The New Year

With only a few hours to go to 2011 there will be a lot of New Years resolutions and decisions  be made. Whether they will be kept is totally irrelevant as it makes the person making it feel great about what he or she is planning (or just thinking about).
The challenge of any plan,resolution, decision, call it what you will is it is of no consequence if you do not activate it.  This will only be effective if you put it in writing, put timelines on it and give it a champion. Someone who looks over your shoulder and to whom you make yourself accountable to monitor your success.

Here are a few challenges I would like to put to the readers of this little piece:

Take the challenge in 2011 to:

1. Be original.   Be the author of what you send out via email. Do not send someone else's BS on. Write your own and send it on. (Try not to write BS) Become the one other people will quote. It is not that difficult.

2.  Start your own blog.  It only takes 15 minutes to set up and it is great fun. (http://www.blogger.com/   and it is totally free!.

3.  Get going on facebook.  It is really rewarding if you know how, and totally safe if you know how.
    ( if you do not know how , ask me )

4.  Learn a new skill - it can be a hobby or it can make you money !

5.  Do something for the first time !.  Go Bungee jumping, Go skydiving, Learn to fly a microlight, Challenge 
     a friend or family member to do it with you ( Challenge me if you dare)

6. Decide to stop growing old - Growing old is in the mind - the body does it's own thing anyway!

7. Arrange a massive party for all your friends.  It is easy : Just call it a Picnic - do not do it at your home.
    Sorry to hear about the one who forgot a chair or a knife or the butter.  It is a picnic for crying out loud!

Come one people - come up with some new ideas !  Are you 63 years YOUNG or 36 years OLD ?   I know a lot of the latter and very few of the young ones.

2011 for starters

I opened "Beeld" (an Afrikaans newspaper for the English amongst us) this morning on the Internet. The First 6 articles was all about death and destruction. It could have been published the same day last year and probably the last 20 years or so. Nothing new.
I do not think the public is really into this anymore.  Is this a foreboding of what Newspapers is going to publish in 2011?  Don't they realise that positive and interesting news will also sell ?



Lets tour the world for something more interesting 
Lets see Hollywood Moves Away From Middlebrow ( New York Times)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/27/business/media/27movies.html?_r=1&hp
Midhurst's community heroes rewarded.

http://www.chichester.co.uk/news/local/midhurst_s_community_heroes_rewarded_1_2203004
(what a nice positive story)  Where are our community heroes?

Some more positive news :  The poll at Times Live asks the question : will 2011 be better than 2010?
The vote ?   67% said yes (275 votes)  not bad hey?

Do some playing around on the internet on the world's newspaper headlines. It is really a challenge to find the positiveness out there and still it looks like common folks like you and me are more positive than what we think !

Tis the time to be Merry - (and not so mild )

This time of year it everything seems to start going slower than normal.  Going on holiday early and coming back on the 3rd of December doesn't work. I am supposed to be rested and ready for the new year, but I am not.  I know it is probably only in the mind but the whole month of December lies ahead of us and everyone else is only now going on holiday.  So now I know it is a mistake to do it so early. I think I will just take it slooooower and have an extended holiday at home.  Anyone not in agreement ?  See if I care !

Taking a chance

It is what keeps me young.  Only this week I heard someone say that you are far better off being 63 years young than 45 years old.  It is all in the perception. 
Taking a calculated (and sometime not so calculated) risk is what keeps me going and giving me the challenges that I thrive on.  During a marriage enrichment weekend last week I made the comment that I like a good fight.  Take on the dogma around you.  Do not take nonsense from no-body (Ok maybe from your wife - you have to if you want to stay married for 40 years - I will be next year)

It is just the challenges of things I am on about.  I (we - my wife and I ) have started with this idea to start a private school around 6 months ago.  And now it is a reality.  This morning we are having our first open day and still planning to get it up and running in January ( even if it has only 5 learners for a start) 

All initial planning indicated that we will need funds we did not have and we would be looking for an investor.
As I am writing this now we have not enlisted the help of an investor and so far indications are that we will not be needing ANY money.
Now this is what taking a chance is all about.  I like calling it investing in Faith !

You can follow us at this blogspot:   (http://centuriongrowthacademy.blogspot.com/) and talk to me if you ever thought of taking a chance.  One of the footwear companies (Nike) has the slogan :  Just do it!  That is fine, I just like their competitors(I think it is Adidas)  slogan more : Impossible is nothing !
" Impossible " and  "No"  are just opinions - it is not answers.

WMM45+

Are you WMM45+ (White, Male, Married and older than 45 )  Very conservative, take no nonsense from no one , including the government ?   Would you think this guy would ideally be living in South Africa ?
Think again.  These are the descriptions (short and sweet ) of the Tea Party members in the USA.  Comprising about 18% of the voters according to some sources.   They are most likely supporters of the Republican party in the USA ( Obama is a Democrat)   They are more wealthy than the average American and might well become the biggest problem Obama will face during the next election.
My only question at this stage is who is going to be their ideal candidate ?   Standing against a populist president like Obama is not in everyones shorts.  Then again Sarah Palin is WFMM45+ (White, female Married , 45+ ) and a Tea Party Icon  and does not wear shorts.
What does the Americans say ?    If you invite Obama to tea do you think he will accept ?

Maybe we should have a Pretoria Tea Party (Like the Boston one) all non racial of course.  The lack of black would be purely incidental.  

Interesting stuff

The wonder of special days

There are only a few special days in everyone's life.  These can be their birthday, their spouse's birthday, Christmas, Aniversaies y and one or two others.   Political days does not do it for me. So called childrens day, womens day , mothers day , fathers day, Sundays, and other days ending with "Y" does not do it for me either.
I have just experienced a birthday and found that this in all probability is the one special day in the year that stands out for me and I think for most other people.  Why would this be ?

Well for one it places the focus squarely on You / Me for that day.  Some family, mostly friends make you feel special by phoning you, emailing you, make a note on your facebook wall or send you an SMS.  I know her birthday makes my wife bloom. She will even phone some friends and say " Hi happy birthday to me"

Some people will make Christmas / Sundays/ some political days out to be their most precious days. I think they are just trying to impress someone with their "attempted holiness" or "Pretentious patriotism".  You can say what you like but the only thing that really makes people bloom is the spotlight when it is on them.

Come on, be honest with yourself - Am I right or am I right.?   You are welcome to differ from me but as I always say: Everyone has the right to his own opinion even if it is wrong !

