Fiji, summed up

This morning I met up with some business folk for our return meeting for 2010. Dressed in ultra casual wear, Fiji style. Sandals and all I told them all where I've been.

Then I heard the story that summed up Fiji for me. One of the guys asked, "You ever heard of the Fijian fisherman?"

Everyone replied "No" as if you say "go on".

A Fijian man laid down, resting in a hammock with a fishing line hanging off his finger heading out to the sea, when a businessman who was visiting saw him and was curious about what he was doing.

As he got closer he realised the Fijian was fishing. The businessman asked the Fijian, "What are you doing?"

The Fijian man replied "Fishing".

The businessman said "You can't just sit here all day and fish.... you've gotta get out there, make some money. Get a net, catch lots of fish, make more money, buy a boat, catch more fish, make more money, hire a crew and get them to run the boat, catch all the fish and make more money. Then you can sit here and fish all day."

The Fijian man looked at the businessman and said "But I'm fishing all day now without doing all that stuff."

Happy with nothing

You'd have to agree when I tell you, people are happy with nothing.

My recent trip to Fiji only reminds me of this fact, as most of the people can't afford a loaf of bread and resort to begging or stealing.

Yet, while speaking to a local, he struggles, but he is happy. He wouldn't trade what little he has for one day of my life back here in Sydney. He's happy with what little he has. He has nothing to lose. He has no cares, worries or hindrances other than waking up, working during the day to feed the family at night, and it repeats itself over and over again.

Compare that to a local here in Sydney. We do exactly the same thing. Go to work, earn something to support our family, come home to dinner and go it all again tomorrow. So where's the difference?

We have the new car, the flash TV, laptops, new homes, wants.

The last point is probably the biggest one. Wants.

Because we're conditioned to give in to desire. We see it on TV (which is probably why I don't watch it). We see it in magazines, hear it on the radio, hear about it from friends.... keeping up with the Jones' as they say.

When you look at any country that is considered poor, and I hate that word, "Poor". I think that these countries are rich. Their values are rich. It's all about family, providing and helping each other out. There are exceptions, a few desperate souls who snoop to stealing and begging. But under the circumstances, you can see why, and you accept it.

However, everyone has the same opportunity, the same chance to make something of what they have, regardless of how much or how little they have. It's not about how much resources you have, but how resourceful you are.

Some will look at this and say you're compromising. Others can look at it and say you're just making do. Either way, if the result is the same, who cares?

I tell you who.... Us. The consuming population. The guys like me who love their gadgets, love flat screen TV's. But I'm a man of contradictions. I'm a hypocrite. As much as I love all these devices, the bells, the whistles. I also despise them. I dislike them. I can do without them.

Family in Fiji were shocked that I left my laptop and mobile phone at home. I told them. I'm here, I'm switched off. And I can stay that way for years. I know I can. But since I have the choice not to. I'm here on my laptop, writing more thoughts and already thinking about my next blog entry.

Does this make me happy. Well, it offers me comfort. But I wouldn't say it makes me happy. When I sat there listening to the local Fijian bloke talk about how his life is hard, but simple. He wouldn't trade it for all the money in the world. I sat there green with envy.

However, one thought crossed my mind, and while speaking about migrating to Fiji to the wife on the plane, she had the same feeling too. What would be do there? We also dislike the total anti-pride in work that everyone does. No one seems to care if something is done write or wrong. It's done, now can I leave to go home and drink?

The Fijians, while hard workers, are lazy. The Indians (a high number of them live there), are hard workers, but they are Indian, and if you've been to India, read or heard about it, there's the way the rest of the planet works, and there's how India works. There's a TED talk on it, and it's from an Indian who says that how they work is very different to the entire planet. It's true, and if you're not accepting of it, it'll drive you mad.

Much like driving in Fiji. Westerns seem to tell me they hate it, it's chaos. I always tell them I love the chaos. I love the overtaking on the wrong side of the road. I love the lack of indicating. It's like driving in Italy, but slower. Since everyone is so lazy, the speed at which they drive at is too. It's faster to walk through town, but driving through the chaos is more fun. And since you're only crawling along, but still making good pace, you get to places, you push and shove otherwise you'll end up at the back. You'll have cars and busses on your side of the road because they'd rather run over your car than hit that huge pot hole that seems to cover every single street in the country.

But I've really digressed now. These people are happy with nothing. And if you look at other countries with similar lifestyles, South America, Africa, you'll see that the people there are some how better off. Better off with life. Compare that to a millionaire and you'll see that while they might be showing a smile, I bet it hides a mountain of worries. Worries of losing their millions, their possessions. They lifestyle.

While I'm no millionaire. As much as the Fijian lifestyle appeals to me, I'm not going to lie and say I'll do it now. In fact I'm not sure I have the guts to change over to that at all. I'm not doing to lie and say I'd do it. I'd more there for a happier life. I am hypocritical, but I'm no liar. I might move there. One day my wife and I might genuinely get fed up with paying off our mortgage, paying endless bills, trying to keep up with the Jones', trying to buy the latest TV or iPhone or whatever. I know I'd be happier. But can I let go? The answer is, no for the moment. I can't. But I know I must. And when that happens, you'll hear about it.

Happy with nothing. I'm sure this works.

Fiji time

It's a beautiful thing if you can appreciate it. But then again, you already see the beauty in anything if you appreciate it. For if you didn't, you wouldn't think of it as a beautiful thing at all. Fiji is one of those places.

