What it takes

It takes a builder to build a barn, but a donkey can kick it down.

You Have One Dollar

Imagine this;

You have one dollar and I have one dollar
I give you my dollar and you give me yours
Now I have your dollar and you have mine
We are no better off

Lets say, you have an idea and I have an idea
I tell you my idea and you tell me yours
We just increased our idea stock 100 percent.

-Author unknown

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Comparison, is it the stem of unhappiness?

If you are unhappy or disappointed about something it's likely you are comparing one experience or situation to another. One experience is favorable and the other not so. Here's a simple approach to an otherwise complex subject.

Imagine this: You're a regular at a local restaurant, the staff recognise and know your name and preferences. You get the preferred treatment - made a fuss of, the window table, a special deal, you feel special. So compare this to when they have an issue with staff turnover and one day the new guy doesn't know you name you one of the masses again? feel special anymore? Probably not.

If comparison is the stem of unhappiness, surely it works the other way too. How about lotto? Half the excitement of winning is that you didn't last time? and the time before and before that? Your winning experience is way more enjoyable than the loosing one your comparing to.

Catch yourself comparing and you'll learn a lot.

The five art of party

Having a party or gathering to celebrate? Here's my time proven model.

When organising the day, focus your attention on the following five aspects of your party. They are all equally important have huge effect on each other. If you need help, request your friends or family help by taking ownership of some of the five aspects - create a 'party board' and work out who's going to do what together.

The five art of Party:

1. The invite list - Don't invite the fighters, they fight!
Invite the people you want to come, then invite those who'd like to come. Invite the party animals. Don't invite fighters, they fight! Choose carefully. Produce an invite hard copy or electronic or both. Request RSVP's if you plan on catering food and drink.

2. The music - Music from laptop speakers wont do, nor will radio!
Check the invite list and consider putting a DJ on it. Be sure you have a sound system to deliver your fine beats where the people are going to be. If you're planning 100's of people in your lounge/kitchen/pool area, hire a bigger sound system. People's thriving bodies absorb sound. Whats on the playlist? Is your cd collection media centre or ipod going to cut it or cut the dance floor to sherds?

3. The venue - Licensed to 1am isn't going to cut it.
How many people are you inviting, will the venue handle the number? House party going all night? Do your neighbours call noise control after 11pm? Invite them or give them tickets on the ferry to help them out of town for the weekend. Will you need a doorman? Can you start earlier with an earlier finish to fit a more worthy venue? Friends/parents farm, where else? If it's a day party is there sun shade? Night events need attention to detail for lighting.

4. Food
Your guests will get hungry. If you don't feed them you're going to have a short party, they could get drunk, sick and tired and go home. If you want your guests to bring for the table be clear with this on the invite. Otherwise bring on your cheese, dips and sausage rolls.

5. Drink
Your guests will bring drink if you say byo. Is this enough? There is always room to greet your guests with a house punch or bubbles cocktail, shot, jelly etc.. Doesn't have to be expensive to be good. Make sure you have somewhere for your guests to put their booze (if byo) and give them yours to drink before they drink theirs. Supply the splits, ice, glasses, swizzles and little umbrellas.

Did I miss anything?

A Curriculum Vitae

I recently updated my cv.

I had plenty of time to think about it and rewrote it fully. What was 5 pages is now 2. Who I am, What I've done and whats important to me. I cut the rest.

I hope the right people like it. It wont suit everyone.

Shell Burnt the Permission

Our local Shell Oil service station sells fuel and other conveniences. It has two counters with cash registers side by side, with space for queues to form when more than one person is wanting to pay for their purchases.

A big LCD stands between the counters at eye level and runs promotions and other video advertisements, messages they want to deliver to those waiting to pay for their fuel. There's a six foot long audio speaker that hangs from the ceiling - right above the place where the first queue forms. Counter two doesn't have a speaker. When waiting in the queue at counter number one the audio comes from just above head height. The LCD can't be missed or easily avoided, they have a captive audience. That's clever.

Line two hasn't got a speaker for the sound, but line two is almost never open for service, its usually unmanned. It seems they've anticipated making us wait, in queue one. Less staff = bigger queue's = more advertising. The customers will just wait, is that ok with you? While you wait they get busy interrupting you - while you stand in line, a line that they created. What a waste of time!

If they'd asked me first, and told me that they were going to sell space to advertisers and make me wait in line for it, I'd have said 'NO WAY!' But they didn't ask. Now I avoid Shell altogether. They've burnt the permission I gave them to sell me fuel, now I don't trust them.

They loose.

It's polite to ask first

While helping a friend with a business plan today I realized this: it's polite to ask first. This came about while pondering: What will the people think if someones builds something that they think is cool and don't tell them about it until an onslaught of advertising appears?

A long blog I know, it's important.

My parents taught me: Ask first, its polite. Sometimes I didn't, and sometimes that worked, like taking cookies from the cookie jar, I didn't always get caught so was it okay? Compare to the gazillion products and services that are so carefully marketed at us everywhere we go, everywhere we look, advertising, spam and trickery to covet us from what we're doing. They don't ask us for our attention, they just push-in, seldomly asking and we've been letting them get away with it.

The advertising industry is worth billions, its aims are simple, take from us what we all have an equal amount of - our time. They use that time to change our perception and hopefully have us act in someway - usually in their favour. They do little asking and lots of interrupting.... We're fighting back. It's getting harder for mass-media moguls to get to us. We're getting better at ignoring them, blocking their meaningless messages and carrying on with what we do.

Advertising is getting weirder and messages are turning up in more unusual places, like in the bathroom in a bar or a TV screen in the service station.

If the advertiser can afford the high dollar costs associated with mass advertising they seldomly ask first. They take their message, overload as many channels to market that budget allows, then measure, adjust and try again. Reach as many of us as possible with mostly irrelevant messages. And then, someone buys something and this confirms the system works and the whole cycle continues.

As we get better blocking them they try harder, they want our time, they wont go down without a fight. Be prepared to get better at what you do.

As a future advertiser of ideas, widgets and all things that matter my communication will be anticipated, personalised and relevant to the individual receiving it or not sent at all.