I just wanted to share a simple song I listened to on Apple Music; Billie Eilish – Ocean Eyes.
I vaguely remember the song but never really knew the artist. A beautiful song that reminds me of the incredible power and connection you can experience when you stare into someone’s eyes,…. but then I suddenly realised something. Despite wearing these face masks willingly or unwillingly outside in busy public places it still does not have to completely cover and hide our vibrant spirit, expressions and personality, that is seemingly trying to disconnect us even more as a community. The facemask has somehow not completely taken away that soothing magical experience of simple eye contact that sends a signal to each other that we exist.
Apparently tribes in Northern Natal in South Africa greet each other with a phrase that can be literally translated as;
“I see you”
and implies;
UNTIL YOU SEE ME – I do not exist.
Maybe that was a source of inspiration for the tribal greeting In the blockbuster movie Avatar when they would greet each other with that very same expression, the only difference being that the greeting and an even deeper meaning;
“I see the love and your feelings and your soul and you mean everything to me.“
These expressions speak for themselves and I am reasonably sure we have all already experienced these fleetings encounters of acknowledgement, empathy and love that were communicated to each other in a blink of an eyelid.
If you want to describe the extreme contrast between two items that are being discussed we use terms such as,
night & day, black & white, heavenly heights compared to the deepness of the sea, north & south, using these specific terms to exaggerate our arguments or make a stronger point.
Well this is the type of extremes that I want to share in two different blogs. However I cannot say if and when that second blog will be written because at present these types of blogs are written ‘in the moment’ inspired by an upward surge of emotions that can only be relieved by writing them away. A driving force that I have to tap into before it mysteriously disappears in the same manner that it appeared. Unfortunately rear opportunities if missed my never return due to the ever increasing time lapse from when I was first exposed to the experience that provoked those emotions in the first place.
Anyway 14 years ago back in 2006 Jamaica’s private regional transportation services saw the beginnings of a totally different contendor that started to offer its services to the local population. Although somewhat more expensive than the existing services their prices could still be viewed as reasonable for a considerable segment of the local population that did not need to travel on a daily basis. This new player would start to adjust the world renowned reputation of travelling regionally that previously was the exclusive domain of the Jamaica Minibuses. Minibuses that have been the foremost topic of conversation amongst unsuspecting first time family visitors to the island and totally naive tourists that completely ignored the warnings of their travel agencies or hotel receptionists. The Minibuses would now have to street race with this new contender while trying to hold on to its existing customers and still having to avoid the usual obstacles ranging from potholes, to goats and men ridden with white rum that prefer using the middle line road markings as their point of reference in their attempt to find their way back home.
In this first article I want to share my recent personal experience with the Jamaican minibus service.
Backpacking, student, and budget minded world travellers are very familiar with the transportational standard of local minibus services as regards seating (or in some cases and standing or standing only arrangements), comfort, average speed of travel, punctuality of departure and arrival times.
Well Jamaica is no different. A minibus with a minimum age of at least 10 to 20 or more years and that was original designed to seat for example 25 people will simply not depart from the marketplace Bus Station until at least another ten people have and been squeezed into the bus with just enough space so that half of the very skinny body of the bus conductor can still squeeze into the main passenger entrance of the bus while the other half is still hanging out of the bus acting like some sort of vertical wind breaker, but as far as I could see having completely no effect on the top speed capabilities of this vehicle.
The aisle that originally existed allowing access to the various seats in the middle and rear section of the bus suddenly vanishes. Makeshift planks are now being placed on every row of seats half resting on the two inside seats closest to the aisle instantly transforming the vehicle 25 seater minibus into a 30+ seater minibus. Actually having that additional passenger wedge inbetween like this does have its advantages, it completely nullifies any sideway inertia momentum. This force can become quite extreme at times due to the fact that Jamaican minibuses travel at the same speed around corners as they do on the straight runs, maybe due to the fact that using their brakes could have some possible negative effect on their arrival time (and nothing to do with the fact that they left late in the first place waiting for that one last passenger to fit into the last bit of breathing space ….sorry I mean space left in the bus).
