The 'Ark'

         

 

 

Edition 222 Monday February 24th 2014

 

 

Hi, I am pleased to say that if there is a Tsunami the Joneses will be saved. This was confirmed last week as the Jones ‘Ark’ was transported home to Dads for some ‘special project’ work. Sitting outside the lounge window it will be easy for him to get Mum and the animals onboard before setting off to rescue the rest of us should that day arrive!

The mighty Ark is a converted lifeboat off the ill fated cruse liner Mikhail Lermatov that sank in the Milford Sounds years ago. Now a family launch one gets the feeling its most historic rescue days could well still be ahead of her!!......who knows but watch this space for more on this nautical yarn!

Crikey I couldn’t believe it out walking the dogs recently when Oscar disappeared literally in front of my eyes….Calling out and retracing steps proved fruitless so I had to admit defeat and announce to his Mother that her favourite dog was missing! A Tsunami alert would have nothing on the rescue operation that swung into action after this announcement. I manned the base camp and scanned the internet for illegal dog fighting rings that may have kidnapped him while his mother redlined the escort wagon to the park!! Mercifully(for me) Oscar was found looking suspiciously exhausted from chasing chickens in the local horse park. Relief all round especially at base camp!!(thank you god).

From the Fletcher file; We had our first surf on the Boogie Board with Dad in the West Coast waves on the weekend and we cant wait to get back there for more!! Yeehaa.

We are looking forward to having Fletchers globetrotting brother Mark home next week in time for the wedding. He turns 30 something today, crikey what an old bugger (me and him!!).

I hope you are all making time for yourselves whilst also sharing some special times with family and friends. Have a great week ahead…..…..…………..Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon the grumpy man tried to lose Oscar on purpose!!(hmmm)

 

 

 

“Common people are often enough; that is why God made so many of them. Your job is to be--EXTRAORDINARY.” Shannon L. Alder

 

I reckon it pays to mix things up a bit if you want to be successful. They say if you always do what you have always done then you will always get what you have always got!

 I leave from home a little later two mornings a week and drive a different way to work.

Its amazing what a difference this can and does make with the change in route often producing new business leads from projects underway I didn’t previously realise existed.

It can also make me aware of what potential prospects are up to and give me an insight into timing an approach to them.

The later take off also exposes me to traffic on the road at a different time and can highlight commercial vehicles with signwriting from companies we can either approach as prospects or deal with as suppliers.

A later take off can also coincide with contractors arriving at new sites to work on them prior to completion or a new tenant moving in. This provides an opportunity to establish who the new tenants or owners will be and to secure contact details. A landlord recently refused to give me info on a new tenant so I staked out the building until I caught an unsuspecting contractor there who gave me the info I was looking for !!

What this proves to me is that we need to be continually challenging and changing what we do on a daily/weekly basis to ensure we leave no stone unturned when it comes to seeking improvement.This is only one example I am sure there are plenty more, its up to us to create them,good luck out there.

 

 “Be different so that people can see you clearly amongst the crowds.” Mehmet Murat ildan

Slim Shady

         

 

 

Edition 221 Monday February 17th 2014

 

 

Hi,many moons ago I payed squash regularly with a guy who was better than me. Initially he used to win every game but then slowly I started getting a couple of games off him until one day I won. He didn’t take it that well and was never the same after that day. You see I had everything to gain and he had it all to lose and he didn’t know what to do when I improved to his level. What he didn’t realise or do was think of ways to improve to stay one step ahead.

The same thing has happened recently to me at my Toastmasters club where new members have improved to a level where they can compete and defeat those of us who have mentored and encouraged them,which after all is how it is supposed to work! It has enlightened and focused me on the need to ‘reinvent’ myself in an attempt to catch up and stay one step ahead. Its not what happens but how positively we react that counts.

Crikey I am proud of our club and the commitment our members have to kicking my backside!(ouch).

