Energy foods are big business. We’ve all seen Energy Bars and Energy Drinks of course, but there have to be other food categories where a product could be developed and marketed on the basis of its energy giving properties.
There are a wealth of options, but I don’t recall seeing an Energy Ice Cream. Adding the ‘Energy’ element to an Ice cream could be an interesting and lucrative point of difference.
If you’re interested in getting into a food or drink production business, this ‘energy’ niche could be a good place to start. The technicalities of it should be pretty easy to research, and if you can create something which has both great taste and energy-giving properties, it will have all the hallmarks of a winner.
This sort of opportunity isn’t for the faint -hearted or the uncommitted but it has millionaire-making profit potential.
I’ll have mine in a cone!
Motivational Quote Of The Day
“As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big.”
Donald Trump
Alternative Quote Of The Day
“I want to die like my father, peacefully in his sleep, not screaming and terrified, like his passengers.”
Bob Monkhouse
You’re Never The Wrong Age
I never like to miss the chance to nail the “I’m too young/old” excuse, and Nathan Clark has given me another chance. Eleven year old Nathan was doing his maths homework and needed to find a ruler.
He looked down at his pencil and that’s when the inspiration hit – why not combine a ruler with a pencil?
He went out and found a manufacturer, but their minimum order was 1,000 pencils. Not having the funds to proceed, Nathan made a video appeal and approuched a fund raising company called Kickstart to raise the $350 he needed.
Three days later over $2,500 had been pledged.
Will this make Nathan a millionaire? Probably not, but with the ambition and drive that he clerly has, Nathan will have a big success on his hands at some stage in the future.
Now consider this, if he can do all this at eleven, do you have any reason for not taking action with your own plans?
Today’s National Day
NATIONAL ST PATRICKS DAY!
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
Hello.
Are you worried you’re going to have to “work until you drop”?
Are you tired of working all day, every day to make someone else rich when it’s YOU who should be the one becoming wealthy?
Ian once shared that grief, but now he never has to worry about money again…
Here’s a PROVEN way to make enough money to retire on as soon as you want, never work again and enjoy a fabulous income for life.
And it’s not like you even have to quit your job if you don’t want. You can keep your regular pay-cheque coming in if you’d like while you follow the specific steps of this blueprint in your spare time.
Let us show you everything about this when you click the website below:
Whilst on holiday last week in Malta, we met up with some new friends who live on the island. Over dinner, they told me that they’ve been together for five years and soon after getting married, they enrolled on a course of marriage lessons.
Now, I really wasn’t sure what to make of this. He’s American, and so it’s fine. But I mean, a Yorkshireman is never going to enrol on marriage lessons is he? He just isn’t. For one thing, it would be an admission that he may be slightly less than perfect. Obviously ridiculous. And for another, he’d feel a bit daft. It just isn’t in our genes.
But as they told me a bit more about it, I could see that there were some interesting underlying ideas – ones that have implications beyond the environment of the ball and chain. (Yes, I know ~ the political correctness lessons aren’t really kicking in either yet.)
One of the things they teach on the course is that there are five different ways of showing love ~ and obviously by definition, receiving love. These are (from memory) kind words, kind deeds, gifts, physical affection, and spending quality time. The theory goes that problems occur in a relationship when the parties’ needs are not compatible ~ when one partner’s natural pattern of behaviour is to show love in ways that the other partner doesn’t readily appreciate.
It may be, for example, that the husband enjoys receiving presents. He thinks his wife will feel the same way and showers her with gifts. But the wife isn’t receptive to this at all. You see, in her past, she’s been in relationships with people who have used gifts as a substitute for attention (or maybe as an apology) and therefore to her, the giving of presents has a negative connotation.
Or it may be that the wife likes to hear kind loving words from her husband, and so expresses her love for him in that way. She doesn’t get the response she’s hoping for, and that’s because in past relationships, kind words have been used as a precursor to the delivery of unpleasant news, an unreasonable request or as a set up for an insult or put down. The words create discomfort in the husband – maybe even on a subliminal level – when their intention is quite the opposite.