I love the storage management capabilities of these minibuses and I cannot understand why people say there is no place to store your luggage. Despite the fact that the bus is now completely full there is still a large amount of storage space left for your suitcase and it’s staring you right in your face ..………the space in between your chest, the back of the seat in front of you and your lap upwards,…. provided of course that you have had the first class luxury of a seat….no sorry I meant the luxury of a seated position (being seated and possessing a seat are not necessarily connected to each other. And I must say that this arrangement does increase your transport safety probability quite considerably due to the fact that you now have the modern services of an indestructible reinforced airbag in the highly unlikely event of an accident.
This was my actual experience during my last visit to Jamaica when I decided to catch a minibus in the morning as opposed to waiting until the late afternoon for the first Knutsford express service from Montego Bay to Mandeville. Based on previous experiences going all the way back to a childhood trauma when visiting my Grandmother with my Mum from England and what I have seen and heard from others I personally had no real issues with this trip, I knew exactly what to expect, it just seemed like the norm to me. This is Jamaica and not England or Belgium or the United States
However I did begin to get a bit concerned with how the ‘local’ passengers, native Jamaicans that use these services on a daily basis, were starting to react to this bus driver’s riding style. Shortly after departing many of the ‘locals’ started openly complaining to one another about the driver’s erratic driving style which once again I assumed was the norm’. One woman was begging the bus driver to stop the bus so that she could get off, stating that she wanted to get to her destination alive and demanding a refund. Another woman was relating how she had been driving for seventeen years with that particular driver and she had never experienced anything like this. Even worse even local people on the side of the road were making disapproving gestures at him for his dangerous driving style!!
He was certainly overtaking every moving vehicle on the road including smaller Red number plate Route taxis that are also known for their formula one driving styles. I am quite sure he even overtook one motorbike rider. Well at least he did not swerve from side to side trying to avoid the many potholes…….he just drove right over them at the same speed, one after the other with the accompanying banging of the shock absorbers and woes and cries from the shocked and imprisoned passengers.
And no, this had absolutely no effect on the driver, despite all the complaints, woes and screaming from his customers. He just muttered and laughed to himself periodically while overtaking yet another Taxi.
The only time he started to drive at a more reasonable speed was the final long uphill crawl going up Spur Tree Hill. This somehow had a calming Alzheimer effect on the passengers because everyone went quiet, all the way to the final slightly downhill descent into Mandeville with no one seeming to remember what had just taken place in the previous 2 hours.
We had all paid our 800 j$ ticket and arrived in Mandeville alive and in one piece in record time……so what was all that fuss about ??
So what is this sharp contrast with ‘Knutsford Express driving experience’ ? What moral did I get out of this experience?
Well that’s my topic and theme for part two and that’s going to be for another day.….😃
Hallo thank you for either opening this blog for the first time or coming back to read Part II. For the former I would advise you to read Part I and then maybe take a break before reading this part, but its not absolutely necessary because it focus mainly on the reasons ‘why’ and maybe you the answer to that question already. For the latter welcome back!
Well being financially aware means we are conscious of our own present financial situation and future prospects and take active steps to create, grow and preserve our financial stability. The traditional age-old method of doing this basically involved putting a fraction of our spendable income aside after expenses (otherwise known as necessities) have been paid. The most common place to set these funds aside (apart from under our mattresses) is in a banking institution by opening a savings or deposit account. For generations this basic form of investment was both sufficient & efficient in itself due to the interest paid on the amount saved that if left alone grew and compounded in value over a period of time. However in recent years this conservative method of investing is being questioned and undermined by an unprecedented globally unstable time period that has been even more aggravated by this current Covid-19 pandemic. Basically at present, a person will lose money if he leaves it in a bank (while ironically a person can earn money by intelligent borrowing) due to the historically low and negative interest rates. (The mattress could become a viable alternative again)
Admittedly a large number of young people are fully aware of the current economic situation. They realise the need and urgency to be financially awake and the need to take proactive steps to invest in their financial future now.
This simple post is to caution these young people and encourage those who may still be sleeping.