I've seen it on both sides of the coin. The resort style living where tourism brings in a heap of money into the economy. I've also seen the real side of Fiji. The side most of my wife's brothers live in. Dwellings with one bedroom that the entire family share. Families that can't afford to buy bread, so resort to stealing it or begging for it.

It's not all doom and gloom. The people are partly like this because they are truly lazy people. I don't blame them either. The heat we lived through slowed me right down. I pretty much crawled everywhere I walked. And the places I drove to, or more realistically got driven to because I didn't hire a car this time around was at a crawling pace anyway.

On a particular night I was chilling out with my brother-in-law I met a friend of his, who is actually the ex-husband of his wife's sister... did you get all that? Well, he asked me what I did, and I have made it a goal for me to ask the same in return once I spill the beans on my career and personal life to a stranger who asks me. When I did, he told me he's a vehicle import/export agent. And he is soon relocating to Japan, invited me along and said I'll love it. He doesn't know me well, but he picked that. Japan is a place I have thought about visiting on many occasions.

Japan will have to wait for another day. In the mean time, Fiji is nice and close, and for once on our travels to the airport, our taxi arrived to pick us up from our home on time. Every other time we've booked a taxi, it has never shown up or turned up with 30 minutes for us to get on a plane, us stressing out because the trip to the airport takes 45 minutes. This taxi driver turned up before our arranged time and was friendly, got us to the airport on time and wished us a good trip.

Taxis in Fiji are funny. All the cars are pieces of shit. They rattle, shake and rattle some more. The smoothest of roads isn't enough to stop the rattling. And since their meters don't function properly they just pull a figure out of the air when you ask them how much it costs to get to a certain destination. While you often think you're being swindled, when you convert their dollar to yours and factor in the distance to travel between villages, it's all worth it in the end. But on this occasion when we went through customs and got out of the airport, my wife's brother was waiting for us, with the van running and the air-con on. What a brother.

Getting through customs in Sydney on the other hand was my usual event. Each time I go through the place, I get held up for something. Last time was something I forgot. A camping spoon. Considered a weapon, thanks to 9/11. A spoon! This time around I got called over to a guy checking for bombs. Why me? Because, I have to always get called over for something. The guy handed me a letter I have to read and verbally agree to which discusses things like me accepting the fact that I might get asked to strip off and be examined outside and in. I agreed, much like software installation, because if I don't, I don't fly.

They checked my bag for any bomb making chemical residue. They found nothing. Surprise surprise. And my wife and I went on our way to get on our plane.

Arriving in Fiji, you're greeted with a more laid back attitude. Customs smile at you. Then you leave the air-conditioned section once your bags are collected and you go into the heat.

The van was a warm welcome.... err, a cool welcome? We were off to our hotel. We checked in, received decent service and were surprised for that in a place like Fiji. Trust me, I'm not being negative or anything derogatory. But the service in Fiji is pretty much non-existant whether you stay in a roach motel, or a 5 star hotel. Ours was a 4.5 star hotel. However, Fiji-afied, it was more like a 3 star place. Which kinda sucks because you're paying 4.5 star prices.

We did have a choice of staying with my brother-in-law but decided it would be better if we hotel it so we didn't intrude, and we could be a bit more free to head out and do our own thing when we want.

The next morning the girls went out, shopping. What else? Us boys went to pick up 7 tables and 40 chairs from the party hire place as the main reason we went to Fiji was because of my brother-in-laws daughters first birthday. We thought we'd need two trips but made it in one. Once we arrived at the party hire place, I was warned that the girl there is cute and single, and may jump on us. He was right about the first two parts. The third part was only a day dream. She was pretty cute.

We arrived at the house to offload the party gear and set up the PA sound system, when we got there the tent hire people were there and preparing to set up the bigtop. I call it a bigtop because once it was erected, you could see it from miles away. It was about 25m X 10m in an oval shape. It did well to keep out the hot sun, but unfortunately did a decent job of breaking the wind too and it was a nice breezy day. Luckily towards the end of the day the sun dropped into the sea and the breeze picked up a bit more, we all sat around drinking, playing cards, telling jokes, laughing at nonsense and general chit chat about nothing in particular.

I was hungry again, so I ate a bit more. Everyone else thought it was a brilliant idea and followed suite. The night was over and while we sat around chatting some more, some other mates turned up. One of them was the guy I mentioned above who offered me a place in Japan. I didn't get his number, but I know who's got it and he knows I'll be getting it off them.

We caught a taxi back to the hotel that night for $40. Not bad considering our taxi ride home from the airport this afternoon cost $45 and was half the distance. We got out the taxi and the first thing the porter at the hotel said was "Where did you get that bag?". Pointing to the Pure Fiji soaps and bath gels that I really like. I told the guy it was a gift. He interrupted with "You know we have a Pure Fiji outlet right here". So I repeated, "It was a gift from family. I didn't buy it. If you have a retail outlet selling them then maybe you should speak to your boss about advertising the fact in the documentation you get next to the telephone in our room."

The fact was, there was no information about the hotel in our room. We weren't sure what the hotel had and were really never there long enough to investigate. We didn't know about the services or restaurants. It didn't really matter, but it pissed me off a little when the guy told me all about them like I should have known.

