Extraordinary lives

Last weekend I went to London with my family and some friends. As part of the weekend with the kids, we went to see Ripley’s “believe it or not” museum, which has been going on for several years. My son, who’s 11 years old and loves stuff like the Guinness Book of Records, had suggested some time back to go and see Ripley’s famous exhibition but back then I thought it was too expensive and I didn’t want to pay so much money just to see a bunch of statistics and facts about humanity, so we bailed out and never went. But thanks to the word of the internet and on-line offers, our friends found a “buy one get the other for one pound” offer and off we went to see the wonderful world of “human oddities” as it was described in one of the brochures.

I was pleasantly surprised by the museum, it was very nicely put together and it captured the audience’s imagination. Most of it is based on things that Ripley has put together of “extraordinary” humans or things that he has come across in his life, telling the astonished visitors tales of extraordinary tall humans, quirky facts and bizarre creatures like a 3 legged chicken. And as you go around, you spend most of your time looking at pictures or exhibitions from these “extraordinary” things.

But it was after we left the museum that I began to reflect on what I had seen and the true meaning of what Ripley’s “believe it or not” exhibition is all about – EXTRAORDINARY LIVES!

Extraordinary lives of people who have in some way or another done something extraordinary. And if you place Ripley’s museum in the same league as the Guinness Word of Records, side by side, you can see the same things, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

A few days later I happen to see a documentary about a man who had no arms and how he was able to live an ordinary life, even learning to play the piano and driving a car. The narrator of the program described him as “an extraordinary man” living an ordinary life.

And my thoughts turn to the recent Paralympics games held in London and how we have developed a full event of what was described as “extraordinary people” pushing themselves physically and mentally as never seen before, doing ordinary sports in the Olympics.

So I became fixed on trying to understand what is an “extraordinary person” doing what you and I see as ordinary. Straight away what jumps out is the fact that all these individuals are impaired some way or another from doing things the way an ordinary person does, so when they achieve what they achieve is extraordinary. But this is not always the case with everyone who has been described as “Extraordinary” and so I wanted to understand this further.

I want to break this into tree words; Extra, Ordinary and Life. Let us start with the word “Life”

I guess it is a good starting point as everything stems from life. We all have our own lives, no matter what background you come from or what circumstances you live in. Everyone I saw in the exhibition had a story to tell about his or her life. The man with no arms, the documentary was all about his life, and we heard many of the athletes’ lives described during the Paralympics games and how they ended where they are. Everyone has a life, a story to tell, about his or her life. Every life is a story, in its own right, and it describes how we got here, what we did and how we will end up. Some lives have been told from start to finish, some have just began and many are still in progress.

But not every life story is told in an exhibition, or a TV program or even during an interview at the Paralympics. Not every life story has been written in a book or told in a film. Not every life will be told to thousands of people for them to whoo and ahh at this “extraordinary life”

In fact many stories will never be told, and perhaps because they are seen as “ordinary lives”

I want to now look at the word “ordinary”. Many lives of ordinary people may not ever be told because they are what we consider “normal”. With millions of people living in this planet, many of us will live an “ordinary life” meaning we will never make it to Ripley’s “believe it or not” exhibition, or will never appear on a TV program, or even attend the Paralympics games or have a book or film about us. We will just get up every morning, go about our business and go back to bed at the end of the day. Day in and day out we will just live our ordinary lives, some of us enjoying it and some of us not. It is a fact of life; we are living our ordinary lives.

So what about the word “Extra” meaning “more”? When we talk about extra we talk about doing more, more than ordinary. I’ll do extra time today, meaning I will do more than the ordinary hours I usually do. Extra piece of cake, more than I would usually eat. Extra effort meaning I will work harder at it. Extra, assuming this was more than what it was expected, by others and ourselves. Actually when you think about it, the word extra helps us move away from ordinary and hence why when put together they produce that wonderful word “extraordinary”

Extraordinary People. Extraordinary Lives. What this means then is that these people who are seen as “Extraordinary” and have lived “Extraordinary” lives, all they did was to do more. Take the man with no arms, because of his birth defect; he had to do “extra,” more than an average man with arms, to live an ordinary life. But because he had to combine the efforts of not having arms (the Extra) with trying to live his life (the Ordinary) he has ended up living an “Extraordinary Life”. We admire this, and quite rightly, as he’s had to work harder at it, he’s had to do more than you and me just to go and get a carton of milk. He is an “Extraordinary Man”

But the beauty here is that you don’t need to have been born with missing limbs to still have an “extraordinary life” and become an “extraordinary person”.

And how do we do this? Very simple – start doing the “Extra” in the “Ordinary” Think about it, it is really quite simple, I’ll give you an example; you know you’ve always wanted to stay fit? But never have the time, or the will to do it? Well guess what? You need to find the “Extra” in the “Ordinary” it only takes 20 minutes walking every day to become a fit person, the 20 minutes is the “Extra” in your “Ordinary” life.

Whichever way you cut it, it comes down to the same thing… anything you will do in your life that will be “Extraordinary” has to come from the extra and not form the ordinary, whether you bake a cake, paint a picture, write a book, stay fit, climb the Kilimanjaro, learn to play the piano or just be the best in your field, will require you to do more in your life.

So why not start today and turn your “ordinary” life into an “Extraordinary Life”Ripleys london

I say YES!

 We all grow up and spend most of our lives hearing the word NO.

On average a child hears the word NO 450 times a day; From parents., Teachers, siblings, friends and the media. “No, you can’t have it”, “No, you can’t do it”, “No you can’t play”, “No, don’t touch it!” I guess some times we do have to hear the word NO otherwise we would walk around with burns all over our hands or end up jump into the middle of the road and get run over by a car. But 450 times a day? That is excessive!

