61. Arm thyself
Knowledge is power. Guard it well. – Space Marine Librarian, Dawn of War
Rules are made to be followed and to abide to.
However people break rules and people break laws. That has always happened and always will happen.
Who controls the past now controls the future, who controls the present now controls the past. – Testify, Rage Against the Machine
So why in knowledge of the rules power?
Because if you follow them by the letter, you can see how to bend the rules or test the flexibility at least.
Being a chef I have to wear a clean uniform everyday. This comprises of a chef jacket, check pants, steel toe waterproof work boots, chef hat, apron and an optional neckerchief. These have to be cleaned after every use and it is always handy to have several sets on hand. This is because, as I went to college, it is a part of the curriculum of safe food handling practices and occupation, health and safety. At one point in time I had a chef who had medical conditions that meant he couldn’t wear safety boots. As we worked in a tiny kitchen that had barely any air extraction capability, he allowed us (kitchen hands and me) to wear shorts as long as they were clean and black. This was then also used as in the Christmas holidays and the summer; a new kitchen was being built on premises. We worked in the hot Australian summer outdoors by a barbeque with nothing but a pedestal fan and lots of water to keep us cool for just over a month. When back in the new kitchen everyone was allowed to wear shorts if they choose to. The rules were bent to enable us to have a new uniform but not broken. The chef that took his position agreed that we could continue wearing what we did as it is a hot kitchen and even hotter wash up area. The happier the worker, the better work they will do.
However knowledge is a two edged sword that can be used against you so be careful.
In a retail job, the uniform was a company shirt and a pair of personal work pants, shorts or jeans. I had a pair of work shorts that had a cool pattern stitched on. This was allowed in the general sense of the uniform requirement but to a new manager he deemed them offensive so I was told not to wear them after that day. I never wore the shorts while working but on days off buying stuff from that store, I tended to wear them. They were great shorts.
 
62.  Live by the sword die by the sword
Now the world is a large place with everyone trying to get by.
Some people will help you and others won’t.
Some people will help you but only for their benefit.
Some people will use you for themselves.
And some people are just dicks.
Some of them want to use you, some of them want to be used by you, some of them want to abuse you, some of want to be abused by you – Sweet Dreams are Made of These, Eurythmics
So be careful.
Look out for yourself but please be careful in what you say. Sometimes people will have your back but most times they won’t.
I sometimes run my mouth, a bad habit I picked up from friends and family. My words usually can be turned against me. I learned that the hard way. Still forget to shut the hell up.
Cause you know sometimes words have to meanings – Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
If you work in a kitchen you speak two or three languages: Standard and kitchen and even bad standard. In this case standard is English; So English, kitchen English and bad English. Now kitchen speak is a mixture of international language, gibberish and English. Kitchen terms to the uninitiated: Dragging = food it taking longer to cook, oui chef = yes chief, drop = start cooking in deep fryer, behind = I’m behind you/get out of my way/excuse me. This will be added to every single language those who work in or with kitchen speaks. In a hidden – away kitchen curse words will be used liberally, non – hidden kitchen swear words will be swapped for international ones. Either way you learn words from all over the world. You got to be careful on how and when you use them.
Just be careful with what you say and how you say it.
All swords are two edged can be used against you by anyone who can get them away from you. – Revolutionary Letters, Diane Di Prima
 
63 Crisis
So much trouble in the world. – Bob Marley
Crisis can be anything. Can happen at anytime. Can happen to anyone.
The older you get, the more grateful you’ll be for your close friends and networks that seem to shrink as time goes on. However the older you get, the harder it is to maintain these relationship. This will be a crisis. Mild, but a crisis.
It will first start in school when your friends will start dating. As your friends peel off with significant others it will hurt that they’ll be around their partners and less a part of your life in that time. Its not a big thing. Still a crisis.
Having to work on weekends is a drag but it means you miss out on social lives and socialising with friends. Still a crisis.
Later in life it will be friends getting married and having kids. Also the friends and networks will be advancing in their lives and careers. This is a crisis.
In the time I have delved in and out of career paths many of my friends and networks are now management and higher ups in big corporations or working for themselves. This is a crisis.
Usually once a month I will have an existential crisis seeing how well in life the people I grew up with are doing so well while I am doing what I can to survive in this big wide world. Though it pains me a little. A thirty second break in the cool room does me good and I’m back on task. As most of the staff is younger than me by a few years, I have some life experience and lay down some philosophy and life lessons. Many times on quick breaks, breaks, after work, during work and work parties I lay down some words of wisdom. They all know that these are general observations and actual prompted me to Publish (hats off to you J and M). They know about my crisis time and do understand why I break down from time to time but they too are feeling the pinch of the crisis of life.
I have high anxiety and had a history with depression so I know how low I can get.
When COVID-19 came around putting the whole world in crisis, things went bad. Where I worked shut down. All staff were suspended until the government stimulus packages were finalised. The day before those packages came into effect, my entire section was made redundant. This is a crisis.
Finding a new job. A crisis.
Trying to find out if you received a qualification you spent years working on until you were made redundant. Crisis.
Not being able to hang out with friends to have a pity party with a couple of beers at the pub. CRISIS!
 
64 Your pride and ego… we go
Pride is a sin.
Pride is a feeling of accomplishment.
Pride leads to doom.
To have pride in the work you do is good.
To have someone else’s pride of your work is good.
When someone puts their pride before a business, then you are screwed.
I worked in a kitchen where the owner first let the head chef have full reign, then wanted more of a say, then had more say, then dictated the menu without consulting the head chef and then made staffing decisions behind the chef’s back. That chef quit and a new one was promoted. The cycle repeated but with more power to the owner. When a cost effective menu was sent to the owner, it would be returned with additions more expensive items added and more items than originally planned. For the first week, in a vicious cycle, we would sell out of the new menu items then sell one or two in subsequent weeks. The most expensive items in both prep time, cool room space, in ordering and wastage would fall in the category. After a few months, kitchen wanted to cut these items from the menu, as they weren’t selling as predicted by kitchen. With all the reasoning we had, this was dismissed and would only be removed once the seasonal menu changed. Several months later they would still be on the menu barely selling just enough to keep, not enough to get rid of. The same time this was going on, food costs were fluctuating from a high percentage to lower and then bouncing around. Nutshell: wastage bad, high food cost bad, stock on hand and not used bad. Kitchen copped it from all sides and was on the outs. A month with lowered food cost, a pat on the back kitchen pride at a high. A month of higher food cost, then a chew out and everything now has to be approved by higher up before ordering, kitchen pride diminishes and the job-hunting resumes.
Why’d kitchen cop it? The plans from management, that didn’t have practical experience in an area that they hired over 30 years of experience with gourmet restaurant to catering to cafés, was run it as cheaply as possible and get a high return. Cut to many corners and the whole thing would collapse. And that happened to us. Upper management came down on management that came down to the kitchen. In a panic, they cut loose the least profitable section of the establishment. Can’t say I blame them, but when you put individual pride and profit in front of people hired that knew what to do and if left alone could of turned everything around?...
 
65 Stay opened not closed
Keep an open mind. Take everything with a grain of salt.
My mother, to her credit, is very wise. She has taught me many things in my life wether an actual lesson or a mistake or both. Though we verbally spare everyday, she has brought so many lessons from her life and from her parents and grandparents. My father was the same as is my sister.
The lessons learned from family will shape you in your future self. Common sense, right or wrong, good and bad all come from your parents.
Now keeping an opened mind is the key to success. There are millions of examples of open-minded people creating great things, as there are millions who didn’t.
A certain Austrian born German is the greatest example. A veteran of a defeated enemy, political spy, political party leader, national leader, regenerator of a national economy and a vegetarian created a great nation from the ashes of a war that had severe punishment. This was a great for the nation until the need for raw material trumped the rise of the economy. In the rise of power, the mind closed off to focus on the big picture but not the whole. That is the good and the bad.
An example of a good idea is that of Sir Richard Branson, an entrepreneur of the highest standing. From selling Christmas trees and budgies to international airlines, health care, hotels and many more in between. Personal favourite of mine was that of Virgin Bride. A cabin crew of Virgin Atlantic thought of a way to revolutionise and streamline the wedding process for the new age bride. The company under the Virgin banner was born and successful until multiple factors slowed it down a decade later.
Is it bad that it failed? Yes. Did it shake up the industry? HELL YES! For a short period of time it was a Star.
In marketing terms utilising the BCG Matrix: a star is what you want, a cow is what you need, a question mark or problem child is what you get before ending with a dog that makes low profit is any at all. This is based on market growth rate (expenditure) in comparison to market share (profit). The higher marketing expenditure and high profit will result in a star. Low marketing spend with high profit is a cash cow. High spend low profit is a problem child. Low spend and low profit is a dog.
Look at Toyota: Hilux star, Camry cow, Yaris question mark and Echo dog.
All the profit was because someone had an idea and an open mind to keep these brands alive and introduced new brands, which didn’t really do much.
 
66. Hypocrisy be thy shield
Nothing is truer than this.
Everyone finds comfort in it.
Everyone finds discomfort in it.
A kitchen job I had once thrived on hypocrisy. Not in the actual kitchen but the place in whole. Senior management had everything look great for customers while behind closed doors they were preparing a restructure due to nothing but incompetence. Management came from hotel history while what was needed was bistro and club history. No two work places are the same but they all share common ancestry and can be very similar. This is where a lot of people get caught out. I know I did.
A white lie on why something is taking a little bit too long is fine, but putting it off till the last second is not. I know deadlines from nearly everything I have done. Log x amount of calls in a call centre, briefs out in five minutes, designs out in x days, 3 months out need to update recurring entertainment… the list goes on. An entire entertainment suite can take as little as 5 minutes to 5 days, rehash old format to new format printed and digital to slice up as best you can online videos with music animations and the promoter’s material together and send it everywhere in print and digital.
 
