TrevorNelDailyOnline

I spent the day yesterday launching a new business concept to a group of South African businessmen.

What interested me were the different mindsets towards business and wealth-generation advanced by the different entrepreneurs.

I came away thinking that many of our finest minds in business play a very conservative risk-averse game. It sometimes felt as though I was having to offer 20 GREAT POSITIVES to overcome a very minor irritation... like having to do a little bit of extra 'work'... heaven forbid... to generate an extra 25% to 40% profit in their businesses.

Despite a fantastic response to our new business launch by these business entrepreneurs... I was far more excited to get back home and read about the stories of the thriving billionaires in Forbes latest survey (I wonder what this says about me..? I'll think about it over the weekend).

It's interesting to see that Warren Buffett is close to overhauling Bill Gates... as the richest person in the world... and I think he will do it before his time on this planet is over. It's a great little tussle (which I don't think they even worry about in their personal capacities) of subtly different mindsets to wealth and investment... and they are reportedly great mates.

Oh boy... I have a number of significant business projects that have all come to completion at the same time... amazing, huh..?

So right now I am in major DO mode... almost working on AUTO-PILOT to deliver on all the strategic-THINKING that has been done to get them to this point of delivery. Now is the most critical time... the final 5% to completion and launch.

As, I've managed to grab a few moments to think about what I am going to write each morning... it struck me how VERY IMPORTANT 'thinking-time' really is.

Actually... it struck me how important TIME really is.

TIME is probably our MOST PRECIOUS resource... and you really get to value it when you are working to the edge of your capacity and finding it difficult to grab precious moments to communicate in a blog like this.

Because I am so strapped for time right now... I am going to refer you back to perhaps one of the best pieces I have written on this blog: What Value... Your TIME? - Thursday, January 08, 2004

I wish you limited time... producing to maximum capacity... so that you can VALUE your most precious resource too.. ;-)

I watched Philip Rabinowitz celebrate his 100th birthday on Carte Blanche last night.

What struck me about this sprightly young-at-heart centurion was his bright, beaming smile emanating from his slight frame.

He talked of how he walks 6 to 8 kilometres a day... and we saw a wall of medals earned since he began entering competitive walking races at the age of 90. Later, we learnt that he walks from Hout Bay To Camps Bay every weekend.

The clip showed him happily indulging in making his daily breakfast drink of freshly-sqeezed orange juice... before he began his day at work as a bookkeeper in his daughter's business. When his books are done, he looks for more work with the workers in the factory.

As he beamed into the camera with a little twinkle in his eye, he said: 'Every day is a GIFT'.

Asked about losing his wife a few years ago, he touched on his belief that everyone experiences adversity... but you have to get over it... move on.

Asked about the secret of long life and good health, his answer was: 'Moderation... in eating, sleeping, walking... EVERYTHING.'

More strength to your elbow, Philip Rabinowitz, you are a true ROLE MODEL setting a fantastic benchmark for us all to strive for.

I look to learn from people who DO... and ACHIEVE. What I learn from Philip is that life is about having a twinkle in your eye, a broad smile on your face, staying active, a lean frame, WORKING every day, and living a life of BALANCE and moderation.

Thank you... Philip... you motivate me to strive for 120... :-)

I have been reflecting this week on how quality people can disappoint.... and I know of a number of quality people around me who don't seem to understand what it takes to be truly successful. Like Jack Milne's fraud debacle, they all seem to fall into the trap of those who want to receive their rewards before they put anything in. It almost seems endemic... the lack of personal integrity around.

I recall that one of the greatest disappointments for me was watching the demise of one of South Africa's most successful cricket captains - Hansie Cronje - a quality guy with the whole world at his feet... until he hit the self destruct button.

A wrote a little article about him when he died, which I repeat here for its pertinent thoughts... especially how it reminds me to forgive human failings. Something I need to remember after being so disappointed in the actions of others. Here's what I wrote:

‘Today is the only one you know you have. No one has a contract that they will see another sunrise or watch the moon rise over the horizon. Make this day count.’ Tim Connors

As I sit watching the funeral of Hansie Cronje with the biggest lump in my throat - I just think it is so sad to see someone so talented being tragically cut down in the prime of his life - I wonder to myself about what the lesson is that we should all be taking from his unfortunate demise.

Could it be that it is one that has to do with recognising that even the mighty can fall if they do not live their lives with integrity… or could it be that many of us need to question why it was so difficult to forgive Hansie for what he did… even after he apologised and was effectively punished and humiliated so publicly… where is our capacity to forgive?

Not for one moment do I condone what Hansie did. In fact he shocked me to the core because he was a young man that had the whole world at his feet and was seen as a ‘moral’ Christian leader that many looked up to with awe. Many of us just longed for a snippet of the incredible talent and good fortune this man had at his fingertips.