There’s a lot more to it, but hopefully you get the idea. Two people can interpret seemingly positive words, gestures and actions in completely different ways – so different in fact, that it creates conflict. Why? Because, the reaction of one party can be so radically opposed to what the other expects.
It’s a fairly small step to realise that if this is true for marriages, it’s true for all relationships – including business ones. Now I’m not suggesting for a moment that you want to express love for your customers – or indeed that physical affection and spending quality time together would be appropriate ways of doing it – but most businesses want to express appreciation to their customers. And it’s certainly true that words, deeds and gifts may be ways to do that.
Most of us would naturally show appreciation in a way that would appeal to us personally, but the message from marriage lessons suggests that this could be ineffective – even counter-productive. I can see two possible solutions…
Where you’re dealing with customers on a one-to-one basis, it would be worth taking some time to find out the type of person they are, and what sort of appreciation would receive the best reception from them. If that’s not possible (and it won’t be if you’re dealing with groups of customers who have divergent responses) make efforts to counter any misunderstandings or misinterpretation at the time of delivery.
So if you’re sending your customer a gift, be at pains to stress that it’s simply a thank you for their business, and that nothing is expected in return. If you’re sending them a message of thanks, make it just that – not a disguised sales letter or a set up for a notification of price increase. That way, at least you minimise the risk of any damage to people who are unreceptive to these sorts of communications in the first place.
In most communications, the best approach (and certainly the one to use in the absence of other information) is ‘treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself’. But there are times when this clearly doesn’t work as you might expect.
I’ll be more aware of this in the future, and I’m sure you will be too.
Postscript
After I heard about this, I suggested to my wife that she enrol on the marriage lessons first, and then I’d judge whether she’d improved before deciding whether to go myself.
For some reason, that was another communication that wasn’t well received!
Kind Regards
John Harrison
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
Hello.
Are you worried you’re going to have to “work until you drop”?
Are you tired of working all day, every day to make someone else rich when it’s YOU who should be the one becoming wealthy?
Ian once shared that grief, but now he never has to worry about money again…
Here’s a PROVEN way to make enough money to retire on as soon as you want, never work again and enjoy a fabulous income for life.
And it’s not like you even have to quit your job if you don’t want. You can keep your regular pay-cheque coming in if you’d like while you follow the specific steps of this blueprint in your spare time.
Let us show you everything about this when you click the website below:
Every strong trend experiences some kind of backlash sooner or later. Recent years have seen an exponential growth in the number of people seemingly hooked on the internet and mobile communication devices.
A recent worldwide experiment called World Unplugged found that 1,000 young people reported symptoms similar to drug withdrawal when they were forced to go without the internet and mobile devices for 24 hours.
I don’t think we can expect a mass exodus away from the internet and mobile communications, but there is likely to be a backlash of some kind. It will probably take the form of devices being banned from certain establishments – restaurants for example.
It’s also likely that bars, restaurants and hotels will boast that they have ‘no Wi-Fi’ to attract a particular group of customers who are either averse to the new technology, or simply want a break from it.
It also seems likely that parents, becoming increasingly worried by the level of their children’s mobile and internet use, will become open to more basic child-centred activities, with the focus on fresh air and exercise.
The difficult task for entrepreneurs is to get the timing right. I’m not sure that the UK is ready for Wi-Fi free zones yet, but the time will come soon. Definitely a situation to keep monitoring. As with any backlash, there will be a lot of money to be made when the time is right.
Motivational Quote Of The Day
“Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves.”
E Joseph Cossman
Alternative Quote Of The Day
“These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Mitch Hedberg
A Cut Above
It’s not unusual to get offered a cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive while you’re having your haircut, but London salon Percy & Reeds have taken the refreshments concept to a whole new level.
When you book a morning appointment online, you’re invited to order in advance from a breakfast menu that includes hot sandwiches, porridge, croissants and cereals. A choice of hot and cold beverages and newspaper completes the picture. Everything is outsourced and simply added to the client’s bill.
In a competitive environment, anything that gives you an edge over the competition can be extremely valuable. Is there an add-on service you can bolt on to your business which will differentiate you from all your me- to competitors?
