We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Robb a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Michael, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Self-esteem and self-confidence are tricky subjects because there’s no instruction manual. I think, at least in my case, it was a direct result of life experience. I’ve always been kind of a gypsy, have seen a lot of the world, done some interesting things and had an eclectic group of friends and acquaintances along the way. I grew up in Holcomb, Illinois, a little town in Rock River Country, in Northern Illinois. My family moved to Chicago when I was in high school, and I was thrust into a fast-paced urban environment. I kept an open mind and rather quickly found that I enjoyed the hustle and bustle of big city life. Above all else, it did wonders for my self-confidence. I learned that I could handle change, had the ability to adapt and could handle the occasional “bump in the road”. That lesson of trusting yourself stayed with me and served me well through college, the military, and police work.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
From that two-room schoolhouse in Holcomb, then to Chicago and onto college, I never lost my gypsy fascination with what was over the next hill, the world was always an exciting place to be explored. After college, I enlisted in the Army and saw a lot of the world, both good and bad. After being discharged from the Army, I joined the Illinois State Police and served 22 years, 16 of them as a homicide detective. After retiring, Ann and I moved to southern California, and I took a job as Chief of Security/Guest Services at the San Diego Convention Center for three years and then later worked for one of the large west coast defense contractors. An avid reader from childhood, I’d always wanted to write and took the plunge after Ann and I moved from California to Savannah, Georgia. Writing is something that can test self-confidence far quicker than the Army or police work. I had moderate success with short stories and political commentary but garnered my share of rejection slips. In 2023, following a life long fascination with current events and politics, I created a blog site called www.politicalmikeinthemiddle.com The blog is usually irreverent, sometimes entertaining and I’ve likened it to giving an old man a black magic marker and telling him to go write on the restroom wall.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
(1) Trust yourself, think things through, never make an important decision when you’re drunk, mad or scared. (2) Avoid people who are trying to run your life, most of them can’t even run their own.
(3) Learn to walk away from petty squabbles, there’s a time to fight and you’ll know when it is. There’s an old saying in Chicago: Don’t die on a small cross.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
Easy question, my wife, Ann. She’s loving and my best cheerleader, but she also my counsel and she’s not afraid to yank me back to reality.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.politicalmikeinthemiddle.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikerobb1948
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/michaelrobb
