Apparently there are quite big things happening in Europe, but I want to leave that to the economists and take a look at one of the stories lower down the business pages.

The story that interested me is this. According to campaign group Consumer Focus, all the major energy companies (apart from Scottish Power – well done!) experienced a large rise in customer complaints year-on-year in the past twelve months. Top honours go to EDF Energy, who have achieved a magnificent 91% increase in complaints; and I suspect that wasn’t from a very low baseline, either!

Coincidentally, a couple of weeks ago, the Daily Mail’s ThisIsMoney website launched its Wooden Spoon Awards for bad customer service, with energy providers, banks and telecoms companies topping the likely list of contenders. ThisIsMoney also helpfully put their own list of flops together, which included, (alphabetically), HMRC, Lloyds, nPower, Orange, Ryanair, Santander, Talk Talk and Virgin Media.

It seems to me that there are several issues here. We must first realise that there is a blindingly obvious reason that these sorts of companies top these awards. They’re huge companies with huge customer bases. Mrs Miggins’ Pie Shoppe could practically poison people before it raised any profile beyond the Town Gazette. On numbers alone, big companies are going to have more angry customers.

That, however, is no excuse. There are large companies which consistently provide excellent customer service (First Direct, for example).

I think, rather, that this is one of the diseases which afflicts companies when they make the transition from Sapling – 25 people or so – to Mighty Oak -hundreds of staff and more.

When you run your own business, every penny matters. It’s your money, so you look after every client as though they were your last meal ticket.

When you run a Sapling business, you’re still in touch enough to know most of your customers personally. You may have systems in place to deal with complaints or problems, and those systems allow you to prioritise and streamline your response accordingly; but you don’t disappear off your customers’ radar completely.

When you are a Mighty Oak, the end customer all too often vanishes into the misty distance. The people who deliver the service are never the same people who take the money, or take the flak when something goes wrong. Incidentally, you’d be amazed how many complaints to these giants are about billing, rather than the actual service delivery itself.

It seems to me that the answer is not necessarily to strive for greater perfection in delivering a service. We should always do our best, but there’s not much you can do about broadband or energy to make it more sexy. Keep the data flowing and the lights on, and we’re pretty much happy.

But you can treat customers like humans. Remove that gaping chasm between the company and its customers. Ditch the 0845 number. Stop talking to us from a script. Give us some credit for having been a customer for over a decade.

There is a great example of this personalised philosophy in action in an article I wrote in April 2009, when I met Brendan Robinson, veterinarian founder of ‘The Village Vet’, entrepreneur and accidental customer service guru. He has grown his veterinary practice to several branches (expanding since I wrote the original article to 17), on the basis of exceptional customer service, despite an aggressive growth plan. He offers great advice not only for providing excellent service, but for dealing with occasions where the customer is actually wrong. As a veterinarian, he regularly has to deal with people whose judgements are skewed by the enormous emotion of a troubling time for their much-loved animals.

Brendan’s model is a beacon for anyone who wants to grow without losing sight of the customer.

I mentioned at the start that global economic issues are hogging the agenda, so it might seem odd to focus on customer service instead. Well, I think it’s worth visiting service at this crucial time in our troubled economy, because service fulfils a unique role in profitability.Getting a reputation for service might just be the lowest cost way of generating new business on which a small company can rely.Here, then, are my five top tips for delivering great customer service as a small business:

Speak to every customer as an individual. Treat them as though they are the only priority in your life at this moment.
Say it like you mean it. If you sound like the hackneyed ‘Have-a-nice-day’ merchants who have forgotten you as soon as your back is turned, you’ll be remembered as such.
Make commitments with timescales, and then honour them. Nothing impresses more than a supplier who says he will do something, clarifies when it will be done, and then does it. This should be the default- it should always happen – but it often doesn’t. And that is a great opportunity for anyone in a small business looking to shine.
Admit when you’re wrong – fast. We all make mistakes, and there’s nothing wrong with doing so now and then. The secret to handling a mistake is to admit it upfront. Tell your customer, rather than letting them find out by themselves. And then, surprise them with Herculean efforts to put things right; for free.
Train everyone to think like you. Customer service is one area in which training (even if that’s just half an hour round your desk) yields exceptional dividends. Your staff need to ‘drink the Kool-Aid’ and become as evangelical about great service as you are.

