Easier said than done?

OTIS AND THE OLDER STUDENT.

An older student came to Otis and said, “ I have been to see a great number of teachers and I have given up a great number of pleasures. I have fasted, been celibate and stayed awake nights seeking enlightenment. I have given up everything I was asked to give up and I have suffered, but I have not been enlightened. What should I do?”

Otis replied, “Give up suffering.”

Holding infinity in the palm of my hand.

"Having profoundly modified space and time, and become, in turn, modified by them, we are gradually evolving from three-dimensional Euclidean beings into dwellers of the four dimensional, non-Euclidean, space-time universe of Dr. Einstein. We are parallel lines approaching infinity. Those who make themselves at home in this new universe will be the Homers, Dantes, Leonardos and Michelangelos of tomorrow." -- William L. Laurence

The art of Being.

COMING FROM

When you come FROM 'happiness', you do certain things because you ARE happy -- as opposed to the old paradigm in which you did things that you hoped would MAKE you happy.

When you come FROM 'wisdom', you do certain things because you ARE wise, not because you are trying to get to wisdom.

When you come FROM 'love', you do certain things because you ARE love, not because you want to have love.

Everything changes; everything turns around, when you come FROM 'being', rather that seeking to 'be'... Here is the divine dichotomy. The way to 'get there' is to 'be there'. Just BE where you choose to GET!

There's nothing you have to do. You want to be happy? Be happy. You want to be wise? Be wise. You want to be love? Be love."

~Neale Donald Walsch, "Conversations with God, Book 3"~

What are we busy doing?

CAN WE COMPETE WITH NATURE?

There was a man who spent three years sculpting a piece of jade into a leaf. He presented his masterpiece to a prince who was very impressed by it and became his patron.

The leaf looked so real that if you placed it among real leaves you could not tell the difference. Everyone remarked that it was a very beautiful piece of art.

However, when Lieh-Tzu heard about this he quipped,

“If nature took three years to make a leaf, then we’d be in trouble.”

Thus, the sage knows that no matter how we try to imitate the works of nature, nature still does a better job.

Build Wisely!

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his Employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheque, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favour. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials.

It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

Then the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realise we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back.

You are the carpenter. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. "Life is a do-it-yourself project," someone has said. Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the "house" you live in tomorrow. Build wisely!

Remember...

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody is watching.

"To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world."

Watch your Thoughts

Watch you thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions. Watch your actions, they become habits. Watch your Habits, they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

We surrender to win; we give away to keep; we suffer to get well; we die to live.

The eye of God

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

A robin redbreast in a cage

Puts all heaven in a rage.

A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons

Shudders hell thro' all its regions.

A dog starv'd at his master's gate

Predicts the ruin of the state.

A horse misused upon the road

Calls to heaven for human blood.

Each outcry of the hunted hare

A fibre from the brain does tear.

A skylark wounded in the wing,

A cherubim does cease to sing.

The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight

Does the rising sun affright.

Every wolf's and lion's howl

Raises from hell a human soul.

The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,

Keeps the human soul from care.

The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,

And yet forgives the butcher's knife.

The bat that flits at close of eve

Has left the brain that won't believe.

The owl that calls upon the night

Speaks the unbeliever's fright.

He who shall hurt the little wren

Shall never be belov'd by men.

He who the ox to wrath has mov'd

Shall never be by woman lov'd.

The wanton boy that kills the fly

Shall feel the spider's enmity.

He who torments the chafer's sprite

Weaves a bower in endless night.

The caterpillar on the leaf

Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.

Kill not the moth nor butterfly,

For the last judgement draweth nigh.

He who shall train the horse to war

Shall never pass the polar bar.

The beggar's dog and widow's cat,

Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.

The gnat that sings his summer's song

Poison gets from slander's tongue.

The poison of the snake and newt

Is the sweat of envy's foot.

The poison of the honey bee

Is the artist's jealousy.

The prince's robes and beggar's rags

Are toadstools on the miser's bags.

A truth that's told with bad intent

Beats all the lies you can invent.

It is right it should be so;

Man was made for joy and woe;

And when this we rightly know,

Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,

A clothing for the soul divine.

Under every grief and pine

Runs a joy with silken twine.

The babe is more than swaddling bands;

Every farmer understands.

Every tear from every eye

Becomes a babe in eternity;

This is caught by females bright,

And return'd to its own delight.

The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,

Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.

The babe that weeps the rod beneath

Writes revenge in realms of death.

The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,

Does to rags the heavens tear.

The soldier, arm'd with sword and gun,

Palsied strikes the summer's sun.