67 How to deal with the depths of depression and despair
This one is hard for me.
 Every time I find something good to cling on to I seem to drown in the frustrations of not being able to be the person and worker I want to be. I have the problems that many new to the workforce people have: over enthusiasm. It makes me eager and jumpy while pushing over my limit and make mistakes.
Mistakes can be deadly. I’ve seen comrades in culinary arms nearly loose digits while I’ve got battle scars from my years in kitchen. If untreated these could be deadly due to infection.
So why do these slumps occur? Who really knows?
From the highest highs to the lowest lows. From the king of the moment to the prisoner of their own mind.
It’s the scariest feeling to have when you have achieved a great feeling only to then feel like a failure and a fraud.
During the back end of 2020, I went from having a great job with a great team to having no job and a great life to a great job with everything listed above either broken or ignored to leaving that job and being wanted by four companies to getting a job with an old team but winding back to square one. Fear of failure is my biggest demotivator and makes the feeling of success slip through my fingers.
A cry for help? Maybe.
A wake up call? Definitely.
It’s terrible that mental health is not considered a priority in life during a faster than light changing world with technology.
Everything humans do today is documented in various forms (like this idiot writing this here). For validation? Probably.
Where does one go with this burden? To seek help with psychologist or psychiatrist take money. This reveals the root of the problem: In order to live the life you want, you need to earn the money to live it.
These are just the ramblings of a madman or the smartest man in the room.
It’s hard to be what you want to be without experience.
It’s hard to do what you want to do without money.
It’s hard to live the life you want without hard work.
Please seek help before you do anything stupid. If you don’t want to bring down your friends or family with your burden, if available, call one of the many charities or free service helplines. They help.
 
68. Release the negative
This is the hardest thing to do.
It can drive you or it can destroy you.
It’s a fine line that will always be crossed.
Your negativity will be felt by those around you.
If you mask it it will eat away at you.
I spent a month in a place that on day one looked like an oasis, by day 7 a labour camp and by day 20 hell. I quit. I thought I could leave. No. I had to complete a weekend working their while I had on my contract and availability I could not do weekends.
Why? I’m to nice and hide my true emotions behind a mask that is not just a smile on my face but my voice and mannerisms.
I’ve worked with people who have quit in dramatic fashion after a day of work.
I have seen braver souls than me who’ve been in the same place because they need the money to live. I’ve wished, prayed and asked to follow that path but with the education I had and the mannerisms I have, I am unable to go down that path.
I know what I want and know how to get it but getting it is hard. No matter on how skilled I become or accolades I earn I feel like a failure and a fraud. I can’t fake it till I make it because I am not that type of person. Yes I can manipulate my voice to feign illness or act like I am the hero but it gnaws away at me until I break. I’ve written novels worth of fiction with the main protagonist based on myself and at the same time what I thought was the best attributes. Will they be published? No. Why? Because they are part of a universe that I love that is copyrighted and is only added to by the best authors with years of experience and passion that I lack.
Keep trying to get back on the horse. Don’t break the spirit of that horse, let it create its herd with you for the best results. Be an army of two, hand in hand with your positivity. Slay the monsters that are at the gates. Be the hero.
 
69. Find it
What ever it is, quest for it. Hunt it. Capture it. Struggle with it. Be it. Free it.
Many times I thought I found it, but it failed. Those were some of the happiest and most productive days of my life. I have always wanted to return to those days but I cannot. Right now at this point of time, plans have been made but they will most definitely change. The path is long and difficult and I’m a sucker for a pity party, usually my own.
Now what is it? It can be anything: your dream job, a partner, relationships, making bank, climbing a mountain, learning to swim etc. whatever you see it is a goal. A goal that has to be accomplished in your life.
 
70. One more day…
My mantra for 2020.
“Just one more day…”
Wether it was for relaxation, starting an online course, job hunting or working, three words kept me going.
Started at lockdown. 8 months of nothing to do that just online courses, take the dog for a walk, buy food and repeat. Just one more day taking a break after a hectic 18 months of working with four very different bosses. Just one more day till I start that course…
One more day… when I finally found a job and my holiday was over I had to chant this in the place that flooded back all the negative places I’ve ever worked in one foul swoop. Usually it was for the weekend. Just one more day till I could relax and take a breath, return to the old me for a minute. Just one more day to get away from the place.
One more day break till I get a new job.
One more day break till I do the courses I payed for.
One more day till I get a weekend.
One more day till I stop working there.
One more day till I start working here.
One more day to get through to make the funds to get the items I need to do the job I want.
One more day till I see my close friends.
One more day to learn the skills I need for the future.
One more day to reflect on my life.
One more day till the end of the year…
 

51. Temperament of the beast
From time to time you will be working with a team/crew/squad and see how that dynamic it is in order to reach goals etc. this is good to know how to work with other people but there is a downside. There is always a bad crew. A crew that will make your work life hell.
Most crews will be good and help you out in your job. However most crews require time to immerse and get to know one another. This is the period to make or break you. It is the test to see if you are worthy. If you are deemed worthy, you will be invited to after work activities like after work drinks, parties, holidays and life celebrations.
If you are not deemed worthy then you are in a world of hurt. No one will want to work with you, no one will be willing to teach you anything, no one will be willing to interact with you and you will be shunned and ridiculed either to your face or behind your back.
This has happened to me many times. I’ve been in great crews and I’ve been in shit crews.
A great crew will become your friends you can even become life long friends out of them. Shit crews however will make you leave that place or transfer away from them because they make your life hell.
If you can make a good crew, make it on a friendly level and at a good skill level, open to teach and inspire each other. There has to be a structure of leader, manager, NCO (Non Commissioned Officer or the teacher of the crew, grunts and newb. Everyone must help everyone. The leader and manager must be able to do all the others jobs and their own if needed. Unless specialists are required just be generalists.
The newb is the most important person in the business. Why? They are the future of your industry. If they have a great experience they will be inspired to do the similar either in the business in the future or in their own business in the future.

52. Arseholes are like opinions, everybody got to have one
Like the crew, management is another beast.
Managers that manage people are great because that is what they have to do.
Managers who try to lead in an area they have little idea about, leads to the path of damnation.
Under opinions, we thrive or we die.
I’ve worked under managers who were amazing managing everything and did a little leading when they saw fit.
I’ve worked with managers who were way in up over their head and lead when they shouldn’t of.
Great examples were my retail days… and in kitchen.
At retail there was a period of head managers changing; the first due to pregnancy, the next was a stand in and the one after that was new from a merge. This was the manger who was brought in for his experience in another similar company to streamline the profitability of the store. This was where things started to unravel. For the first time in the 2.5 years I was there, by the manger’s opinion it was decided to open on a public holiday that the store was usually shut. On a public holiday that I opened the store, all registers were manned with either hungover or sleep deprived team members. The problem was that hardly any customers came through the store at that time. After an hour, the manger sends all the casuals home. An hour after that all hell broke loose. Customers everywhere. Not enough registers open. Constant calls “for all available team members to the front”. Managers and register trained team members all on registers only leaving to deal with customers asking questions in their new specialist areas. Manager asks us to try and call back all casuals they sent home, we are too busy doing all the logistics required because now it’s myself and my second running the refunds desk while making sure cash pick ups are occurring as are breaks for the register operators. The manger called them all. None could return. Manager calls the afternoon shift to come in early. The best they can do is an hour. Manger calls casuals not rostered on. None can make it as they have previous plans. The morning crew stayed later and the overtime plus double time and a half for all personnel present devastated the profit margin let alone the estimated profit. When I was finally allowed to go home, I looked to my afternoon opposite number and asked if I needed to stay. They said go. An hour later they said come back. Several night casuals didn’t show up. The manger had left for the day and the next manger knew what was going to happen and was ready for it. A hell of a long day that I’ll never forget. Upper management was not happy with the conduct but did take it on board as a major lesson for the future.
The other instance was my half an hour job. Two months before under a new front end manager, I had applied for the weekend off. I was going to a friend’s birthday at the horse track. A month before I applied for leave for the same weekend. Two weeks before I applied for leave on the same weekend. Leave approved. The day of, I was called to come in as the controller of the close was sick and no one else could close or were not trained in the other half of close. I had to close after several hours partying at the racetrack with friends, I had things lined up but all plans had to be postponed so I could close the store on my day off. I got back to the party but the people I had lined up to see were long gone. Still had a good night though.
The other example was in my kitchen days. Went from one manger to another, which was fine as I had a section chief. The new manager refused to listen to the advice and experience the section chief that was hired. It’s expensive to open on public holidays, where is the advertising for these big days, we are trying to keep costs down, we need more people, we are not the bar and many more things that eventual broke not one but two leaders. One quit, the other no longer kept the roll as the promises made when he was hired were broken.
Why did I spit this out? When some people have experience of runny companies and hire someone for their experience only to shut them down constantly, what’s the point of being in business.
It’s an opinion that everyone has: Managers should manage, Leaders should lead.
A leader manager is what you want.
A manager leader is what you’re going to usually get.