Being able to relate

A few articles in the newspapers made me think of the ability of people to communicate without offending other people.  The story of Woolworths that planned to take all Christian litterature off their shelves had a backlash from Christians all over the country.  Of course it is the right of a company like WW to do what they like and make business decisions in their own interests. What they off course failed to observe is that you do no mess with Customer's heads in that way.  This little mistake of theirs will become an example in marketing training classrooms as how you should not take customers for granted and how corporate businesses should not place their own interests above those of their customers.  Of course whatever they say and how they made a U-turn will not take away the perception by Christians that they are frowned upon by the group. And as we all know, facts does not have anything to do with it - it is only perceptions that count

The point I actually want to make is the comments in the newspaper of the happening.  Christians re-acted out of character. Comments against the actions of the Christian group brought out the ugly in people calling them all sorts of names.  Not being able to communicate properly a lot of people resort to name calling.
This is a symptom of a sick society.  It happens whenever people feel strongly about something and get frustrated with other people differing from them.  This is how all sorts of rages start. Road rage, shoppers rage, whatever. 

This exact thing occured with the recent ABSA rugby affair. Absa messed with their client's heads. People are passionate about Rugby. Whether rugby is 99% supported by the White community is of no relevance here. The bank used a political angle to mess with their clients. The same thing happened in the comments in the newspaper. Total irrational name calling and some even slanderious comments were made.  It makes me wonder who actually taught some of these people to write as some of the compositions and sayings are totally blase and downright common.

I have stopped commenting on the articles if I cannot be one of the first in the morning and at least I can then comment on the actual article and not on what other people wrote !

Marketing: It is all in the basics

Basic stuff :  Find out what people NEED & WANT and GIVE it to them :

Just understand the basics :
What is a need ?
It is something you have to have, something you can't do without. A good example is food. If you don't eat, you won't survive for long. Many people have gone days without eating, but they eventually ate a lot of food. You might not need a whole lot of food, but you do need to eat.

( So go into the NEEDS business and give the people what they need ) - see lesson one:  Market research


What is a want ?
A want is something people would like to have. It is not absolutely necessary, but it would be a good thing to have. A good example is music. Now, some people might argue that music is a need because they think they can't do without it. But you don't need music to survive. You do need to eat.

These are general categories, of course. Some categories have both needs and wants. For instance, food could be a need or a want, depending on the type of food.

You need to eat protein, vitamins, and minerals. How you get them is up to you (and your family). You can eat meat, nuts, or soy products to get protein. You can get fruits and vegetables to get vitamins and minerals. You can eat yogurt or cheese to get other vitamins and minerals. You can eat bread to get still more vitamins and minerals. These basic kinds of foods are needs.

Ice cream is a want. You don't really need to eat ice cream to survive. You can eat it to get some vitamins and minerals, but other foods like cheese and yogurt give you more of those same vitamins and minerals without giving you the fat that ice cream does. Still, ice cream tastes good to many people. They like to eat it. They want it, but they don't need it. They like it, but they don't have to have it to survive.

(So go in the Wants business )  Again see lesson one : Do market research

Utilizing some of the possibilities of what I just wrote you should with a little effort find some business to start !

The actual meaning of words

No Matter what wikipedia says this is the actual meaning of certain words when used by a woman:

“Fine”: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.


“Five Minutes”: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

“Nothing”: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

“Go Ahead”: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

“Loud Sigh”: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

“That's Okay”: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

“Thanks ‘: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' - that will bring on a 'whatever').

“Whatever”: Is a woman's way of saying S^%$ you!

“Don't worry, I'll do it”: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

Thank you Paul Kruger - Moonstone for all these fine articles

Life after the world cup

A lot has been written about the pros and cons of the world cup. Was it a good thing or a bad thing ?
And as I always content everyone has the right to his own opinion even though it might be wrong. Anyway here is some of my perspective:

We flew down to Cape Town, stayed a week and flew back to civilization - The republic of Centurion.

For one I was impressed with the obvious friendliness of the service staff all over the place - even the police walking around smiled !  The booking staff of Kulula really shined ! ( Maybe it was because it was Kulula ?)
The airport was as clean as you ever can imagine.  The flight was incredible (Sorry about this but maybe it - was again the airline)      We landed in Cape Town and by the time I got to the bagage retrieval our baggage was actually out - We were at the car hire within 10 minutes of landing.  Now this has never happened before.    Cape Town airport really sucked before the very obvious revamp.

Then the experience with the Car hire company. I was in our brand new car within 10 minutes after that.
A brand new Ford Figo - it had exactly 20 kilometers on the clock. (would have prefered a VW, but what the heck I really enjoyed this little car which I drove for just over 1200 kms during the week)

Then we booked in at the Strand Pavilion - and again - I have never had such a friendly reception anywhere at a timeshare resort.  (and of course they could actually speak my home language - Afrikaans!)  The service at this resort for the week was out of this world (I nearly said Out of Africa)

Why am I renting and raving about all this ?  Well let me tell you if it took the world cup to make life so enjoyable they can have another one next year and I will not complain about tax payers money ever again !
One thing I am very sure about - all these improvements is not just accidental or by chance - South Africa actually stood up and said : We will be counted and the frase: Out of this world might just be changed to out of South Africa.

Debating and all that jazz

I somehow landed on a contentious website the other day and had a look at some of the discussions there.
It was quite interesting to see people debating a point on this website while the owner does not respond or possibly is not even following the discussion. One thing that came out though is that some of the debaters
does not know the  basic ethics of debating
As I always content : You have the right to your opinion even if it is wrong ( in my opinion ) And you have the right to state it.  The present government with its blame shifting on Apartheid for everything is a good example


My basic Rule nr 1.

Debate the point - play the ball , not the man.  If you do not like the other person's viewpoint don't get involved. DO NOT START CALLING THEM NAMES.  Do not be defamatory. This actually places you at the lowest level in the argument. It tells the other person you are not worthy to debate with. 

This happens a lot when people debate politics and religion.  If you differ from the other person make your point. Do not be irrational - making points not proven is an example.  Accepting so called facts where the evidence is not obvious is also a point in question. A recent article by a preacher on the creation in a newspaper is a very good example.  He accepts the so-called evidence of certain scientists as absolute evidence. No questions asked. Even to the extent that he says : One cannot understand why people does not accept this ?   Who is the one he is talking about. It is like talking to me and keep on asking the question:
"Of course you agree with me, don't you"   This is irrational in my books.

 Who are most prone to being irrational :  Atheists, Some Christians, SomeVegetarians ,

Why do I say this ?  They think they have a point but do not know what it is.  They believe they are right without being able to say why or being prepared to listen - By the way you have 2 ears and one mouth.

You cannot get involved in a debate without being prepared to listen and to speak - Just make sense when you do.

Dare to move on

When was the last time you did something for the first time ?  As one gets older this question is not something you think of or like to be reminded of.  We live our lives comfortably in our comfort zones. Change is not something most persons like. The change cycle is worse than mount Everest for most of us. 

I drove behind a car this morning with the sticker : In Pretoria praat ons Afrikaans.  The Gauteng coat of arms on his number plate was covered over by the old Transvaal flag.  Everyone of course is entitled to his own opinion, but this told me something.  A lot of people got stuck somewhere in the past and somehow cannot move forward.  This is not a political argument and I respect this guy for his opinion.

