I wasn’t going to comment on the unfortunate mess that Mr. Serepisos seems to have found himself in as I have no vested interested.  However, seeing the way things have played out in the media I cannot help myself.

The similarity between the way Mr. Serepisos seems to operate and certain individuals that I have the misfortune of doing business with recently is striking. Why is that these individuals who live the high-life seem to think that their own lifestyle is more important than those to whom they owe money?

More to the point, why do they continue to ignore people trying to deal with them as long as the matter is kept private. These people will only sort out matters once brought into the public light it would appear. No doubt they rely on the fact that the majority of people would not go to the trouble, or have the knowledge of how to bring public attention to their plight.

Is it arrogance? A lack of conscience? Or have they just lost touch with reality?

It isn’t that I particularly like seeing a high fliers crash and burn, but I like it even less when I see the working man struggling because his money has not eventuated. And it always seems like it is those at the bottom of the food chain who suffer because they have no options.  The people they owe money to can not be ignored.

Meanwhile, the high fliers in their fancy cars and expensive clothes, when confronted with complaints from the working class cry “tall poppy.” Is it any wonder that the general population has a distrust and low image of the flashy high flier when all too often their suspicions end up proven correct?

Should we gloat? Or should we hang our head in shame with the state of the society that we live in?

ANZAC Day – a day of rememberance for our valient men of war.

ANZAC standing for Australia – New Zealand – Army Corps. A relationship stretching back to 1914 when the first ANZAC unit was formed.

The spirit of the men from down under was undeniably robust, and despite horrific skirmishes such as that of Gallipoli the ANZACs were feared and respected by their opponents.

Traditionally ANZAC day has been set aside as a memorial of the many men fighting under the Australasian banner who gave their lives.  The sale of red poppies has helped generate money for the casualties and families of these men.

ANZAC day memorials have become more popular in recent times as the younger generations rally together to show support for the valiant men of generations past.

So what should we think of anti war protesters who are now encroaching upon tradition? This year they began selling white poppies only days before the traditional red poppies came onto the market.

Should protests against modern wars and politics desecrate the precious memories of past sacrifice? Does the act of remembering fallen soldiers of years gone by endorse current political actions?

Or is this just part of the social engineering that is determined to destroy the past for the sake of their own agenda? The same philosophy that is determined to drive a wedge between the indigenous people and the colonizers. The same movement that wants control over our children and our land, not to mention our income.

A post for those of us who market on the internet.

There are a lot of people panicking and complaining about the F.T.C. (Federal Trade Commission) and the heavy handed actions they are taking with online marketers.

The interesting thing is that they are only enforcing rules that were always in existence but have not been enforced on the internet as strictly as they have been in other forms of media.

I always find it interesting that people get all upset when good business practices and consumer rights are enforced upon them.   I would not run a business that makes it standard practice to screw people, lie to to people, or generally provide substandard value, so this has never really been a concern to me.

Just today I got an email by a well known online marketer that stated this about his product:

... received rave reviews (which unfortunately
we can't print due to the damn new FTC regulations!).

You might think that he has cause for complaint – although I am not sure which rules his reviews were breaking.   However, the interesting thing is that I went the sales page for his product and after reading the page I was greeted with an exit popup when I tried to leave.

Exit popups are fairly common these days.  This particular one offered me an extra $20 discount if I changed my mind and decided to buy after all. It was a ONE TIME ONLY offer that I would never see again if I closed the window.

Here is my problem.  I would be seriously annoyed had I bought at the price first offered, because they were more than happy to sell it $20 cheaper.  But even more annoying is the blatent ONE TIME ONLY offer LIE.  Because I re-entered the site to check (several times), and was offered exactly the same ONE TIME ONLY offer each time.

My point is, here is a classic example of an online marketer complaining about the F.T.C. regulations, while at the same time blatantly trying to rip off his customers.

I say “shame on you Dan Raine.”

I don’t know if I just becoming more aware or if there is actually an increasing trend of cancer mortality.  It seems that everyone I meet either has some form of cancer or is immediately connected with someone who is fighting cancer. If it isn’t cancer it is a heart condition.

