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.

Just Lucky, I Guess

I am lucky to live in a century where meeting the rest of the world is more accessible. Because of this, I am not restricted to a city, state, or country in running my business. And the neat part is neither are you.

We can meet on the internet and share or sell our goods with others in almost every part of the world. I believe that we can find a deeper understanding of who is out there and who we are in this age. It is almost like being an exchange student without leaving home.

I personally love meeting new people and sharing the fun of life with them. It is this interaction with others that gives life a special meaning. I also like to share what I am up to.

If you would ever like to share the good times, give me a shout. Mikeb@reveillerocks.me.

Take Care Of Yourself

Did you know that you’re the only one like you in this world? That’s true. No one else acts just like you, thinks just like you, or cares just like you. And I believe the world would not be its best without you.

It would be a shame to lose you early due to preventable diseases or problems. To avoid an early demise, please take time to get good rest, a good diet, exercise, and fun. Taking a little time for you will allow your time here to be much longer.

This is the only body you’re going to get that we know of, and only you can decide to take care of it or not. Only you can choose to take care of yourself.

If you do not take care, you might not be here to face anything else. If you do take care of yourself, you are on an excellent path to handle everything else in your life well.

I’m not barking orders here. Just pointing something out.

What will you do to take better care of yourself?

Do You Have a Minute

How many minutes a day are wasted not doing anything productive? How often do we not have a minute to do something good for someone else when asked? If we are too busy to help another, why are we not more productive.

Actually, being productive includes lending a hand when someone else needs one. When you help someone else, are you not helping yourself? I remember reading in a good book somewhere that sharing your talents with others brings them back to you, shaken down and overflowing.

You cannot give away some things, and the more you try, the more they come back to you with interest. I do not know exactly why this is. I only know through experience that it is true.

What are your talents doing for you, and how are they multiplying?

Helping Others Helps You

Did you know that whenever you point a finger at someone else, you have three fingers pointing back at you? This is true; try it. This can be good or bad.

Suppose the finger is pointed as an accusation of another. In that case, it is not very good because you have three fingers also accusing you. If you are pointing at another to praise or help them, then those three fingers are also praising and helping you. Which would you rather have, praise and help, or accusations?

When we help others, we also get dividends and returns. Maybe not in money, instead we feel better, make friends and learn more ourselves. Some things that may happen we do not recognize initially yet play to our favor over time.

What can you do to help someone else?

Find Your Fit

The core of any company, the people counted on to rise to the occasion, have similar soft skills and often different hard skills. The company does not need everyone to have the exact same skill set. If everyone only had one set of skills, only one aspect of the job would be accomplished.

The soft skills for the entire core team are the same. The skills are loyalty and the ability to work as a team, care for the company’s output and reputation, and find alternate ways to get the job done correctly.

The hard skills of the core team are varied. Those skills include purchasing needed parts, shipping completed products, manufacturing, packaging, customer relations, and an ability to find needed resources.

It is very hard for you the be the best at everything. Work well with others, share your talents, and be positive. It’s better for your ability to fit into a situation and sought out than not to be looked on as reliable.

What are your core skills?

Do Your Best

It is essential to try your best at your work as you go through life. Whether parking your car or completing a million-dollar merger, what you do reflects back on you. You want to be seen in your best light.

We are not all the same. And I am not saying you must be perfect; no one is. You need to strive to repeat the great you do and better yourself where you can.

Even if you do not see any short gain from your positive actions, you will find improvement and better satisfaction in your work over time. These actions will genuinely help you to grow better.

What actions could you take to get better at the things you do?

Building Better Habits

Anything we repeatedly do or repeat in a set pattern can be considered a habit. Habits are not necessarily good or bad; they are just things we do based on expectation and repetition.

To build better habits, think of the actions that make you feel better and put you in a better position to face your day’s challenges. It may be taking a morning shower, shaving, and combing your hair. It could be drinking more water and less soda. Maybe your habit would be going to the gym to start your day or unwind after work is over.

Whatever helps you best and is done regularly over time will become your habit. You just need to start the actions and do them regularly.

What would help you to do better?

Back to Work

Today is the first day since November I am back at my co-working office downtown. Covid and health have kept me at bay. I am thrilled to be back here. 

I have a wonderful office at home in my basement. Yet, nothing is the same as having a change of scenery and great friends and coworkers that I can talk with and bounce ideas off of. It is good to be part of society again.

Where do you go to work with friends and Colleagues?

Cool Heads Calm Thoughts

It is amazing how many sources want to agitate users to spark controversy and push numbers. It is a selfish act to make better numbers for the protagonists. It is not to solve domestic or international problems, nor does it get anything solved or completed.

We all need to step back and think for a second. Look at what we know is accurate or not true. Instead of what others are trying to tell us, the cold hard facts we can find.

If you listen to what others say and compare it to the things you know for a fact, you will figure the truth out. If someone gets the things you know to be truly correct, the new stuff they tell you has a better chance of being right. If they do not get those truths you know correct, doubt what they say that you do not know.

It is up to us to check out what we are told and not follow blindly.

What do you believe? Why?

Healthy Choices

You may have been told this before, so please forgive me if this is old news. There is only one you. And if you want to get the most out of everything you do, you need to make some healthy choices during your stay here.

You can try to negotiate or capitulate. Possibly make tradeoffs and even fain ignorance. Everything is up to you. Just know that the body is resilient to a point, and then it gets downright hostile.

What I am saying is to treat your body right. Sometimes second chances are few and far between.

How have you been feeling lately?