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    The Great Gordino Newsletter - Issue 233 - Fri 24th Sep 2004
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    Hi There,

    I really enjoy it when I get feedback to confirm what I thought,
    and this week was no exception.

    I had an email from Carol, who told me that when she went to
    NASA, they had plenty of change at the tills!

    If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out Wednesday's
    issue via the archive link above.

    Right then, here's the next thing that keeps me awake at night.
    I was driving to a jam night last night, when I suddenly entered a
    stretch of road with no lighting.

    Here's what I reckon happens - imagine yourself in the road
    planning meeting...

    'How much will it cost to build this road?'
    '10 million.'
    'We've only got 9 million, so we haven't got enough.'
    'I know, let's build some of the road without lights.'
    'Ooh, good idea.'

    Then they get a big bit of paper, draw the road on it, stick it to
    the wall, then throw darts at it to pick which bit will HAVE NO
    LIGHTS!!

    Ok, I feel better now, it's good to get that off my chest.
    If anyone can shed any light on the issue (geddit?), then do let
    me know.

    Today I want to talk about education, and willingness to accept
    outside help.

    I was watching a show called 'The Bank of Mum and Dad', where
    parents move in with their overspending children to try and sort
    out the problem.
    In this particular show, the daughter and her husband had 2
    kids, 2 flash cars, a big mortgage, and a huge debt - £26,000.

    She was quite happily planning a £6,000 weeding with no tought
    of the cost.

    It transpired that the monthly outlay was exceeding the income
    by nearly £400.

    When the parents told her how she could save, her reaction was
    simply to stare at the wall and say 'no' to everything.

    Her attitude was that if she wanted something she would buy it,
    and if she didn't want to cut down on anything, she wouldn't.
    Maybe the debt would go away by itself.

    Her parents looked like they wanted to shake some sense into
    her, but not as much as *I* wanted to!

    'You silly woman,' I observed, or words to that effect, 'you should
    have gone to school *every* day.'

    Easy for me to dismiss her as ignorant, but maybe not fair.
    Did her education let her down?
    Was that her fault?

    Obviously I don't know, I wasn't there, but it seemed to me that
    she had no intention of educating herself as an adult.

    The parents realised that they couldn't sort the problem on their
    own, and brought in an independent financial advisor.

    This shows the value of seeking outside help.
    When he started to talk to the girl, he got the same blank face,
    but as he carried on, you could slowly see the realisation sink in,
    and she began to accept that something needed to be done.

    Slowly but surely they worked out a plan to sort out the damage.

    The value of self-education as an adult cannot be overstated, I
    never stop, and don't be afraid to get outside help.

    Ok, that's it for today, have a good weekend!

    'Til Monday,
    Health and Happiness,
    Gordon
    email me at gordon@gordonbryan.com - you'll have to copy and paste
    thanks to the idiot online spammers!



    
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