Then as young adults we continue to become familiar with this word. Again from those close to us or even total strangers; “No, you can’t go out”, “No I don’t want to go out with you”, “No, you have to do it this way”, “No, you can’t come in, you are wearing trainers!” And as young adults some time we do need to listen to the word NO to avoid ending up with the wrong crowed. But gain, it can be excessive the amount to times we hear this word as teenagers! I suspect it’s higher than when we were kids.

And then we become adults and we embark on our long life journey. And as we grow up professionally, we try to be nice to people, as we don’t yet know how to deal with the adult word, our first managerial lesson we all receive from our boss is “You are going to have to learn to say NO to people!” How many of us have heard this phrase at least once in our career! And if it is not from our boss, we usually get this advice from a friend in the pub after a couple of drink when we have poured our heart out as to how busy we are. They will give us that advice too; “say NO to people”!!!

So the word NO becomes a strong part of our lives and upbringing. And needless to say, it has a massive effect on us; our behaviour, the way we interact with people and how we feel about life! Such negativity can sometimes take over and rule how we go about business, relationships, and friendships and even how we raise our own kids. If you are old enough to have them think about this; how many times have you caught yourself saying, “I sound like my mother!” That can be a massive complement if you turned out all right, but think about the implications sometimes it has on how we raise our kids. I know for sure that often I get pretty close to the 450 mark when dealing with mine! It’s an instinct; some times you can’t help it, because it’s embedded in us, from years of having learnt to use the word NO!

There is good news though. The opposite of NO, of course, is the word YES. And I suspect we also hear this word a lot when we are kids, but probably not as much as NO or at least not as much as we should do. And think about the important impact the word YES can have on us? Think back to your upbringing and how it felt when someone said YES? When you asked for permission to do something and that adult said YES? You almost fell off your chair in shock! Because you knew the usual response was NO! I have sometimes, as guilty as I am for excessively using the word NO, heard my kids start a petition with the sentence “I know you are going to say NO, but…” and that is shocking! More than when I say YES and they are shocked!

And as a young adult the word YES becomes even more scares and a luxury when we get it. Most of us, average looking people, never dared to ask a girl out because “we know she will say NO” or every time we ask permission to go out with our friends we were told “NO, it’s late to go out” And even when trying to get into a place to have a drink, there was a big sign hanging outside with a big fat “NO under 18’s”!

Of course I understand the rules for restricting alcohol to a teenager, but isn’t it a fact that if we say NO makes them drink more? The more people say NO, the more we want it? So why not just say YES and help them learn to use that power of choice on how much alcohol they drink.

And finally, as Adults, the word YES becomes almost a thing of the past! Every time we apply for a job we hear NO! If they write to you, that is! When you apply for a loan, or a mortgage, when you ask for a favour to a friend or ask to have some days off at work; no mater what we ask, we are more likely to hear NO than YES. And when we finally do here that magic word, we feel happy! One of these occasions is usually at our wedding; “YES I do” we hear our partner say and we can’t believe they said yes! And then it all goes down hill... Why? Because we go back to use the word NO!

So this year, 2013, is the year I want to say YES!

13 can be seen as an unlucky number. Most hotels don’t have a room 13, airplanes don’t have seat number 13 and some building will jump from the 12^th to the 14^th floor. So when I looked at this year and realised it has the number 13 in it, I thought “you know what? This will be my year! My lucky year!”

But if we move to talk about the word LUCKY, we are moving into a territory of many arguments, opening a massive can of worms! (by the way this expression has always baffled me, I have never been in any supermarket where they sell a can of worms, so do let me know where they stock them!) I digress, sorry!

So I then thought about the word LUCK and I understood I did not mean LUCK. I am a great believer that luck comes from within. And it is driven by ourselves providing opportunities, and this opportunities in turn occur as a result of our attitude and this attitude is driven by self believe and positive thinking. And positive thinking, of course, comes from using the word YES!

Now, remember that in this life, it’s all about choices and we all have the freedom to choose. With this in mind, I have chosen 2013 not as my LUCKY year but the year I say YES! I have chosen to drive everything I do with the world YES!  And everything I do, no matter what it is, I will do it with YES! This will be my year of YES!

Does this mean I will say YES to everything? Of course not! I don’t do drugs and I will say NO to watching Big Brother and listening to GangNam Style any more! You’ve got to draw the line somewhere!

But I’ll tell you what it means to me; YES stands for “Year of Excellence and Success”

My mission and vision for 2013 is to do everything with YES! (in other words, do everything with Excellence and Success) I want to excel in everything I do, no matter what it is, personal or professional. I want to succeed in everything I do, no matter if it is big or small. I want to do my outmost on everything I drive, interesting or not. I want everything around me to be great, in good and bad times. I want every challenge I take to help me better myself, whether I succeed or fail. And I want this year, and possible for the rest of my life, to live with a YES attitude, and attitude that tells me “YES you can!” “YES you may!” “YES it’s yours” “YES and a hundred times YES”

Nothing in life is impossible, nothing in life is unachievable, we have the power to say YES, and we have the choice to live our lives with Excellence and Success!

Aim for the moon, because even if you miss, you’ll still be amongst the stars!

Enjoy your own year of YES!

Observations of a traveler

My feet are back firmly on the ground after 134 flights taken from January to December in 2012.  I am blessed to have a job that permits me to travel so much, meeting people from all walks of life, see cultures deeply embedded in countries, learn lessons from history in places I’ve seen and visited and most importantly, realize that the world is a wired, twisted wonderful place!