I also speak Afrikaans.  I also live in Pretoria (Not Tshwane, as it is officially still Pretoria where I live)
I also respect the old Boer republics and their flags.  But that is history and part of our heritage, but that is all it is. The reality is that we need to move on as time moves on. One can only live towards the future and unless you help create that future you are going to have this problem with the change cycle.  While most other persons have moved on and faced new challenges and are doing new things for the first time some got stuck in the perceived mud and do not even know that it has stopped raining and that all there is is dust. And the "stuck" is now only in their minds as the imaginary chain is around the circus elephants leg.

Enjoying life irrespective

Irrespective of what ?  I am using the word in the broadest possible meaing. Irrespective of anything !

So is this possible ?

Lets look at a few scenarios
In the first instance you need to change the way you look at things;  Turn as many of the words in your vocabulary from the negative to the positive.  It still has basically the same meaning but the attitude in the meaning has changed. 
Now lets take the word : Problem
Definition :
A problem is an obstacle which makes it difficult to achieve a desired goal, objective or purpose. It refers to a situation, condition, or issue that is yet unresolved. In a broad sense, a problem exists when an individual becomes aware of a significant difference between what actually is and what is desired between one or more individual.

Now we change that word to "challenge"

A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking. A call to engage in a contest, fight, or competition:

The basic difference in the words are that a problem is stating a situation, an obstacle that exist preventing you from something.  All definitions of challenge are action orientated. It implies you to do something !

If we now look at a "situation" where the word problem is used :  I have a problem with my boss. This implies that the "problem" exist but I cannot do anything about it.   When the sentence is changed to "challenge" it implies that I now have a call to engage the situation. 

If this is applied every time you encounter a "Problem" you will suddenly find that it becomes that much easier if you engage the situation.  Just remember when you do other smaller "problems" will suddenly appear and you must just do the same with these.

Now getting back to my "Enjoy life irrespective"   If you go and look why you are not enjoying life you will find it has its roots in "problems" of some sort.  Now haven't I given you a simple tool ?

Capice ?

Funny people and vegetarians

It always amuses me when people that live alternative lifestyles find it necessary to make excuses for their preferences. Like Vegetarians and people that do not drink alcohol.  Maybe it is a natural defense mechanism, like in attack before you get attacked.

In most of these cases you will also find that these persons will attack lifestyles that differ from theirs
(that is once they are comfortable with the fact that they have the upper hand by their initial excuses for  not conforming.   Whoever told them they have to explain their preferences?  I do not explain mine.
I have a saying that annoys some of these friends of mine : "I did not get to the top of the food chain by eating grass!"
Please note that I am calling them friends because I have never found it necessary in commenting on their preference of veggies and fruit - hell I even eat some of the stuff myself ! ( sometimes anyway when I run low on the meaty stuff. )

Why am I writing this /  I beg of you to leave my milk, eggs and meat alone - I do not believe the world is going to end because of this ( I do think there is more chemicals and pesticides in veggies than what you will find in good red meat anyway)

Now we can get into the arguments if you wish. I am going to state some beliefs that I will defend to the ends of the earth and because of this stop trying to get me to belief otherwise !

1. Butter is better than margarine.
2. Good red meat is good for you.
3. Red wine is very good for you.
4. When you eat , enjoy it , do not count the calories - It is food not maths you are having
(quote from the bible : Eat your food and drink your wine with gusto)

Oh and by the way - more than 90% of people will agree with me - how do I know ?
This week we had a business breakfast. 34 attendees. 30 chose the farmhouse breakfast - 4 chose the so called health breakfast.   Farmhouse consisted of bacon, eggs, and boerewors.  Health consisted of some fruit and Yogurt (by the way not vegetarian yogurt)

Let us leave the arguments and enjoy what you enjoy and leave the arguments to the scientists who think they know more.  

The Mind block

I am not a Pshycologist or any other shrink. I am just your average thinking human being,
But of late certain insights have hit me and as my friend Wayne would say " you can teach an old dog new tricks"   Actually you cannot. But he can learn it if he wants to.

What is the key here ? Choices - I can make the choice to learn new tricks - you can try as hard as you want to but if I am not interested you will get nowhere !

Ok, so what?   Any good shrink will tell you that more than 80% of your beliefs are governed by you subconscious mind.  So if I decide to try something new and there are hidden beliefs that prevents me from having faith in the venture I am lost.  Now this is in all probability the reason why so many ventures fail. It is because of these beliefs in our subconsious mind that prevents us from achieving success.

Simple isn't it ? Your shrink would have charged you around a thousand bucks to come to this point.

Ok but now I have stated the (shrinkwise) obvious.  How do we change the scenario?
I am again stating this in laymans terms.  I know I am going to get some smart replies, that is ok if it helps someone to understand this better.  See ?  I have made a statement that only Yesterday would not have been made as I believed that I am right and I really don't care what you think and I would have told you so !  What changed?    I will tell you and this is the key to the whole thing:  I made a concerted effort to not see all critisism as destructive which is in my nature.  Now this is going to need effort.  Whatever I decide my subconsious mind is going to block me if it does not fit into my belief system.  This is a universal law.

Again to get to this point a shrink would have cost a you a few bucks. Belief me.

Right ,  now we(I) found out what the problem is and where it is. Now I have to do something about it.
I have been given a little gift yesterday by a gentleman called Conray Labuschagne and I am going to try the
remedy for a month or so. Some of you might have heard of it , some not.  It is an elastic band.

It works something like this :  You put it on your wrist and everytime you conciously know or find out that your idea is being blocked by your subconsious mind you pull this out as far as you can and let go.
"bloody hell, that was sore"  Your subconscious mind will start associating that blocking or negative thought with pain and it will eventually stop its nonsense.   Does it work ?   I don't know, I am going to try it "Eina dammit, that was sore !)   See the unconsious mind does not even like you messing with it.  It is all in your beliefs.

Another few bucks to the Shrink.   To be continued......................

Personal targets

This tedious task of setting targets has always been a difficult one for me.  Let me explain.  I do my planning in my head - most of the time.  I do not like to make notes and when I do I very rarely read it again.  I think it is this bigger picture thing - totally right brainer thing.  Because of this I do not have any written goals or targets and I know it should be there.  Now I have come to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe I should start looking at this thing.  If I could be as successful as I have been for the past few years without doing any real physical planning, just imagine what I could do if I did start drafting a proper plan.

Now this piece of wisdom above relates to business. I am now on about personal targets.  We (my wife and I) have had such a personal target about 4 years ago when we decided we are going to Scotland for my 60th birthday.  Where were we on the 27th of October 2008 ?  My sixtieth birthday ?  We landed at Edinburgh airport in Sotland that morning !

So ?  I know it can be done and that is exactly what I will be doing again - not Scotland - THE BIG PLAN

The biggest problem here is : Starting with the bloody thing............Tomorrow!   Ok definitely next week.