Which only goes to show that we should not put anyone onto a pedestal of adoration as we are ALL only human… and are all blessed with human-failings which will tempt us to the point of failure at some time in our lives on this planet. Let no one think that anyone is ‘holier’ than anyone else… as the Bible points out, we are all ‘sinners’… and this same Bible points out the most UNIQUE way to be forgiven forever through Christ.

From Hansie’s heart-wrenching funeral, particularly the testimony of Peter Pollock, it was clear that Hansie had sought eternal forgiveness from God many month’s before his passing… and it is comforting for me to believe that he is at peace in Heaven. Which is all I wish for the eternal future of every member that we touch through this publication.

But here is our lesson I believe that Hansie would love to be shouting from the rooftops for us to hear (a lesson I learned and shared from the death of a camping buddy a while back) - treat every day as though it were your last, enjoy it to the full, give everything your best shot right now, don’t delay what you really want to do - do it now!

And… enjoy it… have some fun… even if you WANT to have a bad day and get really angry (let’s face it, we all like throwing our toys out of the cot every now and then), do it with gusto… get it off your chest… just enjoy yourself by giving it your best shot!

The most poignant thing I saw on the televised funeral of Hansie Cronje was the single screen that opened the proceedings which read Hansie Cronje - Born / / (I can’t remember the date) - Died 1/06/02 . It reminded me of billionaire Peter Daniels who once pointed out to me the futility of just being a DASH ( - ) between the day you’re born and the day that you die.

He asked then, why we don’t think about where we came from, what we are going to do with our lives to make a positive difference on this planet in our lifetimes… and, where we’re going when we die? Great questions… for discussion in the future. Think about them..!

Strangely, I now feel a bit better about the human failings of others... FORGIVE Trevor... FORGIVE..!

The Jack Milne story really disturbs me. Here is a highly intelligent man who went on the TAKE... and he has got a jail sentence for his troubles.

Yesterday I dealt with an international company who have been blown away by the effort I have put INTO growing their business in South Africa. The reward and their support have been fantastic to witness.

In the evening I spent a couple of hours in a Residents Association meeting, where we now control expenditure of R900 000 per month on behalf of residents... to have one the safest communities in South Africa. This arose from 3 years of my almost daily personal voluntary input into establishing this crime-free community process.

Yesterday I also got a call inviting me to accept a little medal for my 50th donation of blood.

It just strikes me that Zig Ziglar was spot-on when he discussed how, in life, you first have to give of yourself to get something out.

It seems that nature works like this... so why do so many people want their reward BEFORE they put in any effort.

In Jack Milne's case it looks like he got his 'just reward' in the unhappiest of ways... some even say he hasn't got anywhere near the sentence he should have got.

Talk of the town in Johannesburg is yesterday's sentencing of self-proclaimed investment 'guru' - Jack Milne - who pleaded guilty to his part in the fraudulent disappearance of R160 million of investors funds. It seems that a plea bargain has been entered into... resulting in an 8 year sentence with 3 years suspended.

Discussion on radio this morning is that he will probably only serve 12 months at Krugersdorp Central, getting off the rest of the sentence for 'good behaviour'. Krugersdorp Prison is regarded as a white-collar crime 'hotel', famous for housing Greg Blank who arranged sponsors for improving the gym and TV facilities there.

Let me see... R160 million divided by 12 months... is R13.333 million per month... or around R438 000 per day.

Hmmmm... you tell me... does crime pay..? Apparently, Jack Milne argued that he did not benefit personally from the fraud perpetrated. I don't know, what do you think..? Is there justice..?

This news article appeared on Tiscali's web site today.

PSC's Milne gets 5 years in Tigon plea deal

Johannesburg, February 17

Jack Milne, the managing director of PSC Guaranteed Growth Fund, has been sentenced to an effective five years' imprisonment by the Johannesburg Regional Court.

The case involved fraud of R160-million.

Three years of his eight-year sentence were suspended as part of a plea-bargain agreement, SABC radio news reported.

Milne pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, corruption and share manipulation.

He was arrested during a larger investigation into fraud involving Gary Porritt of Tigon Limited.

His plea bargain requires him to become a state witness against Porritt.

[Sapa]

More Reading: Milne gets eight, investors get zero

This world is so full of different people with differing opinions, morals, values and vested-interests that, no matter what you do... some people will LOVE what you do... some people will hate what you do... and some people won't have a clue who you are or what you do.

For anyone with a fragile ego... or an ego that needs to be continually stroked... this can come as a serious blow to their self-image.

Here is the harsh truth about life. Some folks will love you.. some will hate you... some won't give two hoots for you... SO WHAT..!

Do the BEST you can anyway.

Which reminds me of a fantastic piece of philosophy, that has had an enormous impact on my life, and brought to my attention by Rev. Robert Schuller.