Broker agencies have also decided to take advantage of the growing interest in the Stock Markets (as a viable alternative form of investing, both long and short term) by making that normally exclusive world even more easily accessible to the average man on the street by, applifying, ( I know I just made that word up) the technology to peoples smartphones. However this development has only served to aggravate an existing problem. “App investing” is contributing to an even greater number of people that end up losing money instead of making money (or worse yet, losing borrowed money they never really had in the first place).
The truth is, there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to winning the Stock Market game. The same goes for other forms of alternative investing such as Real Estate and the buying and selling of precious metals.
However despite a constant lack of cash amongst some of us, we seem to have less trouble giving that away than having to sit down, sacrificing our precious time reading and learning about intelligent investing strategies. In addition to this, the extreme mental exertion involved in trying to learn this stuff can apparently cause brain damage (or so I have been told ). So it’s apparently a lot easier (and safer healthwise then) to smartphone your hard earned (or borrowed) money away, based on colourful app graphics, charts, flashing animated BUY BUY BUY or SELL SELL SELL warning lights, or just an ignorant hunch or what we supposedly heard Warren Buffet say while zapping through YouTube videos that are curiously always showing up in our smartphone notifications (why bother studying the charts and figures if Warren is doing it anyway?).
……because actually we really do not have a lot of time available right now. We really need to go to the gym (our health is important and the yearly subscription was already automatically taken off our (negative) bank balance), yoga practice (you know that meditation thing to deal with the stress due to that negative bank statement, that is due to be paid off next week …. again)) , football training, the actual football match, daily visits to the pub (primarily for the positive psychological social aspects that has nothing to do with any supposed alcohol addiction), the restaurant dinner dates (another social thing especially among the female gender), the cocktail bar, the night club, our online gaming activities, our soap series, shopping trips, city trips.
How on earth are we expected to find additional time to learn about this other really really boring financial stuff!??
The blunt truth is;
if we are not prepared to learn, we are simply not going to earn.
To fill this growing need for knowledge, suddenly an explosion of super (financial guru) heros have suddenly appeared (out of thin air (or another galaxy)…that apparently have always been there ). This current worldwide situation has created a whole new global market that is becoming a multi million dollar industry in itself, providing a source of financial education and advice.
But unfortunately even if you do regress to learn, that in itself is still not a guarantee for financial success. Sorry
Being willing to listen and learn is good, but blindly believing and accepting everything we are being told is bad ….. really bad (including what I am saying in this blog)
Why can’t we just accept what these obviously very successful YouTubers, Instagram Inflencers, live Zoom webinars, and our well chosen email subscriptions tell us? Why can’t we just sign up into that next new six figure investing platform (that not only teaches you how to get those six figures (directly paid into your negative balance bank account) but also has all the tools available, set up and running for you to start making money immediately, now, today, with the ‘Earn while you Learn’ program.
The reason why we should not impulsively sign into everything offered is because their primary goal is to get your hard earned (or borrowed cash) A.S.A.P., now, before you realise how expensive it really is and that it may just not be for you, right now or not at all.
(I repeat this is the new multi million dollar way of making money for all those supposedly already very successful entrepreneurs that are providing these services because they want to ‘give back’ to the average man on the street to give them a chance to, elevate their social and financial standing, joining the normally exclusive ‘Millionaire Jet set club’ by improve their financial freedom and independence, primarily out of the kindness of their hearts and not really because of the incredible profits they our making. Their pricing is primarily to cover the running costs and expenses of the platform and personeel, with just a little extra because it’s not a charity after all, and the profits you are going to make anyway will make that monthly subscription fee feel like your TV & Cable subscription plan.)
