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.

Are You Positive?

This week I would like to talk to you about good and evil. Many people call it the light or the dark side. When you walk in the sun, you sometimes feel you are walking in goodness. When you step on the dark side, it is often a feeling of evil. Actually, the light of day and the darkness of night are always the same.  So, I would like to put it in the connotation of positive and negative.

You should look at it as walking with positive intentions and thoughts or walking and working in negativity. We have actually both within us. And, we could be pulled either way. We can work well together, working in the light of positivity, or we can fall into the depths of despair and live our lives in negativity.

So the question becomes which side has done more for you? What has done you more good, the times you stay positive, or the times you fall into negativity? We have both within us. We have probably been on both sides, sometimes positive and sometimes negative. And we have a choice.

Do you feel better about yourself when you’re positive or when you’re negative? Do you get more done when you’re positive or when you’re negative? Do things work out better when you’re positive or negative? Think about it.

If being positive did better for you in the past, you can get back there.  All you need is to find one positive thing.  Someone said hello, or the sun was out. I found a penny on the sidewalk.  Maybe something else you find favorable. Write it down.  Then remember the next good thing that happens to you and write it down when you have a chance.  By the end of the week, you could have a whole list of good things you can look at whenever negativity comes calling.  It does make a difference, a positive one.

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

Activate Your Dreams

Marc Anthony is credited for the quote, “If you do what you love, you never have to work a day in your life.”  If you are actually going to do something you love and get it off the ground, you will work at so many tasks that you never thought you would.  The tasks will take so much of your time, and have so little to do with the end product you will wonder why.  Yet, you can do it if you are willing to run the gauntlet, and you like a business and a challenge.

You will need to find vendors to purchase the bits and pieces you will use.  There is professional insurance to find and procure. There is general liability insurance to protect you if someone gets hurt.  And you have to find a place (office, factory, brewery, etc.) to work. 

Do you need to hire people?  Are you going to hire outright or subcontract to a staffing agency?  Can you afford people to work for you when you are just starting out?  These are only 3 of the many questions you will have to consider.

You can have a fabulous idea, yet if no one knows about it, especially the people who could use it, the business goes nowhere.  You must market.  Marketing is too expensive when you are starting, so you have to be careful.  If you can find the right decision-makers (who are hard to find and get in front of), you have a free 15-20 minutes.  Use it wisely. 

If you really work at something, something you love.  If you are willing to put heart and soul into it.  If you refuse to give up.  Then, you are going to do great.  Just don’t let anyone make you think everything will be handed to you.

In the end, you will know that you worked hard and have done well.

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

Stay in the Moment

Whatever you are doing, stay focused on what it is.  As humans, we have a tendency to drift.  One thought will lead to another, and then to another, and the next thing you know, you are no longer focused on the present.  This is the time when accidents happen. 

People don’t forget what they are doing, it is just that the present task goes on autopilot.  You were cooking dinner or driving to work only now your mind has you thinking about what is on the radio, or the book you are writing, or the fight you had with your boss or a coworker.  And that is dangerous.

It does not matter what the mind is thinking, it is just not thinking of boiling water and a 400-degree oven, or the quarter-ton car that you are driving down the street.  Once your mind starts to drift, then you may no longer be in control, and fate takes over.  Be sure to keep focused on what is most important. 

Take the time to get quality rest and give yourself the appropriate time and place to concentrate on your thought where it is safe to do so.  Then, put those thoughts into a proper hold box in your mind until it is safe to bring them back out.  Do not let thoughts and ideas get in the way of your activities that require total concentration.

Clearing your mind and focusing takes work.  Meditation is part of it (not while driving.) So are setting times to calm down and think.  When you do so, use both your rational and emotional mind.  Be sure to use them in the appropriate measure.  And as always, everything you do should be done safely.

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

Know Understand and Act

We have talked about understanding the problem.  We have spoken of knowing.  We need to understand one more thing.  The indispensable part I am thinking of is actually being there.  And, no matter how many books you read or YouTubes you watch, you will never understand or know until you are on the ground working with others and trying to make something better.

Books can only tell you what was in the past.  Videos can only show you what the person recording was interested in.  If you are going to make a difference, you need to be with the people and where the change needs to take place.  Anything done only in your head is not really done at all, at least not in the real world.