He discovered this in the Readers Digest, December 1982, entitled 'ANYWAY'... it reads:

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred... Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives... Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will make false friends and true enemies... Succeed anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable... Be honest and frank anyway.

The good you today will be forgotten tomorrow... Do good anyway.

The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds... Thing big anyway.

People favour underdogs but follow only top dogs... Fight for some underdogs anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight... Build anyway.

Give the world the best you've got and you'll get kicked in the teeth... Give the world the best you've got anyway.

I raised some questions on Friday which gave me some weekend thinking to do.

I am certainly one who believes the Information Age will unleash QUALITY INDIVIDUALS who will assert their rights over obstructive, interfering government authorities.

Not that I am anti-government... I am an entrepreneur, and am just naturally anti- any overly officious bureaucratic officials and bylaws that makes it difficult for an entrepreneur to develop a quality business.

I also understand the difficulty of a government official who is required to BALANCE governance over the illegal activities of immoral operators with the envelope-pushing, law-stretching, 'rule'-breaking activities of pioneering entrepreneurs.

History shows that society has always tried to get people to conform to societal 'norms' through the fear instilled by myths, laws and taxes.

I am one of the first to believe that if a law is ridiculous... expose it... and lobby to get it changed.

Now, what is happening in this Information Age is that more and more INDIVIDUALS are losing the cushy-comfort of salaried jobs in large corporates and are having to become self-sufficient in their own businesses. Many are looking to the Internet as their primary business medium of the future... as this medium seems to be connecting like-minded, independent individuals all over the world.

The dilemma we all have is... how to assess whether a business opportunity being offered over the Internet is a legitimate opportunity or not..?

The Internet also seems to have spawned a 'first-in-to-market-makes-all-the-money'-type mentality which seems to create an uninformed promotion frenzy by people who haven't bothered to do much Due Diligence on what they promote.

Whilst I can understand this 'not-wanting-to-miss-the-boat' fear-driven mentality... I do think that it leads to a decline in the application of our own moral standards.

I raised the question on Friday as to who has the moral responsibility for assessing the legitimacy of a business, product or service... the 'buyer' or the 'seller'..?

My first thought is this... let the 'buyer' BEWARE... a fool and his money are soon parted..!

However my second thought is that the 'seller' has a moral obligation to assess whether the money they are making is earned from an honorable product or service being sold.

It is not good enough for a 'seller' to say... 'I am making good money, so let the buyer beware'... because if that were morally justifiable, everyone would sell drugs - crack, heroin and cocaine - to a 'captured' market.

I think that the 'seller' has a personal moral obligation to themselves and their customer to sell a product or service that ADDS VALUE to society... and not to sell a product that breaks society down.

Thus, I believe, it is ALSO incumbent on a 'seller' to ensure that whatever they promote is LEGAL and clearly ADDS VALUE to society... by offering a clear benefit to their customer.

I am very concerned that so many Internet 'marketers' - potentially millions - are left to their own devices and morals when it comes to promoting opportunities online... not that I am suggesting that people don't have the intelligence to make their own decisions... it is just that the reality is that so many seem to get burnt.

Isn't it about time that regulatory authorities around the world took a proactive approach to vetting companies making offers of business opportunities to the public... BEFORE they do it. I just don't think that any of the laws are clear enough to allow lay people to assess whether a business opportunity is legitimate or not.

What good is it to shut down a company two years after it has attracted millions of 'sellers' worldwide... people who have collectively outlayed millions for the opportunity to 'sell' to other people..?

Why not make such company pay a serious (but not debilitating) deposit to be PRE-approved to promote their product nationally or globally online..?

There are so many experts around the world who can be brought in by governments to apply a template to pre-approving such new projects... and watching their roll-out closely. After all, these 'tests' are usually applied AFTER the horse has bolted and people have been ripped-off of their hard-earned money. Why not apply these 'tests' beforehand..?

I can't believe it... I've just suggested another bureaucratic government department... but I think this may be something we all need to protect ourselves from rip-off artists and from being the target of lawsuits ourselves (regulatory authorities seem to be targeting distributors of illegal concepts more frequently these days)... sheesh, can we ever win..?

Let's turn this into a positive... YES, we can win... if we take RESPONSIBILITY for self-monitoring and assessing the business, products and services we aim to promote... and ensure that we can hold our heads up high by doing our Due Diligence on it being LEGAL and ADDING VALUE and CLEAR BENEFITS to society.

We live in interesting times... where the lines between blissful ignorance and intentional fraud are so muddled and muddied that it is difficult to know when one is dealing with someone of integrity... or with someone who is intent on committing 'fraud'.

I have just completed a preview launch of a new business concept developed in concert with a group of individuals in my business development network... and despite the AMAZING, almost 100% take-up, response... there were still one or two dubious looks from people who have that air of disbelief about them.

