Greetings from Malaga, Spain
I'm in AW-Artisan warehouse in Malaga, and even though it is Friday 13th they still find an excuse for a party. (see below).
Meanwhile it's preparation time for our up-coming trip around asia.. the first leg starts tomorrow.
Last week I was telling you about Catching the Zeitgeist and catching sweets in Spain.. lots of people responded to that.. if you missed it you can catch up here.
It's Friday 13th…but don't panic. After all (as they say) Friday the 13th is unlucky for some... and if you think about it every day is unlucky for somebody somewhere... numerology says… the sacred number 13 is considered to be a very karmic number in numerology. It is associated with the divine, and is said to bring good luck and prosperity to those who embrace it. In fact, many people believe that the number 13 brings about change, which can often lead to a positive outlook.
Yes, so here is some Ancient Wisdom.. when bad luck comes (and it will) then embrace it as nothing innately bad but an opportunity to learn, maybe to change, to grow as a human. Remember what doesn't kill makes you stronger..
The Ancient Wisdom story is like that.. we had more than our share of bad luck and despite that have thrived.. if you didn't read our back story you can find it here.
Some strange problems in India.. relating to the banking system. For planning trips around India I often use MakeMyTrip.com - it's like Expedia in India. When I tried to login to my account.. I got this message.
Slightly worrying. Even with VPN enabled I cannot access. OK so let's just use Expedia.. I can set up bookings but every credit card payment fails for Indian airlines.. I try booking directly with the individual airlines (I have a total of 12 flights to book for our tour) - every one gives error messages. So I use the Airasia app - it's really easy to use and for outside India is working fine.. as soon as I try to book an India flight I booted out of the App. Something big (and bad) is going on.. I hope this is not another bad luck event in the offing.. Anyway once I realise the problem there is an easy work around, Mr Chatterjee (our man in India) books all the flights for us. I called my friend in Goa, who is well connected and owns a hotel there.. He has no idea, has no British customers these days, all his guests he tells me are crazy old Russians. Ermm.. is that a clue..
Anyway - onwards and upwards - thinking positive.. We have some great products this week just arrived.. including some new Singing Bowls - from India. I'm always excited when a product I have been involved with arrives. But these days there are plenty of products at AW that are created, developed and arrive without my help.. I was pleasantly surprised to see these Spell Candles - launching today (Friday the 13th) .. especially since this was one of the most requested products by our lovely customers.
Game Changer At this time of year - I start to think out-side-of-the-box.. and encourage everyone at AW to think of something that will change the game. "Guys!!" I say - we need a game changer product. Something that is going to supercharge our customers' businesses, something that will take everyone to a new level. Last week I was telling you about Chat GPT.. and everyone is now on it.. That' is anything is a Game Changer.. how can this be used to change the game.. It's brainstorming time.. At the end of the day (as I tirelessly repeat myself) it's about the product. a product is the most important part of any business. Yes every part of your business is essential, but without amazing products you have nothing.. We are working hard to find you those products at AW..
Today might be an unlucky day for some but actually for me it is a special day.. and the team at AW-Artisan Spain surprised me just now with a cake. |
Yes, today is my birthday :)
The years go by.. and time moves on.. but I'm lucky and immensely grateful to be surrounded by young, enthusiastic, good hearted and talented people at AW.. it's a pleasure everyday to work with all the good folk of AW. I heard something the other day I want to share.. (I asked Dall-E to make me some art to express it)..
Take care and have a wonderful weekend..
Next week's newsletter is from somewhere in Asia..