OK – so we are all preparing for Wacken (ok, not all of us, just the cool people) but if you’ve never been before, here’s a list of things that you seriously need to consider packing!!

This will be my third pilgrimage, so choose to disregard my advice at your own peril!

1) Boots. Your feet are your friends! Don’t you forget it.
You are going to be doing a crap load of walking before you even arrive at the festival grounds. Around the airports (they are huge), airport to train station, train station to your hotel in Hamburg, etc etc. At the festival you are going to be on your feet for 3 or 4 days and they are going to get fuckin’ painful. Leave your cool biker books, high heels, what ever at home and pack a pair of lightweight hiking boots. Something that is comfortable, has a thick sole, good ankle support and as light weight as possible. I have bought myself a pair of Hi-Tech hiking boots because last year I wore normal takkies and by the end my feet were murdering me and my ankles were so swollen I couldn’t even see my toes!!

2) Flip Flops.
You wont wear these for long, but when you want to go grab a quick bite to eat, or wake up in the middle of the night for a piss, it is a mission to put on socks and boots so a cheap pair of flip flops will make life a lot easier.

3) Suitcase with WHEELS.
I don’t get how we managed to put a man on the moon more than 40 years ago, but only recently realized that it would be a good idea to put wheels on a suitcase. I’ve been over with a regular suit case before as well as with a rucksack, but nothing beats one of those draggable suitcases with wheels. Don’t forget, the airports these days don’t let you leave your luggage unattended to you gotta carry that shit everywhere!

Even if you pack lightly you still got your tent, sleeping bag etc with you and carrying that shit fuck you up faster than you think. I don’t care how gay it looks. get yourself a suitcase with wheels and you will thank me later!

4) Inflatable mattress.
You’re only going to sleep/pass out for a couple of hours per night so you might as well make those hours count! Sleeping on the hard lumpy ground might be ok for one night at Thornfest or Oppikoppie, but for a prolonged festival like Wacken a few good hours of sleep will mean you enjoy the waking hours much, much more.

I just spent R189 for a good quality inflatable mattress from Game. Worth it at 10 time the price!

5) Camping stove.
OK – this isn’t strictly necessary,  but I have one of those micro gas stoves which means I can make the odd cuppa tea as well as make a breakfast on the final morning when the vendors have packed up and fucked off before the sun come up!

6)Smokes.
I get really cheap ones for R70 per carton at a shop called Holy Smoke in Alberton and take 4 cartons over. 2 in my hand luggage and 2 distributed around my suitcase to get past customs (your only legally allowed 2 cartons). There is only one company allowed to sell smokes at Wacken and they are fucked up expensive, so bring your own and bring enough to trade for beer.

A lot of people will be happy to trade a beer (2 or 3 Euro) for a pack of smokes that costs me the equivalent of 0.70 Euro. they score cheap smokes, I score cheap beer, we’re all happy.

7) As much money as you can.
Apart from food and beer, the metal market is HUGE. T-shirts, CDs, viking drinking horns etc etc etc. All well cool stuff and you can blow a fortune if you want.

A manikini
OK – you don’t have to wear a mankini, but I will and you can join the cool crowd if you like.

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• Making money with Google is VERY easy. (there is a scan of my last cheque below).
• There are other techniques that I will show you that can make a LOT more money, but this is primarily about picking the low hanging fruit and going after the easy money.
• This is not scammy multi level marketing or some dodgy biz op shit. In a nutshell, here is what I am going to teach you;

1. Research and find specific terms and keywords that a lot of people are searching for everyday, but that have very few competing pages out there.
2. Put up a website that lazer targets high search engine positions for those specific terms, knowing you will receive a lot of web traffic. (Most people find this step the most intimidating, but it’s PISS EASY! Just a couple of mouse clicks and the time it takes to type out the actual content. No technical knowledge or abilities needed! The only computer skills you need are the ability to browse the web and basic cut and paste.
3. Allow Google to place adverts on your site that are highly relevant to the topic of your website (and some other adverts from some other sources).
4. Attract as many visitors to your site as possible using search engines, Facebook etc. You
   will get paid every time somebody clicks an advert that appears on your site.
   That’s all – go to the pub and wait for a cheque every month form now on.

• Bring a partner and they pay half price. I recommend bringing a partner because you can push each other and you will be more likely to get your arse in gear and actually get started doing this stuff if you have an accountability partner.
• There is a double your money back guarantee that you will make money. It’s a no brainer. If you don’t attend, or at least order the DVDs I hope you are enjoying your day job. don’t complain to me when you are broke every month!

