You dont have to be Einstein

         

 

 

Edition 225 Monday March 17th  2014

Hi, kids are great but when, if ever do you get to stop worrying about them?....answer=never L.

Our intrepid global adventurer Mark is back in NZ and rather than sitting still for too long he has embarked on a kayak adventure on the Tongariro and Whanganui rivers. Together with his Trade Me ‘special’ kayak and an adequate list of equipment and provisions he departed on the eve of the much anticipated weather deluge in the central North Island. Undaunted he is out there somewhere on a ‘Man versus Wild’ crusade against the elements . Don’t worry Dad….yeah right!!!

 

From the Fletcher file; a visit to a local hobby farm was a huge highlight where all the farm animals from his favourite books came to life! Whilst that was thrilling it was overshadowed by the bus ride too and fro. No animal will ever be as amazing as riding up front with the driver…WOW!!(attached)

Sunday roast dinner at Nanna and Poppas also right up there, life doesn’t get any better!

 

Enough is enough our resident mouse seems to have multiplied and must go. As the hunter gatherer, provider and protector of all things household it has been left to me to eradicate our abode of his growing mousekateer family. Several traps and bait stations later I think I am on top of the situation and I have been basking in the glow of happy campers post the infestation…watch this space!

 

Crikey what a build up to the storm this week. Dad had to ensure the ‘Ark’ was ready to go at short notice as the rest of the family readied themselves for the civil emergency and iminent evacuation. We should have known the only storm was the one in the teacup of the media . The closest I came to destitution was from stir craziness over the wet Saturday with Fletcher & Harry and the Hendersons.

 

I hope you survived the storm with family and friends, have a great week ahead…..Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they werent that happy being locked up with me either!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein

 

A customer told me a cool story last week;

He had a customer who was not happy with his company for various historical reasons prior to him joining. He was given the job of rebuilding the relationship on behalf of his company.

It was tough going as the bitterness ran deep. He made slow progress until he noticed an old mountain bike hanging in the guys office. It was in a state of disrepair and the customer regretted not having had it serviced due to lack of time.

My customer took the bike and had it serviced and cleaned up like brand new. His customer couldn’t believe it and was over the moon. They then went mountain biking on the weekends and built a bullet proof business and personal relationship that was mutually fulfilling.

Now my customer didn’t have to do that however by doing so he overcame all the historical bitterness with one unselfish gesture. The lesson here for me is there are many ways to overcome obstacles in life and they are not always the obvious ones.

This was an awesome example of an innovative/creative approach to problem solving and a simple one that didn’t cost the earth. Cool story, solution and outcome. Inspired me to be more creative!

“I thought of that while riding my bicycle.” Einstein in relation to his theory on relativity.

Man vs Wild 101

         

 

 

Edition 226 Monday March 24th  2014

Hi, weekends should be relaxing time outs but it is that ‘little job’ list that eventually gets you !!The ‘big project list’ is like the bridge too far and too easily dismissed from ‘top of’ or ‘front of’ mind but its those nasty little ones that can and do steal time! For example one of my little(quick?)things to do this weekend was to fix a sticky (faulty?) door lock….hmmm a bit later I was surrounded by lots of bits and no closer to a fix or any idea for that matter on how to put it all back together! The lesson here weekend DIY warriors is little jobs soon turn into BIG ones when you don’t have a clue!!

 

Further to last weeks Man v Wild report Tongariro Titan Mark Jones is back in town having conquered the first leg of his quest. Crikey Dad,don’t you know bush/river survival 101 clearly states if you want to know if I am ok check facebook bro before mounting the search and rescue.Dont worry,yeah right.

 

From the Fletcher file; our latest game after watching some Winter Olympics coverage is going for the double somersault off the couch on to the lounge floor….dont worry folks…yeah right.

 

Just when I thought it was safe to say we are rodent free our head Mousekateer was spotted powering into all his favs in the pantry. Seems even a straight forward mouse eradication exercise is proving too much for this Mr DIY however I remain determined and committed. I have been given a deadline before professional help is contracted for this mission plus the little and big job lists. Seems my new wife is losing faith quickly even though she did just commit to waiting ‘til death do we part’ a mere fortnight ago !

I predict we will all have a great week ahead,make sure you don’t let the team down!

Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon they warned Christine I was no handyman!!!

 

 

“Names have power.” Rick Riordan

We are looking around for Fletchers first bed given his latest growth spurt !Our search has taken us to many bed showrooms and exposed us to a raft of sales people and so called experts.

I have noticed that the majority of the people who have attempted to engage and help us have been noticeably short of knowledge or even possessed the most basic of sales skills.

To date we have not been asked our names or the name of our son?  To me this is the first thing that should happen particularly in a retail selling environment. Surely establishing each others names places the rest of the conversation/relationship on a more comfortable personal level?

As a customer I want to feel personally connected with my sales person. The other thing I have noticed is that not one person we have talked to has listened to what we want before they have decided what we need. They are intent on selling us what they have got rather than what we want because they don’t know what we want.

All I have deducted from this exercise to date is why so many large department stores either go broke or have such a high staff turnover because they don’t sell anything because they don’t seem interested in connecting personally and/or listening?

Crikey there has to be a huge opportunity for someone to teach these people some sales basics 101!

“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” ― Ernest Hemingway

Anyone seen our Hummer?