Today’s National Day
NATIONAL KICK BUTT DAY!
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
Hello.
Are you worried you’re going to have to “work until you drop”?
Are you tired of working all day, every day to make someone else rich when it’s YOU who should be the one becoming wealthy?
Ian once shared that grief, but now he never has to worry about money again…
Here’s a PROVEN way to make enough money to retire on as soon as you want, never work again and enjoy a fabulous income for life.
And it’s not like you even have to quit your job if you don’t want. You can keep your regular pay-cheque coming in if you’d like while you follow the specific steps of this blueprint in your spare time.
Let us show you everything about this when you click the website below:
Probably the best self-help book ever written is ‘How To Win Friends And Influence People’, by Dale Carnegie. It was the forerunner to so many other books, courses and tape programmes, and although the language used now seems a little archaic, its underlying messages are as relevant today as they ever were.
If you haven’t read it, do it now. You won’t be disappointed.
Anyway, one of the quotations that always sticks in my mind from the book, comes from Al Capone (that gives you some idea how long ago it was written) when he says:
“I have spent the best years of my life giving people the lighter pleasures, helping them have a good time, and all I get is abuse, the existence of a hunted man.”
Yes, that’s the notorious Chicago gangster, Al Capone – the man responsible for more murder and mayhem than anyone else in his era. And yet he didn’t condemn or blame himself for anything. In fact, he saw himself as a public benefactor – somebody doing good for his fellow man, and not being appreciated for it ~ someone wronged and misunderstood.
For some reason, I found myself thinking about Al Capone as I watched Heather Mills descend the steps following the close of her divorce case with Paul McCartney. She proceeded to present a version of events that was completely at variance with the facts as they were revealed in the full report on the judgement, which was published the next day.
And you just knew that despite all the evidence to the contrary, she believed that she was ‘in the right’. Like Capone, she believed herself to be someone wronged and misunderstood. And no amount of exposure to the bare facts would sway her from that view.
And to a greater or lesser extent, most of us are like Mills and Capone. We have a high capacity for self-justification, and are remarkably resistant to evidence or persuasion that we are wrong, or in some way to blame for events.
You may have noticed that I spend quite a lot of time, attempting to dissuade you from one course of action, and move you towards another. In the course of that, I’m being critical of what you’re currently doing and laying the blame (if indeed there’s anything for you to be blamed for) right at your door.
Now I know you’re resistant to any suggestions I might make, and I also know you’re defensive in the face of criticism. But it’s for your own good, for goodness sake! And that’s why I do it.
But…and here’s the thing…
If I was trying to sell you something, it would be foolish of me to point out your shortcomings, your failings and your errors. It would be silly of me to point out that in all likelihood, if you have problems that need solutions, it’s your own fault. You’re to blame.
Why? Because you’d reject my criticism, and reject what I’m offering at the same time. I don’t mind you rejecting what I say in this book (other than for the fact that I’m right, and you’d do well to listen!) because it doesn’t cost me anything, but if you reject what I say in an advertisement or sales letter, you reject my product.
You miss out on a great product and I miss out on the purchase price!
And it’s exactly the same for you…
Your customer doesn’t believe he’s to blame for anything, so why antagonise him by suggesting that he is? He believes he’s been misunderstood, unlucky, misinformed, exploited, conned, tricked and misled in the past. He takes comfort in the fact that it wasn’t his fault. So why swim against the tide?
Agree with him, sympathise with him, and then move on to explain how what you’re selling will solve the problem he’s now facing. That way, you get him on your side from the start, rather than raising his hackles and switching him off.
Isn’t this a little manipulative?
Maybe, but it brings the ideal end result of a win-win situation that much closer, so it’s certainly justifiable. A little manipulation can be justified, I think, just so long as it benefits both parties rather than one at the expense of the other…Or maybe that’s just me doing a Capone-Mills!
Anyone can put together a scrapbook documenting their life, children or an event, but a lot of people don’t have the time or inclination to do it. In the United States, people who don’t want to do the scrapbooking themselves are hiring other people to do the job for them.
