Category: positive change

Research and Map Your Future

Hi, my name is Mike.  I am a trainer and coach.

Most courses online fail not because they do not have useful information.  They fail because you get the course, are wished luck and then find out you are on your own.  My course is different because you get a Facebook Group with me and everyone else taking the course.  You get my Email, and I will answer within 36 hours.  And If you ask, I will give you a call.

I have taught professionally for over 15 years.  I have taken classes all my life.  I promise you that what aggravated me will not be a thorn in your side.

I understand how scary, frustrating, and expensive a life transition can be. Especially If you aren’t really sure about what you’re doing.

How do I know?

  • My dad was career Army, and I was career Air Force. Every time we moved, it was a significant change to lifestyle.
  • I retired from military service, and that was a BIG lifestyle Transition.
  • I became a Supervisor and trainer in a high-tech contract manufacturing plant, working 12-hour shifts. The lifestyle change came 14 years later when the plant closed and went overseas.
  • To keep the positions, I had earned in a life of transitions, I went back to school. First, to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Business Management, then a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training.

So, what makes me think I can help you with Life Transition?

I have been through more transitions than you can imagine during my 60+ Years.  Not only that, I’m willing to bet I’ve probably made every mistake that can be made. And, from that, I’ve learned.

I have a new course out which will save you a lot of time, protect you from more grief than you could ever imagine, and help keep you from spending or losing between $10,000 and $75,000.

I have learned how to do Life Transitions right, how to get where you want to be and be doing what you want to be doing and living the lifestyle you want to be living. And how to do it in a sane and orderly fashion.

 

Gate to Future
Gate to Your Future?

When we need to make a change in life, some people fall into a rut or a metaphorical hole. A place in our minds that we just cannot get out of.  Quite often we just feel stuck there, and unable to get out. Unable to see the path to our next position. Sometimes we find it by luck.  Sometimes we never find it, and sometimes we find it because someone came along and saw us in that hole and jumped into it with us.  Metaphorically speaking, I am here to help keep you out of any holes, and if necessary to drop into the hole with you. You may look at me like I was crazy.  I could hear you say ‘now are both stuck in the hole.’

It is okay, I’ve been there, and I know the way out.

And for those of you not in the hole yet, even better. Having been there, I can now warn people about the holes and help them not to fall into those holes to start with.

If you spent three years moving between two or three jobs as you try to work out a lifestyle transition, you’ll probably lose about $10,000 worth of earnings that you could’ve made by staying with one company and are better if you can get into the right company to start with.  This course teaches you how to research and know the good and bad about the company before you apply for a job.

map W Lady
Map Your Way

I have many friends who came out of either the military or college and went into something that they thought they wanted to do. To gain the new credentials for the positions, they spent time getting advanced degrees, thousands of hours in some cases going through internships or externships to earn certifications. And after all the time and money spent they learned one escape the inescapable fact, “They hated that job.”

If I you can save a little money along the way that’s a beautiful thing. But that’s not the most important thing I should be doing for you. As silly as it seems, money is a renewable resource. You can always go out somewhere and earn more money. The one thing you cannot gain more of is time. We each have so much time on this earth, and then we’re going to be gone. And the worst part is, we have no clue exactly when our time is going to be up. If I can help you save a little time that’s much more than all the money that I could ever imagine saving you.

Think of what you could do with some extra time to grow in your company, to live the lifestyle you would really like to live, enjoy your family and kids.

I have three wonderful boys.  I learned that they don’t stay small forever.  They grow, they go to college, then they leave the house.  I miss them so does their mom.

To know little about me, I’ve been teaching professionally since 2003. I have taught everything from corporate training, teaching technology at a contract manufacturing high-tech plant, to teaching people how to write their resumes and prepare for the interview and earn their next job. I’ve taught live classes. And I have converted live courses to online courses. And I have developed online courses some of which are for sale today. I am a certified Six Sigma Greenbelt. My Hold a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. I am a member of the Delta Mu Delta business honor society. I earned a Master of Arts in Education Majoring in Adult Education and Training.

My course is like no other.  Why?  In this course, I am focusing full attention on to your success. I will give you my email and make it possible for us to communicate via Facetime or ZOOM whenever you need to talk to me.