Written by Don Tolman

Despite the name, heartburn does not affect the heart.

Heartburn, also called acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a burning sensation in the lower chest, accompanied by a bitter or sour taste in the mouth and throat.

It usually occurs after eating a big meal or while lying down and can last up to a few hours.

What causes heartburn?
When you eat, food passes from your mouth into a tube (about 10 inches long), called esophagus.

Before entering the stomach, food travels through an opening at the end of the esophagus. This opening acts like a gate, which allows food to pass into the stomach.

The opening to the stomach closes as soon as food passes through. If the opening does not close, acid in the stomach can leak into and travel through the esophagus. This phenomenon, called reflux, is cause of heartburn.

Hiatal hernia can also cause heartburn. This is a condition in which part of the stomach is pushed up through the diaphragm and into the chest.

What factors add to heartburn?
Heartburn is most common after overeating, when bending over or when lying down. Other factors affecting heartburn include: eating certain foods, pregnancy and stress.

Can heartburn be serious?
Having occasional symptoms of heartburn is not very serious. If heartburn continues to persist, however it can lead to a serious of problems. Esophagitis, an inflamed lining of the esophagus, can lead to bleeding and trouble swallowing. Heartburn can also be a sign of ulcers.

What can I do to feel better?
You make find relied from heartburn by making some simple changes in your lifestyle.

Tips on preventing heartburn

• Avoid overeating
• Avoid wearing clothes with tight waistlines and belts that are too tight.
• Lose weight if you’re overweight.
• Raise the head of your bed by placing four to six inch blocks under the legs at the bed’s head.
• Try to eat at least two to three hours before lying down. If you take naps, try sleeping in a chair.

Will antacids take care of heartburn?
Antacids neutralise the acid that your stomach makes and most people find fast, short-term relief. However, antacids contain aluminium hydroxide. They may lead to diarrhea and ultimately neuro toxic effects of the brain and nervous system. Instead try bicarbonate of soda, or a piece of hard white cheese.

Three days on water knocks the condition totally out.

Raw foods do the trick as well, but take seven to ten days.

Recommendations

• Avoid stress
• Change your eating habits. Eat more raw vegetables. Eat small more frequent meals. Chew your food well. Eat slowly and enjoy your food.
• Do not consume caffeine products, carbonated beverages, fats, fried food, processed foods, sugar or tobacco.
• DO not eat for three hours before bedtime.
• Drink a big glass of water at the first sign of heartburn.
• Drink a glass of fresh cabbage or celery juice every day.
• Eat a fresh papaya or pineapple to aid digestion.
• Sip one tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar, mixed with a glass of water, while eating a meal.
• Try raw potato juice. Do not peel the potato – just wash it and put it in the juicer. Mix with equal parts water. Drink it immediately after preparation, up to three times daily.

For more on this topic and thousands of other Self Care tips, check out my “encyclopaedia of wholefood medicine”, theFarmacist Desk Reference.

Written by Lisa Dudson Rock Your Life Global Sage www.moneyblog.co.nz

After having some time off over xmas many of us start thinking about what we want to achieve over the coming year. However as the year moves on our new years resolutions often disappear into the ether, never to be seen again…or until next new years! So how do you increase your success rate?

Have an emotional connection to your goals
It’s our heart and feelings that really motivate us. However we often use only our heads and logic to achieve our goals. If you can find an emotional connection to what you want to achieve you will often dramatically improve your chances of success. I had a client recently whose goal was to save for a house deposit. She earned a good income but her financial discipline left a lot to be desired. She set up a savings account in a separate bank from her main banking, so she wouldn’t be tempted to use the funds when she saw them. That still didn’t work so I had her change the name of her account to House Deposit Savings and since then she has continually saved. She just needed a more emotional link to help her make the changes she needed to get money into the account.

