Wednesday 10 December 2008

The Grandfather - An Inspirational Story

The Grandfather
Author Unknown

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.


The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about Grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor." So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.

Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.

Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.The four-year-old watched it all in silence.

One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up." The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.

The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.


Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes observe, their ears listen, and their minds process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently providing a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realises that every day the building blocks are being laid for the child's future. Let's be wise builders.

Friday 5 December 2008

Business Interview with Andrew Wood - 3

The final part of the interview with Andrew Wood, the MD of Trainer Bubble...

If you had an unlimited budget, how would you change?

There is a lot going on in the serious gaming market, where customers will play business simulations in order to develop their skills. I see this being a real interesting area in the future and I think the demographic of learners coming through will demand this. I'd also like to market overseas in a more substantial way, as we get a lot of new business from this area and could expand here.

What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?

It was a shock to me how much of a money pit marketing can be. I don't remember who it was that said, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. I only wish I knew which half." They were right.

What has been your biggest challenge?

It has to be in the early days of the website, when I felt that my programmers did not have the same sense of urgency about my website as I did. It was frustrating to have to wait a few days for a couple of lines of text to be changed. Eventually I decided I'd have to learn how to programme and edit the website myself. I became self taught, which was a major uphill struggle to begin with. I can now design, edit and pretty much do all the basics. I also learnt a lot about search engine optimisation as I knew this was the cheapest form of advertising, it certainly beat paying for an seo company!

How has running your website differed from your expectations?

It's a lot more work than I thought it would be. I didn't realise how much time and effort I'd need to put into the website from inception to now. The idea of, 'If you build it they will come.' is not a sound one!

How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?

The site has been running for three years now and we are enjoying continual success. I don't see the need to stop as long as we can diversify into new areas and keep offering customers what they want.