53. To assume I presume equals doom
 Sweet mother.
By the dragons below, take me there.
Assumptions are a horrible thing in work.
Don’t assume anything is done or will be done if it is not in your control.
Why?
Assumptions are just that. Assumptions!
When you work in a kitchen, NEVER ASSUME ANYTHING!
In many instances I have been in or caused have nearly lead to me leaving for the day and possibly not coming back. Best example: Christmas Functions.
Now everybody knows about end of year/Christmas/thanks for an amazing year/lets blow off steam/holiday break functions that start as early as November and finish in January. Staff of businesses go out to let off some steam as they wind down work for a short break between the Christmas and new year period. This however is a nightmare for unexperienced staff who are thrust into roles well above their ability. In a kitchen, as in all business, you need stock to sell. Functions don’t help in that way as they add to a burden on top of business. At the time I was ordering food for service only on a Sunday as kitchen is closed until the following Wednesday but the rest of the venue is still open. Functions sheets come in and usually order them for the day before or the day of as a worst-case scenario. I didn’t know that you order function food separately and to be delivered on the day before. I assumed that the deliveries would be on time and the food would be there ready for me to cook before they were to be served. Of the 60-day period, five would be late because the food was ordered on the same day instead of the day before. Later on, the head chef and myself were dealing with a child function that had food. As it was on a Saturday afternoon we both assumed that the delivery for the function and the regular delivery of stock would be there when we arrived for work, which is the usual case. It wasn’t the case. Our assumption had failed us, as we had to work with what we had to make this kid’s party awesome for our assumptions failing us.  When the delivery finally arrived, training of a new delivery driver was the reason, the food on the fly was sent out.
So if you assume, prepare to meet your doom. Or at least hedge your bets!

54. Love something
If you have seen a resume or a how to write a resume you will always see a “hobbies and interest” section.
Why?
It tells your employer that you have something to do when you’re not at work and that it could help you be employed. For me, a passion of mine is photography another is capoeira.
I has always loved cameras however I could not afford to buy a camera and let alone the film for it! Yes I am a dinosaur who started photograph with a camera with film. I drove my family crazy with candid shots at birthday parties and social events, however when the prints came back the shots people enjoyed most were the candid ones. Once digital cameras rolled round I got my first DSLR in 2006. I shot my capoeira career with it until I bought two more newer, more functions and updated cameras.  With the newer cameras I could shoot video and that led to a new career using graphic design, photography, videography, website and coding job. The latest camera is even better with its wifi transfer capabilities having photos ready to go in a matter of minutes for social media than waiting on downloading and posting from a computer. This camera has paid itself off with moonlighting gigs as a club photographer, capoeira events, family get togethers, job site photography, holidays, function, food and dozens more to make the list even longer. As for capoeira? It has added to unknown strength lifting heavy things at work.
So why find a hobby or interest? It could lead to getting a job, promotion, new role, diversification of a pre-existing role or entirely new career in the company you work for.
Trust me, on having something else to do than just eat sleep work repeat is a lot better for your mind and body and soul. This can change if you pursue a family life but you can always continue or return.

55. The day you stop learning is the day you die –Michael Scott
My capoeira master has taught me many things that I have known him. How to move, how to kick, how to block, how not to get hit, distractions, diversions, strategy, flow and more but its his philosophy that brings the fire in his eyes. Born and raised in Brazil, he has done capoeira nearly all his life which brought him to Australia and taken him all around the world. He has been on TV, performed on stages in front of thousands of people and taught kids all about capoeira. I will always remember him for his philosophy is “that even though he is a Mestre, the highest belt in the Capoeira School, he is also a student”. He learns from his students and fellow capoeiristas and never stops learning. As a student, we see our Mestre be able to take on others and mestres like he’s played them all his life. One of my professors, told me that on many occasions he has seen our mestre do a move that he’s never seen let alone thought our master could do. My school is taught two things: the basics and individual style.
So what does this have to do with this list?
Nothing!
Everything!
You can master photoshop, indesign, illustrator, word, excel any other form of computer apps and programs but what does that give you? A title? A team to lead? A new position? Retirement?
It gives you nothing and yet everything. You have experience and skills that you can teach, pass on but most importantly learn more! Why? You don’t stop with one job, you keep at it until you are physically unable to do anymore.
When do artists stop? Usually in death. Why? Because they have lived a life of what they loved doing or to the time they could afford to do it. Artists’ legacies are usually an unfinished piece that is either the most expensive thing at an auction or returned to by others blessed by the estate to finish.
When Michael Jackson died, thousands upon thousands of unreleased songs were discovered. From all this material, several albums could be made.
Never stop learning kid. You do and you’re dead.
“Only in death does duty end” – Imperial Guardsmen’s Uplifting Primer

56. If it looks easy, it must be hard
This should have been further up the list but meh.
I am a sucker for the easy looking things in life. Like many other people in the world, we think we can do something that we saw, try it and fail or our end product is not what we thought we would end up with. Photography, capoeira, cooking, graphic design, videography and pretty much all of my hobbies have ended up like this.
If you have a look at influencers on Instagram, those who have made their following from nothing have done it with grit, spit and their own two hands. The other type of influencer is the celebrity who just transferred across doing the exact same thing but in a mainstream traditional way first.
Now a great influencer will make everything they promote look easy because there is a psychological trick to this: they can do it, so can you. Many offer courses that you can pay for to learn how to do what they did. The thing is are you ready to work your arse off to get to their level and be exactly like several thousand more trying to one up on each other to elevate themselves just like in nearly every other form of business that exists.
Same thing with photographers, anyone can take a photo now with a phone but can they create the art of photography that can be transferred to large print and not suffer from quality distortion?

57. Influence-der
So you want to influence the masses huh?
Good luck.
It is one of the hardest jobs to do.
Why?
Because it looks so easy!
Writing this piece has been an on and off project for years. Since 2017/2018 and in all that time I’ve seen the rise and rise of the influencer. Before Instagram became the norm, Myspace made stars. Once discovered many moved to twitter back in the days of 140 characters giving their two cents. With more memory, better functions, audio visual stimuli and an entire world as the audience, apps stripped the desktop programs although did cross platform viewing. This gave rise to the influencer.
Now influencers are nothing new. The rise of the author, the radio star, the movie star and the influencer has just changed over time. An example of this is Japanese ads. The hottest A-lister available for a product shot and ta-da you have an ad campaign. Same in America, throw and A-lister on it and you got big sales. Another example is the Chinese cinema industry, throw an American A-lister in the production and you have east and west money returning the investment. And another is the American cinema industry, co-produce in China with Chinese locations and actors and you get released in the Chinese market with a higher return on investment.
In 2020 in the matter of months things deteriorated rapidly internationally. America was on the brink of war, Australia was burning then flooding, America was going to impeach a president and then the repeat of history; global pandemic.
Now until this point in time an influencer could be paid to travel the world, look hot, take photos, eat exotic foods, spruik products, work out, help out the local population and an infinite amount of other ways of being gods amongst their followers and make money. They could make and break venues. The superstar influencers could even charge a premium to sell products let alone attend events. To get to these numbers you had to be like superstars or better. You got a million followers? Nice work, but are you getting paid for your influence? A hundred thousand followers? Nice work, but are you getting paid for your influence? You got ten thousand followers? Talk to me when you have over one hundred thousand.
So what happens when a global pandemic breaks out?
Airports are shut down. Planes won’t fly. Cruise ships are left to fend for themselves on the high seas. Countries locked down. No fly zones. Quarantine for fourteen days minimum. Essential workers only. Non essential businesses closed. Social distancing.
The world was on a war footing: the thankless work that everyone took for granted is essential, while the arts, entertainment and frugal products are not, so all funds must be pouring into the war effort.
This left many influencers without an income stream.
If you make money off war, you’re scum. If you can’t make money off bounty hunting you’re an idiot – arms dealer, Porco Rosso
Just don’t be like the influencers who ask for money so they can travel the world and continue living a fake life style that they can’t afford yet they make it look like they can.
 
58. Brave new world
On the 10/5/2020 when this was first put to paper (typed but you get the idea), I read an article that pretty much changed my philosophy.
America is reconsidering itself as a superpower.
An opinion article but valid in the scheme of things. For over a hundred years America has been a super power. From the First World War, the Second World War, the cold war, Korean war, Vietnam war, Gulf wars and the war on terror, America has led the fight in military might.
In order to be the best, you have to be cheap. Spend money to make money. Make cheap, sell high, make profit.
This is historical as slaves were the foundation of free labour in ancient times. Then in the west, including all the colonies, slavery continued. When slavery was abolished around the industrial revolution it moved on to child labour. Reforms changed this for the better but this made manufacturing goods expensive. This moved to cheaper offshore manufacturing. Home-grown businesses couldn’t compete with the volume and prices shutting down most internal production. You can’t forget the penal institution of using inmates for labour as well.
Then COVID-19 came along. China shut itself down. Italy shut itself down. Spain shut itself down. Australia shut itself down. The world shut itself down. Then America shut itself down.
The entire world was not prepared for a pandemic. With nearly every cheaply mass produced manufactured goods made in China and Asia, the tens of thousands of infected and the thousands of fatalities will probably revolutionize the west to once more start production to become self reliant once more.
What’s gonna happen when this dies down? No one knows as the previous similar pandemic happened a hundred years ago was documented poorly as the world then was similar to the world now: not prepared at all.
So keep your eyes and ears open.
Be flexible and learn more than one skill. It could mean the difference of life on the street or life on easy street.
 