The love of money................

............is the root of all evil.

No matter how you argue the point everything revolves around Money. All sorts of alternative
economic systems have been investigated and implemented. All of them have the exact same
problems that money creates:  One person's perception of value differs from the next.  The bank charges you
15% interest on your loan. They think it is fair, you don't.

The supermarket offers you a bargain at a bargain price .  Both of you think it is fair until you see the same
product somewhere else at a lesser price. Those bastards ! They wanted to screw me! 

In Scotland there is a little town called "Aberfeldy"  Scotlands first fair trade village , I think it said.
I will be doing a bit of research on this and write about it in a new post.

Why I quoted this is that this is exactly what we should be looking for in any trade-off:   Fairness for all involved.  This is a human thing - Governments and institutions will never get this right for the simple reason that there will always be money involved, and money breeds greed!

Unfortunately for now MONEY RULES (OK?)
There is one reason and one reason only why businesses fail :

They run out of money.


There is one reason and one reason only why good business plans do not get implemented:

The lack of money



There is one reason and one reason only why individuals are liquidated / loose their possessions /……………?

They ran out of money.


There is one reason and one reason only why there is greed in this world

Money


As an Entrepreneurial trainer one of the things I advocate is that your vision must be bigger than yourself and it also must not be Money. But going from zero to one unfortunately requires money. If you take money out of any commercial (or charity) equation it will fail. This is (unfortunately) the ultimate fact of life.


Trying to change the way the world thinks is in my opinion a total waste of time. Trying to change peoples views are easy : You do it exactly as you would trying to eat an elephant : Small piece by small piece. One person at a time. . And you must have a very good workable system to replace any existing (not so effective )principle.


People tend to follow a strong leader. Even those with stupid ideas. Hitler and Malema are good examples. So did the British with Winston Churchill who was a charismatic and stunning leader. So where does this leave us ? Work on your ideas and get it practically implementable. Draw charismatic leaders to yourself.

Sell your idea and get them to sell it. And you will find that in your immediate vicinity things might just start changing.


This brings me to the parable of the 12 apostles?

They took the Masters message and multiplied it and no one can challenge the outcome 2000 years later.

Recognition of Prior Learning

These new buzz words :  Recognition of prior learning might just be the key to your future success !

In the South African environment a lot has happened in the past 16 years since the new government came to power.  A lot of it positive and a lot negative. This is not the forum to dwell on that.
What is important is that a lot of knowledge has gone down the drain. People that have been trained
in-house by big corporates or have studied somewhere and did not finish those studies are receiving no recognition for their knowledge and skills.

You might be an industry or subject specialist that can make money from that skill or knowledge.
If only you could get recognition for the skill or knowledge.

Now you can !

Through a process called recognition for prior learning you can now get INTERNATIONAL recognition. 

Through our affiliation with SBM international you can undergo such a program and get international
credits and recognition for your knowledge.  The system looks at every single piece of knowledge you acquired and you might even qualify for a degree.


You might be a subject specialist on something but no-one is interested as there is no official qualification or recognition ?



Send us an email to be invited to a Free presentation- It could change your life forever!
The email address is rpl@brandow.co.za


You might even be invited to be a facilitator on some of our courses - we have major opportunities in the training market !

Let the past be the past

Two emails landed in my inbox simultaneously this morning: the asked the question: Is it time to change your focus ? and the other one had the heading : A new way of thinking.  I will go into a bit of detail about both just now.  My statement in this article is :  The past is exactly that : History.  You can learn from it , you can talk about it , You can have guilty consciences about it etc. etc.  You cannot change it : It is History.  You can change the future though - It is not there yet. You have the choices what to do with it,whether to plan for it or just accept it as it comes.

This brings me to the first email I received : Is it time to change your focus?  What was this guy on about?
The message is clear : If you do what you have always done, how can you expect different results.  These are such true words if only it gets applied.   The keyword is : Change your input , change your focus , look for new ways to do things , new niche markets , new people ,  New ways to run your sales force (Less salary - Lots and Lots of more commission ) Surround yourself with like-minded people.  Do not be afraid to try new things

This brings me to the second: A new way of thinking - this one had a christian undertone but so be it;
It started with this quote :And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine burst the wineskins and the new wine is lost.........

The message is clear : When you change your thinking get rid of the old holder where the old thinking was done and totally renew the mind to the new idea.  Never use the old way of thinking again because you will find that suddenly you have filled the thinking holder with old and new ideas and it suddenly burst and nothing is left !

This is true in personal life and in business.  If you do not change course you will end up where you were headed and that , my friend might not have been where you wanted to be !

We need to start thinking about new ideas in business - New partnerships , new products , new marketing methods and ways , new ways to connect and new ways to learn

to be continued .........


JOHN BRANDOW

So you want to leave this country ?

Quick STATS for those who want to leave and those who have (sorry to hear) already left