As someone who puts a ton of research into the business projects I launch it is frustrating to deal with people who do not OPEN their minds to opportunity. Especially when logic is used to answer every single one of their questions with factual justification and support.

Very often, however, I find the shoe on the other foot as individuals try to sell me on NEW projects and opportunities.

Interestingly, in the latest one offered, I had people emailing me about the fortunes in cheques being earned by promoters of the new business project.

That's okay... I am OPEN-minded... but I'm also cautious too... as I asked each of these promoters to show me their Due Diligence done to justify their faith in the business, I soon realised that almost ZERO Due Diligence had been done.

The more I dug down into this project the more alarming the feedback became.

But here's the interesting thing, those people who were hounding me to get involved in their project through their follow-up emails... I asked them for the comment on the research that I had dug up. I asked about the legal issues, tax issues, regulatory authority perspectives, international protocols, etc.

Their standard response: '...those guys doing the research don't have an OPEN mind. Take a look at all the cheques being paid out, it must be genuine, look how much sense it makes. Besides the government controlled monopolies have been ripping us off.'..!

Well, does that make it legal, does that justify evading government taxes..?

Hey, I don't like paying exorbitant tax either... but I do know that evasion is illegal.

Frighteningly, the colour of money and subjective opinion seems to have clouded the facts being produced by these individuals.

And here-in lies my dilemma... at what point does VESTED INTEREST in lining one's own pockets, interfere with an individals rational Due Diligence on a business project?

At what point is moral judgement and integrity swayed by the smell of 'lovely' lucre..?

Don't get me wrong... I love making money, like anyone else... I just question how OPEN one's mind is to assessing all the facts of one's business before taking money from another individual..?

Who is responsible for a 'fraud' being perpetuated... the 'promoter'... or the 'buyer'..?

Is it a case of 'let the buyer beware'... and no obligation vests in the promoter to do any Due Diligence..?

Or is the promoter of any business project liable for a 'fool and his money' being parted..?

What makes the assessment of a business project 'good' or 'bad' before it collapses or succeeds..?

What makes people promote projects in the face of clear, negative intelligence..?

Who is right or wrong... those who promote a a 'dicey' project because it is making money... or those who stay well away from it..?

Something to think about over the weekend.

Yesterday, I shared how ONE idea can change your entire life... and how it is up to you to make it either PRICELESS... or worthless.

A corollary to that view is my personal observation from many of the people who come to me with a GREAT IDEA... and who do nothing with that idea.

I personally believe that God communicates with many of us through the inflow of ideas into our minds... I mean, just where do they come from.. ;-)

The sheer volume of ideas that flows into one's mind seem, to me, to indicate an amazing ABUNDANCE of opportunity available to the person who will focus on and ACTION those ideas.

I think it was Peter Daniels who first shared the idea with me that... 'God will not give you a dream, without given you the ability to achieve that dream.' I believe the same sentiment goes for a thought... and an idea.

Yes, all I see is a never-ending ABUNDANCE of IDEAS flowing all around most of the people I have ever met.

But, far too few people I know ever seriously focus on the ideas and put them into action in a BIG way.

What a waste. It is these people who lead to me saying that IDEAS are a dime a dozen... they are all around you... yet, just ONE of those ideas, when actioned, can make you VERY WEALTHY. Ask Bill Gates... ask Warren Buffett..!

Many years ago Anthony Robbins instilled a simple thought in my mind - ‘One IDEA..! That’s All It Takes To Change Your Whole Life.’

This thought has always been at the forefront of my mind-set whenever I consider something new… a new article… a new book… a new introduction… a new set of challenges.

Almost every event in life presents with it the seeds of a new idea just waiting to be pounced upon by wide-awake people who use it to make a difference in the world… and in their own lives..!

Just think about it… from what I can gather, it was Bill Gates who had the idea of a computer on every home and business desktop in the world. He became the world’s richest man in just over a decade just for TRYING to action his simple idea.

I mean, think about it, he’s nowhere close to achieving his original goal… YET..!

And yet, despite not even getting close to succeeding with his original idea, at the height of the Dot.Com boom years his personal net worth had topped $100 billion… and today after the crash of global stock markets and the aftermath of 9/11 and the fall of Saddam, he is only worth +- $60 billion as the world’s richest man for February 2004.

And think about the idea that F.W. de Klerk had about talking to the ANC… and releasing Nelson Mandela.

That one simple idea… and the courage to see it through… changed the lives of millions of South Africans - setting them free from politically-motivated racial intolerance… and it gave the world one of its greatest-ever icons of PEACE in all of history.

No wonder that both F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela each received a Nobel Peace prize medal… all from a simple idea..!

I am acutely aware that ONE IDEA… just one idea… can change a person’s entire life… it can change a nation’s future… and, it can change the world.

So for me, if I can stimulate JUST ONE IDEA… just one genuine spark of interest… that a reader can use to change his or her life through their application thereof, then I know that the information I provide is PRICELESS.

