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<pre> --><!-- <br>custompageIndex - 1<br>current_page - blog<pre></pre><br> --><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0">
	<channel>
		<title>
			<![CDATA[A-BLIND-MAN-AND-HIS-SIGN]]>
		</title>
		<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign</link>
		<description>RSS feed</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Thoughts from mum]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        


    
        
        
        
            Mum reacted with the following to my post, &amp;quot;About wanting to climb into a box&amp;quot;.Not unlike the Great-Grandparents I mentioned, when I was a baby we lived for a while in a home (if you can call it that) that Mum and Dad built for us out of car packing cases in a boat yard. They were chasing a dream to build a yacht and sail around the world;  pretty poor but industrious.While the boat yard is not far from where I live today, the family’s circumstances have changed a lot since then, largely due to family values passed down through generations.On that basis, it seemed appropriate to share her thoughts here.        

            



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        column.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column'
        });

        contentWrapper.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

        wrapper.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

        widget.css({
            width: '100%',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

    }

    function bindRowMediaRefresh() {
        if (!row.length) {
            return;
        }

        row.find('img').off(rowMediaNamespace).on(rowMediaNamespace, function() {
            window.requestAnimationFrame(function() {
                applyVerticalAlignment();
            });
        });
    }

    function applyMotionItemStyles() {
        var delays = "together" === 'staggered'
            ? [
                "0s",
                "0.16s",
                "0.32s",
                "0.48s"
            ]
            : ['0s', '0s', '0s', '0s'];
        var transitionValue = 'opacity 1.05s cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1), transform 1.05s cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1)';
        var items = [
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__eyebrow').get(0), translate: '18px', delay: delays[0] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__heading').get(0), translate: '34px', delay: delays[1] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__body').get(0), translate: '84px', delay: delays[2] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__actions').get(0), translate: '110px', delay: delays[3] || '0s' }
        ];

        content.children().each(function() {
            this.style.transition = transitionValue;
            this.style.transitionDelay = '0s';
            this.style.setProperty('--qb-td-translate-y', '26px');
        });

        $.each(items, function(index, item) {
            if (!item.element) {
                return;
            }

            item.element.style.transition = transitionValue;
            item.element.style.transitionDelay = item.delay;
            item.element.style.setProperty('--qb-td-translate-y', item.translate);
        });
    }

    function initTextDesignerMotion() {
        if (!widget.length) {
            return;
        }

        applyVerticalAlignment();
        applyMotionItemStyles();
        bindRowMediaRefresh();
        $(window).off('resize.qbTextDesignerAlign_e2e68bcf_b08d_ef42_e40a_716b0de5ff3e').on('resize.qbTextDesignerAlign_e2e68bcf_b08d_ef42_e40a_716b0de5ff3e', applyVerticalAlignment);

        if (revealTimer) {
            window.clearTimeout(revealTimer);
        }

        if (observer &amp;&amp; typeof observer.disconnect === 'function') {
            observer.disconnect();
            observer = null;
        }

        if (reduceMotion || "none" === 'none') {
            widget.removeClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
            content.addClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
            hasRevealed = true;
            return;
        }

        if (hasRevealed &amp;&amp; content.hasClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible')) {
            widget.addClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
            return;
        }

        widget.addClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
        content.removeClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');

        var revealContent = function(delayMs) {
            if (revealTimer) {
                window.clearTimeout(revealTimer);
            }

            content.removeClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
            if (content.length &amp;&amp; content[0]) {
                void content[0].offsetWidth;
            }

            revealTimer = window.setTimeout(function() {
                window.requestAnimationFrame(function() {
                    content.addClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
                    hasRevealed = true;
                });
            }, delayMs || 140);
        };

        var widgetIsNearViewport = function() {
            if (!widget.length || !widget[0] || typeof widget[0].getBoundingClientRect !== 'function') {
                return false;
            }

            var rect = widget[0].getBoundingClientRect();
            var viewportHeight = window.innerHeight || document.documentElement.clientHeight || 0;
            var viewportWidth = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth || 0;

