Author: Christopher Bauer

Do what’s right, not what’s easy

We expect a lot from people in our daily lives, including our co-workers, managers & our team leaders. My father once said “Son, when you point a finger at someone & make accusations, you have three fingers pointing back at yourself.” After powering down for another night, I started thinking about all the “fingers” being pointed. (HEY, NOT THAT FINGER!)

We have come to expect things from the Men & Women of Law Enforcement & Military, the first among them is to Protect & Serve. Recently there was a deplorable situation in Florida concerning a school shooting & the actions (or lack of actions) from members of Law Enforcement. This has spun like a Hurricane (South Florida reference added for effect).

While there is no question that this is a tragedy, we as a SOCIETY need to address the REAL ISSUES hiding under the surface. We need to investigate for ourselves and NOT continue to digest what’s being put forth by media as relevant or truthful. We need to see polarizing by organizations for WHAT IT IS. The inaction of this individual (even the larger mishandling of a difficult situation), was the exception, not the norm for the Men & Women who have dedicated their lives to protect the members of our society from ALL THREATS, FOREIGN & DOMESTIC.

Expect more from everyone, including yourself

We as a society need to expect more, not just from ourselves but the people we call on to lead us, and especially the ones ELECT to be the leaders we follow. The problem today is we accept cronyism, help cover up ignorance, and repress intelligence… then put people in leadership positions & expect them to do anything of value.

“To be more, we must expect more. To expect more, we need to lead by example in our actions, our mannerisms & our deeds.”

I would like to know your story and would love to share mine. Employers are looking for leaders right now, my job is to introduce them to you. To often we are afraid to speak up or be seen as being “against the grain.” Let me be your voice. With an introduction from me, you can feel comfortable in being yourself and the person you are meeting with are as they appear. In our world, your opinions and experience matter. 

If you are not in the position if leadership you believe you can be or if you are in a leadership position and would like to help others learn from your experience, let’s schedule a time to talk. Here is my personal schedule. Take a look at yours and let’s spend some time.

https://meetme.so/ER_SeekerServices

You must do something you’ve never done

It’s scary. I don’t care if you are a Veteran of the Armed Forces, a seasoned Executive or it’s your first big project after starting at a new company. Doing new things, especially when a lot is riding on a successful outcome, is nothing to shrug off.

“If you want something you’ve never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done.”

Many of us have a similar voice inside, that tells us that we are not ready, we are not capable, that we are going to fail or we are going to look like a fool. Familiar?

“There is no way I will be able to do this” the voice says. You need to realize right now… that that voice is the “safe place” talking. The problem is, nothing AMAZING was ever achieved listening to that voice…especially as an adult.

Ever since you were born that voice, along with your parents, have protected you from doing something stupid – like sticking a key in the wall plug, jumping over a railing or eating whatever that was on the ground.  Yuck!

Now that we are grown that voice pops up now and again, especially if we have fallen into a routine. Some among us have learned to turn it down, turn it off or put it to work in a different way. 

How do you use yours? The better question might be, how do you control yours?

I would like to know your journey. I would like to know what it is you want… maybe I can help you achieve it.

Don’t try to blend in your career

We were trained from a young age to blend in (not stand out). We were trained using lines & to assimilate like everyone else. Stand in line, sit in line, wait in line, color within the lines, don’t get out of line, don’t speak up, don’t make waves, don’t draw attention to ourselves, and what we really learned… was to blend in & be the same.

In the wild, animals have adapted to blend in & there is a good reason… to help hide & thus “protect” them from the danger of what wants to kill them, much like this cute Arctic Fox. The white of their thick fur helps him (or her) blend in to the snow so predators have a more difficult time seeing him when its time to eat. This allows them to live longer for all the good things in life like procreation.

What am I getting at? Our schools were arranged to teach us how to learn basic tasks for our future in the workforce. Today’s workforce are boxed in cubicles. We leave our cubicles (house/apartment/condo/etc.), take transportation cubicles (cars/buses), to sit in cubicles (offices/work spaces), within more cubicles (buildings). 