The poor man's farthing is worth more

Than all the gold on Afric's shore.

One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands

Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;

Or, if protected from on high,

Does that whole nation sell and buy.

He who mocks the infant's faith

Shall be mock'd in age and death.

He who shall teach the child to doubt

The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.

He who respects the infant's faith

Triumphs over hell and death.

The child's toys and the old man's reasons

Are the fruits of the two seasons.

The questioner, who sits so sly,

Shall never know how to reply.

He who replies to words of doubt

Doth put the light of knowledge out.

The strongest poison ever known

Came from Caesar's laurel crown.

Nought can deform the human race

Like to the armour's iron brace.

When gold and gems adorn the plow,

To peaceful arts shall envy bow.

A riddle, or the cricket's cry,

Is to doubt a fit reply.

The emmet's inch and eagle's mile

Make lame philosophy to smile.

He who doubts from what he sees

Will ne'er believe, do what you please.

If the sun and moon should doubt,

They'd immediately go out.

To be in a passion you good may do,

But no good if a passion is in you.

The whore and gambler, by the state

Licensed, build that nation's fate.

The harlot's cry from street to street

Shall weave old England's winding-sheet.

The winner's shout, the loser's curse,

Dance before dead England's hearse.

Every night and every morn

Some to misery are born,

Every morn and every night

Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,

Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie

When we see not thro' the eye,

Which was born in a night to perish in a night,

When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,

To those poor souls who dwell in night;

But does a human form display

To those who dwell in realms of day.

A perspective of Earth’s size in relation to the Universe!

Can it be that we are alone? Are we ready to join the universal community of spirits? When are we going to let go of our animal behaviour?

Sometimes I feel that this is the last time that I am visiting this earth but then again I know that there is just Sooooo much work to do here to uplift other souls to new levels of vibration. So whether it is done on the other (spiritual) side or here on this side where we vibrate at such a slow and low vibration that everything seems concrete to us, almost real?

That is why I have always known since I was a kid that I am going to be making a lot of money. I am waiting for the universe to give me the signal. I have to do something with it and leave this planet one day a better place for having been on it.

Not to say that I cannot have a bit of FUN in the process and use some of the money the universe allows me to make for my own personal use. I am sure God just smiles at us sometimes and shakes his head.

If you want to make God laugh………Tell him your plans.

Partners

Chris , myself and Mike

A personal letter to my friends

Dear FRIENDS

First of all I want to thank you for not giving up on me. This year has been a very rough and demanding year and I have never undergone so many changes, trials, tribulations, pain, heartache, stress, worry, fear, seen everything that I have worked so hard for being swept away from me under my feet etc.

I am talking about growth on the spiritual (soul) level and the Life (survival on this planet) Level.

It all started in November last year when I decided to bring on board one of my suppliers to come and work for me. We had long discussions about business and I could hear that he has a wealth of experience in corporate business and how it works.

I unfortunately am in the founders trap and if I want to go from a small business to a big business I would have to give away some of my power and delegation to other people. I made Chris my Managing Director and gave him control of the business as well as made him the new business sales director.

In this year we have turned the business upside down – inside up – around – changed course – any and everything possible that you can think of. It has been a very stressful period for me as I was seeing my turnover drop quite substantially as we were losing clients as well on the ADS side and I had sold my shares in Namico (Pty) Ltd. To Philemon and survived off the money I got paid out for my shares.

Sooooo…………….. from having 57 people in the 3 companies last year December we are down to 4 people. – GOING SMALLER TO GO BIGGER!

Anyway we got rid of the last dead wood this month and even changed accountants, auditors, IT systems, outsourced my manufacturing of my products, outsourced or started setting up distributors of my products in different markets, got rid of sales people and as I speak I am getting rid of my six vehicles. I am selling the 3 UNo’s and buying one.

I am selling the Audi A6 and Chris is selling his Volkswagen Polo and we are buying one company pool car. And……wait for it.... a Audi A3 TDI. Once you have driven an Audi any other car becomes.... Well .... mundane??

I will once again buy myself an Audi A6 next year once we have built a strong and stable foundation.

We have spent the last six months calling on new business and implementing business systems and ways of working smarter and not harder. Somehow this new business we would find kept on coming in small drips and drabs. Just as if the universe is holding off the big one, or making sure that we have our ducks in a row before the flood gates open.

Anyway, all I can tell you is that I have not been in a very “NICE” peaceful, relaxed, contented place this last year. It must have been the most difficult time of my life with the most changes I have ever undergone.