Wedding Exclusive Edition 224 Monday March 10th  2014

Hi,those in the know do say “it will be alright on the night” and it was! My new wife looked stunningly beautiful taking my breath and my tears away as she glided gracefully across the ground towards me. After a somewhat stressful buildup when all that could go wrong did we were truly blessed with a perfect wedding day in every respect. Friends and family all played their part in assisting us with their warm kindness and generosity and this combined with our amazing venue to create a memorable day (see attached).A decadent night in the big smoke culminating with dinner and a sumptuous night at the waterfront Hilton Hotel was the ultimate conclusion to a day of surreal pleasure for my wife and I.

 

From the Fletcher file; Our son seems to have developed a habit and love for saving money. His piggy bank is his favourite thing in the world and like any good pig is hungry and needs to be fed often. Hence any spare change is expected to be handed over on a regular basis. We have created a budding saver and reckon the small change is a huge investment!

 

Wow, what a roller coaster ride the last few weeks have been for us. I am so grateful we have family and friends who were there unconditionally to help and support us through it. I am also lucky to have finally married my soul mate even if it took me fifty odd years to find her. I have a lot to be thankful for and look forward to every second of our exciting future together.

 

I wish you all every happiness and urge you to work at your relationships with family and friends as they are the things that fulfill us in life……………….Cheers Jonesey!!

 

Harry and the Joneses??? No way Oscar and Kate Henderson reckon….sorry,it stays bro!!

 

 

 

“A good marriage at age 50 predicted positive aging at 80. But, surprisingly, low cholesterol levels did not.”Dr George Valliant (Harvard Medical School)

“Marriage is about realizing you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, and wanting the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.” 

Christine, I love that we have so much in common and often think about things at the same time. I love that we text each other simultaneously. I love that you try to catch the same wave as me in the surf. I love that you make being me so easy even if it is the ‘occasionally grumpy’ me. I love that you get ‘that look’ when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that we produced a beautiful son and that he has you as his Mother.  I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. Not because I’m lonely, not because it’s my role to do so but because I couldn’t think of anything more important for me to do each evening.

“I guarantee that we’ll have tough times. And I guarantee that at some point, one or both of us will get more than a little annoyed with the other. But I also guarantee that if I didn’t ask you to be mine, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Because I know in my heart you are the only one for me.”

“If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live a day without you.”

 (My reading from our wedding on Saturday 08/03/14)

“Age does not protect you from love but to some extent love protects you from age.” Jeanne Moreau (French actress)

Movie Stars

         

 

 

Edition 223 Monday March 3rd  2014

 

Hi, everything was going swimmingly until someone decided to dig a trench across the picturesque field we were going to get married in! Seems the left and the right hand are not connected to the same person at the vineyard office and this small detail was overlooked!! So there we were scrambling around for a new venue late last week only days before the event! As is quite often the case things have worked out ok for us. Through the generous offer of a friend we have ended up with an amazing west coast cliff top substitute.

As if that was not late or dramatic enough my bride has contracted an acute case of tonsalitis having never felt worse,the babysitter fell through and the caterer insisted on new venue conditions prior to agreeing to turn up !..crikey,who would be a wedding planner?The easiest part will be us turning up!

I am lucky my ‘wife to be’ is cool calm and collected enough for both of us even with crook tonsils!!

From the Fletcher file; Our son has worn me completely out this weekend as I have attempted to take responsibility for him while his Mum recovers. My body is aching all over as I count the cost of trying to keep up with his energetic little lifestyle! We played,laughed,criedL and snored together J.

When do you have a mid life crisis? In your forties or fifties? I reckon people have them throughout life and at least once a decade. The latest proof of this is my Father who at eighty + has just bought a convertible sports car which he and Mum arrived in on the weekend. Like a pair of twenty something movie stars they had blasted through the countryside with their shades on, hair and scarves trailing in the breeze! having fun and living life to the full……hang on Mum!!  

Hey, why not do something a little crazy to spice life up a bit like buy a sports car or get married on a cliff top! Whatever you do, have fun and spend time with the people who make your life worth living.

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

 

Harry and the Hendersons reckon Fletcher has worn them all out too!!

 

 

 

“Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” ― John Wooden

 

I was invited to provide guidance to a group of college commerce students last week.

On the back of our recent discussion on the importance of mentoring I marvelled at the coincidence.

The group are part of the secondary school business challenge and have formulated an idea they want to grow into a successful business.

My guidance really comes in the form of listening and offering advice where I can on how to progress their idea from incubation through to the various stages of growth.

Interestingly the idea is an environmentally sustainable initiative involving the conversion of a waste product into a reusable one.

Whilst I have some experience in the field it is largely a green field for all of us (excuse the pun).

What I find stimulating about this challenge is the infectious energy and enthusiasm of these young adults for their idea and their passion to pursue every angle in order to make it a success.

I did a lot of listening and a little talking which is what a good mentor should do however it wasn’t through choice it was because I was a more than a bit overwhelmed by a feeling of responsibility for the project and our potential future success or failure!!

I decided that this needs to be a voyage of discovery for all of us and that we will probably make some mistakes along the way but if we hang in together we will produce a result we can all be proud of. Whatever happens I know we are going to have fun and all get something from the experience!!

 

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” ― John Wooden