sell you this now. That happens in a month and a half down the road. Do you have anything you want me to cover?  

I can build all kinds of courses. The courses I want to build are the ones you need. To do that, I need to know what you are looking for and how you like to learn (books, lectures, YouTube, or other ways.)   

Please let me know what you want to learn and what formats would be best for your learning style. Please let me know at mikeb@reveille.rocks and be sure to include your email so we can talk and send you the course if I am able to complete it. 

A Lot Happens in the Last Quarter of The Year  

Many things are going on at the end of the year (the last quarter of the calendar). Candy collecting in neighborhoods, Eating Feasts, and respect for those who have served or had a role in finding America.  

The list grows by month. There is time to break bread and turkey legs, Advent, and find out what snow shoveling is like again. More parties, Cookie baking, little angels next to big Christmas trees, lighting candles, everyone giving and receiving gifts, and even saying goodbye to the old year as a new one moves in like a massive front. 

I love this quarter. It has more going on than most, and if you find yourself bored, all you have to do is go for a walk. Everything is entertaining. 

It Is a New Quarter 

October starts the last quarter of the year. This quarter is also the most exciting quarter of the year. It is because more people get hired in the last quarter of the year. After all, there are more sales thanks to the end-of-year rush for most families and the end-of-year business rush for all the businesses buying new equipment to count on this year’s taxes.  

 Jobs are much more plentiful this time of year, which is excellent because you certainly want to avoid standing outside in cold weather if you live in cooler climates. Start looking for a job now, and know that as we get closer to November and December, jobs will be even more plentiful.  

 If you need to get a resume ready, even if you haven’t worked lately, make one now. If you need help with work clothes and cannot afford them, now’s the Time to go and talk to Charities about them. 

Be sure to let those who help people get jobs know that you are trying to get one. Right now, I am seeing help-wanted signs everywhere. 

If you have a job and know someone is looking for work, please print a copy of this and share it with them.  Thanks 

Stay Productive and Still Stay Happy? 

Productivity does not usually cause unhappiness. It is unproductive times that give us the most problems. I know this sounds strange, yet it is true. 

When we are productive, we are doing something, the time is moving by, we feel good because we are making good progress, and we usually work as part of a team. 

When we are unproductive, everyone is sitting or standing around. Little work is getting done; the less we do, the slower it feels that time moves, everyone wonders why we just don’t go home, and everyone leaves with a negative feeling for the day. 

Happiness is doing something you know people are counting on and grateful for having. 

Tips For Staying Focused at Work 

Focusing on what you are presently doing is vital to safety and productivity. Do not let anything else get in your way or distract you. 

Some tips for keeping focused could include: 

  • Keep your work area clean and neat. 
  • During hazardous operations, keep extraneous chit-chat to a minimum. 
  • Use prescribed safety gear. 
  • Read through the procedures as a group before starting  
  • Ensure everyone involved is up to date with procedures and is physically and mentally up to the work. 
  • Ensure all tools and other needed supplies are in good working order. 
  • After completing the job, discuss any problems and what went well during the procedure. 

Finding Meaning in My Work 

No matter what your work is, it means something to someone.  

Think of what you are getting paid and why someone would pay you to do the work. It is because it means something to those above you and to the end customers who use whatever you supply. 

Do you believe everyone needs to praise you every day? That would get old fast. You do your work because you see positive results from it. The company’s bottom line is good things for the end users and good for you (a paycheck.) 

Even the worst jobs have something meaningful you can take pride in and strive to do better with. 

Handling Burnout at Work 

Too much of anything is bad. As humans, we need a balance to keep us doing well. Anything overdone can lead to burnout.  

Try to strike a balance with all you do. I love Chimichangas. Yet, If I ate chimichangas every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, how long do you think I would want to stay on working that diet? It would not be balanced. I would have deficiencies that could lead to medical problems. I need to balance my diet with a variety of healthy foods. 

Work is that way. If you work 12-16 hours a day (I have at times in the past.) You start to find that even the most minor things wear on you. You get frustrated and blow your top over the smallest of concerns. You end up grumpy, irritable, and alone because no one wants to be around when you erupt. 

If you take all your time to live and find yourself at home with the family more often, you may have some of the same problems as the earlier paragraphs. The exact causes are at play. Rather than having a good work-life balance, you are ending up on one side or the other and never having balance. 

Work to enjoy whatever you do. And whatever you do, keep in balance with everything else you do. 

Improving Your Work-Life Balance 

Do you need to work to live, or do you live to work? Many fall within the spectrum of working to live and living to work. The question is, do you love what you do, or do you hate it? 

We all need to live to do anything. If you are living only to work, you must love the job. If you do not, you need to reconsider some things. Considerations are also necessary if you love your life and hate the job.  

Do you have a job that pays you so much money it is worth giving up living beyond what you do? Do you wish to be living and doing to the point where the job is not worthwhile? Either way, it can point to an imbalance that could end up with real problems and concerns. 

You need a job that allows you to find real purpose and meaning. A job that pays you what you need to live and do the things you love. At the same time, your life needs to live within the means you can successfully earn. 

Think of this when trying to find the balance between work and life. And please remember, they are not mutually exclusive. 

Building Better Relationships with My Clients or Customers  

The best way to build better customer and Client relationships starts with listening to them and their needs. They need to know that you appreciate them and want to be a key part of their actions.  

The people you and your company work with want to know they can count on you through good and bad times. There will be trials along the way, along with some good sailing. Your customers need to know you will be with them through thick and thin. 

You do this by making time for them. Listening to their needs and helping them to make those needs a reality. When you work with a client, make them feel that their needs are your most important work. If they think they are your top priority, they will be much happier to work with you. That can lead to more sales and satisfaction for all concerned.