"But this is Fiji", I reminded myself, and everything was okay again. The next day we did absolutely nothing at all. We stayed in the hotel, relaxed and read our books until the afternoon when we were to meet the relatives at one of the backpacker resorts they own just outside of Nadi (pronounced Nan-dee). We hung around, walked on the beach. Swam in the beach, of which the water was hot. Not warm, but hot. It cooled down the further out you went. So we hung around in the deeper water until I had enough. I got out, dried off, and then we sat on the beach talking. My wife fell asleep on the hammock and these two guys who were part of the "band" came around after hearing about me and my playing ability. The must have been told from the relatives. I didn't give too much away, so I just said I play a little bass, as this requires no thinking on my part. I just get up and play. They told me they had a drummer and a bass setup. But when we waited around for 3 hours during the power failure, I discovered that it was just them two, singing with an acoustic guitar with a bit of accompaniment from the friend with an electric guitar.

They sounded great. Everyone had left by now so my wife and I decided to eat dinner there. It was highly recommended, but it is a cheap and nasty backpackers resort, so the food wasn't what quality I'd normally eat. But it was food, and in Fiji you can't complain when you eat. Some people don't get to at all.

We headed back to the resort, showered and went to bed. The next morning we spent even more time lazing about the resort. We checked out the eating places, the beauty salon (which my wife rejected upon hearing the crazy price) and we walked around and looked at the rest of the place. I luxuriated in the air-con the rest of the time. I continued reading my book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. A frustratingly good book. Frustrating because it goes way over my head with all the words in it, but in the end all makes sense. It truly is a book of values.

The next day we were off to Denarau, the marina where we took a day trip on my wife's brothers boat out to an island the size of an umbrella. I drank and drank, and when we arrived at the island, we drank some more. Then went snorkelling. I took my wife's camera as it goes underwater up to 10 metres without the use of any special and cumbersome casing. We arrived back at the marina in the afternoon and went back to our hotel to shower and change because later that evening we were to be picked up and taken to the Marina in Denarau where my brother-in-laws boat sat. We drank some more, hung out a bit and then went into town in Nadi to eat at a nice Chinese restaurant.

The service, much like everywhere else in Fiji was dismal, but if you expect it, you'll be happy with getting any service at all.... thinking back to my posts about lowering your expectations, or abandoning them all together. The food was okay, the service was slow, but prompt for Fiji. The price of the meals were okay too, though our family paid for it on the sly before we noticed and tried to argue chipping in or paying for the lot.

We were dropped off at our hotel and did some rudimentary packing. I showered and went to bed while the wife stayed up and packed. I let her do it because my packing habits are embedded into my brain from my motorcycling days. I pack light, I fit everything in tightly, not neatly. On the other hand my wife likes to pack things properly. So I figured I'll save the argument and sleep on it. Waking up this morning, we ate what small bits of bread we had in the hotel room that we bought from the bakery the previous day. We did a check up of the place to make sure that we had it all packed. Once all clear, we checked out, caught a taxi to my brother-in-laws who was going to take us to the airport since he was going to see us off anyway. We ended up eating lunch there and then we were off to the airport. I got given a clock I thought was funny earlier that has all the numbers in a heap on the bottom of the clockface, and it just says "Who Cares". The hands move properly. I loved it. The alternative was a clock with all the numbers out of order and it said "Fiji Time".

Fiji time is what we say when things take too long after you've asked for them. Like your meal taking 2 hours, or your brother saying he'll be there at 12, only to arrive at 4 in the afternoon. Fiji time is great. Because it stands for "Who Cares", it stands for "So What", it stands for what I'd like to tell all my clients "No one has a gun to your head". I don't think it's that Fijians don't care. I think it's just their way.

There are exceptions, the taxi we caught to the bro's house was hooking all the way there. overtaking everything at any opportunity. It was almost like someone put some berocca in their V or Red Bull. That, or a chili up their butt. I was trying to show my wife some places I'd been with her brother but they went by so fast that by the time I pointed it out, it was gone.

Into the airport, without a hitch. This time my wife got picked on, which never happens. She was told to put her cream she had in her bag in a zip lock bag or something. Which she did to avoid any complications. We were through, said our goodbyes to the family and went to buy some duty free. I never really like duty free because it's almost like impulse buying. I don't do it. I have all the alcohol I need for a few years, and I supplement that with beer. The good stuff only comes out once in while. Besides that, I don't smoke, so cigarettes are out of the question. The clothes aren't really practical as I don't plan on wearing bula shirts (hawaiian style shirts with flowers all over them) every day. Then I noticed my flip flop. One of them was wonky and I realised that after 8 years of service, the strap was coming away from the hole it was mounted in. At first I figured that they offered me a great deal of service for a number of years. but then looked at them and realised I could at least attempt at super glueing them when I got back home. I'll try tomorrow in the light. No point in throwing out a good pair of thongs just because of a small break.

So, duty free shopping was over, we boarded the plane, told we were upgraded from economy to premium economy. But at the end of the flight I told my missus that I thought economy was actually better, and premium economy was a con job. Her private tv screen kept flopping down, needs tightening and I didn't have any tools on me, once again, thanks to 9/11. We both found the seats to actually look more comfortable but were really less comfortable with our seat of the pants experience.

We arrived without any commotion in Australia this afternoon. Customs didn't pick on me at all. We were out of the plane and out of the airport in about 10 minutes. In a taxi and home in about 30 minutes after that.