            if (!viewportHeight || !viewportWidth) {
                return false;
            }

            return rect.bottom &gt;= -40
                &amp;&amp; rect.right &gt;= 0
                &amp;&amp; rect.top  * {
        opacity: 0;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready.qb-text-designer--text-fade-up .qb-text-designer__content:not(.qb-text-designer__content--visible) &gt; * {
        opacity: 0;
        transform: translate3d(0, var(--qb-td-translate-y), 0);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready .qb-text-designer__content.qb-text-designer__content--visible &gt; * {
        opacity: 1;
        transform: translate3d(0, 0, 0);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready.qb-text-designer--sequence-staggered .qb-text-designer__content &gt; *:nth-child(1) {
        --qb-td-translate-y: 18px;
        transition-delay: var(--qb-td-text-animation-delay-1);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready.qb-text-designer--sequence-staggered .qb-text-designer__content &gt; *:nth-child(2) {
        --qb-td-translate-y: 28px;
        transition-delay: var(--qb-td-text-animation-delay-2);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready.qb-text-designer--sequence-staggered .qb-text-designer__content &gt; *:nth-child(3) {
        --qb-td-translate-y: 38px;
        transition-delay: var(--qb-td-text-animation-delay-3);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"].qb-text-designer--animated-ready.qb-text-designer--sequence-staggered .qb-text-designer__content &gt; *:nth-child(4) {
        --qb-td-translate-y: 48px;
        transition-delay: var(--qb-td-text-animation-delay-4);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__heading {
        margin: 0 0 calc(var(--qb-td-gap) * 0.8) 0;
        color: var(--qb-td-heading-color);
        font-family: var(--qb-td-heading-font);
        font-size: var(--qb-td-heading-size-desktop);
        font-weight: var(--qb-td-heading-weight);
        line-height: var(--qb-td-heading-line-height);
        letter-spacing: var(--qb-td-heading-letter-spacing);
        text-align: var(--qb-td-heading-align);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__heading a {
        color: inherit;
        font-family: inherit;
        font-size: inherit;
        font-weight: inherit;
        line-height: inherit;
        letter-spacing: inherit;
        text-decoration: underline;
        text-decoration-thickness: 1px;
        text-underline-offset: 0.12em;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body {
        font-family: var(--qb-td-body-font);
        font-size: var(--qb-td-body-size-desktop);
        font-weight: var(--qb-td-body-weight);
        color: var(--qb-td-body-color);
        text-align: var(--qb-td-body-align);
        letter-spacing: var(--qb-td-body-letter-spacing);
        line-height: var(--qb-td-body-line-height);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body &gt; *:first-child {
        margin-top: 0;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body &gt; *:last-child {
        margin-bottom: 0;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h1,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h2,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h3 {
        margin: 0 0 calc(var(--qb-td-gap) * 0.75) 0;
        color: var(--qb-td-heading-color);
        font-family: var(--qb-td-heading-font);
        font-weight: var(--qb-td-heading-weight);
        line-height: var(--qb-td-heading-line-height);
        letter-spacing: var(--qb-td-heading-letter-spacing);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h1,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h2 {
        font-size: var(--qb-td-heading-size-desktop);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h3 {
        font-size: min(var(--qb-td-heading-size-desktop), 34px);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body p,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ul,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ol,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body blockquote {
        margin: 0 0 var(--qb-td-gap) 0;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body p,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ul,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ol,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body li {
        color: var(--qb-td-body-color);
        font-family: inherit;
        font-size: inherit;
        font-weight: inherit;
        line-height: inherit;
        letter-spacing: inherit;
        text-align: inherit;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body p {
        padding-top: 0;
        padding-bottom: 0;
        width: auto;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ul,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body ol {
        padding-left: 1.3em;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body a {
        color: var(--qb-td-accent);
        font-family: inherit;
        font-size: inherit;
        font-weight: inherit;
        line-height: inherit;
        letter-spacing: inherit;
        text-decoration: underline;
        text-decoration-thickness: 1px;
        text-underline-offset: 0.14em;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body blockquote {
        padding: 0.2em 0 0.2em 1.1em;
        border-left: 3px solid var(--qb-td-accent);
        font-family: var(--qb-td-heading-font);
        font-size: 1.1em;
        line-height: 1.6;
        color: rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.82);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body img {
        max-width: 100%;
        height: auto;
        border-radius: 18px;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__actions {
        margin-top: calc(var(--qb-td-gap) * 1.1);
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__button {
        display: inline-flex;
        align-items: center;
        justify-content: center;
        min-height: 48px;
        padding: 0 24px;
        border-radius: var(--qb-td-button-radius);
        background: var(--qb-td-button-background);
        border: 1px solid var(--qb-td-button-border);
        color: var(--qb-td-button-text) !important;
        font-family: var(--qb-td-button-font);
        font-size: var(--qb-td-button-size-desktop);
        font-weight: var(--qb-td-button-weight);
        letter-spacing: 0.08em;
        text-decoration: none !important;
        text-transform: uppercase;
        transition: transform 0.18s ease, box-shadow 0.18s ease, opacity 0.18s ease;
    }

