Well I said I was going to tell you about myself...
and my family.This is a pic of me and my wonderful wife Deb on holiday in Bridgetown about 100kms from where we live. The town we live in is on the SW coast of Australia (the best part of Oz) and is growing well because of the industry in the area (population about 60 000). We are about 180kms south of Perth and enjoy magnificent weather most of the year and being on the coast there is a lot to do.
Now I'll rewind and give you some history in fast forward...
I was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1965. At 1o years of age I started learning the art of Goju Ryu Karate-Do and at 17 years of age was graded as a black belt. Those Karate years developed my discipline and made me realise I could achieve anything I set my mind to. I won many kata and randori bouts and a local championship. After leaving school not knowing what to do my Dad told me to get an Electrical apprenticeship... thank God he did because this allowed me access into Australia later. I completed my apprenticeship, worked for 2 different companies to gain experience and then decided to go on my own. Unfortunately work as a self employed Electrician started drying up after a year so I diversified and started installing electric gates.
The security situation in Zimbabwe fueled massive growth in my business especially as we constantly added to the range of security products. Fortunately after a few years a large competitor came along and offered to purchase the company. At that time I was tired of the stress and other nonsense that happens with running a small business so this sounded like a good idea. I was to stay on as the Managing Director with a healthy package and the buyers had aggressive growth plans. We then grew this business by over 300% within 10 months, had 40 employees and selling all over the country.
During this time I met my wonderful wife and I knew from the very first day I saw her that she would be the one... just a wonderful feeling. We have now been married nearly 15 years and it has been fantastic. During this time we had 2 boys, Ross who is now 12 and Troy who is 9, both fantastic kids full of respect and kindness. 1 year after the sale of the business we decide that Zimbabwe would not be the best place for our kids future, even though we had just built a
magnificent thatch roofed house on a massive block. Very teary eyed we sold everything we owned knowing full well we could not take any money with us (as it had no value elsewhere), but knowing our assets would devalue to nothing if we kept them (because of the downward slide of the Z$ to the other currencies). Deb and the kids stayed with Deb's parents while I set off to Australia in search of a better life.Why Australia? Well Deb had traveled to the UK in her younger days and didn't like the weather and friends in Oz had told us how wonderful it was so the decision was made... and importantly Australia needed Electricians. I landed in Brisbane, East Australia in October 1998 very scared. Here I was relying on friends to house and feed me and my possessions included a suitcase of clothes and a resume. I wasn't allowed to legally take more than Z$1 000 from Zim which was less than A$100. I will be eternally grateful to those friends that helped me in Brisbane and Perth... one day I will return the favour hugely... thank-you. To cut a long story short I was provided the wrong information by a ruthless immigration consultant that was heavily marketing in Zim and after 6 weeks he told me I wouldn't be able to get a job because my trade papers would not be accepted. This gutted me because it meant I would have to go back to Zim... and we had sold everything. Survival instinct kicked in and I made calls to all the different Oz states energy commissions to see if the rules were the same. one after the other the rules were slightly different but they wouldn't accept me writing a trade test unless I had residency in Oz. But I needed the Electrical licence so I could apply for jobs which would then sponsor me into the country... Last of all I phoned the West Australian Energy commission and because of the trade shortage they were prepared to trade test me.... hipeeee. 3 months later I had an Electrical licence and was working in Alice Springs, fully sponsored by a large Electrical contractor. 3 months after that my family joined me in Alice Springs (the very centre of Oz).
3 years later we very willingly became Australian Citizens and have never looked back since. We moved from Alice Springs to be by the coast for our boys sake (I didn't argue, the high temps in Alice Springs was getting too much) and after 4000kms of driving and a speeding fine ended up in Bunbury on the South West Coast. 2 weeks after arriving we both had jobs, the kids were in school and we found a great house... so it was meant to be. 12 months after arriving in Bunbury I formed a telecommunications business called Telephones Unlimited which we sold about 12 mths ago for a nice profit.
And now... I work from home and make money from marketing on the internet, trade options on the US market, have an eBay business and coach a handful of clients to market their businesses better. We have always done ok and have progressed a long way in the last 10 years but I feel like there is so much more that we can do. This challenge is going to be the break through, it is going to be the break which will give us financial freedom and allow us to contribute by helping others that need it. it is going to be a great path and my hope is that anyone reading this can and will apply some similar strategies to their life so that they can also enjoy a better life. I also hope that anyone out there that can offer some advice or assistance will comment.
Next post I will reveal my strategy. Until then live life with Passion and love.
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