And that's our trip in a great big nutshell. Next I'll talk about working in Fiji and the gap between the rich and the poor.

Off on holidays

I'm heading over to Fiji for a week. My wife is going over to see family and catch up. I'll be joining her and relaxing in the shade. Hopefully it's not too humid there. But it is that time of year. However I've been reading up on the current temperatures and it doesn't seem too bad.

I've actually been on holidays for quite a while now. I haven't operated my business in full swing since December and have been using the time to think about a lot of things. A lot of those things have been posted here, so I won't regurgitate. Though I found that the more I have thought about it, the more I'm confused. So I'm going to spend the time in Fiji not doing anything at all, which is what everyone in Fiji does.

If I do anything at all, it'll be trying to find a guitar over there, picking it up and playing some songs we're performing for the theatre play.

That's about all I have planned. Everything else is just added clutter.

See you all when I get back.

My theory of negativity revisited

Quite a while ago I posted my theory of negativity. Though it had more to do with how ones expectations should be low. That way everything turns out a bonus.

But what happens when your expectations are too low? What if you walk around saying to yourself that you'll never get something, or you'll never do something?

Can you have too much negativity? Would it manifest your entire life if you walked around all the time saying that everything is crap and never goes your way? I think so.

While I stay positive most of the time, I'm more alternative. I like to think alternative. It's just that it appears negative in the eyes and ears of the person in front of me because what I say and think doesn't quite agree with what they think. And this is where my theory shines. If the person infront of me expects nothing, then they're more than likely to be happy with whatever response I give them.

My theory of negativity may appear tho wrong way to people, but the crux of it is that it's all about taking any response, any result and any situation and making the best of it. A hint of expectation will lead to disappointment. So, expect nothing.

Giving up

While growing up, we're all conditioned to understand that giving up means you're weak. It means you're a quiter. It means you suck at everything. Why? Why are people conditioned to this?

Is it because giving up means you failed? Maybe giving up means you've just had enough. Maybe it means what you're doing isn't working.

I thought about this the other day, having always agreed that giving up isn't a sign of weakness. While I've always thought that I'd drop something that isn't working and come in at it from a different angle, or better still, drop it all together and start something else completely different that may work. It may not work. But you won't know until you try.

I often say a lot of good things. I also say some stupid things. I find that sometimes I offer advice I don't follow. I should, but I don't. Although the last 12 months have been all about practicing what I preach. So far it has worked well for me. I should listen to what I say more often. But most of all, what I say is only drawn from what I've seen around me. It's the stuff I've experienced, the stuff I hear from friends. The problems I face, and they face, or anyone faces. I learn from that. From myself, from others. It's why I love the Internet so much. Not everyone is your friend, but everyone is sharing.

Experience is what draws us a picture. It tells us what to do or what not to do. It can be someone else's experience. As humans we love hearing about other people. I'm forever wondering how someone I met got to where they are today. What did they do? Are they struggling like me? Are they happy with how their life is going? I read a lot of autobiographies. I read a lot of books on people's travels. I read a few business related books that illustrate how one successful person made it to where they are today.

Each one of these areas all have a common ground. All these people suffered a lot, they lost a lot and risked everything to make it. I recently read a book about a country town baker. He wanted to be the biggest bakery in the world. While I don't think he quite made it that far, from reading the book, he is a pretty significant person in Australia who now spends his life doing talks around the world to people about his life. His bakery runs itself..... or more accurately, he has managers and staff who run it for him. But this wasn't easy for him. He gave up 5-6 times throughout his life before finally making it. At one stage in his story, it looked so grim that he held a gun to his head. But realised before pulling the trigger, when he heard his daughter get up out of bed to come over to see him because she couldn't sleep, that his life was in fact worth living and he could try again and do things better this time. And he did.

Attempting to commit suicide is the ultimate choice to give up. I won't even suggest trying it. I haven't. And looking back at my depression from my motorcycle accident, I am always surprised that I didn't even think about it myself when I easily could have. But none the less, giving up allowed him to look at everything and gave him the opportunity to start again, make things better, learn from the mistakes, avoid them this time around. It's a bit like Groundhog Day. You get to do it over and over again until you get it right. Then it's smooth sailing.

So, when people look at me sad and say "That's really sorry to hear" when I've told them I'm dropping my business in search for another. I tell them "It's okay. I've had 7 years hands-on experience on how not to run a business. Now it's time to do the opposite. There's no point in flogging a dead horse. Whip it as hard as you like, you're not going to win any races".

The pressure's on

Just an update on the project Val and I are working on. No, not the partnership. The theatre play. Well, Val's done all the hard work, I just play guitar. We had a rehearsal last night and everything went really well. I'm meeting up with him again on Thursday to learnt these last two songs that are outrageously difficult to play and I can't seem to get my head around them.

Still though, 7 of the 9 songs are down pat. We're 100% on those songs. Though the pressure is on because the organisation who's now funding the play has booked us a preview gig in 3 weeks time for the 7th of Feb. Then we're playing an open mic night on the 8th of Feb, just for more practice in a public area.

We'll be doing another official preview in March at the Greek Festival in Darling Harbour, followed by the full theatre piece, played at The Vanguard in Newtown. That's the BIG day. But I'm not sure when that is, maybe in May.

If all goes well, then it's off to Greece.