Scrapbooking expert Sue Di Franco reckons it’s possible to earn between £30 and £100 an hour assembling scrapbooks for cash rich, time poor people. Di Franco says that anyone can do it and you don’t need to be particularly artistic. Her experience is that customers prefer simple layouts, and because they’re not scrap bookers themselves, they won’t be comparing your work with anyone else’s.
Just because we’re in difficult economic times, doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of people around with money to spend on things like this. There are. It’s a big mistake to think that everyone is on their uppers. They’re not. Even in the worst of economic times, some people are doing well and are happy to spend money on luxury products and services.
Motivational Quote Of The Day
“Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming.”
Richard Branson
Alternative Quote Of The Day
“These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Groucho Marx
Clothes Tour
Here’s a strange thing …a company at the top end of a market, adapting an idea from the bottom end, and making it work.
I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept of the one day sale. A company hire a hall or empty shop unit and hold a one day sale of sports goods, leather goods, jewellery, furniture or something else. These sales almost always operate at the lower end of the market. The key selling point is that this stuff is dirt cheap and it won’t be here tomorrow.
Clemens en August do something remarkably similar, but at the other end of the market. They are a high end Munich based fashion retailer, but their clothes aren’t available in shops or online. Instead, each season they travel to international cities, selling their collections in contemporary art galleries for only three days at a time.
This tour system allows the company to cut out the retail margin, and the selling point is very similar-this is very attractively priced, and if you don’t buy today, it won’t be here tomorrow. Exclusivity is added into the mix.
The concept has been dubbed ‘clothes on tour’.
It’s an interesting concept isn’t it, and I’m sure it’s something that could be applied to other markets. Remember the key factors – a time-limited opportunity to buy an exclusive product at an attractive price. Here today, but gone tomorrow.
It’s well over a year now since I first wrote to you about peer to peer lending and what I was doing. I think it’s time for an update – things have got even better – but first a brief recap:
Interest rates on saving have been pathetically low for several years now, and there’s no sign that‘s about to change any time soon. In fact, just this morning, rates were slashed to the bone in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Alternatives? Well how’s the stockmarket been working out for you recently? If you’re anything like me, not very well at all!
About three years ago, all this caused me to start looking at peer-to-peer lending. I opened accounts with a number of companies and started lending money out at anything from 3% to 8.5% per annum – much better than the rates on offer from regular institutions. On the whole, the experience has been excellent. My returns from the cash I had sitting earning next to nothing in bank accounts has gone through the roof, and any risks there are have been mitigated by spreading funds.
But it isn’t for everyone (or it wasn’t!) because there can be drawbacks:
1. Entry requirements can be prohibitive
Some peer to peer lenders require that you self-identify as a high net worth individual. That means an income of over £100,000 a year or assets in excess of £250,000, which rules out most of us.
2. Security can be less than perfect
To my mind, the best loans to invest in are those secured by property. Property values are relatively stable, so if the loan is secured against a property at a maximum of 70% LTV, there should always be plenty of security there if the borrower defaults (although returns are never guaranteed).
However, some companies lend to individuals on an unsecured basis, and others lend to businesses, secured on the assets of the business. Neither offer the same level of security as property and so headline rates can be eaten into by defaults.
3. Company websites can be complicated
Sometimes it’s hard to see exactly what’s going in or what you’re investing in, and the nature of the loans you’re investing in, isn’t really clear.
4. Some loans can be long term
I don’t like to tie my money up for more than a year. Some companies specialise in loans of 3 to 5 years, meaning you can’t get your hands on your money if you need or want it quickly.
Now if you’re a millionaire, happy to tie your money up for several years and can spread your money wide enough to take the rough with the smooth, none of this is a deal-breaker. As I said before, I’ve done very well out of peer-to-peer lending.
But what if you just want a reasonably secure home for your nest egg, where you can invest smaller amounts quickly and simply…and get better returns than most of the other companies out there…and way more than the banks or other regular financial institutions?
About 18 months ago, I discovered a company called Kuflink, and started moving a lot of my peer to peer lending in their direction. If you’re a fan of Premiership football you might have seen the name displayed prominently at pitch side at Southampton home games. The company are a major sponsor of the club.