Ensure that your goals are realistic
Often we get really enthusiastic and make our goals too ambitious. Let say your goal was to pay off your debts. I’ve seen many clients who have tens of thousands of dollars in debts and they just don’t know where to start. Be brave and make a list of all your debts, the interest rate, minimum payments and term, etc. This may seem simple but often people avoid this because it puts the amount they owe right in front of them. Having it all laid out in black and white can be scary, however it’s the first step in being debt free. Look at your budget and find as much spare cash as you can and start making regular extra payments to reduce your debt. Update your balances every month so you can see how your debt balances are reducing. Even a small amount will make a difference. Of course the more you can pay off the better. Imagine how you will feel when you have paid them off. And as an added bonus once they are paid you can now put that money into savings.

Break it down
One of my favourite sayings is ‘How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite.” Often we get really overwhelmed by what needs to happen for us to achieve a goal. Break your goals into a number of small tasks. Then just focus on achieving one at time. I’m a fan of writing your tasks down and then crossing them off once you achieved them. It’s really satisfying seeing your list with lots of crossed at lines on it. Using a big black pen can be even more satisfying. If you take this approach you will be often be surprised how quickly all those little tasks add up and you will have achieved your goals before you know it.

Let me tell you what’s been going on for me in the past few weeks. Maybe you have had stuff happen around you as well. One of my good friends died unexpectedly through undiagnosed illness. I myself have been frightfully ill for days, and I haven’t been sick in 18 years. My beautiful relationship with an amazing woman has ended, yet there wasn’t a fight, a harsh word or any change in how much we loved each other. Yet it shifted fast and immediate. Many of my friends that are psychics, light workers, energy healers have been experiencing illness, in fact a couple have considered graduating from this life. What’s been happening for you?

The 9th stage of the Mayan prophecy starts today 7 – January – 2012 and completes on 21 December 2012. It’s called – Fruition.

The nine ages are represented by the number of levels in a Mayan Pyramid such as Chitzen Itza. They are:

9. Fruition – Starting today for 260 Days

8. Flowering – 2000 – 2012 (A focus on fall of large structures was the prophecy – think USA and teh global financial crisis)

7. Budding – 1756 – 2000 (The prophecy suggested the collapse of military might – Napolean, Nazi’s etc)

6. Proliferation – 3114BC – 1756 (The Age of Religions ruling the world)

5. Sprouting – 105,000BC – 3114BC (The age of the rebirthing of humanity after prior calamity)

4. Germination – 2Million Years (The creation of the lane that we know from its ancient past – human evidence found up to 2m years ago)

3. Sowing – 41 Million Years (Forestry and ocean regeneration)

2. Balance – 800 Million Years (The great ages of the dinosaurs)

1. Darkness – 15 Billion Years (The age of nothing on earth)

So now you can see why everything is speeding up. This is also the area talked about in many of the ancient texts. You are in the time of the greatest shift of your life and your choice is to embrace it or not.

Fruition is all about manifesting all the seeds you have sown. This could mean wealth beyond your dreams. It could mean sickness deeper than your soul can stand up to. It could mean an abundance of joy, or friends turning on you and outcasting you. In 2012 Nothing is as it seems and you need to really flow with the roller coaster this year. During my coming to grips with my break up with Leah I used all types of processes that had served me well when stuff happens in life I need to process. None of them worked. I have heard Astrologers who say the readings are not making sense, and even things like writing this blog which I have completed once and it didn’t save, with even the autosave function failing. So in 2012 my belief is you can’t rely on things the way you used to. People have had numbers disappear from their phones, banks change their minds on loans and all sorts of things are shifting around. So what’s really happening?

Many ancient books talk about the transition. In the bible it’s called the Rapture, when all the believers dissapear on one day and those that are left either realize they should have believed or they become part of the non believers and side with the anti-christ. There is a period of fighting and major issues for seven years and finally good overturns evil and peace is restored on the planet for 2,000 years.

