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.

Faith

Faith is not sitting around, hoping. Faith is getting out and getting things done. And, as you get those things done, you know that if something holds you back or blocks your way, a way through will be open to you so that you can continue your work.

Faith means ‘walking the walk’ in true belief. It also means that you may not have a superhighway taking you to where you want to go. Yet, a path to your destination will be available. Just keep going where you think you belong or need to be.

Faith is not always immediate. It is also not always shaped by the way you think it might be. The tenets of faith are discernible to those who believe. To keep your faith, believe in, and do not be deceived.

When we cannot find our way forward, and storms rage around us, keep your faith well-maintained and ready to place into action. You might not see it, yet you might be surprised to find yourself surrounded by angels and people of goodwill.  All of these sent to aid you with your needs.  And present to help you keep your feet on the path and your eyes on the prize.

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

What Again

It looks as though the virus is winning in many parts of our country. We can beat it, yet we have to be willing to do what it takes. And this means that we have to distance ourselves from each other to deny the virus hosts within which to foster growth.  Obviously, it means another lockdown.

For many of us, the first round of isolation was terrible enough. Yet, if we are going to live and survive, we will probably have to endure this again. The good news is that we have recent experience with isolation. Therefore, we had to hopefully learn some things that we can utilize to make this run more bearable. After all, If we have to do this anyway, why not enjoy it.

Plan now, and be prepared. If you know that you will need some tools or parts to do specific jobs during your new isolation, pick them up now, and be ready. If you want to do anything essential while stores are still open and most companies are also, now is the time. You want to have both necessities and a few luxuries that will make the time more bearable. We also want to pray that it doesn’t come to another isolation. Yet, if it does, the more prepared you are, the easier it could be on you. Please don’t take my word for this, consider it and see if it makes sense.

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

New Ways

I just learned I might be doing all the wrong things. I am always setting goals and looking for results. When the goal becomes obtained, I go back to being my usual self. The problem is my usual self is not getting anything done. I need to work at this.

If I want a clean house without having to work at it eight hours a day, I need to develop a way that works for me and does that. If I want a nice-looking yard without a lot of back-breaking toil going into the mix, I need a way that will do that for me. Setting goals is sweet, yet how many goals have we set and how much disappointment have we found later when the target could not be maintained over time by itself?

If we want to be able to do something and make it last, we need to find ways of doing so that a will not break the bank and still allow us to live the type of life we want to live. Not to say that there will not be compromises. It is just that when we do make compromises, we need to make them to the betterment of our real desires, our families, and our surroundings.

It is all relatively new to me, and as I learn (mainly by trying, making errors, and trying again), I will let you know how this goes. For now, this is something to consider. For me, it is an idea on how I can change my life for the better while working through the changes I need to make myself, to make good things happen.

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

Stand Tall

Everyone wants to stand tall.  We want to think of ourselves as one of the best in what we do.  Yet, to gain status, we need to work hard and do our best.

You will never stand tall by tearing everyone else around you down. If you try to stand on a hill made of the remnants of those you have torn asunder, you will find yourself on some very slippery slopes. You will discover these slopes filled with the pebbles, slop, and traps that you have made.  Standing on top of the now barren and dangerous landscape you have made, you will surely fall.  And, no one would be able to stand on that slope with you.  And you will be known for causing the mess left behind that causes everything to be unproductive for some time to come.

To be noticed, you need to stand on the best of what you have accomplished. Will you be the highest? No. No matter how good you are, there will be others that will be better. The good news about that is you will not be the least, either. There will always be somebody with fewer skills than you, also.

So, what is the best foot you can put forward? Be the best you can. Remember, there are always people better and worse out there. And strive to keep learning because the World never stops moving forward. The only people who are stuck are the ones who fail to move forward with it.

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

Who

It’ is a simple question, who is going to take care of you? As we live our lives, we could think of many people who take care of us. Our mother takes care of us when we are born, as a young person mom and dad help each other in taking care of us. As school starts, there are teachers. And as we grow older, there are professors, mentors, drill instructors (if you’re in the military), wives, kids of your own, and many others.

With all these people there watching out for you, You might think that you can sit back and relax. Unfortunately, that is not always true. A question you should ask yourself is, why are all these people helping me? Then, are these people doing this for my benefit? Or do they want something?

I do not like to bear less than overwhelmingly good news; however, most people have agendas, which causes them to come out on the positive side of interactions. It’s not that they’re mean or evil; everyone who needs something will find a way to get it.

Parents want bragging rights. They want you to do fantastically well. Or at least they want you to do better than the new baby that was born down the block. As you go to school, your teachers want you to do very well. It is so that they can show how good they are as teachers, yet you earn all the A’s. If you were only a C student, then they want you to work hard and bring your grades up to A’s. That makes the teacher look even better.

As you go through life, your bosses, your drill instructor in the military, your families all want you to do very well. You are creating for them distinction, sales, status, and wealth. These actions do not make them evil; it only makes them what we all are, human.

I do not mention this to discourage you. I tell you this so that when you take the advice and thoughts of everyone else, be sure to listen to yourself. What do you want? How do you want to get there? And what are the deepest desires that you hold within you.? After all, who takes care of you?  You do.

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

Inside Us All

We are all different.  Different tastes in what we like. Diverse ideas in what we want to be and do.  And different ways of thinking.  Yet, for some reason, we all have at least one person that we hate to face alone.  Maybe more, but at least one.

