I got the T-shirt for what I thought was an interesting question on biometrics, but Justin shot it down saying that fingerprinting technology sucks and could not be reliable based on inferior hardware solutions on the market. This on the same day as Banks announced that they will be implementing fingerprint identity in the branches linked to Home Affairs to validate customer identifications. Mmmm, interesting.

Great session last night guys, thanks for the shirt.

By continually buying depreciating assets (called liabilities) like cars and expensive electronic goods you undermine your propensity to build long-lasting wealth. So what do you do when you have to buy a car and you have to finance this car?

Don’t buy the most expensive luxury car you can afford – rather buy a smaller practical and reliable second hand car that costs half the price. Then pay off this debt as fast as you can. Even the billionaire Sam Walton, who founded Wal-Mart drove a red ’88 Ford pick-up truck for most of his living years.

Great advice once again, Clive. Take this one step further, when spending any money on your business ask this simple question, “Will this item be able to generate enough income to pay for itself and then yield in a profit?” It makes sense to have an asset that depreciated in value as an expense but can at the same time generate income in the sales column. Take a look around your office, see how much stuff you have that has cost you a whole bunch of change and never turned a profit. We outsource all non functional tasks, but will buy in equipment that we could use regularly to either save or make us money. Just makes good financial management.

So what about that new coffee machine…

We was amused by my comment and explained to me that it was there to help keep him grounded in this work and to always think out of the ordinary and to never assume things. He mentioned that he could see 5 kids in a row all presenting with the same flu like symptoms but to avoid just reaching for the same prescription he approaches each case with a new sense of perspective so he does not miss anything that may be masked by his assumptions.

Do you have a similar tool to use to avoid making the same mistakes or assumptions again and again? Try this to start your day: from the time you wake up to the time you start work do everything with the opposite hand that you would normally use. Showering, shaving, brushing your teeth, drinking coffee eating breakfast, locking the door. What this does is make your brain cross over the normal muscle memory to the other side of the brain and create often new pathways of learning. This will give you a new brain activity base to set the day on its ear and give you a new view of how things work. Give it a try and let us know of any changes. Just be careful with that sharp razor in your left hand.

This is followed by a 20-minute presentation by one of the members to educate and inform on issues related to business issues. We will then move into a time of open sharing and conversation offering pearls of wisdom and referrals. All this in just 90 minutes, what a great way to start the day. Want to join us for the next one? Register here for Cape Town South or here for other areas.

News even before it becomes news can be found here. What’s happening in the traffic, at the airport, rumors, events, issues what’s hot and not. A simple search here gives you all the before news that you could ever want. Oh, Google is so yesterday, try surfing on search.twitter.com.