59. Baa baa black sheep
For the majority of my life, my mother and father constantly asked me to be normal.
What is normal? Where everyone else in the world conforming to the expectations set upon them by the masses of their piers.
Why did I revel in being me, an individual in a sea of normal? Because it made me, essentially, me. It opened my mind, found things that I found fascinating and threw me into groups of people that I am proud to say are my friends while looking back most of them probably wish they didn’t meet me. Why? Because I revel in my individuality! However I keep it hidden most of the time.
My best example is my heritage: 100% Colombian born then adopted and raised as an Australian with a genetic family heritage from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. So where do I be normal? I can’t, because I have no real ties genetic to my “Anglo” life at the same time I have no real cultural ties to my “Colombian” life. Multiculturalism has helped, but being Latino raised white in Australia didn’t. A psychological study in motion, nature v nurture in a nutshell and more, one of the few who goes against the stream. Seriously, stroll down the path of researching internationally adopted, nationally adopted children compared to biological born and raised children psychology and you’ll be in for a treat. It’s a bit dark and messy but enjoyable if you’re into it.
Why am I divulging some of my life here? Because you should just be you when you discover who you are. You can be a sheep if you want or you can be a wolf in sheep’s clothing or you could be a wolf or be a toucan.
Generation Y and the generations after can freely embrace their individuality and share it with the world to meet similar people. They were raised by not only their parents but their government to be the next generation leaders.
On the other side you have those born and raised as sheep.
Being a sheep isn’t bad, but it’s not good either.
As a sheep no one sees you, no one knows you. You are the crowd. You follow the masses wherever they are directed.
Four legs good, two legs bad – the sheep, George Orwell Animal Farm
In this classic tail of woe and psychology of communism a group of animals come together and create a communist utopia of everyone being equal over throwing a farmer and creating a utopia.
Four legs good, two legs better – the sheep, George Orwell Animal Farm
By the end of the book the actual beast of communism is brought to bear. The leaders see themselves better than their underlings that they have subjected to a utopia but see themselves more than the people that got them there with problems disappearing turning into the thing they once overthrew.
So why all the sheep talk?
Fall inline you’ll be fine.
Break the rules and you could be the new king.
Normal is the standard. You can be the standard or be above the standard. It’s the mavericks we remember, not the masses that fell in step behind them.
Success is commemorated, failure merely remembered. – Space Marine Librarian, Dawn of War
So follow the crowd or lead the crowd or hide in the crowd. Wherever it goes, you’ll find your people who will welcome you with open arms. If not just keep  moving forward.

60. Don’t believe everything you hear and see
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Nothing lies like a photo.
These two sentences were told to me in 2005 at Sydney University during pre-HSC (High School Certificate) History examination preparation course. Both sentences still resinate in my ear till this day. The example used: a World War One photo of soldiers marching beside a tank on an offensive. Why was this a lie? Armoured warfare was designed to have tanks clear the way with infantry in cover behind before fighting in the trenches cleared, during WW1 however many photos were taken well behind friendly lines for propaganda purposes.
With so much social media based on lies, slight of hand, FIGJAM (Fuck I’m Good Just Ask Me) it is hard to find the full truth of each post. The best example of this was the flat tummy tea craze. Many companies started giving their products to superstars and influencers to spruik the product. Many did. They were paid to do this but the way they talked about the product but didn’t disclaim this fact to their many followers. This devolved into the creation of #ad to notify followers that this product announcement/praise of product was an ad/advertorial. The next best was FYRE Festival.
FYRE Festival was entirely based on a lie. The customer can hire a celebrity via an app to appear at events, this was the FYRE app before diving into a festival to launch the app. All of it was a lie. Millions of dollars were spent on a flop of a festival’s marketing and promotions that were not on the island advertised, not with the people advertised, not with the bands advertised, not with the accommodations advertised and not with the finance flashed. The backers have been in a class action lawsuit that also included the incarnation of the face of the app. The entire glossy, classy, sexy, sensually, high financially and social media backed exercise destroyed lives and reputation of nearly all those involved.
If it looks too good to be true, it’s probably a lie.
Don’t forget there’s always photoshop...

41. Social media conundrum
Everyone and their dog has social media pages now to show the world them looking their best.
They are also shown at their worst by friends commiserating about a party, gathering, event or whatever. Social media can make or break you in your career.
Hell the Internet can break your career.
Worst comes to worst make a “clean and visible” professional account and privatise your real account.
Linked-in is a must for professional reasons while Instagram is your go to for visuals and for everything else there is Facebook.
Don't be afraid of multiple pages for yourself as if you are visible to all and visible to the few you know then all lies well.
If you are going for likes: BE PREPARED.
Why?
Unless you pay for them, likes are the audiences choice, if they think you deserve attention then you will get one if not then so be it.
Friends, followers and likes help, but when it is revealed that they are bots then you are in for a world of criticism.
 
42. Old world
The world around us is changing daily and leaving some of the dinosaurs behind.
I’m from the Age of the most rapid evolution.
 I saw the iPod first generation to the last in iPod touch. I was there when the iPhone was released and to when it broke the mound and joined the pack with its latest sharing the universal cable charger.
Like in the past, there are many who refuse to believe that the old ways of doing things will change until they have to change with it.
My father is the best example of this.
 Of all the smart phones with their ease of navigation and usability, he chose a blackberry. Like most people of his generation, his use of mobile is varied to only when he needs to make a call, even though he can use said phone for checking emails and internet research usually delegating research through me and relaying information onwards once gathered.
This phone however proved to be unsuitable for an ageing gentleman so he upgraded to a newer/older version of iPhone as the buttons are bigger, he uses it only for phone calls and texts but hates text conversations.
But hey, the older generation sticks to their guns for as long as they can.
Hell I do that too.
 
43. New world
Yes you hairless ape, evolution is the norm.
Its not going to stop anytime soon.
New technology is evolving and making recently bought technology obsolete in a matter of months.
Most of you can keep up but others get lost on the way.
Try as best as you can to stay updated, while not leaving those who refuse to move on behind. Seriously trying to get a point across to my parents about why iPhone sync and photo back up is important is a nightmare that many sons and daughters around the world are nodding in agreement reading this.
If you don’t adapt, listen and learn, then shuffle off the mortal coil quietly please or keep your mouth shut and don’t ask for help.
 
44. Make an impression
Why so far down thus list?
To keep you reading, duh.
As I mention in appearance (No 2. To be exact) the first impression matters.
As I also mentioned in the first real job you apply to, your resume matters.
Usually your resume/CV matters as it is the first impression before they even look at you in the flesh (unless you have a headshot in there).
As I briefly mention, you have to tailor your CV to your potential employer.
Basic and simple works, skilled and tailored works, examples of your work works but each has their own niche.
From here you then have to make your cover letter: who you are, what you do, what you like doing or a personalised version of your CV and why you should work for their company. Next is your interview look.
This depends on the job but looking smart looks better than being lazy.
As a male, a collared shirt is necessary for the interview buttons done up to the throat. A suit makes you stand out but if you are applying to retail it is overkill and makes you look overly ambitious and a kiss ass.
 I applied for a role once and it was a group interview, I had the qualifications and the skills deemed necessary but was entirely out of place as everyone there was a professional in their dress: suits and ties or no ties at all.
I was there in a suit jacket and jeans with a shirt underneath with coffee stains as the cup I had ordered wasn’t sealed properly.
 I knew I wouldn’t get the role as I am a specialist in creativity and unlike the rest, I was aiming for one specific role compared the three roles that everyone else seemed to be gunning for.
But yeah, look good but dress appropriate.
Ladies, you are lucky in this department as you understand fashion and looks.
Don’t overdo your make up and look presentable but don’t over do it.
For everyone, dress like your going to a wedding in a classy place, dress smart and casual with a extra hint of class.
 
45. Experience
The bane of all members of society starting out for the first time in the job hunting market. Everyone is looking for pervious experience in the role for you applied for.
Majority of places state “years of experience needed” in their ads, half the time this is to screen out raw newbs who have no or very little experience if any at all from applying.
 As said in No# 17 work experience, interning and volunteering is a great way to gain what information you need for the industry you want to be in.
it might not be paid but it teaches skills that are needed to do the job you hope to get or at the end of the stint you are offered a role with the company you put time and effort in.
Also experience gained from school, uni, college, wherever, jobs or previous careers can help too.
Why?
Simple.
 They are invaluable experiences in communication, presentation, knowledge, relationships and a infinite amount of other things I currently can’t think of but can give and example of.
 A long time ago I studied to be a graphic designer in an amazing school, which I am proud to add to my many alma maters.
I learned more about graphic design while learning how to cook professionally four years later.
Why?
Because I was horrendous with my negative space, layout, kerning, leading and placement of words and images on the page/poster/website/brochure… while cooking taught me all about presentation that I had learned all those year ago.
Hell, I designed a professional menu that was probably the only menu of the year that was not done in Microsoft word due to my previous experience.
Hell my experience with an international staff back in 2006 has helped me communicate with international students and work colleagues ever since.
 
46. Up skill
This helps like nothing else.
Why?
Because up skill is just like the add-on extras to a new car.
Example car roof racks, not everybody uses them but there are those who do and those who have to borrow/lease a vehicle with roof racks or a trailer to be able to use them.
Up skills are important because they make you stand out.
 Like I said about in experience, it helps other roles.
Doing marketing or advertising?
Start graphic design too and learn how to use photoshop, illustrator, indesign, dreamweaver and everything available to you while studying because if you know how to put your ideas down in a professional concept that you can explain, your clients will thank you for that instead of going out and paying someone else for it.
Graphic designers can be pricey so having one in house and on hand to discuss specifics helps out a lot.
So if you know what you want and need for your product you will also know what you want and need your product to feel like.
Having the credentials of three of the selling industry got me into many interviews and did get me jobs.
 
47. Speak English, asshole
Communication is important.
Really important.
Believe me when I say that English is not what I speak.
I speak the bastardised the Queen’s Australian American English.
 This is the tongue that all inner and more affluent members of Australian society use. Example is that I pronounce “H” ah~ch instead of hay~ch.
I also speak aussie English, bad English and international English.
Why are there so many variants of a single language?
It’s all a part of accents, dialect and pronunciations that its all English right?
Wrong.
Australians use colloquialisms, slang and terms that only our varied regions, cultures and heritages areas know.
We can learn others but we retain our knowledge of our butchered language.
International English is a must to know: no colloquialism, to the point with explanation that is simple to understand the meaning of, which helps out in an internationally run kitchen or business.
Bad English is what is said when in pain, angry or any time one is annoyed at something or someone and should usually not be used.
Aussie English is the accent that is further out from the city to the very heart of the rural areas of Australia, this is where slang is at its thickest.
But that’s getting off topic.
Just learn how to communicate effectively with others and you’ll go far.
Seriously nail the terminology of your chosen field and make your life easier with a backing in international English.
 
