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.

What Are Your Alternatives

We do not always get what we want. Sometimes it feels like fate itself is conspiring against us. At a point like that, what are you going to do?

Well, that depends on what your alternatives are. So here is the sixty-four dollar question; what are your alternatives? Do you know, and have you checked them out?

Before you make any decision, big or little, you should take a moment to look at all the alternatives. You may find you do not need a choice that could be expensive for you. Maybe what you see as a need is only a temporary glitch. And possibly, new additions to the marketplace will make your choice null and void over the next 90-days.

It is like someone in a cave once said to some passing strangers, “Choose wisely.”

If some research and a good night’s sleep can save you a recurring bill for service that you will not get the full benefit from, isn’t that worth the money saved in your pocket

What was the service you purchased that failed to give you what you needed?

Peace Is Something We Earn

Anything worth having is rarely free. Someone has to work for it, and others are more than willing to take it away for their own selfish gains. And You Peace is something everyone else desires.

The peace you enjoy was not freely given. It was earned by generations of people standing up to tyranny and refusing to willingly hand over what little they had. No one understands the value of this more than those who lay down their lives for the peace and freedom of others.

I remember how my nation would help others by lending them aircraft and other means of protection on what was known as a ‘lend-lease’ policy. The President likened it to a neighbor’s house catching fire and lending him a garden hose to put out the flames before they lit your house.

Sometimes to help keep our peace and freedom, it is occasionally essential to help our friends and neighbors by lending them what they need.

What are your thoughts?

Jobs Are Back

Great news! Jobs are back, and employers are hiring. The mask mandates are lifted for most areas and life is starting to get back to normal. Now is the time to start earning again.

If you have problems finding the job you want, check out your local workforce center. Do not hang around there for weeks waiting for someone to come and hire you. That is not how it works. Go to the workforce center to find the hiring employers, write your resume to their needs, and go to where you can meet them and apply for the job.

If you need help, check out my books on Amazon.com. I can give you a free discovery call, and we can work from there. If you need more help, contact me at Mikeb@reveillerocks.me.

Are you ready for your new job?

What Do You Need

Sometimes, we get mixed up between what we need and what we want. Needs and wants are different, even if they do not feel that way. You need to understand the difference.

You need to breathe, eat, and drink water. You do not need to breathe vape smoke. Eating right is good, yet milkshakes and all-day sundaes are not much of a necessity. Water is vital for your body, not the bubbly kind that depletes calcium. There are better things that will help you feel and do better.

In balancing the budget and wanting to buy new things, think of what you need, what could make your life better, and what would be a pure luxury that you would get bored with quickly. Choose wisely, and remember you do not have to spend the complete bank account in one order.

Am I trying to throw water on all your fun? No. I am only encouraging a grown-up thought and maybe a challenge.

What could you do better?

Not Thirty-Two Any More

As younger people, we believe we can do it all. We can go anywhere, do anything, work 48 hours straight, and make things happen. I am at a point where the spirit is willing to keep this up, yet the flesh has more realistic intentions.

We work hard when we are young and reap the rewards. Age should not stop our goals, only how we complete them. As we age, we only need to change our tactics. We need to ease working harder and focus on working smarter.

I used to think that working smarter was a synonym for laziness. I have come to truly understand it as a solid work ethic that continually strives and does better things in less time with more profit.

If you would like to know more about working smarter and profit more, please contact me, and we can discuss it further.

Email me at mikeb@reveille.rocks 

Or set up a free zoom meeting at www.Reveillerocks.me  

You are always welcome here.  

Changing Jobs

Are you looking for a new job? If you are leaving an old job to do so, I would like you to stop and think for a second. I am not saying you need to keep the old position to show employment. What I am saying is do not separate yourself from one source of income until you have another income to take its place.

Does this mean you will be doing some ‘double-duty’ somewhere along the line? Maybe. Yet other things could be worse.

If you strike out on your own to find a job without adequate funding, you may be making a big mistake. If you are forced to go back to a position you did not like to start with, your dreams might be dashed.

How much money should you have? That depends. Calculate everything you are spending right now and add an extra 5% for inflation. Then add in the costs for training, education, and other expenses to learn a new career field. Then calculate the months to actually find a place to hire you. Double it. If you are going to work for yourself, Double it again. 

Now you have some real numbers to consider. The best-case scenario is you get hired next week, and the next family vacation is paid for. Worst case, at least you planned for it.

Many dream jobs start off as side-gigs for a reason. We do not do well without adequate funding.

What is your dream job?

Street Cred’s or Book Cred’s

It would be great to be a certified expert in what you love to do. And looking at it from the consumer’s point of view, with all things being equal, an accredited expert would be the best deal. Sometimes, though, the best people are not always certified. And sometimes, those who are certified are not the best at what they do.