It is this thought that underpins every review article that I produce for the It’s So Simple!..1..2..3 Information report. Whilst my aim is to ensure that there are 15 to 20 GREAT IDEAS in every issue, the reality has been that most issues over the lasy eight years have in fact contained well over 50 ideas… and often well over 100 ideas, each of which individually could be used to change a person’s entire life.

I am acutely aware that ONE IDEA… just one idea… can change a person’s entire life… it can change a nation’s future… and, it can change the world.

So for me, if I can stimulate JUST ONE IDEA… just one genuine spark of interest… that a reader can use to change his or her life through their application thereof, then I know that the information I provide is PRICELESS.

So… right now… right in front of you... you are reviewing INFORMATION that carries within it an idea or two, or more, that potentially can turn someone (yes, that someone can be you) into a millionaire… perhaps even a billionaire.

In fact, many of the ideas I share with my readers have actually been used, tried and tested by people who have become millionaires and billionaires themselves.

Knowing that, will you put the time into dissecting every word and sentence in this simple reader-friendly information format..? And will you put some of the ideas into action in your life..? I pray that you do.. God Bless.

People often ask me, being a self-publishing scribe... an Information Business Publisher, what REAL VALUE does information really have..?

Well, I put a ton of my personal time into everything I produce so, to me, I place an ENORMOUS value on the information I produce.. ;-)

Even so, no matter what VALUE I put into this production, the reality is that YOU truly unleash its real value to you.

YOU make this Information priceless… or worthless... to YOU!

I love what Ralph Waldo Emerson said about the subject of ‘reading’: 'Tis the good reader that makes the good book; in every book he finds passages which seem to be confidences or asides hidden from all else & unmistakably meant for his ear; the profit of books is according to the sensibility of the reader; the profoundest thought or passion sleeps as in a mine, until it’s discovered by an equal mind & heart’.

Yes, he’s got it 100% right… the value in every bit of Information is truly in the eye and mind of the reader.

After eight years of incredible responses to my own Information Reports, it never ceases to amaze me how EACH issue seems to touch someone’s heart.

To them it is as though they have just discovered their own PRICELESS gold mine of life-changing information.

Thomas Carlyle, famous English historian and philosopher, is reported to have said: ’If we think about it, all that a university or final highest school can do for us, is still but what the first school began doing - teach us to read. We learn to read in various languages, in various sciences; we learn the alphabet and letters of all manners of books. But the place where we are to get knowledge, even theoretic knowledge, is the books themselves. It depends on what we read, after all manners of professors have done their best for us. The true university of these days is a collection of books!’

The Information Report I produce searches out, summarises, analyses and comments on those authors, books and articles that contain some of the finest wisdom, life-changing techniques and success principles ever written about.

It’s So Simple!..1..2..3 is a condensed gold-mine of PRICELESS success information.

And yet… there are also those who decide to unsubscribe every month… although I have NEVER had anyone say that it is because they found the information to be worthless.

I suppose we just have to make the assumption that the value of the information, to them, does not outweigh the value of their monthly outlay to receive it (ie. for the cost of TWO or 3 pizzas and a few litres of Coke from a fast-food franchise store).

The saddest thing is that, most often, people will find the money to invest in the above Pizza offer... 4 or 5 times a month… but do not consider how important it is to feed and nourish their MINDS.

The real value of Information... is the value you put to it... and what YOU do with it.

Friday night was a watershed experience for me... in more ways than one.

It was the night, for the first time in my adult life, that I broke down and sobbed uncontrollably.

For one who is who pretty 'tough' in almost all circumstances, having experienced some extraordinarily diabolical and sad happenings to people around me in my life... this was a first..!

I have never known such a DEEP sense of DESPAIR coming from what must be the very pit of my being.

Certainly a new experience for me... and one that I am going to have to LEARN to deal with. It obviously has something to do with getting older... and softer. There are some around who will dispute that heatedly.. ;-)

It began when I picked up Shellwyn, my wife, from the airport - after she had left our daughter - Maxine - ALONE in Cape Town for her first year at 'varsity. I could see that she was very puffy-eyed and that the parting had been tough for her to experience.

Shellwyn had also been the victim of a petty crime mugging in Cape Town on Thursday which had obvously shaken us both.

Shellwyn, being the victim (she was in the passenger side of her friends car)... and me, being in Johannesburg trying to get her to calm down and think straight over the phone. The sense of helplessness over a distance is overwhelming. My natural reaction is to want to pluck the adam's apple out from the scum's throat..!

Thankfully she was not physically injured, and escaped with a little bruise... but it makes one feel sick to the craw to think that there is such scum around that will tackle two women in broad daylight. But the reality is, this scum exists in cities and towns all over the world... and we have to be ready for them.