Schools were developed to train the students to be the factory workforce of days past, even down to the bells. The workforce has changed & so has our need to STAND OUT from the crowd.

Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks

Not everyone’s opinion counts. Yes I am talking to you dear reader. NOT because your opinion is worthless… but rather to get your attention refocused & scream – YOUR OPINION should be the most important opinion…. to YOU!

Worthless on occasion, hot air most often, people in today’s society are not the intellects they think they are. The phrase “Opinions are like Assholes, everyone’s got one… and everyone else’s stinks” is a bit harsh, but this is LinkedIn folks, not Facebook – there’s no children (by age) here. 

“You will never succeed if you care what other thinks.”

Compared to the Americans of 1776, we have become gossip column addicts, tabloid fanboys, fake news conspiracy junkies, and a sound byte believing culture of sheep. Our News Journalists were once Investigators (of Truth), now they might as well be computer generated Artificial Intelligence. (That’s if you don’t get back to in-depth investigative reporting.

It’s time for a re-boot. The only way we are going to help others is to first help ourselves. You know the drill, when the oxygen mask falls from the overhead compartment…

You know ALL the details if something if it’s important… no sorry…. INTERESTING to you. Get INTERESTED AGAIN! You do the research, you look at the facts, you considered the options & you gather the evidence.

What’s your story going to be

If you love something, have interest in following a dream, can’t get something off your mind, find yourself immersed in learning about it, bring it up in daily conversations or people have told you that you would be “really good at it,” do it.

No Gluts

No Glory

No Legend

No Story

Don’t give up your dreams or trade those dreams for a false sense of job security. We NEED you… to BE YOU. Listen to that internal voice. Our industry, our Country, and our Communities need you to reach your fullest potential, to reach for new heights, to develop that idea, to expand that cause, to fight for what you want, to gather your tribe and to not give up, and never give in.

From today forward, take a step in the direction of your desires daily… I double dog dare you.  

If I can be of assistance, you know where to find me.

Set bigger goals

We need to return to dreaming. The dream of something bigger has been pushed down & the belief in oneself has been lost behind “the necessity to work to survive.” What has that accomplished? Look at it.  Yes, you dear reader. Set bigger goals.

I care less about your color, your sex, your religious beliefs…. I care about what is more than surface level. I care about what YOU can do & who YOU are. So show it.

Is what YOU have inside, the vision for what could be, the concept that keeps popping up, the voice that whispers to you, the frustration that bubbles up when you know there is a better way… getting louder?

Take the first steps. Talk it out. Write it down. Make it a reality. Make it known. WE NEED YOU to be the person you can be. Our society, our culture, our Country… our kids, our elderly, our companies, our EVERYTHING… needs what YOU have to offer.

“You need to set a goal so big that you can’t achieve it until you have become the person who can.”

MY DREAM – to secure a large private estate, turn it into a state-of-the-art learning Academy in which the industry leaders of today are able to provide mentorship, guidance & training to the future leaders of MY industry, and to make sure that we are able to supply everything (tuition, lodging, equipment & materials), so every socioeconomic student can focus on educational achievement.  

What’s your goal?

Character will give you respect

Let us not forget, yes you in the under 40ish crowd, 3 No matter what your managers told you or you “learned” in your higher learning institutions, YOU are responsible for more than the numbers on the P& L, the staff’s productivity or how many widgets you sell. 

The TRUE leaders are the ones that make a lasting impact on others within their circle of influence, through the VALUE they provide during THEIR career. 

“Knowledge will give you power but character will give you respect.”

America was once the greatest country in the world BECAUSE of our vision, our grit, our determination & the ability of the leaders to turn around & offer a hand to those climbing the ladder with them. As we “industrialized” we got off that path instead searching for wealth & higher profits. The fact remains, we can do BOTH!