One of the best things about travelling is that you get to see and observe people, whether they work in an airport, train station, duty free shop, airplane or airport security, or they are travelling somewhere on holidays, work, or just trying to get home. But each and every one of these individuals makes my travel experience so much more amusing and entertaining and the inspiration for my hobby, which is writing.

Being a writer involved good observation skills, to be able to capture moments in life that free your imagination and inspire your senses to write a story, a play or a blog. And travelling gives me this opportunity. This year alone, with 134 flights, I have been able to write several articles and blogs, 4 plays and a musical! And recently I joined a writers club called Shakespeare’s Monkey where we write short stories for an e-book we will publish next year. So the world isn’t such a bad place after all when it offers me such a great opportunity to flourish a hobby that allows me to express myself through the art of writing.

And so I wanted to share with you all my observations for this year, as a frequent traveler, and perhaps allow you to have a giggle and say, “that is so true” or even say “that’s so me!”. We won’t tell anyone, I promise!

I entitled this blog “observations of a traveler” so I will share these observations as a list of experiences I have had while taking 134 flight, driven thousands of miles on coaches from home to the airport and back, taken hundreds of taxis to get to hotels, sat for several hours in lounges waiting for those 134 flights and observed thousands of human being from different parts of the world interact with each other.

So sit back, buckle up and enjoy the journey through this wonderfully twisted and wired world of travelling!

Observation No 1 – frequent traveling it’s a status game!

Several months ago I wrote a blog entitled “my life or my seat” which told the tale of a business traveler who would fight for getting on the plane first! Since then what I have discovered is that getting on a plane is a matter of status rather than getting a seat. Of course being first on the plane is important so you can get all of your bulky hand luggage just above your seat (you can also read my blog “hand luggage is no longer hand luggage") but it really is a matter of status! When a frequent traveler achieves gold, it’s like winning gold at the Olympics! And perhaps it is comparable, as these individuals can run; jump, bend and twists in more ways than you care to imagine, to get on the plane first!

The ultimate price is not to get to your seat first but to say, “I’m gold” as they push their way through everyone in the chaos to get on the airplane. (By the way why do we all get up as soon as the airport staff touches the microphone? surely the plane won't leave without you, right?)

But even a “gold member” will push other “gold members” when he/she clearly sees them all standing around the gate like hungry wolves waiting for their pray. And this ultimate fighter, the one who knows how to maneuver around everyone else, pushes his/her way to the front and stands proud holding the boarding pass that clearly says “priority boarding”. Doesn’t he realize that everyone there is also got “priority boarding”? But the rewarding moment, as the observant traveler, is to see his/her face of anger when they finally open the doors and announce “we will start boarding people with special needs and families with small children” what? Small children? Before me! Surely not! They are not gold members!

It’s the small things in life that make me smile, this is one of them!

Observation No 2 – travelers that tell big fat lies!

When you travel if you ears-drop, you will hear the best lies ever told. There is something about travelling that makes us tell porky pies! Something pushes us, as grown up adults, to regress and lie like a 5 year old. And just like the 5 year old, we think we are going to get away with it, when it is plane to see it’s not going to work. Here are some of my favorites for this year:

“we are now boarding people only on rows 25 to 37”

“Sir, we are only boarding from rows 25 to 37”

“sorry I didn’t hear it”

“you can only take one piece of hand luggage with you”

“I only have one piece of hand luggage with me!”

(he is standing there with 2, we can all see it)

“sir, you have 2 pieces”

“No I only have one”

(I promise you we can see 2)

“Sir, you have two”

“no, this is my briefcase!”

(I guess he has a point, however you know dam well he is trying to get away with it! This is not Ryan Air by the way)

“you can only take liquids less than 100 mil”

“that is less than 100 mil!”

“no its not, it says 250 mil on the bottle”

“yea but it’s more than half empty so it’s about 100 mil”

(again good point but I think they were trying to get away with it)

“I was told by your colleague at check in I could use the lounge…”

"You are late and holding back the plane"

"Sorry, it was a short connection"

(They have duty free bags under their arm!)

and my favorite of all, the biggest fat lie ever told:

“madam, please switch your music off”

No response from the traveler

“madam can you please switch your music off”

No response from the traveler

A tap on the shoulder, she looks up and take the headphones off

“can you please turn you music off we are about to take off”

“Yea it's off” (big fat lie!)

Observation No 3 – how and why do you beep?

Some of the perks of travelling is that you get a "good seen to" by security officers from time to time, if you know what I mean! (wink, wink)

We have all learned to live with tight security controls and fairly standard procedures in most airports over the last few years but what still gets me is what makes you beep as you go through the metal detector? You can go through airport security 2 or 3 times the same day if you have connecting flights and specially if you land in Frankfurt (which by they way I vote as the worst airport in Europe, more on this later) and you can pass through a metal detector without beeping in one airport and then beep on the other (and you have done exactly the same in both). I have come to my own conclusion and I think the airport guards have a button they press when you walk through and they take a fancy at you! Otherwise why would this be?

And believe me when I tell you this, I have had security guards touched me in places no other man has been! So it doesn't matter what you take off, if he fancies you, you will beep and then he will have his day!

Speaking of Frankfurt, here is Observation No 4 – Airport security whose mission statement is "make sure the passenger loses his flight!"

Trust me when I tell you I fully appreciate the work these men and women do every day to keep people safe and a live! I have in fact honoured these silent heroes in one of my blogs as often you see people being so ungrateful towards the guards who are just doing their job… when they do it well!