• "South Africa is probably the leading economy in the world." (CNBC Europe)
• South Africa’s Rand is the second best-performing emerging market currency of the 26 monitored by Bloomberg in 2009
• South Africa sold $1.8 billion worth of cars to the US last year, putting us ahead of Sweden and Italy as suppliers to the US market.
• In 2009, the Springboks become the first international team to be World Champions in both 15-a-side and Sevens rugby.
• The International Monetary Forum's World Economic Outlook ranks us in the top 10% of counties in respect of Real GDP Growth Projections for 2010.
• In the Economist Intelligence Unit's Survey of Democratic Freedom we rank 31st of of 184 countries.
• South Africa ranks second worldwide in terms of the transparency surrounding its budgets - just behind the United Kingdom, tie with France, and ahead of New Zealand and the United States - according to the Open Budget Index.
• The number of 'dollar millionaires' in South Africa has increased from less than 25,000 in 2004 to over 55,000 in 2007, according to the World Wealth Report
• According to the World Pay Report, South African managers are earning disposable incomes that are higher than those in many developed countries.
• Johannesburg ranks 2nd among countries from Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa in dealing with urbanisation and environmental challenges, in the MasterCard Insights Report on Urbanisation and Environmental Challenges.
• South Africa ranked 44th out of 131 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2007/8.
• South Africa was ranked as the 18th most attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment by global strategic management consulting firm AT Kearney. 
• Three South African cities were voted amongst the world's top 100 Most Liveable Cities in a study conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Cape Town was ranked in 85th place, Johannesburg 90th and Port Elizabeth 97th.
• Since the 1940s, South African golfers have won more golf majors than any other nation, apart from the United States.
• South Africa has been ranked 28th among 108 countries measured for responsible competitiveness, according to the global think tank AccountAbility.
• Johannesburg has been ranked as the eighth cheapest city in the world for expatriates, according to the most recent Cost of Living Standards Survey from Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
• South Africa is ranked 20th out of a total of 128 economies in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2007, ahead of many developed nations, including, the United States (31), Switzerland (40), Austria (27) and France (51).
• South Africa ranks 57th out of 157 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom, ahead of Italy (64), Brazil (101), the United Arab Emirates (63), Greece (94th), India (104th) and China (126), according to the Index of Economic Freedom 2007
• South Africa is ranked 35th out of 178 countries for ease of doing business - ahead of Spain, Brazil and India - according to Doing Business 2008, a joint publication of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
• Cape Town has the fifth-best blue sky in the world according to the UK's National Physical Laboratory
• South African media ranks 26th out of 167 countries in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2007, higher than any country in Asia, the Middle East or South America, and ahead of Japan, Spain, Italy and the United States.
• The Johannesburg Stock Exchange was the 7th best performing stock market in 2005, according to the World Federation of Exchanges
• Pretoria has the second largest number of embassies in the world after Washington, D.C.
• In 2005, interest rates were at a 25-year low
• South Africa accounts for almost 45% of the GDP of the entire African continent, with an economy three times the size of the second biggest (Egypt)
• Almost a quarter of South Africa’s non-interest budget is spent on education
• The University of South Africa UNISA is a pioneer of tertiary distance education and is the largest correspondence university in the world with 250,000 students
• In 1991, South Africa became the first country in the world to provide full protection status for the Great White shark within its jurisidictional waters. Countries including USA, Australia, Malta and Namibia follwed suit later.
• Afrikaans is the youngest official language in the world
• According to the Economic Freedom of the World 2005 Annual Report, South Africa ranks 38th out of 127 countries in terms of ecomomic freedom, tied with France and ahead of Israel, India, Italy, China, Brazil and Russia.
• The rand, the world's most actively traded emerging market currency, has joined an elite club of 16 currencies - the Continuous Linked Settlement (CLS) - where forex transactions are settled immediately, lowering the risks of transacting across time zones. Standard Bank is the only African bank to be a shareholder partner of CLS.
• The Singita Private Game Reserve in the Kruger National Park was voted the best hotel in the world by the readers of travel publication, Conde Nast Traveller
• The South African Rand was the best performing currency against the US Dollar between 2002 and 2005, according to the Bloomberg's Currency Scorecard
• South Africa's per capita GDP, corrected for purchasing power parity, positions the country as one of the 50 wealthiest in the world
• Worldaudit.org ranks South Africa as the 40th most democratic country out of 150 nations
• Stellenbosch University was the first university in the world to design and launch a microsatellite
• South Africa is the 35th best place in the world to do e-business, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2007 E-Readiness Report.
• South Africa is the best-ranked country in terms of price stability, our fiscal policy is ranked 11th, our international trade competitiveness 21st, and we are the 28th most-attractive destination for foreign direct investment, according to the World Competiveness Yearbook 2005
• South African business owners of mid-size companies are the second most optimistic worldwide about their economic prospects of the year ahead, according to the annual Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey for 2005.
• South Africa is the first, and to date only, country to build nuclear weapons and then voluntarily dismantle its entire nuclear weapons programme
• The value of South African real estate improved by 30% over the past 5 years
• Tax revenue in SA has increased by 220% over the past 10 years
• In 2005, 10 million South Africans benefited from access to social grants
• The number of tourists visiting South Africa has grown by 116% since 1994
• Over the past 5 years, Consumer Confidence in SA has improved by 43%.
• In the global measure of women in Parliament, South Africa ranks 8th in the world.
• Of the 10 LSM levels ( LSM1=poorest; LSM10 wealthiest ), the average SA family located in LSM6
•  Source  :     South Africa: The Good News www.sagoodnews.co.za  Full list available on their website 

Businessday 16 Apr 2010

THAMI MAZWAI: Small business needs a tougher police force
THAMI MAZWAI	Published: 2010/04/16 07:31:23 AM

CLOSE to two years ago, the Small Business Project (SBP), a nongovernmental organisation specialising in small business research, pointed out that more than 40% of small businesses did not expand or employ more people because of the high levels of crime in inner- city areas, townships and informal settlements.

As a personal example, thugs once robbed my brother of the day’s takings, his wallet, jacket and everything moveable in his container telephone business in Soweto. The family rallied around him and he started again. Several weeks later, the same or another group of hooligans pistol-whipped him and, again, took everything. Just like about 30% of small business owners hit by crime, he threw in the towel. The SBP rightly maintains that the extent of crime in SA deters job creation and economic growth.

Criminals regularly attack small businesses . As these businesses do not have insurance, it is amen for many when these thugs strike. Obviously, these entrepreneurs need protection as the crimes are violent and brutal. Thus, today’s talk of “militarising” the police is music to the ears of the owners of small busiesses. The message is that the police will no longer smother criminals with hugs, kisses and brotherly love, assuring them of their rights under the law.

In any case, the murder of 3000 police officers since 1994 should inform us that a no-nonsense attitude is required.

Claims that militarising the police force will erode citizen rights are more of an interpretation than anything else. The repackaging and rebranding of the police, which is what Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa is talking about, must be differentiated from the actual fight against crime.

This “militarisation” creates an operational mind-set and is not an abandonment of the rules that protect civil society from heavy-handed police officers.

Private-sector organisations rebrand and reposition, and this reignites and reinvigorates their workforce. Why is it different when Mthethwa wants to achieve the same so that society is better protected?

To discuss this issue in a broader context, Gen Solly Mollo, previously of the South African National Defence Force, posits that during transformation the security apparatus weakens as the incumbents, fearful of the future, balk at and manipulate the system. We appear not to have considered this insecurity and that the incumbents would meddle with the processes.

Also, when we appointed police ministers, we appointed democrats rather than disciplinarians and crime- busters. The rot started seeping in. The best appointments were those of the late Steve Tshwete as minister of police, and the current commissioner Cele — both of them rough-and-tumble guys who can, or could, mix in with their men.

Mthethwa is doing some interesting things, but the jury is still out on how successful he will be. Pussyfooting around with nice terms, such as “criminals have human rights”, has unintended consequences — a soft approach to crime. I do not encourage authoritarianism, but the situation is bad.

SA is the only country I know of — perhaps the closest is Mexico — where the death of a police officer is regarded as just another death. We do not have infuriated citizens demanding to lynch the murderer. We even have all kinds of regulations making it impossible for the police just to defend themselves.

As much as I understand the concerns around the “shoot to kill” statement, my sympathies are with the police. No sight pleases me more than one in which five or six robbers lie dead on the ground and a police officer, gleeful, stands over the corpses ready to take on the next set of bandits.

My parting shot is that we need the ruthless apartheid police variety — as long as they focus on criminals and not on political activists. This way the small business people will start growing their enterprises, which grows the economy and provides people with jobs.

The most important human right is the right to a meal — we forget that at our peril.

- Dr Mazwai is director of the Centre for Small Business Development at the University of Johannesburg, Soweto campus.