We need to get back to the core that made AMERICA the country EVERYONE wanted to go to. We have to expose those in power who step on the necks of the people that are actually the ones doing the work, representing the companies & protecting the brand. BECOME the financially successful “leaders” we see publicized. 

We can build EMPIRES with an ARMY of highly paid, highly educated, highly qualified and highly competent teams around us… (Psst… it makes the teams highly LOYAL as well).    

When quiet, you can hear

“Security, Loss Prevention & Investigation industry in denial on what’s to come.” Wait, what? I thought the push for going back & getting your “degree” or completing that expensive “certification” was going to help you to achieve career success? Did it?

Almost every person I talked to found it a waste of time & money. Not because they didn’t learn something interesting, they did. The “achievement” FAILED to help them advance… now. No new position, no promotion, no offers of employment…

“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.”

Advertising sells success. They are designed to make us believe that high paying jobs are at the end of that path (that they were suggesting you take…) and to pay them to achieve it. Ah, the proverbial Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow promise, it gets us every time.

It’s just like beer selling us on attractive people & the better life. Look around you folks, that’s not the “norm.” If you consume THIS product (fill in fantasy here) you will (fill something great) will happen. Why? Because it’s proven to work. Studies & focus groups, split A/B testing… your activity, buying habits, browsing histories, music choices (I could go on for paragraphs) are studied, tracked & monitored so you can be SOLD.

If you want to know whats to come: https://meetme.so/ER_SeekerServices

Two mistakes on the road

Truth. It’s a strange word in our current culture. Once it was most used to express being in accord with reality or fact, an opposite to false. It was a preeminent premise for science, history, technology & yes even journalism – were based on the definition of this word.

“There are tow mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting.”

Truth, or at least the quest for it… set an evolution of ideas, built nations around its moral concepts & pushed knowledge into movement…and human civilization into the future. Truth also toppled empires, eradicated celebrity, separated love, & even ended lives.

“The truth that one should seek, is the truth from within.”

It is in our nature to seek truth. That is what many of us got into the field of Investigation, Security, Surveillance & Loss Prevention. Truth is an ingrained feature within our DNA. This is why we find it hard in our professional careers to “play the game.” We read body language, vocal tones, slight movements & variations in breath patterns as we were taught. We have hyper focused our senses CHOOSING this career path. Dealing with HR, a clueless client or an ignorant manager… frustrates us.

That same choice makes our own career management hard. Join me.  Let me take you on my journey & show you what I have built… and what’s coming next in Career Management.

Change

We need to utilize focus towards personal transformation & our own awareness to achieve EXTERNAL change. Change is not just a slogan for some political campaign, it’s much deeper.

The change we need… is found in self-awareness. If we want a society that is truly based on sustainable principles, if we want to remove despair, end poverty, to unify people, empower, evolve, or live in a free & truly fair democratic society, we have to start from WITHIN.

“We will not solve our problems with the same mindset that created them.”

What are the issues that really need to be addressed? What will it take to achieve long-term outcomes? What steps will be necessary to reach our goals? Who are the people that need to be involved? What is prohibiting forward progress? What matters most? What are the first steps?

I coined the phrase “Homeland Security Begins at Home” a decade ago. Home is not just a metaphor for America or our house… while interchangeable, I’m talking about our CENTER. What’s at our core, what’s our belief systems? The voice that tells us the difference between right & wrong, to speak up or keep quiet. The one that acts when action – SHOULD be the path. 

It’s about time that we believe in our own judgment, our ingrained beliefs, our abilities, stop relying on the vocalized thoughts and opinions of others.

Get to work.

We Need To Return to Dreaming

We need to return to dreaming. The dream of something bigger has been pushed down & the belief in oneself has been lost behind “the necessity to work to survive.” What has that accomplished? Look at it.  Yes, you dear reader.

I care less about your color, your sex, your religious beliefs…. I care about what is more than surface level. I care about what YOU can do & who YOU are. So show it.