There is one airport I want to highlight in my blog today and that is Frankfurt airport! This has got to be the world’s worst airport in many levels. I know many people would disagree with me, as I know a lot of travelers like Frankfurt, but not for me, and I avoid going through it as much as possible. It is not only the fact that every time I land in Frankfurt and have just under 50 minutes to get from one gate to the other, they, I am sure purposely, put both planes at opposite sides of the airport (same airline by the way) and for some reason, even though you are in transit, you still have to go through airport security! (no other airport has this as far as I know) and it would be ok if this was a good experience, but here comes the frustrating part… ITS NOT! (ok anger out, feel much better...) they are so slow, it is unbelievable! And unpredictable! You can take everything out and they will still stop you. When you have very little time to get to your gate this is the last thing you want. I have a bag full of cables; in no other airport do they ask me to take it out, except Frankfurt! So now I take it out, so they don’t stop me… WRONG AGAIN! (ok more anger out, feel much better...) because they will still stop you and ask you to now empty the cables out!

I could go on and on, so I will stop here, there is more I want to tell you than security at Frankfurt. Oh by they way, I always beep there! Maybe I'm the type German security guys go for?

Observation No 5 – there is always one…

There is always one…

who will do a succession of farts on the plane and is seating next to you.

who will push you to get to his/her luggage without disregards for your safety!

who will try to squeeze his or her bag on top of yours!

who will have the nerve to move your bag so he or she can fit theirs in and then there is no room for yours!

who will always take the whole armrest!

who will always want to go to the toilet when the seatbelt sign comes on!

who will always turn his mobile phone on as soon as the plane touches down! who will always stand up before the plane stops fully!

who will clap as the plane lands!

who will always try to chat even though you have your earphones on!

who goes to the toilet too many times!

who will hold the plane back and walks in with a Starbucks cup!

There is always one…

Observation No 6 – is this a service industry? I've not noticed...

Coming from a service industry myself, I know what it takes to make a guest happy, and I know how much we demand from our staff to treat people well so they come back and use us again. You have all heard the famous phrase "look after your customers and they will come back"

Unfortunately this is not true in the travel industry and they hold its customers by the throat saying, “we don’t care, you are going to come back anyway”

Most companies working in the travel industry have a big advantage, we, the traveler; will be coming back even if we don’t like it! The monopoly of the airlines and lack of care from airport base companies make sometimes the travel experience a misery. Choosing an airline to travel comes down to your destiny and price not because we like them and they treat us well. And you don’t really have much choice of visiting an airport either, it’s not as if you can say, “I’m never using this airport again!” This allows employees in this industry to be dam rude and get away with it! The best example was this summer when we were travelling back from Majorca to mainland Spain and an employee of Iberia, part of British Airways, the world's worst airline, shouted to a customer "are you deaf? We’ve been calling for 5 minutes now!" because he did not hear the announcement that he needed to come forward and check in. Let me put this into context for you – the Iberia attendant was making the announcement in Spanish, not once she did it in English, and the gentleman was Asian and did not speak Spanish. He clearly did not understand her and when he said “what?” To her very rude remarks I thought she was not going to repeat what she had just said in Spanish. But guess what? Yes, she wanted to be heard, so she said it in English. I think, luckily for her, this was an Asian gentleman and he did not reply back. I was wishing, in my sick twisted mind, that she would do it to me, then I think I may have not left Majorca as I would have probably been arrested as I would have given her a piece of my mind!

The fact is that at that moment you have to fly with them and then you may have to again, if your destination pushes you to take their flights, we have no choice so they will continue to get away with murder!

Observation No 7 – my life in their hands!

I wrote a blog some time ago on my experience when travelling on a taxi from a hotel to the airport at 3 am. Although convenient as you avoid traffic and get there faster, it is also dangerous as I saw my driver close his eyes for what seemed an eternity! He did wake up but the rest of the journey I build my mussels as I was so tens keeping an eye on him!

Often I think of the fact that I take most methods of transport to get to my destinations every day, from cars (taxis or private cars), buses (to and from the airport), trains (underground and rail) and airplanes (134 of theses) and for every form of transport I relay on the driver, conductor or pilot to get me there, safely and on time.

Statistically they say you are more likely to die in a car accident or being run over by a buss than in a plane. Statistically I use all those that can get you killed!

But for me, it is not the odds but the luck. I think you can spend your life travelling (and thousands of people do) and never be involved in an incident, and then you can step out of your house and a car runs you over. I am a believer that when it’s your time, it’s your time, whether you are on a plane or watching a movie and you choke on your popcorn! So when I travel I have learnt not to worry about things like this, if you do, you would never go outside your house!

This year I have not had any major scares, seems that everyone involved get me to my destinations have worked very hard to get me there safely! But I guess when you have seen the wing of your airplane scrap the surface and produce sparks and the aircraft take back up again as it couldn’t land due to high winds, anything else is a walk in the park! (Thank god this happened earlier in my travelling life, I can cope with anything now!)

Observation No 8 – everywhere you go, always take the weather with you!

If you started singing the song by Crowded House it shows your age! No but seriously I could not write a blog about travel and live in England without talking about the weather!

Like most people, I like summer, it is warm, it’s sunny and people are in a good mood. And more importantly your plane is never delayed! And like most people I hate winter, it’s miserable, it’s cold and the slightest sign of snow paralyses the whole travel industry.

Some countries cope better with this than others. Take the Russians, they are able to take off and land with 2 meters of snow. The have heated runways, they have plough machines to remove snow, they have enough de-icer machines and they have nice warm Russian hats! Take the British; we have none of the above! And when we get a twinkle of white stuff falling we just close the country, it’s cheaper apparently than buying the equipment to cope with snow!