So the combined trauma obviously affected her... and it affected me... especially as I heard that my daughter was pretty teary on seeing her mother leave.

Even now as I write... I struggle to hold back the wave of tears that threaten to engulf.

And that is what set me off a few hours later after midnight... I just couldn't hold back the anguish and the heartbreak any more... I broke down in an uncontrollable fit of deep sobbing. I didn't sleep a wink that night.

I know that this is obviously a parent's DEEP LOVE for their child and family being expressed in its most basic primal form... so I have just to go with the flow and ENJOY the experience.

I can only but IMAGINE just how deep must be the pain and sorrow of parents who lose their loved ones. If a little piece of my heart is broken right now... how must these poor souls feel..?

I am reminded to look for the good news... and my youngest daughter - Nicole - provided that when I played 'mom & dad' at her school prizegiving on Thursday night. I was a very proud parent to see her pick up two awards for for her ATTITUDE & COMMITMENT and ACADEMIC achievement. Aaaaah... what it is to be a proud father watching your kids grow.

I just LOVE my family... :-)

With so many business opportunities being offered by so many people... particularly over the web... the concept of conducting a DUE DILIGENCE investigation becomes critical for anyone who wants to protect their personal integrity in any marketplace.

This is especially so if YOU are recommending the opportunity to anyone else.

In that case it behoves YOU to do your DUE DILIGENCE and to justify why you are promoting the concept... and/or to offer a disclaimer over that which you cannot control.

To my way of thinking, anyone who forwards on... or who promotes an opportunity online... without doing any in-depth due diligence resulting in a justification comment and/or disclaimer, can be said to be just as guilty of perpetuating fraud as any fraudulent director of an illegal operation.

Hmmm... that gets me thinking... perhaps we should identify or institute a law that says that the promoter of a concept should be held liable for any claims that he/she makes on that concept should it result in people fraudulently losing their money. Come to think of it... I think this law already exists in many countries.

So what is DUE DILIGENCE..?

To me, it is the process of checking the accuracy of information contained in a company public statement before recommending that company to others... this includes the examination of operations and management, and the verification of material facts.

Entrepreneur Magazine had an interesting extract - by David Newton, November 19, 2001- which proclaims: 'First, the definition should mean nothing more than an investor being "diligent" when checking out the substance of the claims made by an entrepreneur with respect to the market, the product or service concept, the competition, the management team and so on.'

'The term "due" means that it's expected and someone has to perform this task. So the concept is really all about the diligence that is due the investigation into an emerging company's plan for doing business. There are some in the financing environment who expect this to be done by the entrepreneur on behalf of the investors, and that's a completely wrong understanding. The company founder makes some form of disclosure within the business plan, but the responsibility to follow-up on and check out the statements made in that document falls squarely on the shoulders of the investor.'

Note that "due" means that it is expected of YOU..!

Here's how our TEAM has conducted our Due Diligence into various companies and their business opportunities.

We have our people visit the company and share their ON-SITE impressions with us.

We chat intensely to ALL of the KEY operating directors and shareholders of the company.

We look for SUCCESS clues in the past track record of the directors... and we look for warning signs from any negative signals.

Then we confirm the quality of their auditing, financial, consulting and legal advisors... and we double-check with industry specialists.

These are the things we look for:

1. Does the company have a Solid Foundation

2. Does the company offer Quality Product and Services

3. Does the company deliver on a fair Compensation Plan

4. Is the company prepared for Global Expansion

If it means writing a T Balance sheet to analyse the PRO's versus the CON's of a company's prospects, then sit down and construct it. If your CON's are more than the PRO's then dump it.

Do your DUE DILIGENCE... check that the claims match the facts... recognise what you can control, and what you can't... and if you're offering an opportunity to others... get them to do the same for themselves.

It is about being responsible and accountable. If you cannot be in touch with someone that is accountable in a company... and you are promoting it... then YOU become accountable..!

Today's thought is stimulated by yesterday's discussion on the Information Revolution and it's effect in liberating individuals.

I made a comment which cannot be left in the air: 'I think that this is going to be the flipside of the Information Revolution coin... more and more people are going to be suckered into wasting their time jousting at windmills because they are too lazy to do some quality DUE DILIGENCE on what they're getting involved in.'

Many of the folks I know, and who read this weblog ARE 'liberated individuals'... or independent entrepreneurs. Almost all of them are looking for ways to generate PASSIVE INCOME and consequently, they are looking at all manner of income generating opportunities.

What constantly amazes me is how reasonably intelligent people have difficulty in analysing which business opportunities to get into. Many refer to 'failures' that have affected them in the past... as guideline frames for what will happen to them in the future.

The most common question that has been posed to me about new business opportunities, is this: 'Won't this go the same way as that biz'... (referring to a global internet business, with incredible potential, that collapsed due to silly mismanagement and 'encouraging' immoral front-end loading tactics of money-hungry distributors... who sold their clients more than they ever needed on the 'promise' of making lots of money if they convinced others to do the same.).