Is what YOU have inside, the vision for what could be, the concept that keeps popping up, the voice that whispers to you, the frustration that bubbles up when you know there is a better way… getting louder?

Take the first steps. Talk it out. Write it down. Make it a reality. Make it known. WE NEED YOU to be the person you can be. Our society, our culture, our Country… our kids, our elderly, our companies, our EVERYTHING… needs what YOU have to offer.

 

“WE HAVE TO DREAM BIGGER”

 

 

 

MY DREAM – to secure a large private estate, turn it into a state-of-the-art learning Academy in which the industry leaders of today are able to provide mentorship, guidance & training to the future leaders of MY industry, and to make sure that we are able to supply everything (tuition, lodging, equipment & materials), so every socioeconomic student can focus on educational achievement.  

What’s your Dream?

If you want to get involved in building this with me, or personally know someone at the top of his or her field that I should know, please reach out and schedule some time here: https://meetme.so/ChrisBauer

What’s being delivered to our children

In 1969, I was only the beginning of a thought. I did however grow up watching Mr. Rodgers & can even remember some of my favorite episodes & guests. I never thought, neither did my parents, about what’s being delivered to our children through this medium. Television programming, movies, video games & almost all forms of accessible content… is now filled with violence & sexual content. While the content entertains (AKA sells us), I believe it’s also harming us, our children, our families, our communities & our culture long-term.

Watch the May 1st 1969 testimony before the Senate Subcommittee

I don’t consider myself a stodgy old fogie in thinking, actions or demeanor. I do however hold strong beliefs of right & wrong. I believe everyone should be allow to do what they wish, as long as it does not interfere with the rights of another to do the same. It seems to be to much to ask in return.

I follow the principles of Bushido – principles that seem to be in opposition to what currently is being served for mass consumption. Violence, questionable morality, sexual overtones & images, race baiting, “spin” and to much BEING PUSHED on us that has to do with what we used to call an “alternative” lifestyle.

All of this as evident in how our kids act, how “visitors” to our country behave like animals, mass shootings, incarceration numbers, aggression towards Law Enforcement, the drug epidemic & the lies media / politicians cripple us with.

Enough. 

Following a dream

If you love something, have interest in following a dream, can’t get something off your mind, find yourself immersed in learning about it, bring it up in daily conversations or people have told you that you would be “really good at it,” do it.

 

 

Don’t give up your dreams or trade those dreams for a false sense of job security. We NEED you… to BE YOU. Listen to that internal voice. Our industry, our Country, and our Communities need you to reach your fullest potential, to reach for new heights, to develop that idea, to expand that cause, to fight for what you want, to gather your tribe and to not give up, and never give in.

From today forward, take a step in the direction of your desires daily… I double dog dare you.  

If I can be of assistance, you know where to find me.

 

Sincerely,

Christopher R. Bauer

Why your opinion is the most important

Not everyone’s opinion counts. Yes I am talking to you dear reader. NOT because your opinion is worthless… but rather to get your attention refocused & scream – YOUR OPINION should be the most important opinion…. to YOU!

Worthless on occasion, hot air most often, people in today’s society are not the intellects they think they are. The phrase “Opinions are like Assholes, everyone’s got one… and everyone else’s stinks” is a bit harsh, but this is a real look at where we are folks – and there’s no children (by age) here. 

Compared to the Americans of 1776, we have become gossip column addicts, tabloid fanboys, fake news conspiracy junkies, and a sound byte believing culture of sheep. Our News Journalists were once Investigators (of Truth), now they might as well be computer generated Artificial Intelligence. (That’s if you don’t get back to in-depth investigative reporting.

It’s time for a re-boot.

The only way we are going to help others is to first help ourselves. You know the drill, when the oxygen mask falls from the overhead compartment…

You know ALL the details if something if it’s important… no sorry…. INTERESTING to you. Get INTERESTED AGAIN! You do the research, you look at the facts, you considered the options & you gather the evidence.