To:	Subject:	From:

Wake Up South Africa

SAIRR Today : Press Release : Statement by the South African Institute of Race Relations on the ramifications of the killing of Eugène Terre'Blanche - 6th April 2010







The Institute desisted from issuing a formal statement in the immediate aftermath of the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche in order to first gauge the broader social, political, and international reaction to the killing. The Institute is now in a position to make the following points.



Racial tensions in the country appear to have increased significantly in recent weeks. This appears to be chiefly as a result of incitement by the ruling African National Congress to ‘shoot and kill’ the Afrikaner ethnic minority in the country. The anxiety around this incitement may well have influenced opinions across the broader white community. What appears to be the case is that much of the racial rapprochement that characterised the first 15 years of South Africa’s democracy is being undone. This rapprochement saw both black and white South Africans come to occupy a middle ground on race relations upon which the maintenance of future stable race relations depends.





Since 1994 the number of white farmers and their families murdered in South Africa is conservatively put at around 1 000. It may very well be much higher. There are currently an estimated 40 000 commercial farmers in the country. Over this same period in the region 250 000 South Africans out of a total current population of approximately 47 million have been murdered. Criminal violence can therefore be described as ‘rampant’ and has done considerable damage to the social fabric of the country. However, this is not to say that all murders in the country are a function of simple criminal banditry. In an environment where law and order has largely collapsed the consequences of incitement by political leaders to commit murder must be taken seriously.



Over the same period the policy measures put in place by the Government to raise the living standards of the black majority have failed to meet expectations. The key interventions of affirmative action and black economic empowerment have been exploited by the African National Congress to build a network of patronage that has made elements of its leadership extremely wealthy. The party also appears to have been so overwhelmed by corrupt tendencies that it is no longer able to act decisively against corrupt behaviour.



It has also through incompetence and poor policy been unable to address failures in the education system which are now the primary factor retarding the economic advancement of black South Africans.



At the same time the party is acutely aware that its support base of poor black South Africans has begun to turn against it. Violent protest action against the ruling party is now commonplace around the country.



In order to shore up support in the black community the ANC increasingly appears to be seeking to shift the blame for its delivery failures onto the small white ethnic minority, which today comprises well under 10% of the total population of South Africa. Here parallels may be read to the behaviour of Zanu-PF in Zimbabwe when that party realised that its political future was in peril. The ANC Youth League’s recent visit to Zanu-PF which saw it endorse that party’s ruinous polices are pertinent here.



In such an environment it is plausible to consider that the ANC’s exhortations to violence may be a contributing factor to the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche. Certainly the ANC’s protestations to the contrary seem ridiculous as the party is in effect saying that its followers pay no attention to what it says - this from a party that routinely claims that it is the manifestation of the will of all black South Africans. This is not to say that a labour dispute or some other matter could not have inflamed tensions on the Terre'Blanche farm. Rather it is to say that a number of different matters should be considered in determining the motivation for the crime.



Certainly the ANC’s exhortations to violence have created a context where the killings of white people will see a degree of suspicion falling around the party and its supporters.



It is of concern therefore that the police’s senior management are on record as saying that they will not consider a political motive or partial motive for the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche. This suggests an early effort to cover up the ANC’s possible culpability for inciting the crime.



Should any allegations of a political cover-up arise in the pending murder trial of the two young men accused of the Terre'Blanche murder the political consequences could be significant. Should evidence be led that the two young men acted with what they understood to be the tacit backing of the ANC, and a causal link between their actions and incitement by the ANC be established, then the possibility of charging the ANC’s senior leadership in connection to the murder arises. Equally plausible is that the Terre'Blanche family and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging could bring a civil suit against the ANC and the Government.



It is possible that the killing of Mr Terre'Blanche will greatly strengthen the hand of a new hardened right wing in South Africa. In life Mr Terre'Blanche attracted a small, uninfluential, and extremist following. He will not be mourned for what he stood for. However, in death he may come to represent the experiences of scores of minority groups in the country who perceive themselves as being on the receiving end of racist and now also violent abuse from the ANC. In effect therefore Mr Terre'Blanche may be seen as having been martyred for a minority cause in the country.



The implications of a resurgent right wing will be numerous. It is most unlikely that this right wing will take the form of camouflage clad henchmen on horses in shows of force. The ANC has also often, wrongly, identified groups including the political opposition, Afriforum, agricultural unions, and even this Institute as ‘the right wing’. This silly ‘red under every bed’ attitude in the ANC saw it lose the trust of many civil society and political groups. These groups could all be defined first and foremost by the common belief that they had to act within the bounds of what the Constitution prescribed.



But the ANC belittled and undermined them. It also undermined parliament, the national prosecution service, and the various human rights and other organisations that were established under the Constitution. It may yet usurp the independence of the courts and the judiciary. The result was a shutting down of many of the democratic channels that were created for citizens in the country to make the Government aware of their concerns and circumstances.



The resurgence of a new political consciousness among minorities could drive an altogether different political force. Such a movement will draw its strength chiefly from a hardening attitudes in the white community but perhaps also in the Indian and coloured communities. These will be views that in the main have come to subscribe to some or all of the following points:



1.That the Government has corrupted and debilitated many of the country’s internal democratic processes for political or civil expression that were established under the Constitution

2.That cooperation with the current Government of South Africa is therefore fundamentally unfeasible and therefore futile

3.That the Government is unable to restore law and order in the country

4.That the Government is therefore unable protect its citizens

5.That the Government has a hostile agenda against minority groups



However it is equally, if not most likely, that many minorities who subscribe to the five points above may simply get so fed up that those who can will pack up and go. Here they may take the advice of President Zuma to remain calm as they pack up their businesses and their families and calmly board aircraft for Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. With the exodus will leave much of the tax and expertise base of the country.



Should the ANC, however, find itself facing increased political resistance it will in many respects have a tiger by the tail. Firstly, the ANC depends greatly on the tax income paid by white South Africans to balance South Africa’s books. Secondly, it depends entirely on the food produced by a small number of white farmers to feed the country. Thirdly, white South Africans still dominate the skills base of the country. Finally, and most importantly, much white opinion since the early 1990s has been moderate. White South Africa has been willing and often eager to cooperate with the Government in building an open, non-racial, and prosperous South Africa. Losing that cooperation will to an extent put an end to any serious chance that the ANC has of leading South Africa to become a successful and prosperous democracy.



While the ANC will be inclined to blame whites for this, and may even take drastic action to confiscate white commercial interests as they are currently doing in agriculture, these actions will be ruinous for the economy. The result of such ruin will be to drive a deeper wedge between the ANC and its traditional support base and thereby hasten the political decay of the party.