Look, I can cope with delays, they are part of the deal when you travel, and it’s not going to be always perfect. But what I can’t cope with is the same issue every year when we know it’s going to happen! Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results” do we think that we are not going to get snow next year? Or that people will look outside and see the snow and say “I won’t go to work today” Seriously! I’m willing to put a tenner for buying some of those wonderful machines the Russians have. If we all chip-in, we could buy all of that equipment and the country wouldn’t to shut for days every winter. I’ll put a collection box outside number 10 Downing Street, feel free to contribute!

I feel I am getting a lot of my anger out in this blog! This is good therapy!

And my last observation – No matter how many things you encounter when you travel, you are truly blessed by having the chance to see the world.

I know I travel excessively, and some would not like it, but I believe that travelling is a way for humans to see and understand the world around us. You cannot say you’ve arrived home until you left home. Whether you travel for holidays or business, pleasure or work, business class or economy, abroad or in land, every time you do, keep your eyes and ears open, you will learn so much about the world we live in, and it will make you appreciate who we are and why we are the way we are, there is so much out there to see.

I look forward to another year of travelling, enjoying new experiences, learning from different cultures and people, meeting human beings who inspire my stories and most of all… having more time to write for you all…

You can read my plays at www.sergiosnyder.com and join our new writers club Shakespeare’s Monkey in Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shakespearesmonkey

 or directly to the website at http://ssnyd282.wix.com/shakespeares-monkey

Do the maths! - 3 has just lost a customer for 79 pounds

When I comes to customer service, there is an old say we all know “it is more expensive to loose a customer than to keep them happy” and this will, in turn, bring profitability to your organisation.

And when faced with the eternal question “how much to compensate” then you know you are already on the wrong road as you have upset a customer and about to loose them, costing hundreds of pounds and your reputation.

And if your customer gives you the chance to keep them loyal, why question this? Just go along with it, making sure you keep that customer happy and in return they will keep on coming back for more, spending more and more every time.

This applies to all industries, not just hospitality, as we think of it often when we talk about this subject. And I want to share a story where a company really doesn’t get it, and one day it will come to bite them back. Yes, they may think that loosing a customer now is of no importance, but soon they will realise that this is not the case and little by little they are chipping away to their loyalty base and it will eventually collapse.

I am asking anyone who reads this article to pass it on, and for every person you pass it on to see if it makes sense or not what I am about to tell. The world needs to know how much this company is taking advantage of us and don’t realise we are important, as much as a customer when they come into a hotel or restaurant and get bad service.

I have been a customer of 3, the mobile company for over 8 years. I started with them with a simple contract back in the days and as I renewed, every time I got a nicer phone and singed another 12 months contract and recently 24 months contract. Fair enough, you need to commit, so I sign and I know they will look after me. Until now…

My wife and I have a contract each with 3 for 24 months at 37 pounds each, in return we got the i-Phone 4. Love the machine so why not, it’s a price you pay for a device you like. 2000 minutes, 5000 texts, unlimited Internet and all the calls I want to any 3-network mobiles (I only know my wife on 3). If you check my bills over the last 24 months you would see I use on average 10 call, 2 texts and some internet as I work abroad and I do not use my phone, otherwise the 37 pounds become 100 pounds a month roaming charges!. But hey, I have an i-Phone and I feel good.

My wife uses it slightly more but believe me she has never used her 2000 minutes or 5000 texts. But hey, she likes the i-Phone too.

Unfortunately she lost her phone 6 months ago, we had no insurance on it and so we just had to swallow our loss and wait for an upgrade. So I gave her mine, she uses it more than me and for the last 6 months I’ve used an old handset to make and receive calls. 37 pounds a month right down the drain! So I thought, I’ll just change my contract in November for a 10 pounds a month, get a small smart phone for free (HTC or Samsung) and be done with it. So let’s start doing the maths her and please keep track of this.

3 is about to loose 27 pounds a month income, not through their fault but just as a customer that realised, like many, “why the heck am I paying for all those minutes and texts when I don’t use them?” for the phone? Well, no longer need it and I will save that money.

So far 3 are about to loose 27 pound a months.

But guess what? The i-phone 5 comes out! Oh man, I’m a sucker for apple and I start to think “what if…” after all, I am already pay 37 pounds a month and the last 6 months I’ve literally lost that money! So let me upgrade to it, but I don’t want to pay more that what I am paying now.

By the way, it is worth pointing out here that my bills are never quite 37 pounds! Some times you make a call outside your allowance (0800 numbers) or when I am abroad so on average my bills are 40 pounds. But I don’t want another contract more than 37 pounds.

So I go to the shop and there I see advertised on a leaflet the different options. Yes it’s the i-Phone is a new phone so it is more expensive to get a new contract but on this leaflet for existing customers you can get it for free! But wait, you have to pay 39 pound a month. I said no more and I was going to stick to it. So I did some numbers in my head and I thought “8 years loyalty, 2 contracts, I am sure they will give it to me for free” so I went to negotiate with the attendant at the 3 store in Castle Point shopping centre in Bournemouth.

Here is how the conversation went:

Me:

Hi, I was thinking about reducing my tariff to 10 pounds and taking an HTC, you will loose 27 pounds a month, that is 540 pounds on my next 24 month contract! That is a lot of money! (I am, of course being cheapish here)

Attendant:

Why are you doing that?

Me:

I don’t really use all of the stuff you give me and besides, as you know I lost my i-Phone 6 months ago and I’ve been paying for nothing. So I think I can survive with just 10 pounds and a HTC

Attendant:

I guess if that is what you want… (really? So he is happy to loose 540 pounds? Wired!)