I believe we are seeing that transition starting. Where there are more and more people becoming conscious, realizing life is not about an accumulation of money, greed, fast cars and luxury items. That life is about good whole foods, love, friendship, fairness, and contribution in a sustainable manner. Let’s face it… in ‘The End of Poverty’ by Jeffery Sachs he claims poverty can be eradicated by2025, but if you were a major government why would you want to? Keep them poor and we can control them. It’s all about power and you and I will see intense struggles for power to retain wealth and control over the next seven years.

So beware of what you have sown for this year you will reap it, and never before has there been a time when you need to analyze your ideals and decide what you stand for and be true to it. The world is a very different place than it was even ten years ago. Nothing is what it seems. Are you ready?

That’s not the reason for this blog. The inspiration is that a number of readers are desperately trying to find love – the perfect partner.

Maybe there isn’t just one…maybe more, maybe each love comes with it’s own used by date, which maybe one night, a year or a lifetime. Don’t turn off the options or you will never find love. Some of the most bitter people I have met and coached say things like: ‘He has to be between 32 and 35, millionaire, brown hair, tall, good looking and not have children. They find all the things they are looking for and then come out with, Oh but he’s too committed to his career …it will never work.

Relax and let flow take you. Stop fighting the damn flow.

In 2006 I did Dave Rogers AUM Program. In the CD set he talks about the system he used to manifest Chiharu his wife. I loved the system but didn’t use it. I didn’t want a relationship. In 2010 Glen Levy and I were working on the gold coast in Australia and he used a very similar system, whereby he manifested Mel his girlfriend in 30 minutes. (Yes …30 minutes) I did the exercise, thought it was profound and still realized I din’t want a relationship.

Mike Handcock, Glen Levy & Dave Rogers

This September I was in Chile and one day I just decided… that’s it, it’s been 6 years… I am ready to find the perfect person. I remembered the exercise that Glen did and the girl I manifested in the vision. October 3 (just two weeks after I thought through the process and did it again) my Facebook pings with a request from an Angel. Two weeks later and I meet her and she is the exact girl I envisioned. … 100% exactly. OK it took a month from the energizing it to us being in a relationship. The beautiful thing is from the first minute we both knew… not just me…both of us.

So here is the exercise:

1. Meditate into an Alpha state
2. Bring in the perfect partner
3. Study them from all angles
4. Talk to them, listen to their voice and accent
5. Touch them, smell them and taste them (this part can get pretty erotic folks… be prepared)
6. Intuite where they are – what they do – their quirky ways
7. Tell them ‘See you in the physical soon’ and relax

The bottom line is you have to let go of the outcome. You have to be so comfortable in your own energy that their energy is attracted in. The universe will find a way of getting you both together. But if you are pensive, waiting, grumpy, low self esteemed, the universe won’t deliver – why should it. That relationship is potentially not balanced energetically.

Most of all, play with this exercise…its fun

Lastly, take off all your clothes – stand in front of a mirror and be in love with yourself. Regardless of who you are or what you look like…you are perfection… rejoice in you and the perfect person will find you.

Finding Love

Maybe it’s not money you are after – maybe its simply power, the ability to get your service out there, maybe its distribution you need, maybe its all for the common good and not about ruling the world. The answer is:

Control the network: Control everything.

This has been the plan of the wealthy for a long long time. You may not realise this but when Hughes De Payan and his nine knights discovered the king making secret under the temple of Jerusalem in 1120 (Previously Solomons Temple) it started a faction of the most powerful people on the planet. In the mid 12th century the Knights Templar had created the first global banking system and technically the first credit card, although it was missing the magnetic swipe part, invented in 1960 by Forrest Parry an IBM engineer.

Templar outposts were stationed at strategic locations along major routes throughout Europe and to the old kingdom. The Templars controlled the flow of money through various letters of credit, held by travellers who had deposited money with various templar head offices.

In 1744 the birth of Mayer Rothschild in a ghetto in Frankfurt changed the face of family wealth and control of this planet for at least 200+ years. Rothschild who was a self made man, trading in money changing got connected and upon becoming a father installed his five sons into five different continents (or countries as they were known) so that he could maximise communication and retain trusted control.