When General Constand Viljoen decided to throw his lot in with democracy in the early 1990s the right wing in South Africa was a spent force. So it should and could have remained. The ANC could have taken advantage of white expertise and tax revenue to realise their own vision of a better life for all. Things have however gone badly wrong for the party. Corruption has destroyed its ability to meet the demands of its constituents while racial bigotry has now seen it defending its image against what should have been an insignificant and dying neo-Nazi faction in the country.



The failure of sensible South Africans to take back the racial middle ground in the country will be serious. Polarisation will beget further racial conflict and a hardening of attitudes on all sides. This is perhaps the greatest leadership test that the current Government has faced and it is one that they cannot afford to fail.

http://www.sairr.org.za/sairr-today/sairr-today-press-release-statement-by-the-south-african-institute-of-race-relations-on-the-ramifications-of-the-killing-of-eugene-terreblanche-6th-april-2010/



- Frans Cronje

"Wake up and save the republic" by Dr Lucas Ntyintyane 28/3/2010

London’s Daily Sun gave me a hernia. Thanks to their cheeky headline in response to British finance minister Alistair Darling’s budget speech “…Darling screwed more people than Woods, Terry and Ashley”. My tummy is still hurting.

It is a pity laughter has died in SA. Everything is gray. If we are not threatening racial wars and killings on social networks, we are numbed by corruption and crime. Our debates have been reduced to gutter level by infantile leaders. The Madiba jive is gone. We used to be so carefree. What happened to us?

As we begin one of the sacred weeks in the Christian calendar, it is appropriate to reflect on the type of people we have become. I do not like what I see. We are polarised. We are violent and destructive.

We are materialistic. We resemble a Stalinistic Russia. Freedom has brought pain. It unleashed greediness. What kind of people would rape and dismember an innocent 15-year-old girl? What type of leaders would steal from the poor?

Solomon Mahlangu did not die to advance this cruelty upon his people. Helen Joseph did not fight for sadism to thrive. Bram Fischer did not endure apartheid blows to promote a polarised society. The post-apartheid society is an insult to the ideals of Robert Sobukwe and Beyers Naude.

It is up to us to correct this anomaly. The leadership to better this country should come from all of us. It is through our words, writings and actions that we lay a foundation of a better nation. If we preach war, we will get war. If we are consumed by hatred, then racism will flourish. Corruption and violent crime are products of society. We created them; we can put a stop to them.

SA will only go to the dogs, if we allow it. Only the stupid never learn from their mistakes. Our silence gave the empty heads a right to polarise and plunder. How long can you keep silent as self-centred leaders rip your country apart? Each one of us has the power to make a difference. It does not matter if you are at school, in the mall, in the sports ground or in the taxi. History starts with one person influencing the rest.

As individuals, we are capable of creating little miracles in our surroundings. The Easter period is about miracles — the triumph of goodness over evil . The day the nation woke up and saved the republic.

We can make SA laugh again.

Dr Lucas Ntyintyane

Cape Town

The Afrikaners by Clem Sunter

It is an ironic twist of fate that so far the real beneficiaries of the ending of apartheid are the people who were supposed to have benefited from it whilst it was in existence - the Afrikaners.




During the years of apartheid, there was a culture of entitlement among the volk. With a good education you could end up as a Cabinet minister, a top civil servant, head of a parastasal or a senior executive in an Afrikaans-owned business like the Trust Bank or Sanlam. If you weren't so privileged, you could get a job on the railways as an artisan, join the ranks of the army or police or work for a municipality.



After 1994, all these expectations came to an end. Suddenly Afrikaners were out of power. They had to take a leaf out of Steve Biko's book: you are on your own and you will have to fend for yourself. And they have done so - fantastically well. I was told the other day that the fastest growing element of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange are companies owned and run by Afrikaners. The whole coast north of Maputo in Mozambique is now a string of safari lodges and dive shops established by entrepreneurs from Pretoria. The list goes on and on all around South Africa, and increasingly north of the border and elsewhere in the world.



One could call this phenomenon the great trek into business. Adapt or die, John Vorster said. The Afrikaners voted for the first option individually and collectively. Rather like the Jews in America, the Pakistanis in London and the Chinese in Australia, Afrikaners have a collective consciousness which is the spiritual foundation of an effective commercial network. Language, religion, culture and a common outlook on life bind them into teams that are almost unbeatable when challenged by less cohesive competitors. This trait obviously extends into sport as well. It is a form of ubuntu: you help me and I will help you because together we can achieve more. It's just that you have to speak the taal!



This article was prompted by my wife and I staying one night last week at a brilliant place called Bergwaters Eco Lodge just outside Waterval Boven. It was a real pocket of excellence in the Elands Valley. Run by a young Afrikaans couple, it offered everything from a long, beautiful walk to great food to a comfortable bed. But it was the entrepreneurial spirit that impressed me. She wants to give every room the theme of a herb and he has just bought a local hardware store as a second business. Music to my ears. You should always want to improve, no matter what the current state of your business is.



This all goes to show that we need an entrepreneurial state in contrast to a developmental state. California is the sixth largest economy in the world with only 36 million people. There is no sense of entitlement there. Everybody follows the Steve Biko code: you make it yourself. It would be a real shame if, by replacing one entitlement culture with another, we undermine the truly entrepreneurial spirit that South Africa undoubtedly possesses in its population as a whole. The Afrikaners were liberated by creating a level playing field. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention. Entitlement shackles it.



I conclude with a question: why do you think Jews, Pakistanis and Chinese people perform so much better on other people's playing fields than on their home grounds? They know the result depends entirely on their own efforts. Afrikaners have managed to make this psychological adjustment without having to emigrate. Good for them. The next job is to liberate our black brothers and sisters in the same way.

a birds eyeview on government

How on earth can these smart men have contemplated the actions of OUR government ?

I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle -- Winston Churchill


A government, which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always depend on the support of Paul -- George Bernard Shaw



Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner -- James Bovard, Civil Libertarian (1994)



Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries, to rich people in poor countries. -- Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University



Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys -- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian



Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it -- Ronald Reagan (1986)



If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free! -- P.J. O'Rourke (this is frighteningly true.)



In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other -- Voltaire (1764)



Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)



The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end, and no responsibility at the other -- Ronald Reagan



The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery -- Winston Churchill



The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin -- Mark Twain



A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have -- Thomas Jefferson

Wild Mushroom

I found this stunning large wild mushroom growing next to a dead pine tree  - It is 20 cm in diameter.

Something is missing here !

One of us is missing !












Ok Now where is the camera ?

Guard duty

"I will stand guard while you sleep"

The reading

I used to read a lot when I was younger , much younger. Untill I was about 24. I read anything: Storybooks, newspapers, magazines, you name it - I read it. Then the urge disappeared. I think it is the right brain that started kicking in. The bigger picture. Books bore me. I will read short articles and news worthy news. Nowadays I read the newspapers on the internet.
But then a few years ago my wife starting reading a book to me whenever we drive for longer than an hour
So it was that I "heard"   "The language of God" A book about the human genome -stunning stuff - no dogmas here, just plain facts.  And this weekend she started reading   "The shack" to me. At first I found it quite boring but as she went on I really started  to enjoy it.( It is not for the feint hearted)  About half way through now and I am starting to think this is a must for everyone calling themselves Christians.  It is about exactly that : Get rid of the dogmas you grew up with and start thinking for yourself.
One other quote I would like to repeat from the book " A bird was meant to fly , not to walk - they do not walk easily because their feet was not made for that purpose ! "
What were you made for ?  Just think on that one - no more no less !