If you are interested, you can learn more at www.reveille.rocks.

take your Journey

 

take your Journey

Don’t forget the getaway

After a very cool overcast day yesterday with temperatures around 50°, today is going to be nice and with warm temperatures back up to 87°.

Every so often it’s nice to have a different day. A little cooler when it’s normally warm out and a little warmer if it usually is chilly out. It just gives us a change of pace.

As complex individuals, it’s beneficial for us to have a change every once in a while. We go on a vacation to rest and regenerate. Maybe we go to the beach or the mountains. Often, we go to places that have different geographic features than the area we usually live in. And almost always we feel happy to come back home again.

Does that make us wishy-washy? No. That makes us complex human beings. Quite often getting away from the place we love allows us to enjoy something different. Because of the break in our routine, we get to rest and enjoy other activities. And, after a short time, we come back to where we call home. Rested because of the break in routine. And, with new insights and appreciations as to why we live where we do, and the benefits we find in our home.

As our summer gets underway, we need to think of our getaway. Whether we look at the beach, the mountains, the big cities, or the streams a few days somewhere else can help to make our lives enriched and happier for the experience.

We’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Until then have a great day.

Accountability

Unfortunately, we once again suffered another senseless school shooting in our great nation. 10 more of those destined to guide us into the future, perished in senseless slaughter. This aggravates me to no and, as it should all of us. I spent the weekend racking my brain for the why and the what can be done to stop the deaths of so many young people in their haven of learning.

I first looked at the schools themselves, and realized arming teachers is not the answer. I looked at local law enforcement, the legislature for caving into demands, and other places to lay blame. It took me a while and then I think I stumbled on an answer.

My first thought was that all weapons should be locked in the town Armory and signed out by their owners as needed, and then returned to the armory and signed back in. And then, I realized the irrational fear of the government taking guns. I then thought of the owners of weapons developing and running their own armory where the people they would hire would control the arms and sign them in and out. For many, the fear of armed villains breaking into their homes would preclude this. That’s when I realized I was overthinking the entire problem.

What we need is to hold the NRA responsible for gun violence in schools. The Second Amendment did not guarantee 33 round magazines. Nor did it guarantee automatic weapons. The Second Amendment was written in a time where if you were really good with your gun you might possibly get off two shots a minute. Today’s automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and high capacity magazines were not dreamed of when the Second Amendment was written.

The NRA lobbied and bullied to have its way in Congress, and the street armament we have today is a result of that. It is time to hold the NRA responsible. Until the NRA makes our schools safe from mass murder by weapons it lobbied to make legal, they are on the hook and should be held accountable.

I am not talking in a figurative, or pie-in-the-sky thought pattern. The NRA as a whole needs to set protections in place to ensure no schoolchild or teacher is injured by a rifle or a gun at any time on campus. If they fail to do so, federal and state government should step in and hold them accountable for this protection. And, they should reconsider their need of high-capacity magazines. If it takes you 30 rounds to shoot a deer or an elk, you probably need to stop hunting and take up a hobby that would be safer for the rest of us.

By the way, when I was a kid, I was a member of the NRA. They taught me to shoot with my single shot .22, and they did an excellent job on gun safety. Like anyone else in life, they have their good points in their bad points. Don’t we all.

Just one mean old master sergeant’s opinion.

 

Learn Something New

Ever watch kids grow? They learn something new every day. They are excited about it. When they first learn they feel that there’s something that they have learned, which no one else may know about. And they go out to tell everyone.

As they grow, the young learners find out that although what they learned was new to them, it was already well-known by many others. They start to doubt the remarkable vision of the vast world before them. And, as they grow older, they slow in their learning of new things.

The slowing of their learning is not because of a lack of wondrous new things to learn. It is because they are inundated by so much. Also, because they don’t want to look awkward or uninformed by trying to master new skills.

The difference between the third-grader and a mature adult is the ego. In children that ego is not yet developed. In mature adults, the ego is formed, and the ego is also very fragile. Because of the delicate ego, adults are less inclined to try things they know little about.