OK, here’s the video…

If you’re reading this but unsure what it’s all about, click here for the original post.

And here’s the scan of my last cheque..




1) The Intelligent Investor: This book is considered a must-read, even though Ben Graham originally published it way back in 1934. This book has even been called “the best investment book ever written” by none other than Warren Buffett.

2) The Essays Of Warren Buffett: Speaking of Warren Buffett, this is a collection of his essays, arranged by topic and relevance. While you cannot go wrong with any Buffett book, this one is a great place to begin, as it will help you in every area of investing.

3) Common Stocks And Uncommon Profits & Other Writings: Philip Fisher wrote this excellent collection of the fifteen qualities of an excellent business. These in-depth thoughts from one of the greatest financial thinkers in history is sure to help you expand your portfolio.

By taking the tips of these men who knew how to make the market work for them, you can start to make it work for yourself; no longer will you be one of those who thinks the people who make money in the stock market are simply lucky; instead, you will know from experience that the people who make money in the stock market just plain know more than those who do not.

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If you want to know which demographics are listening to which stations, there are plenty of resources that will help you know this, but if you do not know which demographic you should go after, this will not help you. For instance, you might think that advertising on a sports radio program is a good idea if you are a dentist who is wanting to advertise on the radio. After all, you probably have just as many male patients as female, and you know that men are always listening to sports radio! But if you pay closer attention, you might find that it is often the women who call to make the appointment for the men – and it is much more effective to advertise on the stations they listen to.

Once you know what demographic you are wanting to target, you will also want to make sure you know how to appeal to this demographic. Many people try to create their own radio ads, and then they wonder why the ads end up being completely ineffective. Just as you are an expert in what you do, there are those who are experts at creating radio advertisements that are catchy and effective. Rather than trying to take the radio advertising into your own hands, you will be much better off hiring such people and ensuring results.

Finally, rather than having someone in the back room of your business try to distribute the ads, hire an ad agency that specializes in accomplishing this task. You will be able to know the number of times your ad was played, the times of day your ad was played, and the response to the ad if you use one of these agencies; with all of this, radio advertising becomes a truly effective tool.

The first thing you need to understand, in order to answer this question, is that social media can certainly be used to the benefit of a business. After all, if you have a “viral” video, millions of people might see it in a matter of weeks, and a single, well-worded “tweet” can spread like fire. And as for facebook, it seems like there is hardly anyone in the country (or even around the world) who is not plugged into facebook.

Of course, these websites can have very little impact on the success of your business if you never learn how to use social media in an effective manner. This is why it is important for any businessman to take the time to learn how to use social media in an effective manner.

And when it comes to answering the question of whether a business has the ability to survive if it does not use social media well, the honest answer is: no one knows. There are certainly many prognosticators who feel strongly that social media is the way of the future – that these are not fads at all, but will stick around. And if this turns out to be the case, it is true that your business will be left behind if it is not connected to social media.

Success With Social Media Online!

But even if this turns out not to be the case, the fact still stands that social media is extremely popular right now. And by using social media in this present climate, you can do a lot to expand and further the success of your business. While no one can say for certain whether social media is here to stay, it is nevertheless hugely beneficial for you and your business to be plugged in right now, as it can help your business a lot!

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One of the first things you need to make sure you recognize is that it is not always necessary for you to prove that you are right. This can be especially difficult if you are on a team with a “know-it-all” who tends to frequently be wrong, but it is important to keep in mind nonetheless. Oftentimes, the majority of the members on a project team will be absolutely wrong about something, but this “something” will be something that has no real bearing on the project; you will begin to notice this as you realize that you do not always have to prove you are right. In this way, you need to pick your battles, only correcting the others when it is absolutely necessary that you do so.

You will likely encounter conflicts and frustrations with the way some of the others on your team work, and picking your battles extends to these situations also. In the end, it is better for both yourself and the project that you only assert your strong opinions about something when it is necessary to do so. It will pay off in the long run to always be “the bigger man” – as difficult as this can be when you are around these same people every day!

Being the “bigger man” also extends to those times when someone else on your project team tries to take credit for work they did not actually do. In the end, your superiors will come to realize who did the work and who did nothing!

Being on a project team often comes to be about more than just completing the project well; it also comes to be about surviving to the end! When you follow these tips, you will be able to survive and even thrive to the end of the project.

