Chocolate Fish!

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 425 Monday 30/04/18

 

Hi,whew, busy week, school holiday action with active child and puppy plus Anzac Day with Christine marching and Fletcher laying a wreath meant we had it all going on!Thanks to some helpful insider advice from Hire Industry legend Royston we headed to Island Bay Wharf where the good oil advised the Kahawai were plentiful.We weren’t disappointed and managed to land a couple of beauties and a number of others tagged and released!(see pic).

Fletcher reckons he wants to go to Island Bay Wharf everyday after school in case someone gets his spot or the ‘big one’ with his name on it lurking around the wharf.

Something funny about well meaning friends is sometimes it can turn to custard as we discovered when one of our dearest dropped a note and some dark chocolate over our fence last week.Neither Lily or Kate can read but they both love chocolate so made sure they polished that off!!!

An emergency trip to the vet,a stomach pump and 24 hour surveillance later we still had two dogs!

Anzac Day was a chance to reflect on how lucky we are that we had ancestors who were prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect our right to the freedom we enjoy today……….we will remember them.

As if all that wasn’t enough Lily had her first public appearance in the local forest and on the beach both of which she loved and now considers she owns!!(see pic).

I hope you are also having a busy time enjoying life……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate and Lily reckon they loved the chocolate and don’t know what all the fuss was about!

 

 

 

“Dream BIG and dare to fail.” Norman Vaughan

 

I must admit I am freaking out a bit as a result of recent events.

Many moons ago I had a dream of representing my country at something.

Early on it was Soccer and then Rugby however the All White and All Black selectors didn’t agree.

So I drifted a little while I committed myself to things work and family (as you do).

Then I joined Toastmasters and discovered there was an opportunity to represent New Zealand.

All you had to do was win four progressive speech competitions in the same year(is that all?).

If you managed this not insignificant achievement you would represent our country overseas.

So I had a crack and qualified for the fourth competiton (national final) three times in 5 years.

I finished 2^nd, 3^rd and nowhere in that order respectifly….and then hung up my guns in 2001.

So once again I drifted falling at variouis hurdles along the way until 2018 ,17 years on.

I now find myself after a lot of luck and some glimpses of the past in the national final again.

So one week out from the competition I am freaking out a bit…..my goal so close yet so far away!

Am I good enough?,do I have what it takes?,can I deliver on the day?,is it my time?

So why am I freaking out,because I know how hard it is to get to this point and don’t want to blow it!

I guess I just want to be the best I can possibly be to realise that dream.

I liken it to the Americas Cup, all competitors have a boat(speech) about the same speed (as good).

It is about how you tune and tinker with that boat to get the extra bit of speed (impact) from it??

I have prepared well, feel I am ready and have had some expert advice from respected colleagues.

So the stage is set, how big will I play?….this is as nerve wracking as it gets but I am up for it!

Just like a work day,my success will ultimately be determined by my attitude and my belief in myself.

As Fletcher would say,time to ‘bring it’ Daddy,I am pumped and don’t intend to die wondering.

Preparation, hard work,and focus = success at anything……watch this space.

 

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”Walt Disney

First date

        

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 424 Monday 23/04/18

 

Hi,we have morphed into full on school holiday mode at 48, batten the hatches, and all that jazz. Its times like this you realise how much it costs to go anywhere like the movies or any other Auckland entertainment venue!? Then there is the good old ‘school holiday programs’ running all over the show which are also an arm and a leg!Interestingly it’s the spur of the moment simple stuff that invariably ends up costing less but always ends up more enjoyable!!

Fletcher reckons he knows it cost a small fortune to take his girl ‘friend’ to the movies but he assures us they are only friends and nothing happened! He didn’t mention whether that was before or after his Mum had gone to sleep watching the movie Peter Rabbit !!!(See pic).

Something funny about parenting 101 second time around is realising how important it is to spend time with your kids doing the simple stuff that memories are made of.To this end Fletcher and I have some fishing missions planned to new wharves around the City next week(and I cant wait).I still regret not taking enough of this time out with my other boys in school holidays!I guess the key thing is having realised and learned that lesson I am doing things differently now!!

There is nothing more precious than your time especially when you are gifting it to others.