Let me tell you why I like Kuflink…
All loans are secured against property at a very comfortable loan to value, so risks are relatively low, and there is ample coverage should anyone default.
Loans are typically for 12 months or less, so you have fast access to your funds.
The website is simple and easy to use. You can be up and running and investing in 15 minutes.
Investment clarity. You can see exactly which property loan you’re investing in, read the valuation reports and see the actual property. You could even go a stage further and see it if you wanted to!
There’s the option to invest in a ‘basket of loans’ to spread risk and make the whole process even easier.
The company put their own money on the line by investing in each loan before outside investors.
Returns are between 6.5% and 7.2%.
Authorised by The Financial Conduct Authority.
And the icing on the cake? You don’t need to be a millionaire (or anything like it) to invest and start benefitting. You can open an account with as little as £100 and start investing with that.
I’ve looked at over a dozen peer to peer lending sites and invested in at least six. In my opinion, Kuflink offers the best combination of returns, security, clarity and simplicity for anyone who has a spare cash languishing in a bank account and wants a better return without undue risk or effort, or tying their money up for several years.
I now have a substantial six figure sum invested through Kuflink and recently moved another slice of my peer to peer lending over to the company following a meeting with the company chief executive who impressed me with the lengths the company go to, to keep investor’s money safe.
If you do decide to invest using this link, aside from the 6.5% to 7.2% you’ll earn, I’ve arranged for you to receive a bonus cashback of between 2.5% and 4% if you invest at least £1,000. So that’s quite a return on your money in the first year – as much as 11.2%. But that’s only if you invest through the link. This isn’t an offer that’s open to everyone.
I’m not authorised to give you any kind of financial advice – I’m just giving you my opinion and telling you what I’m doing – but if you have any questions about my personal experience with Kuflink or any of the other peer to peer lenders, just drop me an email at John@streetwisepublications.co.uk. Don’t forget that in order to qualify for the 2.5% to 4% cashback, you’ll need to use the link I gave you earlier. It’s not for everyone!
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”
W.C Fields
Become A Fitness Guru
Let’s be honest, getting in shape isn’t that complicated – it certainly isn’t rocket science. Ordinary folk do it all the time and there are many different ways of reaching the same destination. Yoga, weight training, interval training, pilates and cycling are just a few of the proven ways to get in better shape. If you’ve used one of these, or something completely different, you may have the basis of a profitable business in your own body.
Tens of millions (perhaps hundreds) are spent every year by people in search of ‘the secret’ to getting in shape. If you’ve found a way that works for you, perhaps it will work for others too. It could be worth thinking about how you could turn what you already know into cash. Books, courses, personal training sessions and group classes are just a few of the ways you could make money in this field.
I live right by the woods and often get ‘attacked’ by dogs that look like they’ve been bathing in mud. As mucky as their paw marks make my clothes, I can’t help wondering what kind of mess they make once they get home. Perhaps their owners would appreciate a German idea I recently came across.
Lars Schutze has located Germany’s first Dog Wash right next to the car wash he already owns. For less than five euros, owners can foam, shower and dry their pets while they’re waiting for their car to be cleaned. Given that bathing a dog usually involves a huge amount of mess and inconvenience that seems like a good deal.
I can see no reason why something like this wouldn’t work here. Taking the dog for a walk and then arriving back home with a pristine car and a spotless dog seems a pretty good combination to me. Time for someone to reach a mutually beneficial deal with a car wash owner.
Motivational Quote Of The Day
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
Peter Drucker
Alternative Quote Of The Day
“Once I was doing a sponsored walk. In the end I managed to raise so much money, I could afford a taxi.”
Jimmy Carr
Vintage Clothing Trading
If my daughter and her friends are anything to go by, vintage clothing is in vogue at the moment. A combination of environmental concern and the desire to have something you won’t find on the High Street is leading many young people to seek out vintage items. It seems to me that there is money to be made here.
One person’s old tat is another person’s vintage. By scouring charity shops and jumble sales for bargains, cleaning them up and then selling them on via eBay or concession in an existing shop, it should be possible to make some interesting profits.