48. Learn the Language
Seriously.
Learn the language of your craft or chosen industry.
It helps.
Seriously the “brief” is an industry staple for so many creative fields its not funny.
 The “brief” is a summary of what the look, feel, emotion and need of an ad campaign/design/video/photo. “SWOT” (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) and “PEST” (Political Economical Socio-cultural Technological) Analysis are marketing staples that are actually a thing you can use everyday.
The “4 P’s” (Price, Product, Promotion, Place) –marketing 101, USP (Unique, Selling, Point) – marketing and advertising, the “Claw” (Ctrl + Command + Alt/Option + Shift + S) save for web – graphic design, “Dragging” cook term for waiting on cooking food that needs to be served immediately and a million more each suited to their unique fields.
 
49. Industry Me
Which industry do you want to be in?
Seriously you have to consider this.
Hell, you can work for yourself but you have to be ready for anything.
For example; All industries require a base use or knowledge of social media.
Why?
Because it means you are now a being of data.
Data is the new currency yet only as facts not as a being.
You can see what people are saying about you, about the company you work for and  the creation of an interaction path direct to customer.
Now let’s circle Back to the industry of your choice, but be careful in what you pick.
Take social media managers: As of January 2018 algorithms for Instagram and Facebook were changed to a pay to play system so creators with a large following wishing to gain a larger audiences would have to pay to be seen in correct order, smaller creators would then instead have to rely on their followers to actively follow and like every post in order to stay relevant in the larger scheme of things.
 As much as the “like” is power, hundreds of influencers trade on their number of followers in order to gain advantage of services, products and accommodation for no financial burden to themselves.
Many however are rejected due to the financial burden for the industry they want to take advantage of, as you can buy followers for a price as or spend time and money on oneself to raise to larger heights.
 Now this has put thousands of people into damage control as they have spent money of their clients on building a social media presence that they now have to pay more for.
The same is going on for YouTube.
 
50. Work life
This is a kicker.
The 21st century buzzword quote is the “work life balance”.
Make more time for you, make time for a social life, make time for family life. A healthy life balance for a healthy work life.
It’s all bullshit.
Twenty years ago the retirement age in Australia was 55, it is now 75 as of 2015.
Right now there is a crisis for the younger generation coming through, that is how do you keep the younger generation in the workforce without burning them out too soon.
Mental illness and disabilities are on the rise, anxiety and depression are at record levels which seem to be broken every year.
So how does one make the money to live their best life?
I got no idea as my experience is as a unemployed handout taker, I lived my best life in freedom and education trying to learn and figure out my path in life.
When I was working though, my anxiety and depression increased, fear and worry were constant companions and it destroyed relationships with friends, partners and family.
40 hours a week at work are considered a normal standard for work life balance, not that this means you earn just enough money to live. Hell don’t get me started on overtime which is always inevitable.

31. GO! GO! GO!
Don’t spread yourself thin.
The world will keep spinning regardless if you’re working 24/7 or an hour a day.
Seriously, if you don’t take a break you will perish.
You will burn yourself out.
A burn out can be replaced, relatively quickly.
Take a break, live a little.
Better than being a wage slave unless you want to be that.
 
32. Step up
If you can go the extra mile or apply yourself more to your work, DO IT!
It will make you stand out and help you on your way.
 Be careful though as this can come back and bite you in the ass.
Spend too long on a project or cooking a recipe and you have an angry customer, but if it’s a piece of art that has a price tag to match it should find equilibrium.
 
33. Hedge your bets
Be prepared for any and every situation.
Not the zombie apocalypse but for work situations.
These are vital for you to succeed in life.
Cover all your bases.
Be prepared.
Back ups, contingencies, drafts, other concepts, briefs will help you if you need to change direction.
And don’t forget research!
Many examples show up constantly on social media and traditional media for not being PC or feminist or racist or historically insensitive etc.
If you have the perfect idea and execution, will it stand up to a backlash?
Has anything been overlooked?
Then check again for any negative connotations, before and after production.
Yes it might cost a little extra but would you rather be hunted and trolled over a statement that leads to boycotts, or fly under the radar?
Think about it.
 If you don’t want any troubles, ask for help from some one more senior or on the same level as you for guidance.
 
34. Be early, every time
Seriously.
Be early.
At least fifteen minutes.
To all interviews and jobs.
Main reason is because it makes you look punctual and hireable.
This is a good thing.
If you are early then you have time to compose yourself before the interview that determines whether you work at said place.
Relax, breathe and think about what you're going to say.
Relearn your CV back to front as all questions are based on that. Also make sure you have everything you need to support your CV with you like a portfolio, demo reel, track, headshot or supporting material that is valuable for getting the job.
For a job on the other hand, being early means so much more to the company than staying late.
The earlier you work the earlier you can leave (usually).
Also being early makes sure that you’ll be on time regardless if you have to get into a uniform or collect gear needed for a job.
 
35. If late, apologise
This is a must.
Whether it is by a minute or five minutes too or even if you won't be able to get to the interview or job on time, apologise, and if you have it, a good and valid reason.
This makes you look good because instead of looking like an idiot appearing late, you took time to acknowledge that you would be late and it also gives your interviewers or boss time to prepare.
 But try not to be late.
Seriously, you should only be late ONCE!
 If you are late more than once you will receive papers of termination as things can change in an instant.
Always expect the unexpected.
 
36. Dead men tell no tails
NEVER EVER LIE TO YOUR BOSS!
Once a lie is told then you have to live with it for the rest of your working life with that company’s boss.
Lies can screw you over but if you lie more than once, leave the company.
Faking till you make it is fine but lying about money, missing product or damaging equipment can lead to litigation even jail time.
 You can white lie to your co-workers or boast and bullshit, but keep that to a minimum if you can, As banter is a way of life.
 
37. Learn to get along
Team work are the two words you will hear constantly in your career.
Many places will make you a team member or put you in a team.
What you might not know, or forget, is that you are a cog in the machine.
The machine can run without you but with you it runs perfectly and on time.
Years ago at a job interview that started with a group screen, we were asked; what animal would be if you could choose.
Many chose lions and other individual majestic leader of the pack based beasts for the reasons of being the biggest and the baddest thing on the plain while taking care of business then having others to take care of them.
 I however had a dilemma of wanting to be either a wolf or a killer whale.
My reasons were being in a pack, taking down big mammals on land or sea and share the spoils.
I got that job.
Three months later I was leading a pack.
 
38. Don’t be afraid of solitude
As much as you are a team member, you are an individual they're either doing the same job or something similar to someone else who works wherever you end up.
Without you in that position, the team would be stretched thin and unable to manage.
The more people in your department means the easier and faster the day is done.
Yeah some are slow but at least you are not stressing as a team member is not there and you have to double your workload.
However this can be a bad thing as it could be propping up someone who is not reaching their goals of the company.
Have a friendly word with them to see if there is a problem or issues and if it keeps on continuing, then try and find them something better suited for their pace.
Also the higher you go the more will be expected of you. You will not only have to do your job but able to do the person’s job underneath you too.
 
39. Go back to school
I have gone through many career changes as have many of my friends while some have had the same job for over ten years.
I wasn't lucky in some while my friends fell into theirs after trying and not liking before finding something to stick with.
I have studied five separate careers over 13 years with different jobs in between.
For every change it felt as though it pushed closer and closer to my current career path as well as providing me the wisdom from all the other skills and talents I've gathered on my way.
Seriously don't block out that you have one set career path, nothing is certain.
 
40. Be prepared for rejection
There only so many jobs out there in the field you are in.
If you've just graduated school, college, uni or whatever, you are the arch rival of your class, year, form, fellow graduates etc and not only that, every other uni, college, school or whatever is also competing against you.
You have to stand out in order to get above the crush of bodies who are applying to the same job you are.
Don’t be disheartened by this though as you will make it through to an interview, you just have to be smart enough to be seen and heard first if not, be the one who stands out the most.

21. Don’t be picky in thee job
You have to remember that you are not the only person going for that job.
On many, many, many occasions you will receive the standard “due to the large amount of applicants, you were unfortunately not successful in your application”.
Do not let this dishearten you, this is sent to make you stronger.
Remember to question yourself or even better, reply to said person and ask what could you do to improve yourself.
If you’re after “that job” then find another way.
Interning, volunteering or work experience are the some of the best ways of getting a feel of what you want to do and gain some much needed industry experience.
Use your brain and think about how you can get a foot in the door.
 
22. Don’t be afraid to quit
Leaving a job on your own is a liberating experience.
There are videos of people revelling in the joy of leaving their job with a bang.
Others give their two weeks and abandon that position with their head held high and a smile on the face.
Some even just leave without a sound never to be seen again in the office.
I resigned once and drove home with a cigar in my mouth, a smile on my face and fist pumping all the way home after my two weeks and the traffic, for once, didn't bother me (one and a half hours to get home usually).
 Just don’t overly advertise it too much.
 
23. Don’t be afraid of getting fired
This is just another stepping-stone.
You will be informed why you are being fired, terminated, made redundant, unsuitable for the position or let go (unless you are escorted out by security or the police).
Unlike feeling great when you leave your job on your own terms, you will feel disappointed  (a majority of the time you will but some jobs you won’t).
 It is a release of a bad thing in your life.
I have been let go a few times, once was for lack of training which caused an error that was impossible to correct and I was given my papers and another for not fitting into the work culture of that company.
 I learned from these places to figure out my future and not falling into those traps again.
 