Nathan Rothschild was the London connection and through highly efficient communication (carrier pidgeons) knew the result of the Battle of Waterloo 24 hrs before the London market did, which made him sell hugely, he caused a panic in the market, and when the market followed he bought at bargain basement prices and because of the result of the war secured the family wealth across the world. (These days that may be considered insider trading)

This control of the markets across Europe and subsequently in the USA and South America took the family to be the wealthiest across the planet (even though this is rarely quantified in reports these days). David Rothschild the current 70+ YO patriarch is a huge influencer globally, being the current Chairman of the Bilderburg Group, an organisation for which none of us normals know the true charter, but meets in secret and is made up of various heads of state and business across the world. The current 2011 agenda is Gaddafi which has been reported. The theories always mention a new world order – very George Orwell of course. One things for sure, the family which now has had over 500 decedents  has incredible power,control and influence.

Click on this link – Skull and Bones Society and you will find a society founded in Yale and featuring one G W H Bush grandfather in the original society. The society has literally dozens of connections to powerful individuals including people such as Presidential candidate John Kerry, and none other than George W Bush himself. Leading newspaper and media men feature in it’s annuals. Control the news, control the people.

Finally there is the Bohemian Club, a nice resort on the exterior, but whose members are a whose who of control and power. Cheney, Colin Powell, Nixon , Reagan are just a few names here. Of course we can’t forget the information we all get comes from the world of Rupert Murdoch and similar controllers of the news.

These massive distribution networks, of ‘Old Boys’ are about years, even generations of trust. I wish they told me that was important at school. I would have spent more time with the ‘family’ boys and less time with the sporty hip dudes. Building strong networks across borders is one of the sure ways o secure your business and wealth building potential:

Warning: It takes years to build this trust – so the get rich quicks need another way.

“The usual scientific view takes man as a three-dimensional body; it takes organic

life on earth as a whole, more as a phenomenon than a three-dimensional body; it

takes the earth as a three-dimensional body;

the sun as a three-dimensional body; the solar system as a three-dimensional body;

and the Milky Way as a three-dimensional body.

“The inexactitude of this view becomes evident if we try to conceive the existence

of one cosmos within the other, that is, of a lower cosmos in a higher, of a smaller

cosmos in a greater, such as, for instance, the existence of man in organic life or in

relation to organic life. In this case organic life must inevitably be taken in time.

Existence in time is an extension along the fourth dimension.

“Neither can the earth be regarded as a three-dimensional body. It would be three­

dimensional if it were stationary. Its motion around its axis makes man a five­

dimensional being, whereas its motion around the sun makes the earth itself four­

dimensional. The earth is not a sphere but a spiral encircling the sun, and the sun is

not a sphere but a kind of spindle inside this spiral. The spiral and the spindle, taken

together, must have a lateral motion in the next cosmos, but what results from this

motion we cannot know, for we know neither the nature nor the direction of the

motion.

“Further, seven cosmoses represent a ‘period of dimensions,’ but this does not mean

that the chain of cosmoses comes to an end with the Microcosmos. If man is a

Microcosmos, that is, a cosmos in himself, then the microscopic cells composing his

body will stand towards him in about the same relation as he himself stands to organic

life on earth. A microscopic cell which is on the boundary line of microscopic vision

is com

posed of milliards of molecules comprising the next step, the next cosmos. Going still

further, we can say that the next cosmos will be the electron. Thus we have obtained a

second Microcosmos—the cell; a third Microcosmos—the molecule; and a fourth

Microcosmos—the electron. These divisions and definitions, namely ‘cells,’

‘molecules,’ and ‘electrons,’ are possibly very imperfect; it may be that with time

science will establish others, but the principle will remain always the same and lower

cosmoses will always be in precisely such relation to the Microcosmos.”

In the movie ‘Dreamcatchers’ we uncover a golden ratio 1:43,200. This ratio is many things and one of the precessional numbers. Yet 43,200 is the number of seconds in night and day when we have 12 hours of each. It is also the ratio of distance in our cells and in the universe between stellar bodies. It is a ratio that is in the pyramids and even their location on earth.

We are a microcosm of the macrocosm so always look within. An infinite number of universes exist within us and outside of us. You don’t need to search for the answers. – the answers are within you.