The key here is that you need to have an eye for fashion and a firm idea what’s likely to appeal to vintage clothes lovers. Not one for me then, but certainly an opportunity for the right person.
I’m sitting here staring at a letter I just received from a bloke whose been a customer of ours since 1999, and I really don’t know what to make of it. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry ~ whether to applaud his honesty, decry his sloth, or just be so damned disappointed for him.
The letter came with a request for a refund on a product he ordered from us a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, here’s what he said after asking for a refund:
“I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with Property Trading Genius. In fact it is probably the best business opportunity I have ever bought from you. It is simple and realistic, and it is the reality that has made me aware that I don’t have the gumption and get-up-and-go to put the effort in and make it work.
It’s no good me making excuses about being at work all day and not having the time – I know that wouldn’t wash with you.
The truth is that I am lazy and want easy money. It has finally dawned on me after all these years that I certainly don’t want to work for it.”
It would be so easy to rip this guy to pieces, but I’m not going to. I’ve been working with would-be ‘entrepreneurs’ for many years now, and I know that a great many of them would write a very similar letter if they were being really honest. It’s not easy admitting something like that to yourself, let alone someone else. But it doesn’t make it any the less true ~ or uncommon.
If you’ve found yourself making business plans that never quite come to fruition, or investigating opportunities that you never quite follow through on because you don’t have enough time/money/experience/ skills/whatever ~ then I’d urge you to be really honest with yourself…
Are there genuine reasons why things haven’t worked out as you’d hoped? Or could you – in a totally candid moment – have very easily written that letter.
The answer will tell you an enormous amount about yourself, and may save you a lot of time, trouble, and heartache in the future. There’s plenty of comfort in self-delusion, but rarely any profit.
John Harrison
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
Here’s Game Changing Information If You Ever Dreamed of Making a Risk Free Second Income From Your Armchair…
“IMakeAn Extra £170 to £200 a Week Messing Around On My iPhone While I’m Watching TV!
Give Me 5 Minutes and I’ll Teach You How To Do It Too!
Thanks to the likes of eBay, buying second hand or used goods has never been as popular (or easy) as it is today. A lot of mainstream retailers are catching on to this now. You’ve been able to buy used books on Amazon for a long time now, but even primarily off-line businesses are getting in on the act. My favourite retailer, Ikea, have now set up a system to facilitate customers disposing of their second hand furniture.
At first glance, this seems counter-intuitive, but there is a logic to it. Having the option to buy used (and cheaper) second hand furniture will draw more people to the company website, as well as improving customer goodwill. And of course, sometimes a customer needs to dispose of an old piece of furniture before they’re able to buy a new one.
Is there some way you could facilitate your customers disposing of the products they no longer need or want, and if there is, would it help or hinder your business? It’s a question worth asking.
Motivational Quote Of The Day
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”
Dr Seus
Alternative Quote Of The Day
“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”
Will Rogers
Become An Image Consultant
Many people bemoan their lack of qualifications or experience and yet there are many businesses and projects you can start with little more than a bit of ‘front’.
Take Image Consultant as an example.
If you have an eye for design and a basic understanding of colour and fashion, a career as an image consultant may be little more than a website away. Personal appearance seems to becoming increasingly important, both socially and in the workplace, and many people are insecure about the way they look. An image consultant is often brought in to revamp a wardrobe, give a makeover for an important event or totally revamp an image.
If fashion and design is an area you’re comfortable in, this could be worth researching in detail. There’s money in vanity!
Today’s National Day
NATIONAL LOOK A LIKE DAY!
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
Shock Discovery Ancient Code Cracks the Banks…
Proven: An 82.4% Chance Of A £55,250 Windfall With Just A Few Clicks…Legally.
Here’s Why I’m Discreetly Allowing 181 People To Use My Windfall Secret…
Hello,
My name is Michael White, and what I’d like to share with you now is a total game-changer. With your permission, over the next few minutes I’ll explain a money-loophole that could be your ticket to the laziest and fastest retirement imaginable.
