Category: smart people

Let’s Build Bridges

I want to thank everyone here with us again today. I especially want to take a moment at this time to thank everyone who has commented, liked and shared our blog posts in the last few weeks. I thank you very much. I appreciate you being here with us.

I have some good news this morning. I think this is good news. With the help from some friends at Mirasee© (an excellent site for teaching course builders and online business, https://mirasee.com ), we have some great things coming together. I will have a course coming out on Thinkific© (a fantastic online course platform, http://thinkific.com/ ) in the next week or so, about Life Stage Transition and how to succeed at discovering and mapping your life goals and the milestones to get there.

The new course meshes nicely with the life coaching services I offer, focusing on Life Stage Transition and Motivation. I also have a course giving some ideas of how technology will shape employment in the future. And a course on how to be Always Hirable.

If you wish to know more about these exciting activities and how to join the fun, please reply in the comments section and send me a way to contact you.  Or send me an email to mikeb@reveille.rocks.

Thank you for your support and for being there as we go forward.

Mike

 

 

 

 

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.

Pass the Good Along

Good morning.

It is very hard sometimes for us to understand how lucky we are. When half the population of the earth has never made a phone call or watch television or has been able to turn the faucet and have clean drinking water, we are truly blessed.

You can say that these blessings are arduous work and planning. And, you are right, yet they are still blessings.

If we are able to call up any fact in a matter of minutes, call someone and talk about anything we wish, or see anything of interest within the world or outside of it any time we want to, then we are significantly endowed. We cannot pay back those who came before us and set all these marvels into play. Just as real founders put new ideas into motion realizing they will never reap the full benefits of their actions, it is up to us to put into action right for our futures sake.

It is said that with great abilities comes great responsibilities. Just as our forefathers and foremothers worked hard that we may benefit, so too, we need to strive so that our prodigy can see and say the same about us. Everyone can take part in this endeavor. For how many of us can freely give a smile or a kind word, and how many of us could easily do some small good deed?

Your Time

Thank you for being with me today I don’t know where you are. Here it is beautiful, sunny, with clear skies.

My question today is a simple one, “are you taking care of yourself?”

When we are younger, our parents take care of us. As we grow a little, we find ourselves taking care of our kids. And, as we get a little bit older, we find our kids taking care of us. This must be one of those universal cycles. And, as is true in life, we always look out to help and take care of our family, our neighbor, and those we see who are in need of help. So my question stands, “are we taking time to take care of ourselves?”

I ask this because if we don’t take the time, and we don’t listen to our bodies, the bodies have a way of speaking louder, to a point where we cannot ignore them. It is much easier to take care of a whisper than it is to fix a body when it is screaming at you.

I have been there, and I have done this myself to an extent, so I understand. With everything we have these days and very busy lives, we seem to be continuously running the race for others and saving time by ignoring our needs.

This is just one man’s opinion; however, with all the communication software we have on the market today, we can stay in contact with everyone for very little or no cost. Tie that into calendar systems which will keep track of each of your events, appointments, and meetings. The next thing you know, you have a system of organization.

The next thing you need to do to set up your calendar from the inside out. Start with you, and start with seven hours of sleep minimum, eight hours is even better. Lunchtime is the time to get out from behind The desk or off the construction line. Eat something and look around a little. Taking this respite from work is needed. Your work for the rest of the day will far eclipse anything you could’ve gotten done over lunch.

When you set this up, be sure not to sink the whole program by scheduling your ‘me time,’ at the same time somebody else needs your help whether it is kid’s soccer, your spouse’s ‘me time’ or other events you also need to pay attention to.

This is something each of us has to do for ourselves. And like everything else, it will take time and practice to get it right. The neat thing is it is something everyone can succeed at when we work at it. You succeed for your children, you succeed for your parents, you succeed for your spouse, and now, you can also succeed for you.

Have a great day

Are you listening?

The question asked is, “Are you listening?” The top answer to that question is usually yes, of course, I’m listening. In actuality, we are usually just partially glistening.

We partially listen. We partially think of the things we need to do. We partially things that we forgot to do. We partially think of how we perceive the person sending the information, whether we like them or not, whether they are usually right or not, and whether they are on our good side or our bad side.

Don’t feel bad, everybody does this. It is just better if we understand that happens than if we ignore it and just assume we’re listing 100%.

We do a better job of listening to others than we do of listening to ourselves. Our body talks to us all the time, and yet, we often ignore it. I call this the John Wayne effect. Reminds me of a friend whose normal line is, “Send me in coach, I don’t need a helmet.”

I call this the John Wayne effect because men grow up watching all the picture shows where men are chivalrous, and come to the aid of everyone, and do things even when they are hurt. It might look good on screen. It just doesn’t play in the real world.

It’s interesting to see the statistics from a safety and process improvement point of view. On average men working in manufacturing will last six months and then see a doctor concerning an injury. In the same setting with the same jobs, women work an average of 4 1/2 years before having to see someone about an injury.

What does this tell us? We need to listen better. Especially when it comes to listening to our bodies.

Together

Thank you for being with us again today.