Excerts from Ouspensky – In search of the miraculous.

Some background for I-Ching newbies. The book was commissioned by Emperor Fu Hsi in around 3,000BC. It is not known who or how many people authored it, Confucius edited it in his lifetime some 2500years later. It is called – ‘The book of Changes’ and it is the relationship of all things created through a variety of trigrams and hexagrams and the relationship of Yin & Yang (female & male)

The 8 Trigrams of the I-Ching

It’s more than a book or Oracles, it’s a book of life and Roger Hamilton, who I respect and worked with between 2004 & 2009 did an incredible job to pull ‘You Pathyway of least resistance to your wealth’ from the book. To do so he bent and reordered Fu Hsi’s original model, but it makes sense. Once in 2005 I heard Roger in the only time I think he has talked about this mention the relationship between the I-Ching and DNA. It made sense to me. Since then I have done my own research so read on if you truly want to be amazed.

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA, is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints, like a recipe or a code. It was discovered in the ninteenth century by the swiss, but in 1953 Watson & Crick came up with the double helix system which is now accepted andfor which they won the Nobel Prize.

The basis of DNA is + and -. This is also binary code, which drives all computers (yes even your Apple Mac) 1 and 0 and is the basis of all language as well.

So lets look at the similarities between the I-Ching and DNA. In his 1979 book Martin Schonberger puts this about as simple as one can when creating a bridge between science, genetics and oracles. Firstly you need to know that the I-Ching contains 64 Hexagrams – made up of 8 trigrams each having a relationship with themselves 8 x 8 = 64.

1. DNA contains the vital processes, structure, heredity and form of all living things. The I-Ching contains the philisophical, moral, pysical and psychological makeup of us.
2. The basis of DNA is the double helix (+ & -). The basis of the I-Ching is Yin (- -) and Yang (-).
3. Four Letters (ATCG) label the double helix joined in pairs (adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine). Four combinations make up the combinations of the I-Ching. (Resting Yang -, moving Yang -0-, resting Yin – -, moving Yin ><)
4. In DNA, three of the (ATCG) make up a code word for protein synthesis. In the I-Ching three letters form a Trigram or primary image
5. The direction of reading is distinct in both DNA and the I-Ching.
6. In DNA there are 64 triplets that provide the information power. In the I-Ching there are 64 hexagrams that give us the information.
7. In DNA two triplets are called beginning and end. In the I-Ching two hexagrams are called before completion and after completion.

Written by Don Tolman

So how do you clean your body up and lay down new layers of fat protective

myelin sheaths?

1.      Relax, simplify, and lose the stress.

2.      Get full sunlight exposure (yup…naked).

3.      Lose the mercury fillings as you are able.

4.      Drink raw goat/cow milk and fermented foods.

5.      Use bee pollen-let a bee sting you once in awhile as well.

6.      Weight lifting for legs & arms.

7.      Walking 45 minutes a day, sports…life is movement!

Drink From: The Tree of Life – KABALA/CABALA

Go 14 to 21 days on Kabala, ½ gallon (1.9 litres) minimum (no maximum). No supplements, no nothin’. Just air, sunlight, water and Kabala/Cabala “the tree of life.”

(C) = 5 lbs. (2.3kgs) carrots

(A) = 2 red apples

(B) = 1 beet 1/3 size of your fist

(A) = 2 yellow apples

(L) = 1 whole lemon (rind & all if able, otherwise just the juice)

(A)= 2 green apples

“Experience isn’t interesting till it begins to repeat itself. In fact, till it does that, it hardly is experienced.”

After, this 14 to 21 day Cabala event (you chose 14 to 21 according to needs and desires of recovery), become a, “wholesome raw food” vegetarian until your symptoms remit. At that point, you decide what the risks of your former diet and lifestyle were and the course you wish to follow.

Don will be coming to New Zealand for a tour in June for Rock Your Life Events.  Check out www.rockyourlifeevents.com for more details.