Firstly, no NEW business can ever be 'that biz'..! Every new business opportunity you investigate has to be treated as being a TOTALLY DIFFERENT business, having totally different management, totally different product, totally different attitude to Regulatory Authorities worldwide.

Secondly, who can tell..?

If anyone has a crystal ball that can tell me what will happen in any business in the future we will all make a fortune..!

Savvy business analysts recognise that there is always risk inherent in every business. In a real world economy where 9 out of 10 businesses fail at the best of times... not to recognise such risk is the height of stupidity.

So, to ask 'Won't this go the same way as that biz'... is an absurd question to ask... and equally absurd for anyone to attempt to answer with any conviction.

It as ridiculous as driving past a wrecked car and deciding not to drive in a car again in the future. There is just no way that any mature person thinks like that... it is tantamount to handing over your life to circumstances caused by someone or something else.

Let's think about this RIDICULOUS example for a moment... if you decided to stop driving in cars as a result... you would have handed your life over to the circumstances caused by the driver of that wrecked car... and he may well have been DRUNK or the car may have been totally unroadworthy.

What possible relationship can there be between that wrecked car... and a new German luxury-sedan steered by a completely different driver..? None..!

NONE whatsoever..!

And the same goes for any NEW business... it has no relationship with any 'wrecked' business in your past..!

I love these two quotes which put this real-life blame-shifting inertia-producing scarcity-mentality of most weak individuals into perspective:

'We are not creatures of circumstance; we are creators of circumstance.' Benjamin Disraeli

'People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.' George Bernard Shaw

Yes, you can let past circumstance direct your future inaction... or you can take control of your life..! But, it is solely your choice.

So how does anyone take a decision to invest time and money in promoting a business with confidence. It is called DUE DILIGENCE... get out and do it for yourself..!

Tomorrow, I'll share how our TEAM conducts our Due Diligence into new business opportunities... why we have our people visit the company and get them to share their ON-SITE impressions with us... and investigate the quality of their legal teams.

I picked up a six-year old book - printed in 1988 - of economic forecasts by two well-known investment newsletter writers.

I am a little suspicious of their intent... and their vested interests... so I won't share their names until I have done my DUE DILIGENCE on them and their work.

One theme of their work struck a chord with me immediately: 'The good news is that the Information Revolution will liberate individuals as never before. For the first time, those who can educate themselves will almost be entirely free to invent their own work and realise the full benefits of their own productivity. In the Information Society, no one who is truly able will be detained by the ill-formed opinions of others.'

They go on to write: 'Merit, whereever it arises, will be rewarded as never before. In an environment where the greatest source of wealth will be the ideas you have in your head rather than physical capital alone, anyone who thinks clearly will potentially be rich. The Information Age will be the age of upward mobility.'

'For anyone who loves human aspiration and success, the Information Age will provide a bounty.'

Oh... it would be so easy to shout about how smart these guys are... because they echo my views.. ;-)

But, what got me thinking was the meeting of 'liberated individuals' I hosted last night, forcing me to put this book down.

I put these individuals in touch, on a conference call, with two U.S. drivers of a global business roll-out with mega-million dollar business potential.

As I watched over the interaction, I marveled at the promise of the Information Revolution already being delivered in it's early stages. One director in Missourri, the other in San Diego... and the rest of us in my Home Office in Johannesburg.

On my table was a display of the entire Information Product range of software provided by this company, demonstrating the quality of product that can be shared, almost immediately, all over the world, for mere decimals of cents in the dollar compared to what you used to have to pay for such opportunity just over a decade ago.

After the call... everyone acknowledged the QUALITY of the business opportunity at out fingertips... and all concurred that our DUE DILIGENCE into this company, conducted over 14 months prior to this meeting, had panned out perfectly.

The discussion turned to how people were looking for 'easy ways' to make money 'quickly'... and how so many were chasing all manner of 'easy, quick money' opportunities being offered on the web.

I think that this is going to be the flipside of the Information Revolution coin... more and more people are going to be suckered into wasting their time jousting at windmills because they are too lazy to do some quality DUE DILIGENCE on what they're getting involved in.

I am currently being inundated with telephone calls and emails regarding a 'new' communications opportunity... and all I'm being told is how people are making tons of cash. As if that is a good reason to get involved. Not one is able to give me any indication of their DUE DILIGENCE done on the company concerned and it's prognosis for long term success.

My gut feeling is sending me all sorts of alarm bells at the moment. I don't know why... I just haven't seen any quality DUE DILIGENCE to overcome the gut feel concerns I have.