You must be there, working with others, and understanding the problems to actually know what needs to be done.  Until you gain first-hand knowledge, how do you really know what has to happen to make something better than it was?  You may want to, but not being there, you will not know if your ideas are a hit or a miss.

You do not need a lot of money.  Others have done great deeds with next to nothing.  You do not need a throng of thousands, the real work is often done by small cadres.  We have seen that going back thousands of years.  Violence will never work.  The movements that truly last are built on peace.

 What you need is to be there, understanding, knowledge, and action.  I understand that faith without actions is dead. If you have dreams and desires to help others, do not let them die waiting to act. 

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

Knowing What Is Needed

When bad things happen, the first action to be taken is the preservation of life.  This is the most important.  Stop the gunfire, get the drunk driver off the street, or isolate the plague victims until they are no longer contagious.  When that is accomplished, we cannot end there. We need to move on to step two.

We need to understand what happened and why it occurred so that we can make changes to ensure the same thing cannot happen again.  These changes can not only be defensive in nature. Arming the congregation does not solve the problem, it just puts more shooters in a confined space. We need to remedy the root of the problem and fix whatever is causing these dangerous outbursts to happen.

Most of the problems that cause misery are not new, not isolated, and will not be easy to fix.  The act of going to the moon is hard.  So is trying to fix the problems we face on earth. We went to the moon because we desired to go.  We can fix the issues on earth if we want to. 

 We need to find ways to fix our problems here on earth.  We need to help all to learn, understand, and find new ways to abolish the underlying issues.  We can only succeed if we work together as one.  I am not writing this to give you a few moments of pleasurable reading.  I am asking for your ideas and help.  How do we do this?  Please comment and tell me your ideas and thoughts.

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

Do You Understand

Most of us are taught to forgive those who do us wrong.  It is easy to mouth the words, and often much harder to complete the full measure of forgiving what happened and why it was done.  To accomplish the entire action of compliance with this act, we often need to put a little thought and investigation into it.

We need to consider all the facts and why the action took place.  For the majority of transgressions, understanding is relatively easy.  Excuse me for bumping into you and stepping on your foot.  The room was crowded, and the movement was constrained. The person did not mean to, it was just a problem of logistics.  No harm no foul

Other issues can be a little more involved. A person hit your car because he or she felt you cut them off, and wanted to get even.  Forgive? Yes, and at the same time give aid to the aggressor.  For he or she needs to learn how to control anger.  If you can help see that they get into an anger management class, you have saved them and others from having to repeat these problems.

When a person goes on a killing spree, they need to be stopped.  The thought process of what the killer was thinking, leading up to the incident, must also be ended. We must end the hate of one for another. Until we do so, we are plagued with murder.

We need to understand and accept each other.  The murder of others is never an answer and never justifiable. No matter what the reason or what the cause.  I realize that the alternative is much harder to initiate.  The needed solutions will not happen overnight.  Yet in the long run, think of the lives, money, sanity, and other significant items we will save and how far we can grow as a species.  We just need everyone to understand.

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

Do Not Quit

We all learn new things.  We go through life transitions.  We change our views and our ways. We adopt new principles and let go of old ones.  What we can not and should never do is quit.  Change direction or do different work or grow a new attitude is excellent.  Stopping all that you do and giving up is nothing more than a death sentence.  The more you are out there doing something, the more stamina and grit can work in your favor.

In working either for ourselves or with others, we can find our self-worth.  We need to feel we are worth something.  We can find dignity in what we do, and in the passion. We know we are doing something that is helping others.  In this, we find our self-respect and our self-worth.

Without our belief in ourselves and without the interactions of others, we start a downward spiral that can end on the slippery slope of catastrophe.  It is not that we are supposed to pass on, merely that we have lost the passion for life.  We need the interaction of others and their appreciation as much as we need food and water.

Even if you find yourself in a position without work or status or need, you can still not only survive, you can thrive.  Be kind and say something positive to those you meet.  It may be the only caring thing that a person may hear all day.  And you may be the only person who can tell them.