Me:

Well there is another option…

Attendant:

Yes?

Me:

I could upgrade and get the new i-Phone…

Attendant:

Good idea.

Me:

But I don’t want to pay more than what I am paying now.

Attendant:

No problem (taps away on computer) but you will have to pay a penalty of 89 pounds for early upgrade (it’s only a month away my contract is over) and 79 pounds for the phone.

Me:

Why? The early upgrade is crazy as it is only one month, I can wait, but why for the phone?

Attendant:

Because for a tariff of 35 pounds you have to pay for the phone.

Me:

I am not paying 35, I am paying 37 and you are giving the phone for free for existing customers.

Attendant:

Only if you go up in tariff and pay 39 pounds.

Me:

But I don’t want to pay 39, I want to pay what I pay now which is 37 and have the phone for free.

Attendant:

Well we can’t do that.

Me:

Why?

Attendant:

Apple won’t let us.

Me:

What? It’s nothing to do with Apple.

Attendant:

It’s company arrangements and nothing we can do. If we give it for free Apple will sue us (I smell some sweet BS here)

Me:

But why?

Attendant:

I told you, if you pay 35 you have to pay 79 or pay 39 and get it for free! We have to pay apple the 79, they wont let us give it for free!

Me:

I told you already, I am not paying 35 I am paying 37! And why can’t you just renew my contract, ring the 79 on the till and then credit back to me, that way Apple is happy, I am happy and you have my loyalty for another 24 months!

Attendant:

So you want us to loose 79 pounds for you? (he give a small laugh)

Now at this point I am about to loos it but I hold on and then I present to him the clear thinking of why he should agree to give it to me for free.

I said to him “do the maths and tell me on which scenario you will loose more money” here is the maths for all of you.

Scenario 1

I change my contract and go down to 10 pounds as originally planed. I loose nothing; in fact gain 27 pounds back, 3 looses 648 pounds (my contract reduces from 888 pounds to 240 pounds for 2 years year)

Scenario 2

He gives me the i-Phone 5 for free and I keep my 37 pounds contract. I loose nothing and sign 24 more months, 3 looses (allegedly) 79 pounds, but gets to keep me and my wife happy so in fact continues to make 888 pounds X 2 for another 24 months.

Scenario 3

He pisses me off by not giving me the i-Phone and I walk away. I will cancel my contract and take my business somewhere else and take my wife’s contract when it expires next year somewhere else. I loose nothing, I take a 10 pound contract somewhere else, with an HTC handset, my wife gets the new i-phone next year with someone like Orange or O2 (I then keep her old i-phone which was mine and I am back on the i-phone, albeit 4) and 3… well they loose, again, but this time 1,776 pounds for 2 X 24 months contracts plus further business plus this article which will expose them as incompetent customer service providers and who know how much more!

Scenario 4 (So not going to happen!)

I get the 39-pound contract and get the i-Phone for free or pay for the i-Phone for 79 pounds. I loose 48 pounds on the first option or 31 pounds on the second by taking my tariff down to 35 and pay 79 for the phone, and 3… they loose nothing. (like I said, this is SO NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!)

So, do the maths, if you were 3, which scenario would you go for? (do not include scenario 4 this is SO NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!)

Yea, I think we all agree, Scenario number 2. All but 3.

And guess what? When presented with this options the attendant at the store just smiled and said, “you can give me as many numbers as you’d like but no one is going to give you the i-Phone 5 for free, it is a new product and no way anyone will give it just like that”

I looked at the leaflet in front of me that says, “39 pound upgrade and get the i-Phone for free” and I looked at him and said “But you do! Here! For 39 pounds a month you give it for free!”

“Yes sir but this is a contract…” and I stopped him, I was not prepared to listen to his policies again, I had enough by now.

“Look” I said “give me the i-phone for free and I stay, if not I will cancel next month and lave, which do you prefer as a company”

“It’s up to you sir, we can’t force you to stay but for sure you won’t get the i-Phone 5 for free”

So, my last words to him:

“Are you telling me you are prepared to loose a customer for 79 pounds?”

His last words to me:

“Sir we loose a customer today, we gain 2 tomorrow”

And with this I walked away.

So I wrote to customer services at 3 and they told them what happened with the numbers I just shared with you, and guess what? They told me the same story so they chose scenario number 3 where they stand to loos everything for 79 pounds.

By the way, I also did some maths in a different way:

If you buy the i-Phone 5, new, sim-card free it cost 547 pounds from Apple. 3 give a sim card only contract for the i-Phone 5 for 12 pounds 50 pence a month for 200 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited Internet, which you can cancel on a monthly rolling basis (good enough for my use). If I do this for 24 months (which would be the length of a contract, but you do have the option to stop at anytime without penalties) it would be 847 pounds for 2 year, what I am paying now for my current contract (actually 43 pounds cheaper if you want to be precise) so I can still get the i-Phone (and it’s mine and sim card free), not pay 3 any more money and in fact save 43 pounds and have the option to tell 3 “stick it up your ****” any time I want!

So in the end, who looses here? Not me that’s for sure!

If you believe I am right and want to let the world know how 3 has just lost one customer and then help me make sure they don’t gain 2 more as they said, share this article with everyone you know and if you are with 3, do yourself a favour, save money and go with someone else who will give you what you deserve!

I’m half way there! - SPANISH VERSION BELOW!

This week I’m turning 45. Most people tend to celebrate in big style milestones in their lives; birthdays (50 years) wedding anniversaries in multiples of 5 and many other occasions to mark a point in their lives determined by the time that has elapsed.