Is it the Universe fighting back against the blight that mankind has become on the planet?

Is it the Creator of the Universe reminding us of our mortality?

Obviously we should be prepared for any such reality in our lives. But what lengths should we go to?

It would be hard for anyone to step into my business and take over. Should I have someone trained up to do that?

Insurance is another interesting dilemma.  A doctor suggests that health insurance is over-rated because they generally find a loophole to weasel out of paying when you find yourself in a situation to cash in on the policy.

Life insurance, or more correctly death insurance, is designed to pay out to those you leave behind.  But the amount you pay in compared to the payout becomes very redundant if you live an extended period of time. The way the fees are set up there is no reward for joining early in life anyway.

In this day and age the majority of people do not have the discretionary income to cover such expenditure anyway, and these are the people who would most benefit from the policies.

Death might be the great leveller but there is nothing fair about the when and how, nor the effect on those left behind.

When you are thinking about how to measure if you are successful or not, how does your death feature into the result?

The Bank Is Foreclosing!

I was somewhat intrigued by a news item this evening.

A couple borrowed several million dollars to buy a farm. They already had a block of land and were able to get 100% financing (this was a couple of years ago – toward the end of the property boom) on the new farm.

To get the equity required they had their original block revalued.  They say that they felt the new valuation was too high but it was that that enabled the purchase of the new block.

They borrowed and additional $200 thousand to make improvements.

Long story short – they were unable to get the returns they expected/needed, the land values have plummeted post property bust so they are facing bankruptcy.

They are blaming the banks for giving them the money and not making sure their business was a sound investment.

I am sorry, but borrowing 100% on a farm is a recipe for disaster. The nature of farming is such that if you need maximum returns every year to meet your bills you will fail.  Sooner or later a bad year (or string of bad years) will come.

What did you think would happen when you are millions of dollars in debt and you fail to make your payments?

Obviously they thought they would grab the capital gains, but under a forced sale they have now made a (significant) capital loss.

Some people may pick themselves up again from this point but probably not those who are living in a world of blame and denial.

We had an inspiring meeting today in a mentoring group that I am involved with.

The host of the group Doberman Dan shared some of his non success and some of the trials he has had along the way to being successful in his business.

One of the points he raised was about the negativity that we face when we try and better ourselves. By breaking out of the mold and trying something creative or entrepreneurial we suddenly find ourselves a target for negative reactions.

Often times this negativity comes from within our close circle of friends and family. Possibly because they want to protect us from “failure” but also because they don’t want to be shown up as a failure either.

Dan read this great Roosevelt quote:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Sorbonne, Paris – April 23, 1910

Don’t die wondering what if. You only get one shot at life and it is up to you to make the most of it. No one else can do it for you.

By the same token, don’t let other people put you off giving life your best shot.

Working at the local landfill never ceases to amaze me.  We are a wasteful society.

Much of what makes its way to the landfill is rubbish.  That is hardly surprising for a rubbish dump you might say.  However, I use the term in a more generic sense. The amount of products that head to the dump that are luxury items, or more likley plastic gimmics from china or other such producers.  Most of this stuff we don’t need, won’t use, can’t repair.

The second most criminal waste is the stuff that would be recyclable.  There is a lot of rubbish that is thrown out because that is the easy option.  And much of it could easily be disposed of at second hand shops and salvation army shops. Or even by putting in the front yard with a “free” sign attached.

It is easy to imagine that the time is nigh when you see how destructive to the planet we call home man has become. One day we will pay and one day we will be called to give an account.

In the mean time, you can help by not participating in our throw society, do not buy plastic junk with short shelf life.  Stuff that will be on the way to a landfill in no time.

How Do You Want To Be Remembered

On those times when I visit a cemetery to pause for reflection I think of those lives of my ancestors who have gone before me. I think the times they lived in, the changes they saw.

I think too of how they lived their lives. I wonder if they achieved what they wanted to out of life.

And as I reflect on their lives I can not help but reflect on my own.

I am forced to ask myself such questions as “How do I want to be remembered” or even “will I be remembered?”

What about you? Do you want to be remembered beyond your lifetime? What are the actions your taking today to ensure you will live on tomorrow?