As I have grown, I have grown out of the belief I know everything about everything. The higher I have gone in education, the more I realize there is an entire universe out there, and then some, of things I know nothing about. And that is okay, because I am curious and interested, and I don’t mind looking the fool if it means I can ask questions and learn new things.

I encourage everyone to reach out and be curious. Learn something new. Do not worry about how others perceive you. Just have fun and feel good about yourself.

If you see me being foolish, that is all right.  Just figure it is because I am learning something new.

Slow Down

For a time, when I served in the Air Force, I worked for great Chief Master Sergeant. He worked very hard both completing a mission of vital importance, and training those who worked for him to be better workers, and better leaders.

The Chief always said one thing I never understood at the time. When people would miss a deadline, including myself, he would tell us we had to slow down. At that time, I did not understand the concept of slowing down. If I was missing deadlines, I felt I needed to speed up. It took me years to appreciate his wisdom in the statement of slowing down. And, today I know it.

The idea of slowing down is not one of ignoring what needs to be done. Slowing down means taking the time to do things right. To slow down correctly, you need to know the importance of each task you take on. And, allocate the proper time to those things that are important and must be done within a set timetable.

 Will some things still not get done? Probably. Yet, knowing that gives us choices to make. The first choice, is this something I should do or is it better delegated to someone else? Is this time sensitive? If so, have I been given enough time to complete it. If not, have I asked for more time?

I understand now that slowing down doesn’t mean doing less. Instead, it’s doing the things that must be done, wisely. And, always ensuring you have the time and resources to complete any task you undertake.

Thank you for being with me today. Hope you’re here again tomorrow.

A Question?

Today I would like to ask a question.

I have found that most of my adult life I have been coaching people. In the Air Force, in manufacturing, helping people to find jobs, and even now as I write books and develop courses. I have done this over and over again, although definitely, each situation is different, with its own nuances.

I actually like coaching and helping people. Not for my own enjoyment, instead to help them. The real thrill is when I see the light of understanding click on in their eyes. It is the moment when something they’ve been trying to figure out comes to full knowledge.

I don’t want you to think that knowledge is a one-way street. I learn as much from my students and clients as they learn from me. I believe if I leave the classroom, work, or coaching situation without learning something new, I have really not done my job right. Because whenever two human beings collaborate, both should grow.

My question is a simple one. In the world that has more and more social media and yet less and less person-to-person collaboration, do you think that a service where someone can call up and talk to you for 20 minutes or a half hour and ask a question or two would be a viable service to offer?

This is just a thought, based on observation and viewpoints of what the worldview looks like today. Please send me a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Have a great day, and thanks for reading the blog and commenting on the question.

Understand the Inner You

It is amazing how well we can do a task when we set our minds to something.

Sometimes what we do is so far beyond what we think we are capable of that we can’t see what we truly did and what it really meant until later. The time lag in our recognition doesn’t take away what our actions meant to others or how it helped them. The turmoil and actions of the moment mean more at a distance. You have to step back and take a look at the actions and what they led to as a whole.

It is important to have a set of values, beliefs, or goals you normally work towards. What you normally would work towards is what helps to ground you in the moments where you’re not so sure what the correct course of action is. This internal compass is going to help you to reach out and do the best you can.

When I was younger, there was a paper with many different feelings on it. And I was often asked to state how I felt any given time. I did not understand it then, I was used to people telling me what to think and feel. And yet now I have learned that knowing my feelings are very important. You need to know your feelings because they are you. And, we all need to be responsible for our own feelings.

To take ownership of your feelings, you need to know two things:

  • How do I feel?
  • Why do I feel that way?

This is the start of understanding your inner self and reading your inner compass correctly. When you can control your inner self, you can go far and do many wondrous things.

This is something to think about and to consider.

Have a great day, and I hope to talk to you again tomorrow.

 

Not Just Now or Then

We are hoping life is treating you well today.

It seems as though sometimes as technology changes, old and inefficient ways tend to drop by the wayside while newer and more innovative technologies take over. That is the way of the earth and the way it is probably meant to be. After all, when was the last time you saddled up the horse or took the buckboard to the store for groceries? It does still happen yet not like it did.