24. Don’t be afraid to be let go or letting go
Like the two above don’t fear leaving. Some jobs I’ve had I’ve treated each day like my last because I thought it would be my last day. I left nothing behind and took all the equipment, tools and anything else I needed to and from work.
Why? I didn’t fit in with the crew, I wasn’t fast enough, I wasn’t skilled enough and a dozen other reasons why I wasn’t the person I was expected to be. I choose to leave this job, gaining as much experience I could before leaving. They did offer me a job in future once I was at the level they wanted me to be before I started.
 
25. Network, like socially
Social media is good but nothing is like a face-to-face meet and greet. If your field is having a get together, conference, exhibition, awards…
GO!
Get tickets and go!
If you have just graduated from college, uni, school and did something you enjoyed that is a job on graduation then go to these events and speak to people.
If you are not a good speaker or are shy but have a friend who can break ice better than a narwhal or an overweight polar bear, take them with you to help you out.
If you are legal and can drink have a couple or even better, buy someone a drink or at least offer to.
Being polite cracks open doors, being interesting opens to the latch but being unique swings it open wide.
Seriously it does.
Smoking a cigarette while in a headstand nearly got me a job in Manila!
 
26. If an opportunity is there…
I was offered a job once, an internationally recognised outfit based overseas.
I turned it down as I was studying at the time and wanted to finish my education.
It was because I stood out from others even though I usually wouldn't in most circumstances. I wonder today if I should of taken it.
Then again the life experiences I've had since then have made me into Who I am and guided to who I want to be.
 If you are given the opportunity to do something amazing it is up to you.
The piece of paper you get from study helps in a traditional sense but in a modern sense is overrated and doesn’t get you paid.
However in many industries you do need qualification and certificates that allow you to work in said field.
For example: You can work in a kitchen as a cook without any qualifications and become a chef, but if you want to open your own eatery you have to go to school and get all the qualifications that permits you to open and run a place or face the many troubles in dealing with health inspectors and other officials who will deem you and your business either safe and viable to sell and prepare food for consumption or not.
Trust me in this case, just do your time and come out with skills and experiences.
There was a time where industry experience over time could qualify you for a degree but it seems now days you have to go back to school to get them.
 
27. Try and stop procrastinating
Seriously.
Stop it.
It won’t help at all.
Seriously.
Stop.
This will not help in the long term.
However it works as a motivator to push through some obstacles and helps you overcome these.
 If you keep suffering from this then get help or at least speak to someone about it.
 People in that industry have been in your shoes and can guide you through if you ask for help.
Friends and family have all gone through this too so you can ask them as well even if its not in the same industry.
 
28. Work is hell, get used to it
Unless you really love what you do, find a new career path or chase that fat pay cheque.
But time is a factor.
The older you are the harder it is to do this.
However you can do anything over your lifetime. Your job can either be kick arse or kick your arse.
Seriously this is true.
I’ve had jobs where I’ve been thrown down into a bottomless pit and clawed my way out and I’ve had jobs that felt like I got paid to do nothing.
However, many times climbing out have caused huge amounts of satisfaction and huge anxiety.
The more times this happens the thicker your skin is until you break, depending on your career depends this when occurs it if it ever does.
In most instances you’ll be fine.
 
29. You are steel, you are doom
Believe in yourself.
Don’t stop believing in yourself.
Seriously, keep your mind positive.
If you are positive then your influence will spread.
The other way occurs too.
Stay strong, hang in there and keep at it.
However “no matter how the wind howls, the mountain can not bow to it” – The Emperor, Mulan this is true in many career paths I’ve had.
Try your hardest to stay strong.
Try even harder to stay happy.
Try hardest to stay sane. “You are steel. You are doom… and you shall know no fear” – Battle Brother Proteus, Ultramarine
 
30. When the levee breaks I’ll have no place to stay
Stay in touch with your nearest and dearest friends and family.
 They have experience in life that you haven’t had and should be able to guide you.
As I said above, you are not alone.
 Not everyone has been in your shoes, but hell some people have.
 You can always talk to someone.
It is not a sign of weakness if you ask for help, hell some people will admire you for it.
You can always talk to your GP, doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist or career advisor if you’ve got them.

11. You aren't the boss when hired
When you leave your education provider, secondary and tertiary, you are promised the world. You can claim that world, but first you gotta go through the shit to get to where you want to be.
Everybody's done it, a few still do it.
You're not the head now but one day you could be.
Hang in there baby.
No#1 all over again.
People appreciate you wading through the shit to get better and more experienced as it shows your determination or reliability.
Those who have gone down this path can reflect on it when they hire you.
 
12. You can be the boss when hired
If you want to work for yourself or can standout in the field of work like the sun compared to the stars, yes the sun is a star but do we see stars in the day?
Please ponder that, you can be the boss or usually a partner.
The downside is you are at the top; you swam against the current and beat everyone, the elders who were aiming for that spot will resent you for a time, you have to perform the way you got the role for every single day until your career ends.
Every.
Single.
Day.
Back to the star analogy you'll be a red giant and possibly end up as a black hole or white dwarf.
The black hole is an imploded red giant that consumes everything, the white dwarf shines until it goes out on its own terms.
So be careful.
Try not to burn yourself out.
 
13. Criticism
Accept it.
Learn from it.
Do not dismiss it.
Do not fight it.
There are critics everywhere in the modern world.
If you base your life on likes and follows, then you’re basing your life on critics.
If you don't utilise criticism to enhance yourself then you will fall to the bottom of the pile. You don’t want to be there.
Trust me.
You don’t want to fight the world.
 
14. Praise
As much as we love thanks and praise, not all praise is good.
In some instances it's a cover screen for harsh consequences.
I've seen it done and had it done to me.
 Take the praise but don’t forget that it can be used against you.
 I might be a cynic but it keeps my eyes and ears open.
 
15. Anger
Whatever you do: DON’T WORK ANGRY!
Why?
You, your colleagues and your work will suffer.
Frustrations, stress and other things can all throw you off task.
You have to let go of it or hold on to a little of it as motivation.
Or use it to your advantage like in exercise or if your job requires you to hit something/demolish use it!
Stress usually is bad but in some instances can be amazing as a motivator.
A restaurant/cafe kitchen is a high stress work place, as is being in a hospital and both are run well.
If a nurse is angry she might unintentionally harm a patient, if a chef is angry he might shut down the entire service from a shattered glass he threw.
Just keep chugging away and hold onto that anger and use it in exercise. You can be frustrated but this shall pass. Pressure fluctuates, learn from it or perish.
So don't work angry, unless your job requires it.
 
16. Do something you love
If you really love doing something then try it as a hobby before you jump into it as a career. Why?
You could ruin that thing you love forever.
Also if it requires equipment, travel and budgets, you need to have a lot of savings put away just in case something goes wrong.
This is a gamble as it could be the best thing for you or the worst.
Like A star you gotta shine.
 
17. Don’t do something you love
If it makes money for you to live on and helps you enjoy life, then stay doing it.
 If it is entirely soul crushing, then get the hell away from it!
If you find a role that contains elements of what you love doing, then go down that path as it could open doors.
It is up to you in the long run.
You can always quit if it doesn’t suit you too.
Seriously, work to live not live to work.
 
18. Back up, call for back up
I am an anxious person by nature and it has helped me in many ways, the major one is contingencies.
 I go with my gut and my heart after a consultation with my head.
Over my working career I have had several major global events that have interrupted my career paths and sent me back to school numerous times.
This might seem like a bad thing but in a matter of fact was one of the best things.
I have learned how to sell things, how to present things, how to intrigue things and how to cook things.
All this education has enabled me to, in a restaurant setting; create a menu, promote the menu, design the menu, cook the menu, photograph and film the menu and post about the menu without having to even go and consult and pay multiple people who are from different areas that don't connect with one another readily.
These were my back up plans as they are all paths that I have interests and passions in.
 
19. Try and get a job close to you
Working in close proximity to your home is the best thing to do.
Why?
The longer you have to travel to work, the more stress you'll be under.
This stress includes the anxiety of missed public transportation, the lack of public transportation, track work, strikes, road work, road rage, traffic jams, vehicular collisions and a thousand other variables of traveling to and from work.
The GPS system you have might say it's only half an hour away but that is an estimation of American presidential privilege of all green lights and roadblocks.
 Rule of thumb: if it's 15 minutes away, leave half an hour before work starts if you have a private vehicle and there is guaranteed parking.
Half an hour travel estimated = an hour of traffic.
The worst part is doing the opposite on the way home.
Half an hour to work going against the flow of traffic can mean an hour or more in heading home.
This is worse.
Far worse.
 
20. Do something you love or really, really like if it means you have to travel
If you have lined up a career that excites you every day with a new challenge then do it if you can handle the long commute.
This is to make yourself 100% sure that you're sanity will not be sacrificed on the frustrations that are you are semi-in-control of. If you can afford it, do it.
 If not, move closer to it or find something closer.
As for international travel: DO IT! International travel has greater experiences attached to it and gives you perspective.
But be warned as you will have to set up time on both sides of travel to recuperate to the standard work day while dealing with jet lag.

1. You are God’s Gift
Welcome to reality.
You aren’t.
No matter what your parents say.
Some people who read this will be the people who had a good start handed to them (ME!), while others have been hustling earlier than most.
Props to you, you who made it on your own!
 As for the others who were sheltered, well you’re going to work just as hard later.
Many are told they can be whatever they want to be.
This is true but in a matter of fact, you are a seed.
You will grow but in the beginning you start in the dirt like the rest of the world and will have to work your way up.
No bullshit, but that does help some seeds grow faster than others.
As for a religious deity’s chosen?
Well you might be or you might not be.
You just have to make it in this big world yourself.
 

2. Manners
Be polite.
It opens doors and gets you places faster.
If no one taught you, then you will fail.
They make the world go round.
Learn them or perish.
 