I usually don’t celebrate these events, whether big milestones or not, as I’m a great believer that we should celebrate thing all the time.

Why do we make a big fuss over a day someone was born but yet we don’t remember them for the reminder of the year? I guess what put me off celebrations like this was when some years ago someone, who never remembered me 364 days of the year, sent me a birthday card (which was a week later than the actual day I was born) and it contained 4 words “happy birthday to you”.  I looked at the enormous white space, which dominated the card and then focused my eyes back onto the four words. That’s when I knew that this was not for me and I would not waist my time and money celebrating something that was meaningless. Meaningless in as far as we are celebrating just one day instead of celebrating all 365 of them.

This, of course, does not mean I do not pay attention to special days; of course I do, particularly with my kids. Children like to feel special so I wouldn’t think of not celebrating their birthday, and I do like to congratulate those who I know a birthday is a special day. But if tomorrow you forgot to say to me “happy birthday to you” I would not take it against you, as long as I’m in your thoughts all 365 days of the year!

Having said all that, this year I do feel something special. And turning 45 has made me think about my life. Why? Well, unlike most people who would see celebrating 50 as a big thing, I think 45 is a special age in anyone’s life. I sat and reflected on this for a while after I engaged in a conversation with someone about this. God willing and if I look after myself properly, I suspect I will be around until I’m about 90. I think this is a good age to get to, and from personal experiences, most people get there in good shape. Anything after this is a bonus and in some cases it’s the downward turn, when things begging to go wrong as we become frail in our old age, so to get to 90, healthy and happy is a great achievement.

That’s my goal, 90. After I established this it dawned on me that turning 45 is then a big milestone, yes in other words “I am half way there!” So I began to pay particular attention to what I’ve done so far. I thought “if I’m half way there, then I only have half left!” and I began to take stock of all the things that I’ve done, thinking I have another 45 years ahead of me to do everything I haven’t done yet; make up for all those things I did wrong and enjoy another 45 years of a great gift, a gift that was given to me at birth, my life.

I found out I’ve done a lot and I’ve missed a lot but I don’t regret many things. There are a few things I would do different, if I had the chance… wait a minute, I do have the chance!

There are a few regrets, to say that one does not have any I think is not true, as at some point we all have made mistakes in our lives, what is important is to know you’ve made those mistakes and better yourself as a result of that moment in your life when you said to yourself “oh dear…that didn’t go well…” I’ve had 45 years of life long experiences that have opened up my mind to accept that I have another 45 years to do things right.

So what is there to look forward for the next half? I guess it’s a bit like playing a sport of two halves, you’ve gone in and play the first half and now you are half way, you don’t know what to expect for the second half but you know you only have that second half to win! You’ve had the first half to try and learn your opponent and now you have new tactics to help you win the match. I’m not sure what is on the other side of 45, but what I do know is that there is so much I want to do, so much I want to achieve and I’m conscious that I am half way there, so there is not much time left!

So watch this space, as they say, as I know I’m now half way there, the biggest gift I’m getting this year is a shot at the next 45 years of my life!

Estoy a la mitad del camino!

Esta semana celebro mis 45 años. La mayoría de la gente tiende a celebrar en estilo momentos importantes en sus vidas, los cumpleaños (50 años) aniversarios de boda en múltiplos de 5 y muchas otras ocasiones para marcar un punto en sus vidas determinadas por el tiempo que ha transcurrido.

Por lo general no celebrar estos eventos, ya sean grandes momentos o no, ya que soy un gran creyente de que debemos celebrar cosas todo el tiempo.

¿Por qué nos hacen un gran alboroto durante el día que nacimos? y no nos acordamos de ellos por el resto del año? Supongo que lo que me hizo pensar que no me gustan celebraciones como ésta fue cuando hace algunos años alguien, que nunca se acordaba de mí 364 días del año, me envió una tarjeta de cumpleaños (que llego una semana más tarde que la fecha real en que nací) y contenía 2 palabras "Feliz Cumpleaños". Miré el enorme espacio blanco, que dominó la tarjeta y enfoqué mis ojos de nuevo sobre las dos palabras. Fue entonces cuando supe que esto no era para mí y no iba a perder el tiempo y dinero celebrando algo que no tenía sentido. Sin sentido en la medida en que celebramos un solo día en lugar de celebrar todos los 365 días del año.

Esto, por supuesto, no quiere decir que no preste atención a los días especiales, por supuesto que sí, sobre todo con mis hijos. Los niños les gusta sentirse especial, así que celebro su cumpleaños, y me gustaría felicitar a la gente que conozco que creen que un cumpleaños es un día especial. Pero si el día de mañana te olvidaste de decirme "feliz cumpleaños" no lo tomaría en tu contra, siempre y cuando estoy en tus pensamientos los 365 días del año!

Sin embargo, este año me siento algo especial. Al cumplir 45 años me ha hecho pensar en mi vida. ¿Por qué? Pues bien, a diferencia de la mayoría de las personas que celebran 50 como una gran cosa, creo que 45 es una edad especial en la vida de cualquier persona. Me senté y reflexioné sobre esto por un rato después de una conversación con alguien sobre esto. Si Dios quiere y si me cuido bien, sospecho que llegare alrededor de los 90. Creo que esta es una buena edad para llegar, y por propias experiencias personales, la mayoría de la gente llegar en buena forma. Después de los 90 es una ventaja, y en algunos casos es el camino de baja, cuando las cosas empiezan a fallar a medida que nos volvemos débiles en nuestra vejez. Llegar a 90, sano y feliz es un gran logro.