You also have to realise that even a reputable educational institution or a freelancing Entrepreneur that teaches based on his or her own successful journey will not necessarily mean that you will have the same experience or success. Many of these sources place a great deal of emphasis on investing in yourself first, by reading books that focus on mindset, attitude and work ethic and developing them in your existing circumstances. Some tell you bluntly and honestly that before you make any investment in any program you need to stick to your job, work even harder, pay off existing bad debt and create an emergency liquid cash fund for at least three to six months.( Not so sexy uh. Are you sure we just can’t, appinvest, our way out of this mess first ??? )
Speaking from a personal experience I knew that some of my failed ‘taking courses’ experiences’ were more due to me than with the quality or content of the courses. Basically, for some of us anyway, it takes time, effort and perseverance working on ourselves first, before we can become a good, self discipline student.
O.K. if you’re still reading this and I have got you this far I am now going to share my personal experience in realisation of what I just wrote, but that might sound somewhat contradictory.
While fully realising the importance of possessing knowledge before acting, I ended up using this as an excuse not to act. That internal negative voice just found another reason and excuse not to believe in myself. That negative voice just wants to keep me safe and imprisoned in chains of inactivity. It kept telling me to ‘just wait a little longer’ until I have finished that next blog or course or that next new book (that I would have to add to my already extended bucket list of ‘must read’ books) But every day something new appeared that I simply had to read, watch or listen to….. before acting.
So instead of waiting for that elusive ‘Graduation Day’ and those ideal conditions, sooner than later, you will basically have to jump and in doing so you will make some mistakes, based on ignorance (you know the stuff that that next new book was going to tell you about anyway) Taking that plunge means that you will win some and … no, not lose some but has Robert Kiwosaki says in his book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ (an absolute must read)…. ‘learn from some’. Even though you may lose money at times, the experience and wisdom gained is priceless and will only make you stronger, so that (after you pick yourself up) you can use it in making your next financial decision.
So what was all that financial education and self development thing about then? Well it is still necessary but maybe we need to compare it to pre parachute training and maybe the parachute as well. In the end you are still going to have to jump for the first time and that experience in itself will be a very vital part of your learning process, with every next jump becoming more confident based on your previous experience. But every jump still possesses a risk factor.
The time, effort and sacrifice you make now will be given back to you in the near future, a future where no one has a 100% certainty of their financial outcome (risk will always be present) but still a future in its ‘worst case scenario’ that will still be financially better than doing nothing now and where you would have gained increased financial abilities to, ‘cut your losses‘ and seize new opportunities. A future in its best case scenario that will give you greater opportunity and freedom, paradoxically, to live that must do bucket list lifestyle, but because you successfully reached this place, it means that you have changed for the better,no longer needing to tick off every item on that list,
because you are now fully financially aware, happy, fulfilled and alive
If you do not need any convincing arguments as to why you need to be financially aware then you can skip this blog and go straight my Part II Blog – ‘ How’ with the similiar title.
“money is not important”
“life is short”
“I could die tomorrow”,
“you only live once”,
“live now not tomorrow”
“Life is made up of experiences not things”
A collection of quotes & slogans that explains the reasoning behind many of the decisions people make on a daily basis. Regardless of the assumed practicality, common sense and wisdom of some of those decisions we cannot deny the truthfulness of the majority of these quotes.
Yes we live a fleeting uncertain life with no guarantee that we will still be around tomorrow. Yes it is very important to live now appreciating every blessing and positive vibe that crosses our path. Yes many people have listened to the words of famous and supposedly very successful people that were sharing their final thoughts and regrets on their deathbed about what really matters in life. The vast majority draw the same basic conclusion; that in the end it’s about giving and receiving of your time, energy and love, having and preserving family relationships and the existence of true and loyal friendships. The complete opposite of what you would imagine them saying after working so long and hard finally attaining incredible successes in their careers, entrepreneurial journeys, accumulated wealth, assets and their final minimal six figure bank statement. Unfortunately so many come to this realisation when it’s too late because they sacrificed more valuable experiences to attain things basically.
But does this still mean that money should have no importance or priority in our lives? Should we shun financial awareness and just live as if there is no tomorrow?
Well after deciding to split my blog into two parts I decided that this first blog should focus on the ‘why’ part of financial awareness and that the second one should focus on the ‘how’ to be financial aware and a few things we need to be weary of in doing so. So to continue with the ‘why’ of things;
I would like to try and provide an answer to that question by posing some more questions;
Does living now mean that you must not sacrifice any of your ‘now’ time to prepare and provide something for yourself and loved ones tomorrow?