Yesterday we went to see the CEO of the biggest medical distribution company that we have been working on since November last year and we finally now have everything in place and they are placing their first order with us before the end of the month. CONFIRMED - YEEEEEEEHHHAAAAAAAA!!!

They are the biggest supplier to the Government hospitals, the private hospitals , and supply the Vet’s, Doctors, and Dentists, markets. We also suggested to them yesterday that we move the manufacturing of our range of products to their factory as they also supply other Distributors with exclusive products for the medical industry.

Basically what we have become is a marketing, sales and Admin office. All we do everyday now is shuffle invoices between our manufacturer and our distributors and administrate the business (Annie’s job) and go and see more distributors in different markets (Chris’s and my job) and develop new and more products (Me and Professor's job).

Yesterday after our meeting Chris and I went for lunch to celebrate and it was like a crazy feeling!! We had such a anti-climax afternoon. It felt strange to not have to worry or have stress and to know that the wheel has finally turned and is moving for the better. All this hard work, being a recluse, working until 11pm at night, me slogging away for 11 years now on this flipping dream that just does not want to come real.

All the people I have had in this business already that I wanted to share the dream with that could just not see or envision the big picture of where I could take them all if they suffered the bad times with me, including Ex – girlfriends that gave up on me because they did not believe in me. Then of course there are the Rod Finnie's of this world that could not make it in their own business and now "magically" become coaches and consultants.

Having employed the wrong people. People that have cost me Hundreds of thousands of Rand’s damage. If I think of the money I have given away to incompetent people already I could have paid this house off cash!!

Anyway……… all very expensive school fees.

Funny, I have realized that very few people are prepared to sacrifice short term to gain long term. Chris came on board and took a major cut in salary and lifestyle comforts to help me in the business. Besides it worked out that he had to come and stay here and share my house and space on top of it. A NIGHTMARE!

The energy that we share is that we work on each others strengths. In business we have decided that he will be the ASSHOLE and I will be MR. NICE GUY. I cannot tell you how many times this has worked for us already.

In about 4 months from now I should have my own space back once we start to see serious turnover in our business and I can once again pay Chris what he is worth. We are also looking at a partnership and me giving away some of the shares in my company.

I want to start making this house that I bought a home. I want to next year come winter start renovating it and making it a real farm house where all my friends can come and share in my space and help themselves to food and beer in my fridge without having to ask me. Like I used to do when I was still in Westdene.

Sooo.. my friends this has been my life in a nutshell. So when I come and visit you guys in my new Pilatus PC12 or maybe my Beechcraft King Air 200 (SEE PICTURES ABOVE) please do not be surprised. As you know me I will still be the same Michiel I have always been. If I happen to get a big head or an attitude or become a complete asshole. (you know wealth changes people) I hope that you as my personal friends that I love very much will have the guts to give me a BIG SMACK and bring me back to the right path. (Smile)

Once again thank you for all the years of your unconditional friendship and love.

As always

Mike

PS: I include a pick of my real dream for you above. Maybe you guys will be able to help me make the final choice of “which one”

Quitting

“The first step is to have the courage to take the risk of failure. I will tell you now that there will be some extremely low points, but you have to be very sure in your mind that QUITTING will not be an option.”

Fifteen Years

Remember that overnight success usually takes about fifteen years.

PRESS ON BROTHER

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “PRESS ON” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. - Calvin Coolidge

Entrepreneur!

I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon… if I can.

I seek opportunity… not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state or a corporation look after me.

I want to take the calculated risk, to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole; I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfilment to the stale calm of Utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence or my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefits of my creations and to face the world boldly and to say:

This… I have done.

All this is what it means to be an entrepreneur.

Becoming an Entrepreneur.

I worked for a boss until 1983 when I went on my own. To create my own destiny!! Mostly it is fear that holds us back from reaching our full potential in this lifetime. Fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of what our friends and or family will say? Etc. etc. At school we are taught to only succeed. IT IS REWARDED. Failure is PUNISHED and frowned upon?? (SICK) In life and magazines we are told to avoid mental pain….. Only too seek pleasure….. In other words, THE GOOD TIMES?