Are you in control?

Where is your locus of control?  Internal or external.  Comments you read on external locus of control sometimes give the definition of this as blaming everyone except yourself for what happens to you.
This of course is not what it means :  It means that you are not in control of you locus (locality,personal space , call it what you will ) You allow the control to be taken from you. You do not decide,you have to get some-ones opinion on the matter before you decide.You accept that some-one , something will make the decision for you.
And you allow it. You give away control – Most probably a belief that you grew up with. You parents made the important decisions for you. You never propertly learnt to think for yourself .
Locus of control is a term in psychology that refers to a person’s belief about what causes the good or bad results in his life, either in general or in a specific area such as health or academics. This is another definition of this. E.g. External locus  is(could be) the acceptance that you are being punished for something you did beacuse  you got  ill or some other misfortune happened.  This is especially true amongst some Christians and of course is totally untrue and disastrous thinking lines.
Take control of your life – Keep control of it and amazing things will happen.
You will not be walked over. People will listen to you when you speak. Take a view and stick to it ( like I am doing here – whether I am right or wrong – this is what I believe and I stick to it).  Never be afraid to differ from people, it makes interesting conversations.  Never be a Yes person.
You will suddenly find that people will not be making contentious statements in groups where you are present. And they will be unwittingly seek your approval for what they say. If just in the way they look at you when they do make a statement.

White squater camps

Ever been to one ? a White squater camp. I spend some time there this morning and what I saw is a bit disturbing.  The people living there are all white with no visible signs of  income.  The one "chalet"(see pictures)
had a dirt floor, one bed and nothing else visible - some old clothes were lying in the dirt.  The whole place is very clean on the outside although it is all dirt area.  No electricity to the shacks.  A distinct smell of dagga was in the air in one corner of the settlement.

These people are down and out. Do no look you in the eye when  you pass. Has hope foresaken them ? I don't know.  The children seem quite happy running around all over the place.  So does about 50 dogs (about one dog for ever 2 people there) , pigs , chicken, turkeys all happily running around. What is interesting that although some of the people I saw looks like they are underfed the dogs all look healthy.

I think normal day to day South Africans should make a day trip to one of these settlements and most probably they will stop complaining about life, crime , the government and a lot of unimportant things. Here it is evident that life is a day to day challenge.

Besigheidsgeleenthede en MLM

 n Vriend het my die week gevra na my opinie oor n besigheidsgeleentheid wat hy ondersoek by die MLM

(Multilevel marketing ) maatskappy Manatech.  Hierdie was my antwoord :

Ek dink ek is die verkeerde ou om te vra vir ’n opinie oor MLM.  Ek het eenvoudig te veel navorsing daaroor gedoen en ongelukkig is die negatiewe hier baie groter as die positiewe.   Daar is nie een enkele MLM maatskappy waar meer as 10% van die verspreiders geld maak nie! 

Soos jy waarskynlik agtergekom het, dink ek nie veel van MLM nie .  Die Spesifieke maatskappy(Manatech) was al op my ondersoek lys en is daar vir my te veel onbe-antwoorde vrae.  Hulle produkte het nie SABS merk nie – Na die debakel met Simply slim kan jy verwag dat die Mediesyne Raad op al hierdie tipe produkte gaan toeslaan.  Daar is eenvoudig nie wetenskaplike bewyse vir dit wat hulle sê hulle produkte doen nie. Dit is ”Getuienis” gebasseer – en ons weet hoe maklik dit is om te fabriseer.

Die grootste probleem wat ek het met MLM as bemarkingsmetode is dat jy nie die vlak van kennis en opleiding van die downline kan beheer nie – Die oningeligtes leer die oningeligtes leer die oningeligtes ens ens. (Dit word ook genoem die verlies van inligting deur skakels)  Indien ’n fout inkruip in die eerste ”laag” van die piramide sypel dit vinnig deur na die ander lae.  Daar is werklik goeie besigheidsgeleenthede in die normale vraag en aanbod stelsel waar werklik geld gemaak kan word.   Ons beplan binnekort ’n besigheidsgeleentheid skou waar ons hierdie geleenthede gaan bemark.

Wat betref die oudword proses kan jy gerus hierdie artikel gaan lees:

http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/antiagingpp.html

Die webblad www.quackwatch.com het baie interesante leesstof  oor allerhande middels en medisyne.

 

“But that is only one man’s opinion” soos my goeie vriend Wayne Bisset sal sê   (http://www.mygenius.com) 

Pro activeness

Reading through some of the recent articles on farm attacks and other murders, attacks and burglaries it is evident that a lot of faith is put in burglar bars and alarms systems and nothing on early warning systems.  We have started with research on what is available in the market and will probably commission an interested party in the high tech security field to develop a reasonably cheap hight tech early warning system.
One of the other major problems is awareness or rather the lack thereof. Police and other authorities stress the importance of good neighbourly-ness but when you talk to victims it is very evident that in most cases they do not even know the name of their neigbours.
Some form of an awareness campaign need to be driven from somewhere and we are looking at this at present

Anyone interested in getting involved is welcome to contact me :  0828051615   or john@brandow.co.za

When is enough enough ?

If you intend reading this do it and respond asap.   I am Gatvol , Mad and a few other unexpress-able words.
Normally when problems arise people tend to say :They must do something about it , Crime , roads , etc etc
The "They" are never defined.  The government ?   Nobody I know trust them to actually do anything ?
The municipality ?  The Police ? 
I think it is time that we start looking after ourselves.  We are looking into the electronic security system
environment to come up with state of the art , kickass early warning systems .  If you know of anyone or yourself
have technical knowledge of some state of the art systems please contact me with some info

We. are setting up meetings with policing forums , The TVL landbou unie, victims of crime and a few other interested parties
Watch the press - Talk to me - Come South Africa - wake up - let us become the "they" that does something

Simply (deadly) Slim

Dit is darem ironies hoe mense eenvoudig nie die gevare in al hierdie snaakse produkte wil sien nie. Gister was daar n stormloop om Simply Slim produkte te koop terwyl dit potensieel dodelik vir mense kan wees. Daar is eenvoudig nie n "Simply easy" manier om gewig te verloor nie. n Oordentlike dieet en n oefen program is al wat op die ou einde help.  Al hierdie foefies (jammer mense Simply slim was net n foefie ) werk eenvoudig net nie

"If it is too good to be true it most probably is"