Have a great week sharing some of your precious time……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate and Lily reckon they should get danger money at 48 in the school holidays!

 

 

 

 

“What do you call a used car salesman?...A Cardealologist.” Some bright spark J

 

Ok, I confess, I used to be a car sales person!! hmmm…but ‘new’ cars not used cars.

I say that because we always considered ourselves better than the the used car guys!?

I think it was because they always had to break the bad news re low ball trade ins and were invariably dealing with people who needed finance, couldn’t afford it,but sadly got it !

Anyway back to the story….so one day we had a giant sale….one day(today) only!!!

There were lots of gimmicks to attract punters and heaps of incentives for all involved!

So it was all on for young and old….speaking of which I ended up with a ma and pa!

We built a repore and did a deal but it took all day to finally do it!!!

So instead of ending up with a most sales/profit award I won the longest deal award!!

I guess this says a lot about my selling style and why it wasn’t really for the car yard!

My strength is relationship building for which there is no time for on a one day car sale!!

Funny how you remember stuff like that from earlier in your career.

Even funnier when you can recount and share it with customers now for a laugh.

I rolled this old chesnut out last week to a guy who I have been trying to close forever.

He saw the funny side and agreed we had taken a while to get to yes but not only were we getting the yes for Auckland but we were getting the yes for the rest of NZ too!!

Interestingly using past experience to reaffirm my strengths helped to conclude the deal!

It is vital we all learn,accept and adapt our working styles and techniques to be better.

 

“You don’t ‘close’ a sale you ‘open’ a relationship if you want to build a long term successful enterprise.” Patricia Fripp

Beatup !!!

 

 

 

 

                                                                                       Edition 423 Monday 16/04/18

 

Hi,WOW that storm came out of left field and was definitely worse than anything we have experienced at Muriwai in the 20 years we have been there.Sunday night and our power had just been restored 5 nights and 6 full days later!It is the first time I have been seriously worried about how our 1950’s something bach would cope.I am pleased to report that our humble abode and the local fire brigade came through with flying colours!

Ours and other communities rallied amazingly to support each other through what was a difficult post storm period.We spent time at the fire station having hot showers,doing washing, having communal meals with neighbours and the all important daily Nespresso coffee fix whilst charging phones, ipads and laptops.

Fletcher reckons we should go to the fire station more often so he can work on his pool table and dart board skills for future emergencies and visits to houses of ill repute!!

Something funny about adversity is it brings out the best and worst in people from the outstanding offers of help to the low lives who helped themselves to evacuated houses and stole power generators while people were struggling to cope….beyond belief but sadly true!

Another positive from this ferocious weather event was the way our (ok not strictly ours but near enough to it) dear old pohutakawa took everything dished out and is still there like she has been for 100 years plus.On the positive side #2 of the weeks proceedings was the cranking up of our log fire for warmth and light as we hunkered down against the elements….welcome back you cosy good thing!

So nothing to moan about really and plenty to be thankful for……Cheers Jonesey.

 

Kate and Lily reckon the fire station needs to have special treats for dogs too!

 

 

 

“Make every day game day.”

 

I have been enjoying the Commonwealth Games action recently.

The theatre of sport is enthralling and contains plenty of heroes and villains.

It is fascinating to see it all play out and to observe the many and varied emotions.

There are many sporting similarities to our business and private lives I reckon.

 

Messages and morals like;

Things that go around come around and if at first you don’t succeed then try,try again!

Bad sportmanship is not ok, you cant win all the time and if you do then be humble!

Preparation and planning is the key to any successful campaign in any field!

There are no short cuts to success or substitutes for honesty and hard work!

A team full of unknown triers will beat a team full of mega stars any day!

Every athlete/sales person/mother/wife/father/husband/daughter/son has his/her day!

 

There were plenty of highlights in our successful campaign and everyone will have their standout favourite but for me it was the New Zealand Ladies Hockey team gold medal.

Finally after years of heartbreak they took out the world champions at home…..YES !!!

All our team deserves a pat on the back for gaining selection to represent their country.

It is up to us to take the positives from such an inspiring fortnight and apply them.

I know it has made me even more committed to being successful at anything I attempt!

 

“Never say never because limits like fears are often just an illusion.”Michael Jordan