But we all come onto this planet to make mistakes. Too fail. Because that is the only way we learn as humans. Making mistakes. It is only the slow learners that make the same mistake twice. And that is also OK? But some people need to make a mistake a few times before they learn. Sometimes the universe only gives a person one chance to learn a mistake and then remove them off the planet completely via death. If you fly aircraft for instance you will know what I mean here. Also, we can only have real happiness when we experience and learn to manage mental pain. They go hand in hand as well. Once one can handle failure and one can feel and work through pain and come out on the other side standing on a daily basis on the path of growth, one has a recipe for success. Two books you must read: Failing forward – by John C. Maxwell Make a life (Not just a living) - by Dr. Ron Jenson Remember… no matter where you work, you are and will, always be working for and on, YOURSELF. When I was working for a boss, I did everything in my power to learn, learn computers, learn invoicing, learn to sell products, I would even clean out the entire office with my own vacuum cleaner, because I happened to like working in a clean environment. Clean and wipe down my own desk once a week. Go out on deliveries, etc. I tried and was willing to try everything and anything. My colleagues thought I was crazy, had lost my marbles. But every day I was learning something new whilst they were stagnating. Funny thing is management kept on noticing me and promoting me to new challenges. In other words……… “I was climbing the corporate ladder of success” And so my colleagues did what came natural to them. Became jealous, some thought I was just “lucky” Others thought I was born with a golden spoon in my mouth, others envied me. Others disliked me immensely. Some tied to sink me with lies and slander. My boss at that moment (if he did not believe in himself, was not secure in himself or was not seeing the bigger picture for the company would feel very threatened) I often have a quiet moment when I reflect on my life so far and wonder where all the people are that I have crossed paths with in life already. And how much they have grown as HUMAN - BEINGS and not HUMAN - DOINGS. The funny thing is that I learned everything for free. I got a MBA for free (That my employers taught me) I somehow, somewhere use this knowledge in my own business and in life today, to enrich myself. I thank my past teachers on a daily basis.!! Throughout my entire life and even now with my current clients (Who are actually every one individually…. “MY BOSS” – because they pay my salary and thus I, by working for myself have been waking up every morning “unemployed” since 1983) I have a philosophy that I always give an extra 10%. I have had lots of clients that do not even appreciate it, yet alone pay me on time, or in rare instances not at all. And I bless them with my entire heart, but in the end it is somehow as if the universe makes sure that one is rewarded for the effort. THE UNIVERSE APPLAUDS ACTION!!

The only way a business can work is if one has the right people and the right processes in place. Those are the only two criteria to build an empire. I have a philosophy of “Hire and fire – hire and fire” until I find the right person, then I hold on to them by offering them the right kind of money for the job. More than the market place offers for the same kind of job. ALWAYS EMPLOY ATTITUDE FIRST…….. SKILLS YOU CAN TEACH LATER!! Finding niche markets, and only dealing with people that share similar energy as oneself. In the beginning I raped, killed and sold myself short to “Get business” any business, but now I hand pick my clients, only the ones that appreciate me and that share the same value systems that I cherish. And the funny thing is…… they don’t mind paying, because: 1. I solve their problems. 2. I arrive on time. 3. I under promise and over deliver. 4. Go the extra mile. 5. Never bullshit them. 6. I am always predictable. Also - one must never burn one’s bridges on the way to the top as one is going to need them on the way down. So even with your current or maybe future boss. If he happens to (maybe) not be the right kind of boss to work for or maybe has a bad attitude. LEARN FROM HIM/HER, When you “finally” do walk or move away from that department, do so with good energy and no bad feelings in your heart. Even if they are wrong. Thank them for the lessons learned. What does it matter?!. How important is the EGO? TRUE POWER IS KNOWING THAT YOU CAN….. BUT YOU DON’T! You never know……. Maybe one day you might have to knock on their door again. Maybe it is not the company as such but only your boss at that moment that has the wrong attitude or is frightened of your energy?. Try to move to another department. Offer to drop in salary…. YES, DROP IN SALARY!!

If you know who you are you can soon make it up again under another boss who will appreciate your extra 10% you always give……. That different energy that makes you stand out in the crowd of people who only want. - The takers - The “nobody’s” - The mediocrity! If you decide to work for yourself….. Find a niche in the market…. Be it a product that nobody has or a service or problem you can solve that nobody else can. Then you can charge what you want and people will buy!! Don’t give away your life by waiting for somebody else to create your destiny. The “they” will then only give you what “they” consider you to be worth to “them.” We can learn from nature. The lions and or predators will always hunt the weakest for a meal. We have enough “Nobody’s” in this country and the world; we need lots more “Somebody’s” People that can make a difference, people that are not just here to steal oxygen. People that can stop the plundering of the planet for their own idea of survival. When is enough – enough?? (Another topic all together) I wish you well.

Someone once told me that if you don't enjoy what you're doing, it eventually becomes torture.

Ryokan

Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain.

One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.

Ryokan returned and caught him. “You may have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.”

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, I wish I could give him this beautiful moon.”

The thief

Left it behind-

The moon at the window.