The pressure is on. Val is feeling it. He's got a lot to do now that I told him "I told you so" back in October when we were all relaxed about learning the songs. I told him "It'll creep up on us and we'll say SHIT, it's January already." And guess what? Last night at rehearsals I said to him, "It's not only January, it's almost half way through it."

He looked at me, knew that we had to all pull our finger out and has suggested we rehearse two or three times a week, not just once.

I have my own pressure at the moment, a guy called me from this business for sale I looked at, sounds interesting and now I have to see the books to make sure it's working well. The agent called me and gave me the old trick of "We have someone else interested in the shop space to rent, I'd rather give it to you." I hate it when agents do that, and I usually say "ah well, find me another premises that's similar." I bet they hate that because I call their bluff. I'm not ready to commit to the place yet as I'm still unsure what's to happen with my business. I'm not interested in making rash decisions anymore. I'm making calculated ones, if I've learnt anything.

General thoughts, and Major pain walked into a bar....

This post, yet again stems from another thought provoking idea I thought of while reading up on some replies.

Nazis. I'm not talking the German WWII type. I'm talking about those people you meet every day that are dedicated to a belief, a cause or an idea and even if you happen to believe in the same idea but go about it a different way, you aren't considered dedicated, part of the team, part of the belief. It's obvious you're interested in something else, your motivation is different. Therefor you are not one of us, you are one of them trying to be one of us.

What nonsense. But you see it everywhere. Anywhere you don't fit in, even if you think you do. True, there are people who aren't like this at all, but when you come across one that it, it's painful. So I thought I'd mention my experiences with these types and what I did to avoid their problems being handed over to me.

It's quite easy actually, for me anyway. I just let go. I was part of a brilliant Astronomy Club here in Sydney. They were active, then a new committee with grand new ideas arrived. I think committees are places for people who want to be a boss or a manager go when they don't have the stuff to become one in their daily life, for every committee I've seen always seems to have too many Chiefs and no Indians at all. What happens then? You have a group of sayers and no doers, and nothing gets done. So they solve the problem by delegating, and they do this by creating a sub-committee. YAY! A group of people that aren't cut out to make any decisions, thrown into the deep end because the committee that looks down on them has no clue how to manage these people.

How is this the same as the Nazis I spoke about earlier? You have someone higher up telling you what they think, and most of the time they are so clouded with their own power in the group that they can't see clearly. They haven't got a clue, but they'll tell you how to do something. They are experts no doubt. And whatever it is you're doing, they have an opinion on it. They have a better way to do it. So they micro manage you, and in the end nothing gets done because you have a flock of experts all telling you something different, and because it's a committee of a club, you have to do it the way they tell you.

A member of this club once decided to stuff them all and just go ahead with what he wanted to do. He had found a really old set of Navy binoculars. They were huge, more like two telescopes mounted close to each other on a stand. They found them sitting under the stair case that leads up to the observatory. They were in bad shape. So he asked the club, can I take them home and restore them? They uhmmm'd and ahhhh'd for weeks. So he just took them home, restored them back to brand spankin' new condition, and probably better than new because he hand assembled with pride. The committee went off at him for "stealing" the binoc's. They told him he went over their authority. I was there when this happened, and when there was a moment of silence, I said "Thanks for restoring these, they are an asset to the club and so are you and your skills in fixing up the old, dated but historic equipment."

The silence after that was deafening. No one said a word, but they were still furious. This member turned to me and said "It's a shame not everyone can appreciate the work" and he disappeared, cancelling his membership.

Years later, I invested many hours creating a new website for the club. The old one was so messed up, it was like looking at a website from 1998. I tried to help bring the club into a modern age, so it would appeal to a younger crowd.... remembering the committee complain about lack of new members.... maybe it had something to do with the old ones dying or leaving because you treat everyone like they're 5.

Once I brought the site up to scratch, I was given an award due to the fact that we had 10 new members in the first month sign up, and they did so through the website. I created an online application form so there was nothing to print out or mail/fax back. It was all electronic and that's what appeals to people today, not what appeals to an old fart from the 50's (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but dismissing email over the postal service is silly these days unless you're sending a parcel to someone).

The new site brought in an influx of members but they didn't stay long because they saw the committee and their brilliant skills at making good choices for the club, instead of themselves... no wait! the opposite of that. Sarcasm never works on the Internet.

When membership started to fall again, I mentioned two things to them, trim the fat off the committee and another great idea I had was to invite visitors on our open nights, as per normal. However, offer them something special. So I suggested that the guy at the gates suggests to each visitor, "Here's an application form to become a member of the club, if you fill in the form tonight, you get the entry fee for the open night taken off your annual membership fee.

I mentioned this in front of the entire club. Everyone was amazed at such a simple idea and knew it'll work. The committee were furious that they didn't think of it first and launched into a lovely attack that went something like this. "Well, that's all good and dandy, but how do you expect to club to stay financially viable if we offer everyone who enters discounts?"

You dimwits.

I left the club unofficially. I didn't announce it. I just let my membership lapse. When I got a phone call about it, I told them "The club doesn't offer me what first intrigued me to join." They asked me what that was and I said "You know, you just don't want to know"

And that was that. I no longer have issues with the club because I don't attend their meetings, I don't converse with the "experts" anymore.