Never give up on yourself.  And never give up on doing good for others. It is what we are here for, and it is what helps us to survive.

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

Be Ready

Life is going to throw some good things your way. Unfortunately, you are also going to have some undesired items thrown your way too. You are, though, going to need to know what you really want out of life, so you can react in the right direction towards both the good and the bad.

You are going to need to know what your plans are so that you can react expeditiously. Life will not stick around and wait for you to make a decision. Time is moving forward no matter what you do, and you should be able to react in your best interests. So, the next question I’m sure you’re asking is, “How do I do this?”

You do your best at any point in your life. Know yourself. Know what you like, what you do not, and why.  Know what you have a passion for and what it would take to be good at it.  Good enough to make a living and enjoy the work.  The world will not take time for anyone who is ‘hemming and hawing.’  You need to get out there and do the job.

You can start at any time.  Sherly Temple was an actress as a tot and an ambassador in her latter years.  Grandma Moses was not even discovered for her paintings until she was in her sixties.  Betty White is in her nineties and still going strong.  Their Secret? They did not go home and just sit on the front porch.  They got and stayed active.

If you have given up, you still have two choices you can make right now.  You need to get active, or you need to plan what others might do if you are not around.  At least, that is what the statistics say.  Wonder why women live longer? More action and work in their lives overall.

Not sure where to start?  Talk to a life coach.  Find one you like and will work with you, asking the questions that make you think.  Life coaches do not have you dwelling on your past or crying over what could have been.  They work with you to understand where you are and what you could do if you wanted to. 

Life coaches help you understand that limiting beliefs are usually only in your head. You can really do anything you want if you are willing to put the work into getting the results you want. A life coach cannot do it for you, yet, they can be a guide that helps you to get rid of the negatives that stand in your way and help you to reach out to the goals you really desire.

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

Where Are You Going

There’s a question I’d like you to consider.  How do you know where you’re going? Have you set a goal as to where you want to be in the future? Have you started down that path? Are you moving towards your goal?

I did not ask you if you were going, believe it or not, you are always going somewhere. Time stops for no one. You’re either heading towards a goal you want to be at, or you are drifting, which can take you in any direction. But trust me, you are moving forward, just maybe not in the direction you thought you were going.

Even if you have mapped everything out, done your homework, and talked with all the experts, there is a significant tendency to drift once you are underway. To minimize your drift and ensure you are on the road to what you want, be sure to take timely measurements along the way.

Just as sailors would use a sextant and a clock to measure their latitude and longitude going from one port to another, you can take similar measures. You can look for an occurrence of new ideas sweeping into your goals to see what is new and possibly pushing you off your course to where you want to be. You may want to check current charts to ensure that your unique goals need the knowledge and abilities which you are gathering along the way. It is always better to learn early when you need to know something new, then to arrive there like yesterday’s news.

Taking checks is as easy as reading trade papers, watching YouTube’s on the subject, talking with friends and experts, and keeping your head up, looking for new innovations. New innovations usually make things easier, not harder, so it’s good to know they are there and how they work. And remember, the sooner you learn something new, the more time you have to practice it.

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

Keep Moving

Sharks are always moving. Sharks need to move to keep finding food and to force water over their gills so they can have oxygen to breathe. If you have a dream, you have to keep moving just like the shark. Sharks move to eat and breathe, or else they would die. You need to keep moving toward your dreams, or else those dreams could die.

If you have a dream and you want to follow it, you need to keep moving in that direction.  Sometimes the conditions are right, and you make significant headway. Sometimes many obstacles clutter the landscape and get in your way.  It does not matter if it is infrastructure, marketing, or the weather. You want to keep on looking at finding the workarounds.

If it snows one day, and you take a day off to do other things, that gives you time to breathe, reflect, and do something a little different. That is a good thing because everyone, from time to time, will need a rest. If it snows every week and you’re taking time off, you’re losing ground required for getting to your goal.

If you have a laptop, you could work just about anywhere. Although some of the venues are more conducive to work than others. Do your best and maybe make a list of what you could do best where. That way, if circumstances cause you not to be where you usually work, you have a list of things you can do wherever you find yourself.

The idea is to minimize the obstacles that get in your way and prevent you from making progress towards your goals.

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