3. You are irreplaceable
You're not.
No really.
You're not.
For every job you apply to, the majority of the time someone left or was removed.
Don't be disheartened by this, as it is why there is space for you to get the job.
You can delay this process by putting your all into it but most times that won't be good enough or you're in above your head.
You can fake it but that will impact you in working harder and in most cases not smarter as your ass covering takes precedence over your capability.
Most importantly if you can be replaced just as easily as you replaced someone else, just be the best you can and hold on for as long as you can.
Be ready to leave if asked or on your own accord.
 
4. Appearances matter
How you look determines if you get the job in the first place.
Seriously, the first time people see you they will judge you.
Books and covers and all that.
Not many people in this modern day and age are against bad haircuts, tattoos and piercings but only if they are tasteful and in an area out of sight or can be covered or hidden away easily.
As society is more accepting of body art now, you can rock all the ink and steel you want.
 Bad pieces can be covered up or removed but be careful where that is.
Whatever your style is, TONE IT DOWN for your chosen field when starting. Unless you are working for yourself.
Wear your Sunday best to the interview or first interaction, hide your body art as your potential employer doesn't even know the real you yet.
Once they get to know you in a brief nutshell then you can produce your body canvas.
But don't get me started on fashion!
Unless you are in the fields that require your body art on show.
 
5. Wear a uniform
If you were like me you wore a uniform day in day out for thirteen years of schooling and hated every day of it (unless you got into a school without a uniform or were home schooled). Once out of school you have the freedom to dress how you like.
Every.
Day.
I’m like most straight guys and have no fashion sense apart from comfy clothes, hoodies, good clothes and wear on special occasions clothes.
But I learned this the hard way of figuring out what to wear in offices as most places have a smart casual dress code (for men usually a button down shirt or neat polo shirt with collars and trousers or at least chinos) to a full three piece suit and tie.
Just remember not all uniforms are made equal.
Your fast food polo shirts and trousers aren’t as good as a chef’s jacket and checks.
For the ladies it's different as they seem to be able to wear anything as they tend to understand the situation better, let alone fashion.
As I’m not a lady, I don’t understand fashion or shopping but being brought up by many in my family I do understand that they know what looks good and what is in and what is appropriate.
A uniform is good because it removes all choices of preparation the night before.
Why is this good?
You don’t have to put an outfit together for example, picking out a suit by colour/fabric (if your career is in suits and tie that is, if not pants, start with pants), undershirt/singlet, shirt/polo shirt, tie/bow tie, socks, shoes and accessories. Hell, having multiple uniforms ready to go on your day off saves you from ironing your work wear every day.
Plus uniforms look good.
Ask the ladies or fellas.
And to top it off laundry for a uniform is usually cheaper than getting suits dry cleaned constantly.
 
6. Or don’t wear a uniform
No uniform.
No worries.
Clothes make the person, so if you are creative enough you can make your own props.
So if you want to wear all a leather kilt with a leather jacket, go right ahead no one is stopping you.
However most places have a dress code so you have to stick by their rules and regulations.
But it’s all up to you and you alone in where you want to be and what you want to do.
 
7. The first real job is always the hardest
This statement is true to the very core.
Why would someone hire you with no previous experience?
Now if you study various subjects in school you gain this experience but in most instances you won't.
If your family is in an industry like hospitality, retail or creative, you most definitely gained experience from the forced labour your family makes/made you do.
 If you don't have this background, then you have a harder time in the job market.
Most schools (in Australia) make you do work experience/placement or community service, this helps but most times it's just free labour in your parent’s workplace.
From here though, you learn things about how the working world works and what not, and what position you want to get in to.
But when gunning that first job: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE REFEREES/REFERENCES THAT ARE NOT YOUR PARENTS OR HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME AS YOU!
Learn how to write a resume/CV to suite your field of work selected.
Have buzzwords in your resume?
Remove them as they mean bugger all.
Tailor your resume to the role i.e. Word format for all job resumes not in creative fields, if in graphic design or visual based job show what you can do but do not go overboard, if in creative fields such as acting then your face is key so add a headshot but make sure you add a demo roll or a link to your website/showreel, examples of work etc in your application, if in advertising you must find a creative way of getting your foot into the door. There is a story of guy who sent a shoe to an ad agency, maybe an urban legend but he got the job.
Also write a cover letter tailored to the business you are applying for. If you don’t know how to write a cover letter, learn. It is more of an about you, what you can do and what you are willing to do in the job you are applying for.
 
8. The interview
This is a combination of everything on this list and more.
If your resume/CV has been selected you will receive a phone call asking for more information about you so you potential future employer can find out more about you this means you are on the list that has the requirements for the job. After this you will usually receive a second call. This means you’re Either on the shortlist or a “you didn’t make it”. After this second phone call you’ll be called in for an interview. Face to face.
Now the interview in person is a lot harder than you think. You have to over dress a little in a smart casual dress code, preen yourself, have a hair cut, look and smell good. Why because it shows the interviewer that you are serious about this job.
Depending on what job you are applying for also depends on how the interview would proceed. Some Retail places usually have a group interview pitting multiple applicants against one another. Other places will just have one on one or one on two being the number of interviewers off the interviewee. After these two types you will be called into a one on two interview.
This is the make or break interview for the role applied for. Usually the interview will be with the highest manager or the owner of the outfit. This is for the job. This interview means you are being questioned about your experiences, what you can do and what you can bring to the company/s. This interview you have to know your CV cover to cover as well as your cover letter. If you get a call after this interview then you’ll have got the job. If you didn’t it will be an email informing you you just missed out.
Just go out there and keep trying.
 
9. Start early at a younger age
The older you get the more you appreciate the age you started working.
Unlike the people who focus on their social life using their parents’ bank account, trust fund or the government’s, they are at a disadvantage.
Seriously, you build up a nest egg early, then you got something to fall back on earlier.
I started working at 18.
I was old for my school year so my social life in licensed premises was limited to my younger friends’ birthdays (Australia’s drinking age is 18).
I saved money.
I bought things that I wanted but then things in life change.
Those savings held well until more and more friends came of age when your social life kicks up a notch.
A few friends started early (while in high school, smart bastards…) working and their bank balances were double to triple what I had by the time they caught up to my age.
So the early bird gets the worms.
 
10. If you didn't start young
Don't worry about the starting age of work.
There is none (in Australia at least), if your parent or guardian allows you to work but you work for a fraction of minimum wage.
The counter for this is you are usually paid minimum wage straight away (in Australia).
This means if your job contains penalty rates (Australia maybe some other countries) higher penalty rates than your younger peers.
Soon to be semi penalty rates (in Australia).
Though they are good, they require sacrifice of your social timetable or your work life balance.
Also you most probably graduated school and are in tertiary education heading to a field that you want to be involved in.
Let that be a guide for you in your job hunt.
Wherever you go, hospitality and retail will provide greater life lessons.
Other jobs do too but the amount of lessons about people observation and interaction are honed in hospitality and retail.
There is a plus side starting later: experience.
Experiences in life helps you in your future.
Your travel, your odd jobs, your hobbies, your interactions with people and every little thing you’ve done in your past will help with the future.

To start off, this thing is a rough guide or information I wished some one gave me on leaving school or even better, before I got my first actual job as in working for an actual company job where I pay tax or for the next role or the role after that.
When I left school after my thirteen years of primary, middle and secondary (Australia has only Primary and High Schools) I had big dreams and plans, only problem is that you have to
plan specifically for the future.
I didn’t.

My head was thick in my teenage angst and rebellious phase while stuck in a book or on a computer blocking out the real world (geek). However once you leave the school hall for the
last time, you need to make some money.
Seriously, shit gets expensive when your parents want you to make your own way in life and
the best way is to tighten the purse strings on your expenditure (if you were lucky enough to have a family like this or if you didn’t you matured a hell of a lot earlier than I did).
Money makes the world go round, it won’t make you happy but it helps to live.
If some one gave this guide to me as a graduating high school present I would of actually read this.

Why?
Because I am the dreaded black sheep of a the family who no one understands and has no real direction in life with little talent in anything AKA the dreamer, the creative, doesn’t have
his shit together, directionless and no set direction in life, just the freedom of being me.
This might not be as relevant now but back when I started writing this in 2017/18 it made some sense. From electrical engineering to marketing to advertising to graphic design to
cooking and a few different jobs thrown in for good measure, everything in here to steer and guide you dear sweet reader, I’ve done it so you don’t have to but you can if you want.
Remember this is a guidebook, not a rule book. You can make your own path or you can read the experiences of my path finding and follow.
​
Or make your own...

There’re a heap of things that you learn when you become a friend’s media team: the physical, mental, emotional and chronological aspects. And that is just the start.

Physically motor racing is a very demanding sport for not only the driver but for the support crew and the media or in this case me.

Why physically demanding if all you do as media is take photos and videos?
That’s easy! You are travelling to the track wherever it is; state or interstate, you are always on the move. On top of this you have to prepare gear; charge batteries, wipe memory cards, charge phone and iPad then pack cameras, chargers, power boards, laptop, tripods, clothes and anything else you need for usually four nights and three days away from home. Adding to this is all the bags you will be lugging around into cars and through airports. 

A car is easier to load as the gear can be easily packed in the boot or piled on the backseat, a plane is more difficult as you are pushing the envelope with all your gear in two carry on bags (camera equipment usually is uninsured so the airline will hate putting it in the hold and damaging it and having to pay for it, or so I’m told same goes with laptops) and a suitcase stuffed with nearly no clothes and the bulky equipment and all is heavy and can just slide under the 20kg mark. 

Once trackside you will have to lug around all said equipment that you need (two cameras, a video camera and possibly go pro or two and variants, tripod and flashes) as the car will either be parked a long way from the garage allocated to your driver. If you are luck and find a spot not claimed by the driver’s mechanics, race car and resting spot that is out of the way PARK YOUR GEAR THERE! 

