Dear James (and Peter, and Jill for that matter),

You're a client of ours. By the fact that we're both agreeing parties to a unwritten (or sometimes written) contract through which we undertake to deliver something of value to you in return for payment, I can safely say this.

In the course of doing business, we make money out of you. Profit, if we run things well. Depending on whether we treat you well, we'll continue to generate revenue from you. We wouldn't have it any other way. Actually, I'm convinced that most businesses wouldn't have it any other way. Today, however, I'd like to let you in on a secret: I get just as much a kick out of you making money with the systems we've provided you with as I do billing you for them. You heard right, I dig it deeply when you make money with our help. Every time you fire up a piece of software developed, customised, planned or implemented by us, I get excited about what you're going to do with it.

So, as we start this new business year, I'd like to wish you all the best in making money. Whether you make it selling high-end services, bringing out the taste of food, being creative, or linking people up, I hope you coin it. We'll be there to help you every step of the way. Make no mistake, we're going to charge you for it, but I've got a feeling you won't have a problem with that. Value tends to flock together, and we'll be right there in the flock, by your side, ready to help you exploit whatever it is you're grazing. Why? Because when you make money, we do too, and both of us win.

Let's get cracking.

Yours truly
Martin

I was thinking about writing about some new year's stuff, like everyone else does. Resolutions, and all that stuff. The problem is, I don't really make new year's resolutions - at least, I try not to, because I believe I should be doing whatever I should be all the time.

Sigh. I can't win, however, seeing as business does work according to years, here goes:

More walking, but not less talking. More rock-star attitude, with an understanding that it needs to be backed up by some serious skill on the drums. Better understanding of what drives value in the background, and how to make money by helping our clients make money. Less wasting time doing nothing (OK, that's a personal one). Less manual processes, more automation. Less clients who aren't profitable. A few more clients who get our vision, and a lot more ones who don't need to, because we're selling them commoditized services, enabled by an understanding that it's the best way to make a boat-load of that profit stuff for them and ourselves.

R5 mil? Why not?

Less is good. More is just as good.

No, I'm not becoming some sort of property tycoon…

I do however have a lovely furnished 2-bedroom apartment in Stellenbosch to rent from the beginning of January. Perfect for students, it's about 500m from campus, with a balcony, large living room, and secure undercover parking. How much? R3750/month.

Call me at 0836229105.

There's a new local blogger in town, and I really dig his vibrant design style... In fact, I'm jealous of his header

The dude's name is Mark Forrester, he's posting some nicely digestible snippets, perfect for a regular feed read - go check him out!

I've spent the last two days thinking about how to conceptualise and bring across something that bothers me. Actually, it only bothers me sometimes - the rest of the time it's really quite fascinating. Fascinating not in a "wow, that's amazing" kinda way, but more in a "this is an interesting phenomenon, it makes sense mostly, but sometimes it puzzles me" way. I'm talking about the human propensity to want to interact with others, above all other things.

Back in my first year at varsity, I wrote an essay entitled "The fundamental flaw" (I've since lost it, unfortunately). I believed "the flaw", in essence, to be the human fear of the unknown. Fear of the unknown is what makes darkness scary, what stops most people from becoming entrepreneurs, what makes good horror movies (the ones you never see the monster in), and what in many instances links people up in "relationships". No, I'm not a cynical fool, hear me out…

Consider the concept of being "single":

People don't like being alone. It scares the hell out of them. So much, in fact, that they'll do almost anything to avoid it. They'll "date", they'll go to elaborate lengths to "meet new people", they'll hang around in clubs and bars, they'll ask their friends to make introductions for them, they'll "network". Heck, a lot of the activities they engage in contribute significantly to the economy - a lot of time, money and effort (all proxies for each other) is spent avoiding the "alone" situation. Now I can't change the world in a day, so I won't try to. What I would however like to do is criticise conformity to this machine. I loathe conformity for it's own sake. If you've been reading my stuff for a while, you'll know that. It hacks me off.

Lately, I've been realising more and more that the concept of "dating" just doesn't do it for me. At all. Why? Because it's symptomatic of conformity. Most people have heard that men and women meet, have drinks, eat out, sleep together, live together, and eventually get married and have offspring, so they investigate the process. They'll consciously put in the effort to find and evaluate potential partners, follow along the defined path, and eventually end up in the same position as everyone else before them. Principally, this hacks me off not because I'm not part of this wonderfully natural process (and thus I'm not getting any), but because I hate to see the human spirit limited by unimaginative drudgery. To me, this process just screams "drudgery"… Maybe I am just a cynical bastard, and I'm fully aware that thinking this way makes me some sort of "outcast" in the eyes of society, but I'm sick and tired of conformity for conformity's sake, and I'm sick and tired of being asked "you're such a nice guy, why don't you have a girlfriend?"

No, I don't, OK? I never have. Fundamentally, I don’t want to actively pursue it. At times, instinct has driven me to investigate the "dating" process, but I've always felt disgusted with myself afterwards. It feels crappy interrogating someone else for the sake of finding out whether they offer some degree of "compatibility". It's artificial, and I hate artificiality. The process lacks imagination, which is just stupid. To be honest, most people bore me. If you're reading this, you're probably not one of them, so don't take offense.

I don't mind not having a woman by my side. Sure, I sometimes wonder what it would be like, and it tickles my curiosity, but fundamentally I don't mind being on my own. I'm just not interested in "having a social life", and it felt as if I needed to get that point across. I'm dedicated to a cause of my own. The purpose isn't always totally clear, but I'm getting more confident about it as time passes. As a principle, I'm tickled by people who have causes of their own. By people with intense purpose, by people who have a real dedication to something in their lives - not to "living life" (because that's pretty much a given, as unromantic as it sounds) - but to intensely constructive achievement of some sort. On rare occasions, I encounter these kinds of people.

What am I getting at? Trying to force myself to spend time with women (and actively going out to meet them) because it’s supposed to be natural seems like a complete contradiction. It feels weird, and I've decided to stick by my gut feel and not do things that feel weird. If, by remote chance, I encounter a girl who doesn't bore me, I'll let her know. If I don't, that's just the way things are.

Now you know.