I know there are those who live in the years of their youth, and others who live in the years of their parents. Truthfully though, as good as the old days were, today is better. More diseases are cured, there are more empathy and understanding in the world, and, they’re more people able to do more things because of advances in technology and humanity.

Are there still illnesses to cure? Is there strife that is unneeded and still needs to be calmed?  Are wars still prevalent around the earth? The answer is yes, and there are poverty, homelessness, and crime. Yet think about it for a moment would you like to be living now or hundred years ago? Were there positives 100 years ago? Yes, there was. Was there unnecessary evil a hundred years ago? Yes, there was and much more than there is now.

I do not condone the evils and hardships of today, and I believe these are the challenges we and our next generation have to work on. And yet, as you look at our timeline you can see advancements in almost any area you wish to search.

Before taking the ideal approach to where the blame the good and the evil lives, we need to understand that good and evil lives within each and every one of us. And, we need to understand the good and the evils we see within the world also rage within us. This is true because sometimes every positive has a possibility of a negative side. That is why we need to think before we act. And it helps to understand the positive and negatives of every action and subsequent reaction.

Just something to think about today as we go on with our lives and our routines.

Thank you for reading with us today.

Talking to Others

Did you know that you can say just about anything to just about anyone and have it well received? Absolutely true.

It is not what you say, instead of how you say it.  I have taught so many classes and given so many line training sessions in my career that I have learned how to do this.

No one can run into a strange situation with a bunch of strangers, just say something and expect them to understand and agree with what you are saying. You need to be a known quantity who cares for and respects your audience.

I think it’s time I told you the secret, and also let you in on a secret of mine.

There is a tone that you can use when speaking to people. It’s the same tone that you use when you talk to a puppy dog. If you want a puppy dog to pay attention you have to speak to the dog nicely. You need a calm voice and an easy-going cadence. We start off telling the puppy dog that it is a good dog and you know that it is doing good things.

When you first start doing this do not go over and try to pet the puppy dog. That is how people end up with the nickname lefty. Rather, talk nicely to the puppy dog, and fairly soon it will come to you and nuzzle your hand for a pet or lick your hand. I usually speak to puppy dogs through a fence. When I do so, at some point, whether it is 10 minutes or 10 days, the puppy dog will put its front paws up on the fence, and then I can cautiously offer it my hand.

The same is true with humans. Talk to them nicely, tell them you appreciate what they do, let them know you’re here to help and give them enough space that they feel comfortable. Use the same calm voice and consistency. Understand their problems and explain that you are here to help them.

The humans probably will not lick your hand. If they do, it may be the time to involve HR. You will be able to tell you are making a good impression on the humans when they start trusting you enough to ask why, or they start to participate in the activities.

For you, this is a learned activity. The more you work on the way you talk, the easier it will become. Like everything else, start slowly at first and build upon your successes.

My secret? I used to be very embarrassed to tell people they needed to talk to other people like they should talk to puppy dogs. Actually, I got that wrong. You should talk to puppy dogs like you should talk to other people.

You Are Worthy

Hello, and thank you for being here with us.

It is hard to believe that a morning that started off at 29° as it did today will end up in the mid-70’s this afternoon will be a good day to go work in the yard.

Everybody in this world has a worth. It is easy to feel as though some people have a higher worth and some people have a lower worth. Yet, each person’s worth is actually very important. Each person has the ability to do that one thing that no one else can do the way they can.

Do not feel as though your worth is more or less, all worths are actually equal. This is because we are a very interactive society. What one person does affect a multitude of others. Far more than you might imagine.

Think of the ace fighter pilot who flies dangerous missions and protects our country. He is an expert at what he does. Yet, so is the airman who fuels his plane, or another airman who ensures the air and the tires of the plane are correct. Each part of the team has an important job to do. And without everyone working together the plane would never make it into the air.

The same is true of doctors who count on their medical teams and their schedulers. And, the higher you go in life and work, the more you count on those around you to ensure whatever you are doing is done right.

Never count yourself out or hold a one-person pity party.  You are far too good and far to needed for that.  Instead, look at what your special skills are (everyone has some) and work on making those skills mean the most to those around you.

You are Special – You are Unique – You are needed