Please let me first put your mind at rest about a few things…
. There’s no limit to the number of times you can use this under one person’s name. You could use this secret regularly…
. You DON’T need to already have a bank account with a particular bank or building society.
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. You DON’T need to buy shares of a specific company or bank.
. You DON’T have to pay this money back- it’s NOT a loan. It’s YOUR money, free and clear.
. You DON’T have to own a home, and you can use the money for ANYTHING you like.
. You DON’T need a credit rating or be at any particular earnings level or be on benefit.
. You DON’T need a computer or any technical know-how. You could even place a call instead of make a few clicks if you don’t have a computer.
NOBODY else knows this secret because I discovered it – through the application of an ancient code. I will share it with you HERE for legitimate reasons I’ll explain in a moment. And I guarantee you’ll be stunned at how this powerful secret could force the banking system into letting you retire early…
It’s difficult to say which was my worst subject at school. There was so much competition.
In a previous post, I told you how my artistic skills never developed at all beyond the infant school, and woodwork was another area where I excelled for all the wrong reasons.
Somewhere in our office, is a coffee table that I made for my CSE woodwork project. It’s not the best coffee table you’ve ever seen, but at least you can tell that it’s supposed to be a table. Except it isn’t.
You’re probably too young to remember this, but in the 1970s, room dividers constructed from wood and doubling as shelves, were quite fashionable. Well that’s what I designed and set out to make. But it kept going wrong, and I kept having to throw bits away, cut bits off, and re-plane edges that for some reason, refused to go square. The end result was that my room divider became a coffee table. I didn’t have enough wood left to make anything else, and no money to buy any more.
I seem to remember that the examiner was reasonably happy with the table, but totally bemused when he tried to relate it to the original plans. Even ‘thickies’ usually pass woodwork. I failed.
The sad thing is that I was only doing woodwork at all because of French. Now that was something I really couldn’t get to grips with. Not sure whether I didn’t have an aptitude, or whether I couldn’t see the point (because I didn’t know any French people) but I was just hopeless. I still have the scathing school report from Miss Bentley (written after I’d scored 21% in the end of term exam) recommending that I: “try something else instead next year ~ like woodwork”. Shows what she knew.
Anyway, I was thinking about French and other languages this morning. My daughter is learning French at the moment, and I was surprised how much I remember (despite being so crap at it). I can tell you the words for most foods and household objects. I can tell you my name, how old I am, what time it is, and even that there’s a cabbage on the table.
And it’s all totally useless.
You see, the moment a French person starts talking, they might just as well be speaking Swahili for all the sense I can make of it. I’m sure I’m not the only one. In fact, I know several people with an A level in a language, who can’t hold a conversation in that language.
What’s going on here?
Well it’s all to do with the difference between theory and practice. When you’re learning a language, everything is done slowly and correctly. You get to work at your own pace and in perfect conditions. But when you do it for real, it’s completely different. You don’t control the pace – it’s much faster than you’re used to. And they don’t do it by the book either. They use slang, dialect, and verbal shorthand in their communications. The end result is that it has little in common with what you’ve learned.
And of course, this isn’t confined to languages…
When I started in business, I had a degree in the subject. I thought I spoke the ‘language’. But like an A level student marooned in Toulouse, I quickly found that what I knew was of little use in a world where everything was faster paced and rarely followed the textbook. I had to learn the slang, dialect and shorthand, and to develop an ‘ear’ for what was really happening. The formal training helped a little – but in my experience, a week ‘on the ground’ is worth a year in the classroom.
Whatever, you want to achieve, my advice would be to get exposure at the coal face rather than the book face. There seems to be a growing trend for employees to be pressured into studying for degrees. In the corporate environment this may be a necessary precursor to getting promotion, but I would question the practical value for most people.
If your goals are entrepreneurial rather than employment focussed, forget trying to get a few letters after your name, and get stuck into something ‘real’ instead. That way, you’ll start picking up practical ‘language skills’ straight away. Others may be better qualified and look better on paper, but you’ll be the one getting things done and reaping the rewards.
John Harrison
PUBLISHERS NOTICE
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