I recently returned from a long awaited and well needed enjoyable three day break this weekend. I actually went on a road trip around Northern Thailand and into Laos, hey you can’t help but relax there since there is nothing else to do but relax and enjoy the outdoors, culture and fresh air – a contrast to the hustle for space in Bangkok City.

Whenever I take a break at the beach or to another country or to the countryside I always appreciate the break and the time out and I even look forward to returning home and to my work which is more or less my hobby..

So, I returned to my house in Bangkok this time only to find that within just three short days, lot’s of things can happen.

The first thing I noticed is that the foot long Gourami fish in the fish tank was gasping for air..

(I actually bought this fish originally as a small one inch fish to keep the other small fish in my humble little tank company, I bought it from an old lady in a pet store in an ancient looking street in Bangkok, a bit like that store in the film Gremlins where Gizmo was found in that ancient, forgotten store in China Town.. anyhow the old lady ensured me that ‘this fish would not grow any larger’, or maybe  not!)

I’m sure it’s now a potential record sized  foot long Giant pink eyed Gourami probably worth a hefty sum to someone – anyhow this fish was gulping for air at the top of the six foot tank I was forced to find just to house the sheer size of this so called small fish..

It turns out the air pump I purchased only about 8 months ago had taken it’s toil, routinely recycling the gallons of water that runs through it each day. The Big fish and the other surviving little fish around it were all gasping for air and survival.

The next thing I noticed as I returned to ‘home-sweet-home’ was a trickle of water that was leaking through the roof into the living room.. the house next door had been vacant ever since we moved in about 2 years previous and the new tenants had just moved in only to reveal the undiscovered leakage between their shower and our living room.

I had been driving for about 8 hours that day so I shoved the ‘quick fix’ bucket under the drip in the roof and poured fresh water into the Giant Guarami’s tank, and hit the sleep.

The next morning , ‘home sweet home’ I went out and bought a new pump for the fish tank and called in the maintenance guys to fix the leak in the roof. At this point things are looking better and I’m feeling good and looking forward to checking what’s been going on online and getting back to routine and enjoying my hobby/business..

Sound simple right..?

First you turn on the computer, then you turn on the modem..

Easy…

or Not!

The damned internet adsl light was down.. (This is Thailand after all and sometimes Stuff happens, although I must admit you do get a much quicker response to customer service than you would back in the UK or any other country I’ve lived in for that matter)

Anyway, I finally got the internet to work and I was logged on..

The good news was, whilst I’d been away for three days my businesses had grown a little and sales were ticking over and were just as good as if  not better than before I left..

GREAT..

However, like anyone who has an internet business/hobby/entrepreneurial mindset, I always have a few things going on in the background and have a few new up and coming things going on..

However, when I checked the new seedling projects I had planted, they had been trodden by the dreaded Google Slap!

All the new projects I had been investing time , energy and precious enthusiasm into had been halted by the Google Adwords Slap!

You could compare this to snuggling up with someone warm on a cold night, and being thrown over you a bucket of ice cold water with chunks of ice cubes bouncing off your head, spoiling your warm patch.

Hey, I can handle a basting now and again but this is my livelihood I’m talking about and the livelihood of my family, my employees and my affiliates.

Sometimes you just got to take it on the chin..

I recall a saying Dad used to say a lot, I don’t know who quoted this but i just know Dad said it a lot, that is..

‘What can go wrong, Will go wrong’..

So although I had enjoyed a well needed break away, I returned to put it bluntly a pile of crap!

I’s going to happen, it’s life..

It’s not what happens but how you react to it that is really important..

With the title of this post being ‘Google Slap’, maybe you expected to see groaning, moaning

and efforts to grovel to Google..

Well, if this has or does happen to you, the important thing is to keep your composure, because it’s not what happens to you,

but how you deal with it what really counts, keep your composure and you’ll be fine.

The Google machine is truly amazing, however it has some catching up if it is to meet the sophistication and experience of the human brain..

If you get slapped by Google, take it on the chin..

You just have to keep your composure, think it out and get around it..

Keep smiling and relax..

(By the way as I was just about to post this, there was a total blackout.. Not so normal for a metropolitan city or even Bangkok for that matter – as I post this there is power in my laptop battery and the sound of all sorts of animals outside you don’t normally hear, probably reacting to the power outage..)

It just goes to show, If it can happen It’s going to happen and I love the challenge..

I hope you do too..

To Your Success!

I love the winter scenes of snow covered rooftops and trees in the countryside but then again I only see it maybe once each year. The reason I love the picturesque scenes so much is because usually I don’t have to feel the snow or the cold.

As you may or may not know I spend most of my time in tropical climates that pull in 35 degree Celsius heat waves as a norm, but sometimes I like to travel to the UK to visit friends and family and to ‘absorb’ England. Visiting England, especially in winter is kind of like getting a sweet slap in the face.

The cold is bitter but it’s a wake up call to what people experience in winter climates.

The only reason I like it is because the winter scenes are beautiful and I don’t have to fight through the bitter cold mornings to do my work. If I had to travel or work outside in winter I probably wouldn’t like the winter months so much.

But this is my point. When you are in the crowd of people who are all following the blind,  i.e. cuing in traffic to get to work, following a routine your not happy with, seeing everyone else following a similar routine and desperate to spend money rather than make money, it’s difficult to see the other side of the fence.

What I mean is that when you’re in the crowd, it’s more difficult to see the big picture from above.

Why would you want to see the big picture?

It reminds me of a previous post;  Selling more on eBay the 1000 mile high view

Being able to really SEE the big picture helps you realize that you don’t simply have to follow the crowd.

There are benefits to this..

– Being able to truly ‘think outside the box’

– It’s easier to commit to your own needs and your own passions

– It’s easier to see what the crowd really wants

– Overcoming your fear of freedom!

For example;  When I see market stalls and products in shops in England I’m always comparing prices to what’s available in other countries.

Most people might walk into a shop that sell supplements or curtain blinds or anything else a little unusual, to actually buy something. I go in to check what’s on offer or more importantly what’s not on offer.

If you find a product available on the internet that you know people would want that isn’t easily found in the high street shops or market stalls then you might just have a hot idea for a product to sell on eBay.

Experiencing different climates and travelling helps you ‘think outside the box’ – it opens the mind to possibilities and opportunities you would have never even dreamed of before.

Make time to have a look, won’t you?  (From ‘outside the box’ that is), and consider if what you are doing and feeling is where you really want to be right now – or whether you would benefit from watching and thinking from ‘outside the box’ a little more.