So, as sad as this sounds... when you have an interest and there's a group. Use the group to gain as much knowledge as possible, and when the first know-it-all speaks to you about something that you question, it's time to leave. You've gained what you can from the group and now it's time to move on after you out grow it. There is no point sticking around to see all these unhappy people who think they're boss, telling you how to do something or accusing you of things where all you're trying to do is help. You don't need that in your life. Much like a mental asylum, your stay will be entertaining at first, but in the end you'll just become another one of them.

The future might be the past

I recently read a great blog post from over Texas way of a person I catch up with via this great medium. Their blog in called Off Grid Terlingua and their entry, much like most of mine, was posted from an idea that stemmed from someone's comments, or some one else's blog. Or just daily experiences and thoughts.

Rather than put my lengthy reply and thoughts down on his blog, I don't want my long winded replies to take over and be longer than the actual blog entry itself. Hahaha. I thought it would be better posted here so the small but dedicated audience I do have can have a read and see what I think. So here's my reply;

It's great that your daughter is thinking about such things. I was once down in the dumps after my bike accident and the economy here in Australia wasn't great. When I couldn't find work, I made excuses to move to another country. But my mother stopped me by saying "When you get there you'll still be you."

No matter where you go, you will end up the same. You must change for everything around you to change.

A great quote I have always lived by but only discovered who said it a couple of years ago is "Be the change you want to see in the world"

On the survival front, you just don't know do you? I'm not sure about the US, but here in Australia we have compulsory superannuation funds that we put a percentage of money into from our wages and salary which basically goes towards our retirement fund. With the economy where it's at now, a lot of people lost their money and are about to retire with nothing.

Your barter idea is great. I love barter. I often trade some IT support for some plumbing work. I recently got an entire new toilet system put in and the old one was there for 60 years, so it was stubborn to come out. The plumber that I used was one who uses me to make sure his PC's are running fine. We exchanged skills, and as much as I love it when there's no money involved, food is another thing. I grow my own chillies, tomatoes, lettuce. Next year I'm trying out corn. I'd love to head over to the farmers market I go to every Saturday and exchange my food for theirs.

You're right, it isn't intruding, it's banking. They'll eventually look out for you one day. But in a modern world, everyone seems to think that if you help you obviously want something in return. Even when you reassure them, they have this doubt. I know this because my friends tell me that when someone helps them, they are suspicious. I tell them to get over themselves, there are still people out there that help and do it for free.

Sorry for the really long reply. One question I have though, it what's the attitude for off-gridders? Are you guys considered hippies or something? Scum of the Earth because you don't have the same possessions as others? Or something like that?

I hope not, but I did live in the US for a while and one thing I didn't like was how people love to categorise you and put you in a basket because you're a certain way. We're all a certain way, we're all human. And this was one reason I came back to Australia. I grew tired of being eccentric, off tangent and being told that I'm something I'm not based on their assumptions only because of the way I look or the way I dress, or the way I talk, or the way I do things.

I guess the thing here is acceptance. Accepting that we're all different. Accepting that my IT services which mean nothing to me, are worth their weight in computer parts to the plumber. And his services are priceless to me (well, at least $400). But I have helped him out for nothing and he helped me out for nothing. It isn't the value of the product or service we compared, but the value of how it will make our life easier, you can't put a dollar figure on that.

Recently, I went to a concert, it was over 2 days and in a part of Sydney I like because it is populated with weirdos. Why is this a good thing? Because they don't discriminate. Anyway, across the road from the area where this 2 day music festival was held was a small food co-op. Now, I'm not sure how it works. I believe you pay a membership fee and come to get whatever food you need. You might need more, you might need less, but everyone pays the same, because we all need the food equally. The produce is brought in from local farmers, so there is the least amount of transport involved. And the entire place is run as a not-for-profit. I loved the concept. I loved that everyone was treated the same. I loved that it was 2 minutes away from our Sydney city where tall sky scrapers and offices where suit wearing humans make more money in a year than both my wife and I combined will ever see.

But what happens to them when something like what happened in the US effects us here? What happens if you just lost billions of dollars? I tell you what, the people like me living off some of my land, helping my neighbour get their mail or bring their garbage bins in will continue to live on like we always did. And the more off the grid you go, the less likely you are to be affected.

I once went camping to a spot I go to once a year. A small country town in the middle of New South Whales. The town has a population of about 12 people. They have their usual setup like most rural towns in Australia. A pub, a general store, a hot food shop that sells fish and chips, burgers, etc.

Once in the pub, we were all drinking and talking to the locals and there was a blackout due to a massive storm just over the mountains (The Great Dividing Ranges), one guy was so drunk he didn't even realise there was a black out and kept talking. When one other guy started to swear at the juke box because he just pumped $10 into it, picked his songs and when the black out was over and power was restored 10 seconds later, his songs were gone and so was his $10. One guy I was speaking to say that this was his first blackout he experienced in 10 years. I said "don't get much power shortages out this way?" he said "no, my house runs purely off solar and wind"

And that was my start of my passion for living off the grid. Not so much for the services going on you, the reliance on them. If we rely on them too much, you won't know what to do when they're gone. Then you will truly be living in the past.

I lost a Ferrari...

My car was broken into and everywhere I rode my motorcycle, I wheelied on the back wheel.

Dreams are crazy like that. One minute you're doing something perfectly sane, like driving a loaned Ferrari off a friend. The next minute you're looking for where you parked the thing and riding around on your motorcycle that appeared out of nowhere, on the back wheel only to discover my regular every day car has been broken into, totalled and wrecked.