If we all want to be 'liberated individuals' in the Information Society maybe we should explore how to conduct a DUE DILIGENCE investigation into a business opportunity to assess the risks. Something to think about and discuss in the future... :-)

Sheeesh... I have just spent three hours in the most horrific traffic jams I have ever seen in Johannesburg... and I am told that this 'normal'.

For someone who enjoys the privilege of working from home... there is nothing normal about this waste of an individual's time.

I left my home at 6:15 a.m. this morning to take my wife and daughter to the airport... yes, she's on her way to the University of Cape Town (excuse me, as I wipe away a little tear)... and Mom is going with to settle her in, complete all the administration, and have a few days with her friends in Cape Town.

6:15... and I hit bottleneck traffic at a standstill... just 5 minutes from home..!

A 20-minute journey to the airport took all of 90 minutes... and we were going against the major flow of traffic into town..!

After seeing my girls off... it took another 90 minutes to get back home.

THREE HOURS in the traffic.

Now, am told that this is nothing unusual for the home-and-back trips experienced by many work commuters ever day.

That's frightening... let's calculate how much time is being wasted in this traffic.

Let's take 48 weeks X 5 days X 3 hours per day = 720 hours (i.e. 90 eight-hour days)

Wow... that's almost more time than my daughter will be spending in lectures at UCT this year. And... it is costing a fortune to have her there.

Let's be a little more conservative... 48 weeks X 5 days X 2 hours per day = 480 hours (i.e. 60 eight-hour days)

On Thursday, January 08, 2004, I wrote as my thought for the day: What Value... Your TIME?

In that thought I summarised: 'Yes, I am suggesting that an individual wanting to generate 300000 a year needs to be pricing his/her actual available working time at +- 248 to 426 per hour. To generate 1000000 requires +-950 to +-1425 per hour.'

'And then... we haven't taken tax into account! '

'Now you can see how quality business folk can easily value their hourly time at 2000... 3000... 5000... 10000 per hour and more.'

So 720 hours wasted in the traffic, taken at R250 per hour = R180 000 WASTED.

And... at R1000 per hour = R720 000 WASTED.

You can do the calculations that relate to your value on your time... and then ask yourself... what am I doing to get VALUE out of this time.

Me... I use that time well at my Home Office and I stay out of the morning and evening traffic... it saves me a fortune..!

And, if you HAVE to be in the traffic... well, a wise man once shared with me that if you listen to business and self-improvement tapes in the traffic, that you can get the equivalent to a university education in just on three years.

Now that's applying this time wisely..!

Sometimes I gnash my teeth at the sheer stupidity of some people in this world.

The number of people around who seem to think that the world owes them a living is incredible. And if no one 'gives' them the money, they concoct all sorts of schemes to take it.

My interest is piqued right now in the case of South African 'investment guru' Jack Milne who, it is reported, '..is expected to plea bargain on some charges for a lesser jail sentence'.

Says the report: 'The trio of Milne, Bennett and Porritt will appear in the Johannesburg regional court today on charges of fraud and four contraventions of the Companies Act, which together carry no less than 15 years imprisonment.'

Apparently R160 million of over 3000 investors life-savings have 'disappeared'.

It seems that Jack Milne is arguing that he is 50 years old... and that if he comes out at 65 he will be an 'old man'. So he is negotiating a plea-bargain with the State to shop his co-accused... for a lesser sentence.

This case leaves me stone cold... as I knew this man... and you could have knocked me over with a feather when told that he had been arrested for defrauding investors.

You just can't tell who is going to fall down the slippery slope, can you..?

It's almost as if no one can be trusted with your money or your future. Maybe that's not a bad thing for enforcing personal responsibility over your own affairs.

But this weekend... I saw some reports which just confirm how stupid people really can be when it comes to chasing money.

One related to a front page headline report on 28 Dec. 2003 - 'Slots winner left empty-handed' where a Port Elizabeth man claimed that he had won a R1.1 million slot jackpot and cited that all the lights, bells and whistles had gone crazy to announce his prize. The meat of the story was that the casino refused to pay him out.

Well, you would think it is a simple thing for him to prove... just go to the casino's security videos... which the police did.

'Machine records showed that no jackpot had been won. Video evidence showed that lights did not flash, chimes did not ring and people did not crowd around Van Loggerenberg, as he had claimed.'

What was he thinking..? How did he honestly think he could get away with claiming R1.1 million... for nothing..?

Then, to cap it all, I read the story 'Coca-Cola smells a rat' where a young Cape Town man claims that he opened a Coke can to find a rat in it. Guess what compensation he is claiming from Coca-Cola... R50 000..!

Coca-Cola has done forensic tests on the can and have proved '..the dead mouse did not enter the can of Coca-Cola during the manufacturing process and that contamination of this single can did not occur until after it had been opened.'

Stupid is as stupid does... it seems to be that today most folks are looking for money for nothing and the loot for free.

Learn from the stupidity of others... and don't do what they do... or you'll be the fool..!