Mum and Dad celebrated their 55^th wedding anniversary last week,whilst their #1 son takes the plunge for a second crack in a mere 3 weeks time! If I am to emulate my parents I will be 110 yrs!!!

I am showing good early form with a Valentines Day card and a popular gift last weekJ

I lost my wallet recently and amazingly someone found it and handed it in same day which did a lot to restore my faith in honesty and humanity.

Christine and her son Matthew went to Eminem(who?) on Saturday night with 54,998.00 others!They had the coolest time reminicing as the real ‘Slim Shady’ stood up big time !!

 

From the Fletcher file; More teeth arriving every day top,bottom and eye teeth to complete an impressive array of pearly white chompers,great for attacking Dads weekend designer loaf arrgghhh!

I hope you are enjoying some great summer days and evenings with family and friends.

Have a good week ahead…..…………..Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon M and M’s are chocolate sweets and always have been??

 

 

 

 

“No Cold Callers” sign in reception at “Southern Spars”

 

Last week I was cruising around looking for business and had to check out a new building site for a customer. After doing so I decided to call in on a number of businesses in the same area. I noticed a large company called Southern Spars. A big building with heaps of cars parked out front and more importantly heaps of recycling and refuse bins everywhere.

As I walked to the front entrance I noticed a man and a lady also heading for the door so I waited and opened the door for them! They couldn’t believe I had done that and were appreciative. We all headed up the stairs to reception untiil I saw a sign on the reception counter that stopped me in my tracks! It said……No Cold Callers L

The couple I opened the door for noticed I had stopped and both laughed when they realised I was a dreaded salesman!!....anyway because I had made a good first impression with them they told me to disregard the sign and proceeded to give me the contact details of the decision maker!!

WOW,a simple example of how powerful a good first impression can be,it can and does open doors!

On the flip side we have two local cafes…..one charges a surcharge on public holidays and one doesn’t,guess which one is more popular with the locals?!!,you bet, it’s the one with ‘no surcharge’.

The quickest way to upset loyal customers is to take them for granted….its a no brainer….surely!!

 

“No Surcharge” Top Shop Café Muriwai Beach

Live a little

         

 

 

Edition 220 Monday February 10th 2014

 

 

Hi,thanks for taking the time to give me some feedback on my driving, clearly you didn’t want to ‘regret’ not doing that before I am arrested!! Seriously, I am making an effort in my marked car J

I admit I am a bit set in my ways, enjoy my own space and get grumpy when I feel like that space or comfort zone is threatened….so imagine when it was suggested we do something a bit different? I was a grump and had to be led literally kicking and screaming but as is often the case I had an amazing time at the Matua music event on Saturday listening to bands and relaxing in the sun!

The cruisey beats of Trinity Roots and my families enjoyment of the entire experience will be lingering and extra special memories for me. Fletcher had a ball running bare foot through the vines with heaps of other kids as we mellowed with a glass (or two) of the vineyards finest.

Hmmmmm another lesson for me…..get out of your comfort zone old boy and live a little J

That said, we have had a cool four day weekend that seemed like it would last forever!

As always I am looking forward to going back to work for a rest after four full on days with our son!

I was thinking the other day on my run (as you do) that the reason I work out twice a day,five days a week is so I am in top condition to last the distance on the weekend with Fletcher the action kid!

From the Fletcher file; Our little boy was 18months old on Sunday WOW a reminder to us that spending time enjoying every day of our lives together is so important.

We even had time to catch up with Nana and Poppa this weekend, so important to stay in touch with the people closest to us, hope you had time to relax and do the same.

Have a great week ahead…..…………..Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon there should be a music event at Matua for groovy dogs!

 

 

 

 

“Tough times don't last, tough people do, remember?” Gregory Peck

 

Crikey it was a tough week as I attempted to fit five business days activity into three!

I ended up stressing myself out, lost focus on the priorities and basically mislaid the plot.