This got me thinking, what if dreams were actually real. What if everything that happened in them was something you actually experienced. You could argue that because the dream happened to you and a lot of the times they can feel real, perhaps I really did experience gaining and losing a Ferrari. Perhaps I did actually watch my car get smashed, and I did ride a motorcycle on the back wheel everywhere around town looking for the Ferrari.

So, just because it's a dream, you can say you still experienced all that. The emotion, the ups and downs, and you wake up in that early morning stage when you can still hear things but you're still in lah lah land, thinking "Shit, my car!". Only to find that it was all just a dream.

More choices

Yesterday I had a person I recently met come by my office to have a chat with me. I had sent him an email a week earlier about looking forward to our meetings at this new business network and education group he's started.

I went to the last meeting of 2009 and saw great potential to the layout. There isn't one. I saw great potential to the policies, there aren't any. Unlike the current group I'm with, that are so over governed a few members are getting sick of it because they feel like they're back at school.

One member who became pregnant asked for some time off and if it was okay to come back afterwards. She was told "No, you cancel your membership and we open your industry to someone else. If it's still not taken when you decide to come back then you can renew your membership."

Being more than just a business associate to me, she vented her frustration and I agreed that the whole thing was getting out of hand. I was get frustrated with the fact that the system they follow isn't too flexible and accommodating. So I told her about this new group that's started and I also mentioned her to the guy that came and saw me yesterday.

His visit was mainly to chat about the future of mine. See, while the business advisor I spoke to said that my business was a dead end and we all agree that is may be. Yesterday's meeting illustrated that I can always keep the business running but morph it into something that can expand without me having to try anything like hiring new staff or dumping the whole thing and moving on to what I really want to do, and dumping my customers in the same swift move. Not something I'd like done to me, so I shouldn't do it to my client base.

So he said that this new group he's started isn't just about referring work to one another, while that's a part of it, every week will showcase a new guest who's extremely successful and is happy to come to a meeting and tell us small time business folk how they made their millions.

I told him, while I want to be rich, I don't want millions, I just want to be well off enough to pay all my bills and know that I can go away and afford to travel a bit, afford to buy that item I really want and know that I don't have to open my bank book and think "shit, time to figure out how to get paid this week"

I suppose, a lot of my situation has to do with my lack of knowledge on how to run a business. I didn't make a plan. The plan was, work, make money. But since hanging out with successful people, I have learnt that I didn't plan at all. It was just something I said to myself. Not good enough.

I have been working on a business plan for the music school and already things are very clear. I can almost see it operating while I proof read the 15 page document thus far.

So, my visitor yesterday pointed out that I should still plan on getting rid of the business, but rather than dump it, make it a sellable business. Make it something unlike now, which is not a guarantee to a potential buyer. Nothing is in place that commits a client to use me as their IT support. So over the next 12 months we are going to work on putting systems in place that will make my business something my customers can't live without.

The goal is the end will be that the business in 12 months will actually be worth selling to another IT organisation. I'm not sure how this is going to be achieved but I believe in this person and I believe in myself. I know I can do it, and 12 months isn't a long time.

In the meantime, I'm thinking that 12 months is a long time to wait for this business to wrap up and I start the new venture. I'm thinking that I'll be 12 months behind with the new business. Good things come to those who wait. I'm happy to wait.

Some wondering

It amazes me that two people can occupy the same room. One can be riding on a total high while the other is not enjoying themselves, making it a hassle and can't wait for it to all be over.

I had the displeasure of seeing this a while ago when at an event and I was enjoying through the other people who were enjoying also. Then I was distracted by a couple who were not enjoying themselves at all and I thought to myself, how can you not sit there enjoying yourself?

On the other end of the scale was a person near us who was having a great time. And again I was hit with another thought, life IS what you make it. Isn't it?

It truly amazed me that there were these people occupying the same room, at the same event, yet there was a person who didn't enjoy it.

Everyone is different, no doubt. But when you could see the angst and their eagerness to just stop everything and get out, you have to wonder what is going through their mind at the time?

Perception is a funny thing. It's part of what make us differ from one another. It's like a friend of mine that seems to be the one at every party who always has a conflict. It is natural due to the way they think, or is it because of habit?

Habit usually comes from comfort. You don't do things to yourself that you hate, even if it looks bad to others, you yourself enjoy it, so you keep doing it. Even if it's detrimental to you and your life.

I know people that are emotional wrecks, and they persist to be that way despite knowing that what they're doing isn't good. Or people that constantly do the same thing over and over again and wonder why things didn't work "Just like last time" no matter how hard they try. What about people who seem to always look at the negative side of things. I'm usually put in this basket but I'm quick to correct people that I am alternative, not negative because negative itself is perceived as something you disagree with, not exactly something bad.

Yes, we are a diverse bunch of living things. Sometimes I can appreciate it, other times I can't handle it or fathom how diverse we can be. Yes, even I have a line you can cross despite what my friends will say.

Though getting back to my original point, it disturbs me a little to see how a room of 100 people can all be having fun. Or a performer or stage can be on a high. The highest they can be without smoking something, yet there will be someone out there in the same room who will be hating every second of their existence. I guess it disturbs me because when I have gatherings, I want everyone to enjoy themselves and I make sure they do. So when I'm at someone else's gathering, I expect to see everyone happy. Otherwise you could just stay home and be miserable. But I guess it'll be a different type of misery as their perception at home will be different to say a party or a music venue. Maybe they don't want to experience that sort of downer and want a downer with a bit of upper. LOL.