Esa es mi meta, 90. Después de haber establecido esto me di cuenta de que celebrar los 45 es entonces un gran momento, en otras palabras: "Estoy a la mitad del camino!" Así que empecé a poner atención a lo que he hecho hasta ahora. Y pensé: "si estoy la mitad del camino, entonces sólo me queda la mitad!" Y me puse a hacer un inventario de todas las cosas que eh hecho, pensando que tengo otros 45 años para hacer todo lo que aun no eh hecho todavía; compensar todas esas cosas que hice mal y disfrutar de otros 45 años de un gran regalo, el regalo que se me dio al nacer, mi vida.

Y he hecho mucho y me he perdido mucho, pero no me arrepiento de muchas cosas. Hay un par de ellas que haría diferente si tuviera la oportunidad ... espera un momento, tengo la oportunidad!

Y también hay unas cuantas cosas que arrepentirse, y decir que uno no tiene nade de que arrepentirse creo que no es cierto, ya que en algún momento todos hemos cometido errores en nuestras vidas, lo importante es saber que has hecho mal y corregir esos momentos en tu vida cuando te dijiste a ti mismo "¡Dios mío ... creo que salio mal ..." Tengo 45 años de experiencias de toda una vida que han abierto mi mente a aceptar que tengo otros 45 años para hacer lo correcto.

Entonces, ¿qué puedo esperar en la siguiente mitad? Supongo que es un poco como jugar a un deporte de dos mitades, donde haz jugado la primera parte y ahora que está a medio camino, no sabes qué esperar de la segunda parte, pero sabes que sólo tienen ese segundo medio para ganar! Y tuviste la primera mitad para tratar de conocer a tu oponente y ahora tiene nuevas tácticas que te ayudarán a ganar el partido.

No estoy seguro de lo que me espera del el otro lado de 45, pero lo que sí sé es que hay tantas cosas que quiero hacer, tantas cosas que quiero lograr y soy consciente de que estoy a la mitad del camino, y no queda mucho tiempo!

Así que ya estoy listo, ya que sé que ahora estoy a mitad de camino y el mayor regalo que me estoy haciendo este año es la oportunidad de disfrutar los próximos 45 años de mi vida!

Talent, gift or skill? SPANISH VERSION BELOW

People will often tell you that you have a talent for something. This may be that you are good at public speaking; you have a beautiful singing voice or can add two large numbers in your head. And often you also hear people use the word “gift” associated with a talent; “you have a gift” or “he is gifted”. It is also important to note that talent does not always mean “artistic talent”, as it is often associated; yes playing the piano is a talent and a gift but painting a wall or leading a Fortune 100 company is also a talent and a gift. It is also a fact that the more you practice something, the more skillful you become: and here you will hear people say “he is very skilful” or “he has mastered his skill”

I enjoy a bit of DIY (do it yourself) so much that I have fixed my house from top to bottom all by myself. And I will put my hand to anything from painting a wall to fitting in a window. I am not claiming to be a professional and I don't know if you would pay for my work, but it is good enough for me and often my wife approves! You then have other people who cannot and will not even hang a picture in their house. You can claim "I don't have the talent for it" and here is where the question is raised. Do I have a talent for it, a gift or a skill? I have build and fitted a wooden staircase from scratch using a simple spreadsheet calculation and the right tools (worth noting I have not had formal training in woodwork). The staircase still there 6 years later and at the time I enjoyed doing it, but it is not something I would want to do for a job. I have never been professionally trained but I have done DIY all my life, so I think this is a skill and not a talent or a gift as some people have claimed when they saw the staircase. I have trained myself over the years to do most things from pluming to electrics and now in my mature years I can do this things. Could I have built the staircase when I was 18? Perhaps not as back then I did not have the practice I’ve had now. I do think that unless you have the talent, it takes years to master a skill and be good at it.

So let's turn to the arts, which is the area most people tend to associate with talent. Can you play the piano? Can you sing or act? Could you paint the sixteenth chapel? I reckon you probably could. Would you be as good as Mozart playing the piano? Is this what talent is? He is, as we all know, considered a genius of the music and a gifted composer, and perhaps cases like this are exceptions to the rule, but I still maintain that if you have the passion and dedication, and work hard at it, you can reach high levels to master a skill, and you don't need to have the talent or gift to do it. Fred Astaire was told in an earlier audition in his career "you can sign and dance a little, I would not waist my time doing this" Think about this – Mozart, we are told, could play brilliantly the piano at just the age of 5 and was declared a genius, Fred Astaire could not impress a producer in an audition as a young performer, yet both became gifted artists in their own right. Did one have a talent and the other mastered his skill? Fred Astaire was determined to become a great performer and he focused to achieve this, he never gave up despite being put down, instead he work hard to succeed. You would never say he was not talented.

So we circle back to the question – talent, skill or a gift? I think it can be either and one of the same. I do believe there are some people who a born with a talent or a natural ability to do things, but I also believe you can become talented at anything by working on improving your skills. Those who know me have come to realize that I am an individual who will try and do anything in life. One moment you will see me with a hammer and a drill in hand fixing a door, the next I am dealing with a complex issue at work and then I will be writing a musical or play, or singing a song. A Jack-of-all-trades as they say and perhaps master of none, but I do believe that I can do anything that is put in my way. May be I don't have a natural talent or gift for anything but I have developed skills for many things and if given the chance, one day I will also learn how to fix my car!

It takes hard work and dedication to achieve anything in life, and perhaps we don't all have the passion or desire to do master a skill (me fixing a car), but one thing you should always keep in mind is that you can sing, you can add two large numbers in your head and you can fix that broken door that has been annoying you for the last 6 years, all you have to do is develop that skill and desire to do it!