On top of that I missed out on a couple of big projects I have been chasing and what went wrong more or less did…..ever had days/weeks like that?

The reality is that life personal or business cant and dosent go perfectly all the time no matter how ‘Upbeat’ you try to be or try to inspire others to be.

So what do you do when your’e having a mare?

The easiest thing I found to do was laugh J,I reckoned it was a good ploy given I didn’t think things could get any worse.

The other thing I did was to focus on something I was looking forward to which was my forthcoming extra long weekend. Both these things relieved some of the tension I had built up, uncoiled the spring a bit and allowed me time to focus on what I could achieve rather than trying to do everything,which I had to accept was impossible. Once I had done that I could crack on.

I analysed my failed project bids,talked to the key people so I understood where I had missed out/gone wrong and tried not to beat myself up too much about it……ok, just a little arrrggghhhhh.

Then I was nice to myself by rewarding me with a strawberry yoghurt ice cream from one of the growers outlets on the way home one sunny night…..ahhhh bliss, and after that lot I was feeling a lot better about my short week from sales hell…..so look after yourselves, because its tough out there!!

 

“If you think you have it tough, read history books.” Bill Maher

No Regrets !!

         

 

 

Edition 219 Monday February 3rd 2014

 

Hi, I have always wanted to feature on a youtube video, have it go ‘viral’ and receive millions of hits world wide, how cool would that be ! Well,I actually made it on to a youtube video last week but it wasn’t that cool L having had my driving uploaded on to a daily “do you believe what this person did” youtube clip. Seems a fellow motorist took exception to me saving time at one of those annoying sets of lights controlling a motorway onramp!.....crikey, some people need to get a life J

I am doing some work on a project about “regrets”. The focus is on the regrets of the elderly or terminally ill and as morbid as it sounds it has been enlightening but scary. The biggest regrets people have are commonly “working too hard” and “not always being true to their feelings”. The outcome whilst not rocket science is sobering for those of us who have time left to do something about it. It is sad to think there is little or nothing most older or sick people can do to change their lives or their regrets. They all wish they had the time and the energy to make things different.Would there be anything more moving or motivational than holding the hand of a dying person feeling their sadness and pain and promising not to make the same mistakes….unbelieveably sad but powerful!

Crikey, yet another wake up call for those of us (me definitely included) who know we have spent way too much time working in the past. My dear Grandmother used to say to me “don’t work too hard, no one will give you a medal for it.” How absolutely right she was !! Hence following a superb Anniversary weekend I have taken an extra day after Waitangi Day to create a mini 3 day week and a huge 4 day weekend, YAY!

From the Fletcher file; Life is one big carefree holiday especially in his Scooby Doo new pool (see attached).I hope you are enjoying the Kiwi Summer with family and friends and not working too hard.

Have a great week ahead…..…………..Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons wont have any regrets having never worked a day in their lives!

 

 

 

“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” Phil Collins

 

We have all had mentors in our lives. A mentor is a trusted advisor, a friend, an industry guru, a teacher, a coach, a parent. Someone that has influenced our lives, given us guidance or been a figure that we have aspired to be like or emulate!!

Do you have a current mentor?, are you mentoring someone else?

In order to “be better” and “never have regrets” we need to constantly seek to grow and a good way to do that is to have or be a mentor.

You will benefit from both having and being a mentor because the biggest mistake any of us can make is to think we know everything hence the need for more information, knowledge and expertise.

Getting a mentor is easy, just ask someone for guidance and ask them if they mind sharing their ideas or recipes for success, or what they think of what you are doing or thinking of doing. Often parents,friends and business colleagues will assist but if you want to feel the fear and do it anyway then approach the successful founder or head of an organisation or a local community or sporting personality and ask them for advice. Conversely you can offer your ideas for success to others and assist and nuture them, this will be satisfying for both you and them.

The key thing is to make the effort to ask or offer hardly anyone does, so why not you why not now!!

 

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”  Plutarch