If we do think about and make some preparations for that tomorrow what is the full definition of the word tomorrow?
24 hours? A week? A month? A year maybe?
Is it possible that tomorrow could include several years if not decades?
Or are we absolutely convinced that we will be long dead by then and it is absolutely pointless thinking or making any preparation or sacrifices now for that elusive day?
Did you also notice the slight contradiction between the first and the last quote?
Your life experiences although having some, will be very limited if you don’t have any money.
Many of us betray ourselves even when we do not always want to admit it. Although we do sacrifice a large portion of our now moments by working full time to pay for the necessities of tomorrow (such as food, clothing and shelter) the way we use and spend the available funds that are left over, reveal our real attitude towards money. Further self betrayal is also revealed in our personal perception and definition of the word necessities. Sometimes that money is already spent before it even shows up on our bank balance sheet. Sometimes it never shows up positively on our bank balance sheet.
The fact is we live in, the instant gratification, must have now, age because…. we (think) we deserve it. Based on the daily exposure through advertising mediums including social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram we have become convinced that everyone else has done and experienced everything and that this is the norm. So we create an endless bucket list of must do, must see, must experience things that we must tick of to be able to experience a normal, fulfilling, rewarding and happy life ……. before we unexpectedly figuratively speaking, kick the bucket, tomorrow. (We are merely exercising and demanding our fundamental human rights as laid out in the Geneva Convention, that’s all.)
A few more questions for those of you that may see themselves in this predicament (to some very very slight extent).
How long have you been living this lifestyle? A year, two years, or maybe even five years? How far have you got in ticking off your bucket list? How did those experiences make you feel then? How do you feel now? Can you still feel the good vibes from them?
Have these experiences made you a better person? Are you showing more love and giving back? Do you feel more loved as a person? Have these past experiences improved your general lot (finances included) in life?
What about now?
Has your carefree, happy go lucky life, abruptly ended? Maybe due to an unexpected incident, illness, accident or some family, relationship issue? Or maybe even an unplanned family expansion?
Well here we are, all of us right now (reading this irritating blog)…….
living in that future tomorrow of yesterday, still alive and still kicking (and I am not talking about that bucket)
P.S.
After rereading my block I decided that it as way too long so I have split it into two parts. Have a break digest this first part and come back in a day or two to read Part II.
Still learning, trying, growing, making mistakes and sometimes starting all over again.
Sometimes people tell me that they could never learn to dance and I tell them
“I still can’t 😃”
and if they think I can ……
…….then they can as well”
The main requirement to be a good dance student is more about ‘passion’ and choosing a dance style with music that ‘touches your heart’. When you dance to music you truly love you dance differently with more intensity and passion.
It’s a lifelong learning journey where (for some of us anyway) we realise we have to go ‘back to basics’ …again ..and again… and again. Everyone progresses at different speeds and you must never compare or try to compete with anyone else. Your only measurement of success is yourself by looking back in time and observing your own progress.
Its the type of music you are always listening to even when you’re not dancing, so even during times of discouragement in progress, sometimes when your seemingly taking two step backwards … that love for the music will carry you through …..
in fact the music will not allow you to give up!
And because the music is the primary reason why I dance I can go to a Cuban Salsa party with DJ Elton Raton Mark Rabioso (my all time favourite Cuban Salsa DJ) in Brussel, Antwerp or Rotterdam and still enjoy myself without having one dance.
I soak up his incredible music playlist, the vibrant positive atmosphere observing dancers of all levels fully enjoying themselves. I love to watch many of the experienced dancers personal interpretation of the music in their spontaneous improvised dance movements and unique style of dancing.
As if to say “oh that is what this particular song, rhythm and melody means to you!”
I go with that mindset but alway end up with the icing on the cake ….. either someone accepts my request to dance or someone asks me for a dance. But because it’s primarily about the music I never get disappointed.
Even in the obscure world of Kizomba my main pleasure at present comes from listening to the music and watching experienced dancers in action.
