Being Open to Learn

Being Open To Learn

11 Offered to Teach One offered to Transform

Michael H Ballard of Resiliency for Life

My Dad shared a conversation with me I’ve reflected on for many years. It still sits top of mind for me. He first shared it with me when I was just 12 years old. I’d just started my first stand alone business. I’d had a paper route (Grew it from 27 to 58 customers in 20 months) , shovelled snow, been very successful selling door-to-door and done lots of odd jobs. However, I’d never had a stand-alone business where I was in charge of everything.

I had and have an abundance of energy. However, don’t call me hyper. I hate it, does that mean if you’re mellow you’re lethargic? I have this abundance of energy I love to harness to get things done and make things happen! So at 12 my parents figured I best have something positive to focus on and use that energy that summer as school drew to a close.

So they put their heads together included me and asked me what I thought of having my own business.  I loved it.  A little freedom, plus hard work, some income and a chance being the extrovert I am meet some new people. A great way to invest time in that summer.

So a lawn mower and supplies was shopped for, purchased and brought home.  My paper route reputation made it relatively easy to get my first few customers. My little business grew as did my modest bank account. Soon I had to stop taking customers. Eleven lawns, two of them being a 1/3 to ½ acre in size kept me very busy.

Soon enough, that lawn mower needed some maintenance. That’s when my father took me out to teach me a few keys on how to maintain power engines and mowers.  He showed me how to clean the air filter, re oil the filer, he taught me how to gap the spark plug, retighten the wheels, then check all the bolts and nuts for the correct tension. Then, just as I thought we we’re done, the lessons was shared.

It was time to sharpen the lawn mower blade. My father as a Master Machinist was no slouch when it came to working with his hands and with metal. His home tool kit was far from average as was his skill set. At one point he’d been tasked to join a team and work for NASA where he’d had to sign off on the official secrets act of the day. Then he helped build and assemble two satellites over an 18 month period for the then “space   race”.

Dad called me over to his wrench set and asked me to consider what size of nut held the blade on? Then, would given the configuration and placing / spacing of the nut on the blade relative to it’s location in the mower should I use an open face wrench, a close face wrench, or a socket and ratchet set? Any of them as it turned out. There was lots of space to work with. So each of them served the purpose just fine.  However once I took the nut off and before the blade was removed, Dad had then showed me that this was no ordinary nut. Michael:  Note the quality of the design and machining. He had me notice that this was a very specialized nut with a safety feature built in. This nut had a specialized special non metallic insert of what we used to call “space age material” that was fitted into the nut in such a way that when the nut was tightened onto the mower blade shaft it stayed on tight.  I enjoyed hearing my Father extoll how the excellence in design and production of this nut ensured a safer experience for many hours of lawn cutting.

However once the blade was off the mower and cleaned, and the safety glasses went on, then proper angle to sharpen the blade had to be determined. Dad set the guide to rest the blade against the grinder and proceeded to sharpen one side of the blade.

Then he turned off the grinder. Then he handed the blade off to me and said “ So where is your hand placement going to be to a) be safe, b) help guide the blade?” I showed him. Then I was then I was in the midst of experiencing what he’d learned from his coworkers when he as a 16 year old apprentice in the process to be a machinist, a master machinist.

Well as much as that was a great lesson lesson, it’s what he shared with me next as he coached me into putting the blade back on the lawn mower ~ right side up!  Tested the tightness of the bolt (with the specialized insert) and offered his approval. That is when his insightful life long lesson was shared.

He took me back to his first few weeks on the job as a new apprentice. He had 12 machinists in the shop he worked in. Each one over the first weeks took him aside to teach him how to sharpen the tools they worked with. Well, most did, all but one of them did. Dad explained that despite being shown by most of them several times how to sharpen the cutting bits in the shop each time he held his tongue and watched, listened and for the first couple of times learned. However by the 10 and 11^th time they all showed him the same process and same outcome. He remained patience and listened. That’s when the very quiet one took him aside. “I want to share with you something – This lot won’t do.” He then showed my Dad.  He then took him over to the grinding wheels and proceed to show him how to sharpen a drill bit in a slightly different manner that both sharpened the cutting edge, helped it stay sharper longer and the cutting bit lasted a little longer.

My Dad’s lesson I wanted share with you:

My Dads lesson that day to share with you is this: You never know who is watching us while we are listening and learning. Their added insights and contribution if we are open to it can be a game changer.

I have been very fortunate in life to have several mentors that have been first rate. One of my best after my Dad, was Trevor Hunt.  He offered wisdom, patience and respect. He was skilled at coaching me in process and the key skills to be my very best during my first few months in business-to-business sales. Who mentors you? Who do you mentor?

So until next time Imagine Yourself with more Resiliency for Life Travel well. Be safe.