It makes lugging gear so much easier. And by lugging gear it means you will have to survey each track and find the spot to shoot from or several depending on the track size, you also have to set up gear and make sure you follow the shooting rules as well as walk to and from said spots, garage and car. Once practice, qualifying and racing are all said and down and you return home you start the hardest part of the shoot, sorting photos and editing videos. This tetters on the mental as well as there is only so many things you can watch or look at before hair is pulled as something isn’t working. 

Mentally the job is demanding. Before you even get trackside you are thinking about everything “Do I have anything important that I have on instead of racing meets (weddings, funerals, birthdays, social events or urgent matters)?” “When is the next round?” “Is the weather going to allow me to shoot trackside?” “Am I dressed for the weather?” “Did I pack the right gear?” are just a few of these thoughts.  

Once trackside you are forever going through scenarios in your head “If I shoot from here will it look good or do I shoot from over there?” “Are the cameras on the right settings?” “Is the correct lens on the camera chosen?” “Are the batteries fully charged?” are just a basic ones. 

Once off the track and everything is prepared for editing your mind is still racing with questions “Did I get the shots I want?” “Is the client going to like the shots?” “Did I film too much?” “Is the footage ok or over exposed?” “How am I going to edit the films or photos?” each is a challenge to deal with and it can get emotional.

Emotionally shooting at a track is a rewarding experience but it does have drawbacks. Half the time you will be happy that you get to spend three days at the hallowed places of speed. Other times you’ll be angry as the perfect shot has been ruined by overexposure, movement, wrong zoom setting and a host of other things. Then you’ll be anxious as your subject might be having a bad time going around the track. And then there is the whole day of boredom as racing has only two rounds that are a long wait between both. Which bring us to the chronological aspect.

Racing is all about numbers: times, position, date and time. The dates of racing are varied from year to year but usually around the same time, which is a good way to plan by. Always make sure that you know your calendar front and back as if you miss a family wedding or birthday or any other important event you will be shunned as you turned your back on:

1. Your family so you can go to the racetrack 
   
2. Everyone else that can get time off their work
   
3. Your family to be at a race that someone else can shoot for you, right?
   
4. An event that only happens once in a life time while you’ll be at the track for X amount of times in a year
   

When you have your calendar down pact can you proceed being in racing media and not be hated by you family. 

When trackside all it comes down to is the least amount of time it takes to get around the track and the position of where the driver is on the track, for you it is a little more complicated. There is the time of day for shooting is important as your lighting might be inadequate and your settings will have to change in the morning compared to the afternoon. Then there is the tedious wait times between races, even after getting food and talking to the crew you do get as tired as the driver as the waits can be for several hours. 

To cap it all off there is the time of getting to the several shooting spots you have allocated to yourself wether it’s the wall, grandstand, garage, pit lane or “that corner”. After you have finished up for the three day tour it is back to the computer to look at hundreds of photos and several hours worth of video, then you edit it all together and make it look good. The selection and editing process takes a lot of time as there is the culling of hundreds of photos, the cutting room floor for the unwanted footage and the hours of song searching and selection. Three days later you have a movie fit for YouTube and a sporadic album posting on the web and social media.

Fox

It’s been some time since “Hooly” and I have been to the track.   All racing has been suspended to rock climbing and fitness with several meetings thrown in.   All we’ve done was work on our business houndagency.com until the Supercars came to town.  

As a potential client is based at the racetrack and Dan is a member of the track, we got to wander up and down the garages that we’ve called home when Dan was racing.   All the garages had been taken over by the teams that Dan will hopefully one-day race for, with or against.   We braved the weather to see these big V8s in action.

As the sky opened up and the rain began to fall we looked for shelter as neither of us thought to bring an umbrella.  Walking up and down the pit lane Dan saw an old karting buddy.   Ushered in out from the rain we huddled into the garage standing beside the family and friends of one of the drivers.   Staying out of the way of the driver and the crew, we perched ourselves in front of the monitors of the weather, cars, times and race.

While talking with the family and friends, the heavens released a torrent of water.   Dan was explaining several sections of the track where people will spin out as he had in fact spun out there several weeks earlier.   With in seconds, several cars spun out on that section while plumes of water sprayed up over the competitors making visibility next to nothing.   We were informed it was the first wet race held in over three years.

After the race was over we wandered around as the rain had stopped.   While walking around the team trucks, Dan bumped into an old friend who owns one of the team.   After a chat we were ushered out of the rain and into the pits again of another team.   Dan and the owners talked and joked about the wet racetrack as the Porsches took to the field.   Like the V8s before, they to face plumes of water.

With the rain starting once again we left the track as we had a friend’s farewell drinks that night.   We returned to base to change and get pretty.   Once more we braved the cold and headed out, this time to opera bar.   Meeting with our friend who flew out the next morning at 5am, we lived it up making some new friends who also had an interest in racing.  

While talking about racing Dan had a brainwave.   As his racing team had done some promotional work for a couple of companies, he had scored some free experiences.   He gave these experiences to me as payment for shooting him at the track.   The sneaky bugger had organised this to be used at the track for a race experience day to give me a hands on view on what he does.

Well yesterday was that day.   I was to be strapped into a car and go around a supervised track.   We piled into Dan’s car and zipped off to the track.   With a hour before the race briefing and safety checks, I was ripped on by all the team of mechanics and drivers from the Anglo Motorsports who I’ve come to know through shooting Dan on the sidelines.   All had heard of the wager between Dan and I, a six-pack of beer to him if I spun out voided if I stalled.

Chatting to several people who had done the experience or had a friend doing the experience, I slowly sank into my borrowed driving suit praying that I wasn’t driving first.   Being known by the team it happened I would be first.   After the track drive I was strapped into the car.   It has been over ten years since I’ve been in a manual car let alone use a clutch.   My racing experience has only been on simulators and gaming consoles or on the track beside Dan who isn’t really the best teacher.

In the cockpit with visor pulled down I turned over the engine and… Stalled.   A magnificent stall that turned heads of the mechanics, drivers and everyone else there.   After restarting I was ushered onto the track.   Finding second gear, I pushed down the throttle and off I went.   Racing driver I’m not as I was lapped twice and slow.   I blamed the fear of spinning out and the damage of the car for my slow speed.

After a final ribbing of all the team Dan and I headed off to go karting.   Dan had set his mind to the fact that if I raced, he’d race too and dragged me along.   We drove over to Ultimate Karting Sydney and signed up for three 10-lap sessions after Dan had chatted with the owner (we saw him at the track during the V8s sparking Dan’s interest in dragging me along).   Once track side and nodded on by all the staff, we geared up and hit the track.   My kart was lucky 13.

I’ve seen Dan before a race, during a race and after race.   I’ve never seen him drive as a part of a race.   Technically, Dan race and me, seeing what it’s like.   It was foot to the floor and praying to the race gods not to spin or stall.   Dan sped away with me trailing behind concentrating on how to turn, not to spin and trying ever so hard not to drift.   

By this stage I was used to being lapped so let the competitors lap me a couple of times as I tried hard to understand the kart, corners and lap times.   Not understanding any I just let myself go and had fun.   Keeping in mind the flags issued to my driving I still had fun cackling wildly as I pulled off turns that I thought were ok.

The racer in Dan was ever present as he viewed the results in disdain as he had come second a group of three by a tenth of a second or something like that.   I am used to this Dan as its what I shoot when I’m at the track.   As we watched children rocket around the track in kid go-karts, I prayed to the racing gods that I wouldn’t spin.   Then it was our turn again.

With several new contenders on the track, two kids and another adult, we powered up and sped onto the track.   By now I was really used to being lapped but unlike at the formula ford track, this was at speed and lower the to the ground.   Taking Dan’s words to heart “accelerate and brake the whole time” I tried that but it was different.   And it didn’t work.   All that I needed to know is that it was fun.

With another brief break from racing Dan chatted to the other racer who had beaten Dan by a tenth of a second.   They talked about go karting as a professional sport and the prices depending on which level is entered.   They both sized each other up as they were in for a final show down in the final session.   With the brief break over we re helmed and headed back to our karts.   Mine was now 19, Dan’s previous kart, and Dan had 13.

With a new kart that had been doing better times, I knew that I would make it go as slow as my previous kart.   Dan and the rest of the field sped off to leave me with an empty track to try and create a race craft while he tried to get the best time possibly.   Knowing what he looked like in full suit I tried to give the field more room until I cut fine on a corner getting in his way.   Dan bumped me several times while I cackled merrily and swore at him in Spanish.

With our final session over and Dan on top by a tenth of a second (I wasn’t really paying attention as I wanted to get my borrowed monkey suit off).   Wanting food as the only I ate all day was from eight hours earlier, we headed to the café but not before Dan’s rival collected lap times.   Dan, like a red rag to a bull, wanted to see his times on paper.   With lap times in hand and a place in fastest of the week, we finally got some pizza and talked about the day.   

We recapped the day of racing and how my understanding of motorsports athletes now increased as you have to be fit to throw a car around a track at high speed.  Dan’s documentary skills were tested too as he filmed me after my car lap.   This was liked by Dan’s racing hero’s son, as were the photos that I joked around with friends and family.   On the ride home with the tunes pumping, my respect of motorsport had increased immensely.  

You may think that driving a car that you do everyday is easy.   Try throwing it around the track.   If not your car, why not try a car shaped like a bullet that can go through a corner faster than a V8.   If that isn’t hard enough or too hard then try a go kart.   If that doesn’t teach you to respect a racing car driver as an athlete then you need to learn how to do it yourself.

A massive thanks to the crews at Anglo Motorsport and Ultimate Karting Sydney for letting me try and get my speed on.