And just a small note to existing dancers in these restrictive Corona times;
‘don’t let the lack of a dance partner destroy your passion. If you can learn to enjoy your passion ‘@home alone’ then the pleasure will be even greater when you can finally reconnect again in dance’.
So when you see all these Instagram posts of dancers performing solo routines just realise it’s all about reconnecting, that they are practicing and preparing for their future partner dance.
Ook al heb ik een bepaalde mening in verband met de reële interpretatie van positive Covid-19 infectiecijfers probeer ik nog steeds een open geest te bewaren door de tegenargumenten aan te horen.
Want de aantal ernstige opnames in het ziekenhuis zelf vertellen ons soms veel meer dan de algemeen infectie statistieken.
Maar spijtig genoeg horen wij soms ook vanuit dit bron tegenstrijdige verhalen waar zij zelf verklaren geen grote drukte te hebben meegemaakt zoals de media het wel doet lijken. Maar goed zij schrijven deze dringend open brief met een duidelijk boodschap wat de gevolgen kunnen zijn en dit willen wij natuurlijk ook niet, een tweede golf.
Maar hier dan nog mogen we toch nog vragen stellen zonder dat we hun waarschuwing in twijfel trekken.
Vragen zoals;
Zijn er andere gezondheidsissues hierbij betrokken die hun weerstaan tegen Corona verzwakt heeft?
Kan het zijn dat de hoofdklacht iets anders is ook al testen ze positief voor Corona?
Met of zonder Corona kan het zijn dat ziekenhuizen altijd een toename van luchtweginfecties gaat hebben naarmate wij de wintermaanden naderen?
Gewoon vragen zonder de gevaren en bestaan van Covid-19 te ontkennen want als we eerlijk zijn kreeg Corona de schuld voor bijna alles tegenwoordig van prijs verhogen tot motor ongelukken van wijze van spreken.
Maar inderdaad elke inspanning en maatregel om dit toevloed in te perken is altijd goed maar dit moesten we ten aller tijden doen met alle mogelijk ziektes, infecties en gevaren die op ons af komen want uit andere statistieken vallen er jaarlijks veel meer slachtoffers dan Covid-19 tot nu toe geëist heeft.
Maar wie ben ik en wat weet ik?
Het enige wat ik wel weet ,in the woorden van ‘Game of Thrones’
Winter is coming
we gaan nog wat afzien en meemaken.
Het hele voor en tegenstanders van de Corona maatregelen van social distancing, quarantines, mond maskers tot een mogelijk vaccine heeft geleid tot nog meer verdeeldheid onder ons.
Het lijkt soms of er een
“Conquer and Divide”
strategie gaande is.
Dit virus heeft ons op zoveel andere manieren aangevallen dan enkel de vreselijk symptomen hiervan.
Het eist wederzijds liefde, respect, inspanning en nederigheid om regelmatig onze vaste overtuigingen en opinies in vraag te stellen.
In response to a Bitcoin fanatic Peter McCormack audio podcast with Lyn Alden.
I could not express everything I wanted to say in her twitter account in response to that podcast so I decided to express it here in my (still under construction – 5 years) WordPress account.
“I really don’t know how you do it Lyn but you never disappoint and you make what is normally a really boring and complex subject for layman novices like myself incredibly fascinating.
The experienced investors see your worth immediately and don’t hesitate to follow you. But speaking as a complete novice to this world, we are being bombarded with way too much information and advice to digest and a large bulk of it is misinformation and very bad advice and way too many inexperienced investors are losing the money they don’t really have.
Every new investor should go to your website first and read and study virtually every blog you have published there before they start investing.
). So it’s apparently a lot easier (and safer healthwise then) to smartphone your hard earned (or borrowed) money away, based on colourful app graphics, charts, flashing animated BUY BUY BUY or SELL SELL SELL warning lights, or just an ignorant hunch or what we supposedly heard Warren Buffet say while zapping through YouTube videos that are curiously always showing up in our smartphone notifications (why bother studying the charts and figures if Warren is doing it anyway?).