We will often do many outlandish things to avoid the person with whom we end up spending most of our time. And yet, every time we turn around, there he or she is.  Fate dictates that we just cannot avoid running into this person.

This person is often obnoxious.  They pry into our most private thoughts and demand that we think of the most horrible things imaginable.  When they are around, we are never right, never safe, and according to them, probably not even sane.  Why we even let them near us is a wonder.

We need to guard against the anxiety and stress we end up with whenever this conveyer of nays starts to badger us. Trying to argue is futile.  Until we get a firm upper grip, the verbal lashings go on and on.

We find control almost impossible, and the likelihood of complete separation impossible. This person feels and often acts as the enemy, destroying our deepest dreams, and yet, also acts as our closest friend.  They know everything about us because they live within us.  They are our inner being.

If you can learn to control your inner self, you can go far.  Failing to do so will always find you hampered.  You want to be careful, though, because sometimes your inner being might be right.

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

Fear

In our world, troubling things can sneak up on you when you are not aware.  These ideas can stalk you, and spring on you when you least expect it. Of all the dangers we face, one thing is worse, fear.

Fear will come at you and grab you by the back of the throat. It will cause you to doubt everything that you have around you. Friends, family, and that which you know to be true, along with many other things. It would be best if you are wiser than fear. Yet the most thoughtful man falls prey to this outlandish invasion into our sanity.

What we need to be smarter than fear. We need to know rather than fear. And to do so, we need to stop listening to those who fear, and research whatever situation in which we find ourselves. Fear is only an emotion. It only works in a world of the unknown.

As soon as you know something factual, fear has failed. At the point you realize what is accurate, fear has no hold on you. Are you afraid the sky is falling? Understand more about meteorites. Are you worried when the Earth moves? Learn more about earthquakes.

Along with understanding a fear, Try looking back to your past and understanding why this fear can take hold of you. What is in your past? And what has triggered your emotions. For fear is an emotion. As a good Doctor from Vulcan once said, it is illogical.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again soon.

Look

Understand the environment within you which you work. You can always sit and wait for the perfect client no matter what you do. The chances that the ideal client will come by and talk to you are relatively small. No matter what you are looking for, every client who comes to you is going to have a problem. That is why they’re looking to find someone to help solve it.

What we must do is look more in-depth and ask, is this what I’m seeking? If you build houses, and the client wants a bridge built, it’s not going to be a good fit. If the client needs help with the website and you know how to make websites, now it is a good fit. You are not looking for perfect clients. They do not exist. Just as though there are not any perfect bookkeepers, lawyers, doctors, or any other profession that you can think of hiring. Yet, many of them are excellent. And if you’re not sure, yes, there is a definite difference.

If you’re on the hiring end of this, take a look at the people you talk to daily. And tell them what you need, and try to be as specific as possible. If you are on the selling side of this process, again, tell people what you do and be specific about it. The more specific everybody is, the less room there is for misunderstandings to get in the way.

No matter what you sell or what you’re looking to buy, there are people out there who can work with you either way. All you have to do is go looking for them. And remember, no matter what you’re trying to sell or buy, you may not be able to afford it from some people, and yet others will be very affordable. Look. Discuss. Discern.

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

Going Somewhere

Sometimes when you do something, it does not work out the way you think. Sometimes that is a good thing, and sometimes that is a shame. What you need to remember is the fact that you stood up to the task and did your best.

We like to think that we are the ones in control of our lives. Much as we would like to believe that it is not always so. There are forces within the universe, the boundaries of time, and, if anyone ever wrote one, the plan of our lives which cause us not always to end up where we thought we should be.

What we need to remember is that if we want something, we must work for it. Yes, luck does play a part, and so does karma. Those are contributing factors that play a small role.  We need to show our worthiness through the willingness to do the work and put all we have into the task at hand. We cannot sit around and wait for anybody else to do it for us.

If we work hard and keep our wits about us, we will probably do OK. Yeah, we must work with the understanding that nothing is guaranteed. And that is OK. I did not have a warranty on myself anyway.

Do not give up on what you are doing. Do not give in to the driving demands of others. Believe in yourself, and you may go far.

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

Our Choice

I am lucky to be in the country in which I live. We have the right to be able to say what we think and think about what others tell us. We have many privileges and endowed rights. In most places, we can have and carry weapons. We can go where we want to go and shop where we want to purchase our goods. Along with our rights, we also hold responsibilities.

We do not have the right to use weapons to hurt others. Especially if those others are not harming us. We have a responsibility to speak responsibly. To be truthful, and not agitate people just for the fun of seeing them get irate.

To maintain our freedoms, we need to respect our responsibilities. We must remember that we are here not as an owner of the earth; instead, we are part of the maintenance crew. We are part of a greater society and therefore hold more responsibility.

It is up to us if the things we enjoy and the freedoms we have been able to continue to new generations or not. If we are good caretakers, the rights and privileges will grow stronger and reach out to everyone. If we do not take care of what we have, our rights and privileges may wither and die on the vine.

It is also up to us whether or not freedoms grow or get stifled within fear and jealousy. It is our duty, and a responsibility, to ensure that freedom can reign across our country and our world.  I hope that we can set an example for the good in others to flourish.

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