What is a billion?

This really brings into perspective the actual figure of one billion.

The next time you hear a politician use the word 'billion' in a casual manner, think about whether you want the 'politicians' spending YOUR tax money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

• A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
• A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
• A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
• A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
• A billion Pounds ago was only 13 hours and 12 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

> Stamp Duty

> Tobacco Tax

> Corporate Income Tax

> Income Tax

> Council Tax

> Unemployment Tax

> Fishing License Tax

> Petrol/Diesel Tax

> Inheritance Tax

> Alcohol Tax

> V.A.T.

> Marriage License Tax

> Property Tax

> Service charge taxes

> Social Security Tax

> Vehicle License Registration Tax

> Vehicle Sales Tax

> Workers Compensation Tax

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago and our nation was one of the most prosperous in the world.
We had absolutely no national debt.

We had the largest middle class in the world and Mum stayed home to raise the kids.

What happened?

Grades... is it really the be all and end all?

Do you remember getting your exam results?  For me it was "O" levels about 24 years ago but I still remember the dread... yes dread, not nervousness or excitement but just pure dread.  You see I was never really good at exams... thinking about it I wasn't stupid nor bright, just plain average really.  Much more sports and creative than academic.

School reports were a painful event.  The disapproving "could have done better" and "easily distracted" comments which seemed to reverberate throughout every teachers summary seemed to further infuriate my father with every line.  Exam result time was just the bad brother of school reports.

When I got my "O" level results they were abysmal.  From what I remember I got one "C" grade and the rest paled into significance.  My parents pulled me out of school and I studied again and re-took them.  The results were worse.  I just wasn't cut out for this shit.

I went out to work at 16 and after 5 years of moving from job to job (I literally had 50+ jobs in 5 years) and endless partying I settled in a job and slowly worked my way up over 5 years from the shop floor to running the depot.  Eventually I started my own business - that was 10 years ago now.

With running a business comes recruitment.  Personally I don't take much notice of exam results but maybe that is a reflection of the job that I need filling.  Drivers, warehouse and office staff don't need "A" levels or degrees in biochemistry to do the job.  I've always succeeded with a level head and copious amounts of common sense.  I've known incredibly academically people with very little common sense who I wouldn't employ for free.  So personable, level headed staff with good common sense wins every time for me.

All I'm really trying to say is that you shouldn't put too much onus on your exam results.  Yes today's environment is different from what I was faced with and it is important to make sure that you stand out from the crowd.  But when applying for jobs just make sure that you stand out for the right reasons - get the best qualifications you can but don't beat yourself up if you don't.  It's not the be all and end all.

As a final thought, Russell Brand wrote on twitter today that he got no qualifications and ended up marrying a pop star - says it all really!

You just don't know what you've got...

We do like a good moan, don't we.  My wife says she feels guilty when she moans as there are so many less fortunate people than her in the world.  My response (other than agreeing) is that whilst that is all well and good, this is your life that you are living.  If you can help another person then great but ultimately you have to live your own life.

My issue of the day is my changing body and today's blog title of "You just don't know what you've got (until you lose it)" sums up how I am feeling.  Let me explain...

I've been training all my life.  I was very sporty at school, I was in every school team, broke school records in running, football and cricket and after I left school at 16 started training down the gym.  Bar a few injuries in recent years I haven't really stopped.  Plus I've never taken steroids.  In my early 30's my physique peaked at about 12.5st and 9% bodyfat.  I felt great, looked great, could eat anything and was as strong as an ox.  In fact a bodybuilding friend said that pound for pound I was the strongest person he'd ever known.

Fast forward to today.  I'm 40, about 13.5st and 22% bodyfat.  Yes I have had some time off training for operations on a couple of injuries (hernia and shoulder) and yes I now have two children.  I'd say that in general my diet has improved but maybe I have to accept that as we get older our body changes and thickens.  I've been saying it to others for years so maybe I just have to start taking my own advice.

The rigors of life, business and children play havoc with your old training schedules.  At one point I was training 4 days per week, now if I'm lucky it's once per week (we do have a 12 week old baby so that has a big bearing obviously!).  What amazes me though is how quick the conditioning declines.  I mean I just can't remember where the great body ended and what I now see staring back in the mirror every day actually began.

But are we ever really happy?  Most of us aren't which made me think about writing this today.  I take so much for granted and I really need to take stock more often.  I have a blessed life.  I have a beautiful wife, 2 gorgeous children, I run my own business, own my own house, have great friends and am always on the brink of worldwide domination...

So maybe, after all is considered things aren't that bad.  Maybe this is my life now and I should stop chasing my old life.  By next year our new baby will be more settled and I should be back on a regular training schedule and yes, I'll probably be complaining of training exhaustion - some people are never happy!

The youth of today

We're all waking up this morning to reports of the 3rd night of rioting, looting and chaos in our country's capital - a sad situation which has now been spread to Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham.  Where is it all going to end and why is this happening?  For an answer I think you have to go back a while...

• Firstly there was the end of the National Service back at the end of 1960.
• Then in the 1990's after the last boom and recession the phrase "political correctness" came into being.
• New laws came into effect restricting parents and teachers from from properly disciplining children.  Children began suing and the law sided with the children.
• Now we have the benefit generation.  A mass of people who choose not to work as they earn as much if not more on benefits.
• Today we have the current global financial crisis.

The result?  A generation of selfish, undisciplined, disrespectful lazy people who believe that it is better to take what they want rather than to earn it.  That is what we see on our tv screens this morning.

I am a business owner myself and the past 3 years have been tough for us all.  My business has been subject to opportunistic vandalism on about 4 occasions this year alone.  Fortunately for me I have been able to re-build and recover.  What about Reeves, the 100 year old furniture store burnt to the ground in Croydon?  100 years old... they have survived 2 world wars, depressions and recessions, booms and busts only to be felled by the very community that is meant to be supporting them.  Yet if you try and protect your property you'll be prosecuted as the law will side with the criminal.

Don't even get me started on the effect this has on London 2012 - the world is watching...  "Great" Britain?  Hmmmm...

Finally though, we must keep in mind that 99% of people are good.  It's the minority that spoils it for the majority.  Reports today are coming in of the community coming together (see twitter @riotcleanup and #riotcleanup) - a real phoenix from the flames.