When a business decides to market in a traditional way, they almost always use another company to help them. They won’t create their own logo, their own print ads, or their own commercials. Professional skills and ideas are needed to do these things. People need to view social networking for businesses in this same light. They are just as representative of your business as traditional marketing techniques.

Having a social network page for your business is a must. Traditional marketing methods are often viewed as an intrusion on people’s time, but people actually like viewing social network pages. So why wouldn’t you market to consumer’s tastes? No one would release traditional marketing pieces that look like they were done by someone with no experience. Your social network page should be given the same amount of money and care as other methods of marketing.

Social networks only work for your business if it is really involved in it. You want potential customers to have access to you and you want to provide them with fresh relevant information. It is a great idea to hand over your social network to a professional for two main reasons. Providing your customers with valuable information and interacting with them is a professionals full time job.

Businesses can now reach their customers in more ways than ever before because of social networks. These new opportunities require some responsibility too though. The most important thing to remember is that your business is represented by anything that your name is attached to. Take care when dealing with anything that is associated with your business.

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Harvard Business Review on Increasing Customer Loyalty.

Making sure your customers are coming back and bringing new customers with them is the main ideas behind customer loyalty. Executing this ideas is not simple even though the idea itself is. Make sure that your employees are really happy in their position so you can start on the path towards customer loyalty. If your employees are happy their happiness will spread throughout your business and to your customers. Your customers will then get the feeling that something good is happening at your business.

Turning negative situations that arise into positive ones is another step to take. Training in this skill will be needed by your employees, but since they are happy they should learn quickly. When a customer has a problem there is tremendous opportunity to deepen the relationship. Make sure that your customer understands that you are making an exception for them, exceed their expectation for a solution, and don’t ever say no right off of the bat. Not only will this type of interaction will result in loyal customers, but also customers who refer.

Certain steps can be taken to increase customer loyalty, which has been learned by the Harvard Business Review through extensive research they’ve done.

The book goes into much more detail on the subject, much further than the ideas briefly listed above. Customer service is the focus of many aspects of customer loyalty, but the book points out others located in different arenas. All the topics concerning customer loyalty are reviewed to help you build a well rounded plan.

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Check out the Job Interview Success System!

You should have a strong grip when you shake hands – this is the first component of a good handshake; with a strong, firm grip, you will transfer confidence from yourself to the person whose hand you are shaking. Many people are aware of the fact that a strong, firm grip is important when shaking hands, but a lot of people also overdo it! Think of it like this: You are trying to transfer confidence from yourself to them – you are not trying to show off to them how strong you are! When you shake hands with people, practice giving a grip that is strong and firm without being overpowering – this is where you want your handshake to be.

Another important element of a handshake is its duration; if you pull away too quickly, you will show timidity, but if you hold on too long, it will become awkward. There is not any “set amount of time” a handshake is supposed to last, but make sure it lasts long enough for the handshake to do its job. Before you end the handshake, give a good, firm grip, and give one or two firm pumps.

Eye contact is the one aspect of the handshake that so many people fail to keep in mind; this, of course, is the third element. Due to the fact that many people do not make eye contact when they shake hands, you will stand out to others when you do this. By completing this final step, you will complete the process of transferring confidence from yourself to the person whose hand you are shaking.

Check out the Body Language Improvement Package!

When you simply follow these three steps, you will be able to give a handshake that inspires confidence; the handshake might be a small thing, but it can make a very big difference!

Check out awesome tips on How To Start A Daycare!

One thing that is especially important if you are renting your house is that you make sure it is okay for you to run a daycare out of your house. If you are a renter, you will need to get permission from your landlord before using their home to run a daycare. And even if you own a house, you will want to assess and make sure you feel okay about putting your investment in the hands of children!

You should also be aware of the ages you plan to take care of; it might seem profitable to take all who want to come, but this can hurt you in the long run. It can actually be much more difficult to take care of all the kids if you have a lot of different age groups. Furthermore, there are certain age groups that will tend to be more destructive to the home you live in than other age groups, putting the home at risk of serious damage.

Lastly, you will need to make sure your house is “childproof” in order to keep your mind and the minds of the parents at ease. This should include no sharp or breakable objects around, no cleaning supplies in unlocked cupboards, and an ability to keep the children confined to a specific space. If you take these steps, you will be able to feel confident that the kids are safe, and parents will feel confident leaving their children with you!

If you go about it the right way, running a daycare out of your home can be lots of fun. Just make sure that you are okay to run the daycare, that the children you are taking care of are in an age group you feel comfortable with, and that your house is safe for the kids, and you will be all set to go!