After that experience I have tuned right into noticing who's having a great time and who's not. I find it sad that there are people that have every possible positive in their life, but are blinded by so much negativity that they can't actually see the positives.

At the end of the day no one is right or wrong, no one is perfect. Perhaps I just have to accept that people have good days and bad days, people like to comfort themselves with familiar things and if there's a familiarity with surrounding yourself with negativity, then I guess that's your choice to do that. Maybe that's your positive and I'm just seeing it as a negative. Maybe you get off on being down or hard on yourself.

Then I think to myself, people's behaviour is based on their experience, their influences and their up bringing. Maybe what they're like now is what they saw others like when they grew up. As humans we love copying things. And I think at varying degrees, we copy one another with our own twists, which is what makes us unique yet some how can relate to one another. If you grew up with negativity around you then you are more than likely to surround yourself with it as you get older. It's that familiar comfort thing again.

This can also explain why you get similar people based on their demography. Every country in the world has it. There's the slum, the rich part of town, the middle class. I don't think this is depicted by the price of the property in the area. I think it comes down to comfort. If you've been brought up with abusive parents then you have a highly likely chance of being the same. There are exceptions to this though. I know some parents who are really shit to their kids and I disagree with a lot of what they do or say around their kids. But that's their business. What I do see however is how the child in the family differs themselves from their parents, almost to say "I see them, I don't want to be like them."

The famous line from The Breakfast Club states that you are turning into your parents, you can't help it, it just happens. And while this is true in most part. I know there are exceptions. This child in particular is an exception, and I see two things with them. They will either try their best to escape the shell and become their own person, succeed and move on with their life, or they will struggle to achieve what they want due to such a strong influence of their parents parenting.

My point for all this brain vomit is to enjoy what you have. Don't concentrate on what you don't have. That's depressing me as I sit here dreaming about a Ferrari in the garage that isn't there. Enjoy what you have however little, for when you are nothing but dust, you have nothing but your soul to carry with you and show for yourself. Have heart, compassion and love for yourself and others around you.

Fly in the Ointment

You know what I dislike the most about the things I want to do?

It's when people tell me I can't or shouldn't. It makes me want to prove them wrong. But in this case, I'm a little cautious because the person saying so is quite smart and very experienced in this area.

I'm referring to my Plan B. I spoke to a person I know who's a business broker. He's very successful at what he does. What he told me once I showed him my plans was basically to throw the idea away. His main point was that I shouldn't be wasting time trying to build a successful business, I should just buy one that's already established and is successful.

He went on to point out the why's and the what's. But I looked at him and said "Well, if everyone thought like you, no one would start a business at all."

The thing is, I walked away from out meeting and I can't escape the fact that everything he said was true. Everything he said was right. He's not in the position he's in due to doing things the wrong way and learning from them. He's where he is because he always thinks things through, and makes the best choice in the aim of making money.

Another friend I spoke to who is also successful though not a rich bastard like this business broker told me "Why do you want to make all this money? Why all the greed and stuff?" I had to explain to him that is wasn't about greed. It was about goals.

I told him "My goals are simple. I want to earn enough to pay all my bills, live a little and provide enough income into my family so that my wife and I can build our new home, can have the children we plan on having and look after them in the old fashioned way we both agree to look after them, by her staying home and making sure the house is a home. And we also want to be able to go on holidays anywhere and not worry about returning to a business where all the customers have fled because no one was there to service their needs."

He changed his opinion of my greed into that of just wanting to be comfortable and getting what my wife and I want. The ability to have it all set up for us so we don't have to struggle.

I'm fully aware that plans can change. But it's good to have some sort of plan and a bit of flexibility for those bumps along the way. It might go all wrong. Though I'd rather it go wrong now and I have a few years to sort ourselves out again rather than do it later in life when there's more at stake.

The fly in the ointment however, was my meeting with the business broker. It's not that bad. He just crushed a dream. Though if I do listen to him, my goal is still achievable. By looking at established businesses, there wasn't much on offer. The choices were basically cafes and pizza shops. To me, they're not really what I like to consider a successful business. Sure, people eat food all the time. But how many local pizzeria shops do you see where the owner walks to him BMW? It's another one of businesses much like my current one. A dead end.

The only real choice of a good business was looking at a franchise, but not your regular Subway or something. I was thinking more like a tyre shop, or brakes and suspension. There's a brand in Australia that's pretty popular, and a branch of their shops is selling near me for a reasonable price.

The great part is, it's a well known brand that's been established for over 20 years. It's mechanical, which is my background. The business can operate while I'm not there because I'm not on the tools or at the register. It's a franchise, so while it's no guarantee, it has a higher than likely chance of working out. I have a nation wide advertising campaign done for me. Stationary, etc.

The business broker was happy, then suggested to get rich I must purchase a few branches. But he usually thinks big, so the number was an unrealistic 10-15 branches. LOL. Sure, I'll just invest a few million dollars and see what happens. He might be able to, but I sure as hell can't.

So, there's now a Plan C. But it may well be Plan B because all the hard work is done thanks to me purchasing a franchise.

Looking at it a few days after speaking to the broker, it makes sense. So perhaps the music school might be a Plan C. Or perhaps an additional business.