Written by Mike Handcock

Indonesia boasts having over 1,000 islands, a population of more than 220 million people, 15 million of which reside in Jakarta, the world’s largest Muslim population and also has some serious innovative entrepreneurs. Recently, I spent time in Bandung and the tropical city of Jakarta, previously known as Batavia, the home of the Dutch East Indies Company and at one time the link between the east and west and a haven for ships from Portugal, Spain and England.

At that time Batavia (Jakarta) which was build on a series of lagoons held security, sanctuary and wealth for many European sailors. So what has changed?

Like many places in Asia, Indonesian’s are not yet aware of the transference of wealth from West to East. In fact many of them are not globalising at all, sticking to what they know in the regional areas of their childhood, hoping that the next season will be better than the last. However there are 81 entrepreneurs that have taken the bull by the horns and wish to put Indonesia on the map. This article tells the story of just a few of them, whom I recently learned from whilst spending time in their company.

Marnix and Corine Beugel are originally from Holland and run a business called Java Sea Charters. They are successfully taking people from all nations and showing them the beauty of the java sea. But more than just sightseeing they now have a fabulous purpose that they are promoting. Reef building. Besides its fame as the habitat of the endangered Javan Rhinoceros Ujung Kulon National Park also possesses a fabulous coral reef eco system. The reef has the ability for divers to help rebuild and grow the reef. You can actually build your own coral reef and have it named after you. This fun for all ages project is not only fun, it has a serious side. Globally reefs are being affected by global warming and disappearing. This will be the first time in the Sundra Straights where a reef will actually be rebuilt. Every stay on board Java Sea Charters also relates to a donation being made to PADI’s project aware which is helping to protect marine life. Marnix and Corine are combining their passion for the ocean and diving with the socially responsible act of repairing reefs so future generations may enjoy. Check out what they do on www.javaseacharters.com

Stuck in a major city and choking to death. No longer is this a concern in populated Jakarta. Monika Sugriarto has a wonderful new concept that as far as this writer is concerned is a world first. Mountain air delivered direct to a place in the heart of the city. You can now breathe quality air in a Quality Hotel. In Jakarta one meeting room at the Quality Hotel has been set up to enjoy fresh mountain air to be pumped in for your enjoyment, health and enlightenment. The process is a secret (actually I never asked how she does it) but the fresh Indonesian mountain air is there for you to enjoy while you tap away at your computer, seal the next big deal or even chomp on your nasi goring. Email breathelounge@yahoo.com for more details.

Poonam Sagar is the consummate Creator entrepreneur. Having settled in Jakarta from India many years ago Poonam boast having four masters’ degrees. My head spins at a high school diploma. Poonam has an MBA, MSC, and is even a Reiki Master. Along with her husband Ragat they run a company called Infotech solutions which works with TV and Radio stations providing full and unique broadcaster software. This software is revolutionising broadcasting globally. Infotech has over 50 staff in Jakarta and another 30 in India. Proof of its expertise is that even India which is the hub of technology these days is using Poonams solutions rather than home growing them. Poonam has more business interests and property interests than she can count, and told me about two more businesses she is starting in 2007, because she has the time…(Ha Ha I think…how does she do it). She also manages the XL network in Indonesia. Always give something you want done to a busy person. Poonam is driving the spirit of entrepreneurship in Indonesia. Poonam@infotech.co.id

Sony Vasandani runs Sunshine pre schools of which she has a number through Indonesia. Her passion for schooling early age children came in front of XL chairman Roger Hamilton which lead Sony to become general manager for an ambitious project which kicked off in February 2007 called XL schools. XL schools will eventually change the way children are educated on this planet. Sony has been in New Zealand working with Lina Long to start the pilot of XL schools. It’s an incredible and ambitious project, driven again from Indonesia. Sony is available sonraj@cbn.net.id

One huge advantage in Indonesia is the cost of labour, where an average administration person receives approximately $300USD each month, so most things you find great people at a reasonable cost. If you are looking for tremendous ideas and entrepreneurial spirit then look no further than Indonesia. It’s an untapped gem in Global business, which won’t stay silent much longer.

To see when and where Mike will be next check out www.rockyourlifeevents.com .