I know this may sound strange; however, I have seen this so many times in so many ways. People who have the money to pay for certifications or degrees yet merely scrape by on the academics. They are too busy in other areas of their lives or don’t see the need for extensive training. Therefore, they buy expensive certificates while putting in only minimum work.

I have seen people who have put in a lot of work with a genuine passion for studying the subject. These are are the go-to people. They are highly knowledgeable, but unfortunately, cannot afford the expensive certificate. They become totally immersed in the subject matter. They learn everything they can about it and come out of the experience with vast knowledge.

My question is an easy one. To whom do you want to turn when you need the help? Do you want to go to the person with the certificate? Or, do you turn to the person with knowledge?

Please weigh in on this question. If there is interest, I will find a way that we could have a good discussion on this subject. Possibly a Meetup group. Please send in your comments, and with your permission, I’ll share them on the blog.

Would you rather have knowledge or credentials?

They Pay They choose

Please check out my book, Critical Creative Thinking In Employment Now, on sale at:       https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Creative-Thinking-Employment-employers/dp/B09HFSMLR7/ 

When you get hired somewhere, are you joining that company, store, business, or whatever it is? Or, are they joining you?

It sounds like a ‘so-what’ question, yet the answer will predict the odds of getting picked for your desired position.

You face one of the most important decisions you must understand before ever looking for a job. Putting this in the proper perspective, you must remember that you are not the only person applying for the position. You have no power to change management’s needs. If you do not fulfill their requirements, they will leave you in the dust. They are just too busy

When you get hired, you’re joining an organization that already has its ground rules, what works best for them. The equilibrium amongst their workers and management makes the company successful. They will teach you all of this information and then some. You want to remember that you are joining them, and you will work by their rules.

I don’t want this to sound too rough. In my years of teaching people, I have had more than one person show up for a practice interview adorned with a full head of spikes; piercings, nose rings, tongue studs, and other paraphernalia, including earrings to practice an interview for a conservative company.

Most companies will not worry about what you do on your own time. These companies want you in proper dress code when dealing with conservative customers.

What choice does the company have? There will be 252 resumes for each position a company advertises on average. Most people will have looked at the company website, read the company values, and probably the dress code. The majority of the 252 people applying for the job will be hungry and ready to do what it takes to gain that job.

Do you want the job? Play by the company rules.

Time to Do For You

It is time for me to get my inner Mike on. If I don’t take care of my inner Mike, no one else will. No one can do it for me. And if I go untended, I know that I will be running amok.

I need to start sleeping at regular hours. Eating sensible meals in a timely fashion would help a lot. Finding the time and the desire to exercise correctly and taking the time to take care of the things around me would be tremendous. After all, that which we ignore or don’t use correctly will eventually go away. I hope that’s not my inner Mike.

The one thing I have learned is nothing happens by ignoring it. If you want something, you need to make time for it. Schedule it so other things don’t get in the way. And you need to ensure that you are following the schedule you set up. Not doing the things you’re supposed to do is often pretty easy. Facing the consequences of not doing what you’re supposed to be doing is usually pretty hard.

This is important, I have gone unattended before, and the result is not good. Unless you like uncontrollable dizziness, ER visits, and general disruption to your everyday life. This is one area where you want to do your best. I am not the best template of what to do.

Do you ever have problems scheduling what you should be doing for yourself and end up with the inner-you going without the things you really need? Please tell me about it.

The Office

This is my day two of getting organized. Yesterday, I took items in the office, not in their correct place, and piled them around a chair in the middle of the office.

I got the furniture Polish and wiped down all the newly freed tabletops and other services within the room. Now came a moment of thinking. I had books, papers, and many other items in this vast pile. I had to plan the most efficient way to place everything within my office and know what I did not need so I could get rid of it.

Books and a few nick-knacks go on the bookshelves. Clutter does not. All the professional books for my work go in one section. The blogging book is not a mystery and does not belong on the fiction shelf.

Anything that cannot be easily seen, such as files and items stored on the computer, should be listed or cataloged in a notebook. This saves missing deadlines because you could not find what you wanted to submit.

Consider donating things you haven’t used in a while to a charity or giving to someone who could use it. Think of all the things you now use the computer or other technology for, and what is obsolete.

This is your room. Take a look as you get your office, studio, or space to the working way it should be. Is it really what you had in mind? If not, make a few changes until you are happy. Once you have the room set, also set a schedule to pick up and dust weekly. It may save having to do the whole thing again.

Want to know more? Send me your name and email, and I will put you on our mailing list. No spam, just things you can use and learn from. Mikeb@reveille.rocks