Michael

To interview Michael, book him for your 

next event or to consult you can contact him at:

Inquiry@MichaelHBallard.com

www.MichaelHBallard.com

You can purchase Michael's audio programming on iTunes at:
https://itunes.apple.com/album/id997763796?ls=1&app=itunes

Michael’s Social Media includes:

https://twitter.com/ResilientMichae

https://about.me/resilientmichael

https://www.linkedin.com/company/resiliency-for-life/
https://soundcloud.com/michael-h-ballard
http://www.resiliencyforlife.com

How do we deepen our Resilience?

How?

By virtue of the fact you’re reading this tells me you have resiliency. A key question is how do we deepen, and widen our capacity to thrive?
 Falsehoods and Lies – These can wear us down and hurt us, as like the half truths they are not all accurate.

• Indicating that we’re what? Very Tall? Short?

• Never mind the 79 - 197 hours your practiced,

Michael H Ballard is a SME – Subject Matter Expert on Resiliency. He consults and trains with individuals and groups, organizations and communities on how to develop and deepen their resiliency.

 Let’s start at the beginning.

A key component of being resilient is our ability to understand, manage and nurture our self-definition. What is self-definition you ask? Good question. 

Self Definition is a compilation of how we’ve knowingly and unknowingly defined ourselves based on many variables. These include our race, colour, creed, gender, physical traits, IQ, EQ, how we where parented, our health  extended family, neighbourhood, workplace, educational levels attained, the media, community and country to name just a few.

Where  should we start?

Let us start with you considering this concept about Self Definition.

If there was a picture of you in the dictionary; not just any dictionary but one that is confidential and only you can see. Your dictionary only! Now, let us take a trip inside this confidential dictionary to see what you’ll discover and uncover.

First realize that there are three key types of items and memories stored here.

The first are the truths about us. However some of the things we think are the truth in time are not always 100% accurate.

Half Truths – Half Falsehoods

~ These are beliefs about us that can confuse and misdirect us as we lack clarity because of them. I.e. You’re just like your (Place name here) and will never do well in math. When in fact perhaps you’re not going to be a Engineer, or a Physicist, yet could do very well as a business professional using business math.

What to do about these three categories?

Well, several years back I mentored a young gentleman who’d lived on the street for ten years. After several deep and meaty conversations he shared the phrase “Fearless moral inventory”. Great phrase. I’d suggest a slightly gentler approach. Consider something along the lines of a “Deep and wide honest inventory of how have I defined myself to date? Then, what should be adjusted? Added? Thrown out?

 It is a process so it will not just happen over night. However if we have the courage to understand that we took years to get this way than real change can often happen in hours, days and weeks. If we keep practicing. The road to mastery is one built on excellence not perfection.

No where to be seen between Positive and Negative thoughts, half truths are the neutral way of thinking that is also negative.

So, how do these three key types of files in our private and confidential internal dictionary show up?

Generally people have them there as positive, negative and half-truths.

Words

I.e.

-          Stupid – Oh don’t be so stupid!

-          Amazing – It is amazing how you do that so well.

Phrases

I.e. -          You’re just like your …

Under weight? Over weight? Smart? Stupid?

Incredibly good looking?

-          You’re so lucky

the lessons you took and the mentor you had. You lucky? Not a chance. Luck favours the prepared. You prepared. You gained some mastery!

Pictures I.e. Images burnt into our brain of a very upbeat or very negative time.

Use caution of reviewing our failures and mistakes. Over time we run the risk of programming ourselves for more failures and mistakes.

Mini movies and sound tracks

I.e. They play over and over and over again if we give them permission. They become burnt into our brain of a very upbeat or very negative time. They can influence our mood, our relationships our happiness and our success.

Replaced the negative ones with new ones. Write a new script! Act it out in the privacy of your bedroom or Living room.

 We need to stay vigilant against a society that works on a negative asset basis. We’re consistently feed messages that if we just “wore the right clothes, drove a certain car, lived in a certain area, attended a certain school, we’d be smarter, more successful and more likeable. All not true of course. Yet the cosmetics, fashion industry and many others do quite well with that pitch. Not that a new piece of clothing is not a good thing. Just not a replacement of the homework we all should be doing.

Well with over 80% of what we think and are told framed in the negative it is no wonder we have “issues” around resiliency. Feeling comfortable in our own skin and managing our Self Definition is a very powerful first step. Foundational work some of us would say.

So nothing like the present to start to walk the talk about resiliency.

What area of your Self Definition will you work on today? The time is now to take this on and start to build and rid of what blocks you as you house clean.

So, until next time, Imagine Yourself with more Resiliency forLife.

Michael

Hiring and Contacting Michael

To interview Michael, book him for your 

next event or to contact him you can do that at:

Inquiry@MichaelHBallard.com

www.MichaelHBallard.com

You can purchase Michael's programming on:

Udemy.com video programs at:

https://www.udemy.com/u/michaelhballard/

 iTunes.com audio programs at:

https://itunes.apple.com/album/id997763796?ls=1&app=itunes

Michael’s Social Media includes:

https://twitter.com/ResilientMichae

https://about.me/resilientmichael

https://www.linkedin.com/company/resiliency-for-life/

https://soundcloud.com/michael-h-ballard

http://www.resiliencyforlife.com