In researching items for the course, I am preparing, I was reminded of a very important point. If we have spouses or others who we partner with in life, in planning our future we have to consider and work in tandem with them. This is because we are no longer an individual, we are now a team member.

One important fact that we should remember:

Teams work better when they work together.

Please remember, no matter how good the plans or intentions, if not developed and shared with the team, doubt, fear, and confusion often ensue.

This is just something for us to keep in mind whether it is planning the weekend or the trip to the rest of our lives.

Thank you very much and will meet again tomorrow.

Time to Get Up

Today’s an exciting day. The weather is cool, the sun is out, and for a new day in a new week, life is pretty good.

I am embarking on a new idea. One, I hope will help many people. The project is called Reveille. Reveille is the bugle call you hear early in the morning when it’s time to get up, get started, and go out to win a new day.

No one likes to sleep in more than I do. And yet, all those things that I want to do cannot be accomplished with the covers over my head. I need to get up, clean up, drink up the coffee, and get out there where I can accomplish those items I need to do.

With your permission, as this week unfolds I will tell you more about Reveille, and more about how will be structured to meet your needs. For now, thank you for joining me in this wonderful announcement, and please come back to this blog to learn more as Reveille unfolds.

I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow. If it’s is beautiful where you are, go out and seize the day!

 

New Way

What Is Next

Often, we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of the rat race. Rather than having time to say that you’re glad that’s over with, as you finish one thing, you’re rushing forward to the next because you feel you are behind in your work. Other times, you may be idle and have so little to do, you become bored.

It would always be great if the rat race and the time of boredom could get together and smooth out. Just enough things to do, and just enough time to do them. It seems to me that sometimes we might be able to help the two smooth out.

Not a perfect solution, yet in a world of relativity, it usually works. If you know of tasks needing to be done sooner or later on a recurring basis, make a list of them. When you find yourself in a lull at work, pull out the list and do a few things that will save you time later.

Remember that you want to have those around you see you’re the busy person. Not with make-work, rather as the person always staying ahead of the game. The worst thing that could happen is that people see you as someone who is idle with no work to do. When layoffs come, and sooner or later they always will, management often starts off by trying to figure out who seems to have nothing to do. This is because someone with too much time and nothing to do is the one let go to thin down the company.

The worst thing that anybody can think is that they cannot be laid off because they do something so special that no one else can do it. It is very easy for the company to decide to train someone else to do those actions or to outsource those actions, or just not do those actions anymore. No one is so important the company would fall apart if they left.

Have a great day, and we will talk to you again tomorrow.

 

Laying Out the Day

Several weeks ago, we had a blog about laying out our clothes, shoes, socks, belt, wallet,  and accessories the night before work, rather than running down the day of work in trying to find everything.

What would you think if I told you you can do the same thing with your day at work for the next day. The nice thing about going over the next day the night before is it saves you time and emotion.

Just grab your calendar and go over it. Just to remind yourself of the meetings you have, whatever is due the next day and how much work you still have to do on at it, and how much free time you have and at what times during the day, because something will always come up to take care that free time.

If you understand what’s going on at the time, it is easier to face. A thank you and the office of the boss is smiles and grins and grips. Working with an unhappy customer make a cause for some contrition and an earnest pledge to find and fix whatever is wrong. And, counseling a team member who did not perform his tasks on time may cause the need for empathy, encouragement, and chiding in proper amounts.

Knowing all this ahead of time means that none of it catches you blindsided, and you have some time to think and prepare. Knowing ahead of time is nice because you are less likely to go off your script or make some foolish error based on lack of time to think and consider.

How to Prioritize Danger

As humans, we often fear or panic over things which may happen in the future and for which there is no evidence at the moment. The lights might be turned off because ‘The utility bill is due at the end of the month.’ Or, ‘Southern Colorado might have a blizzard in a week, so we need to go to the store and stock up on everything right now.’ Or, ‘There was a bump in the road, I need to go back and look right now. Because someone may have gotten hurt and I may have hit them without ever seeing them.’ I won’t say that any of these things will never come to fruition. However, the odds are very favorable that none of these ever really will.

Is it wise to take precautionary measures? Yes. Is it a good thing to panic over things that have little chance of happening? Not so much. And yet, to the person having the panic attack, it is very real, and drastic measures must be immediately taken. How do you help this person down from near hysteria?

Start by talking to them calmly and ask them if they see anything within a 3 inch to a 6-inch radius around their body that poses an immediate danger. The answer is usually no. If there is, help the person to decide if it is a real danger or only a perceived possibility.

Next, ask them if there is anything within 18 inches of their body threatening danger. Again this usually has a negative response and follow-through is the same as the paragraph above. Next question, is there anything in the room that’s an obvious threat. From there go to the block and then the neighborhood.

You can go as far as you need to with this. Usually by the time you get to the neighborhood, the person you’re talking with starts to understand and feels better. Just because somebody occasionally feels overly upset about something, does that not mean that they have a medical or mental problem. Given the right circumstances, anyone may show this type of fear. If this is a full-time ongoing problem, the person may want to speak with a professional about it. If not, make it one less thing to worry about.

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