    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__button:hover,
    [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__button:focus {
        opacity: 0.92;
        transform: translateY(-1px);
        box-shadow: 0 14px 30px rgba(17, 24, 39, 0.14);
    }

    @media (max-width: 767px) {
        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] {
            border-radius: 20px;
            padding-bottom: 35px;
        }

        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__eyebrow {
            font-size: var(--qb-td-eyebrow-size-mobile);
        }

        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__heading,
        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h1,
        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h2 {
            font-size: var(--qb-td-heading-size-mobile);
        }

        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body h3 {
            font-size: min(var(--qb-td-heading-size-mobile), 30px);
        }

        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__body {
            font-size: var(--qb-td-body-size-mobile);
        }

        [id="cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"] .qb-text-designer__button {
            font-size: var(--qb-td-button-size-mobile);
        }
    }



(function() {
    var widget = $(document.getElementById("cbf5a288-6f28-4bbc-63e9-806eec88b0b5"));
    var contentWrapper = widget.closest('.qb-column-content');
    var content = widget.find('.qb-text-designer__content').first();
    var wrapper = widget.closest('.widget');
    var column = widget.closest('.column, .columns');
    var row = column.closest('.qb-section-shell__content-inner.row');
    if (!row.length) {
        row = column.closest('.columns_wrapper.row');
    }
    var reduceMotion = window.matchMedia &amp;&amp; window.matchMedia('(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)').matches;
    var revealTimer = null;
    var observer = null;
    var loadRefreshTimer = null;
    var hasRevealed = false;
    var windowEventNamespace = '.qbTextDesigner_cbf5a288_6f28_4bbc_63e9_806eec88b0b5';
    var rowMediaNamespace = 'load' + windowEventNamespace + ' error' + windowEventNamespace;

    function rowIsSideBySideLayout() {
        if (!row.length || !column.length) {
            return false;
        }

        var visibleColumns = row.children('.column:visible, .columns:visible');
        if (visibleColumns.length &lt; 2) {
            return false;
        }

        var currentTop = Math.round(column.first().offset().top || 0);
        var sameRowColumns = visibleColumns.filter(function() {
            if (this === column[0]) {
                return false;
            }

            return Math.abs(Math.round($(this).offset().top || 0) - currentTop)  0;
    }

    function applyVerticalAlignment() {
        if (!widget.length || !wrapper.length) {
            return;
        }

        if (row.length) {
            row.css({
                display: '',
                flexWrap: '',
                alignItems: ''
            });
        }

        column.css({
            display: '',
            flexDirection: '',
            height: ''
        });

        contentWrapper.css({
            display: '',
            flexDirection: '',
            flex: '',
            height: '',
            maxWidth: '',
            width: ''
        });

        wrapper.css({
            height: '',
            display: '',
            flexDirection: '',
            flex: ''
        });

        widget.css({
            width: '',
            flex: '',
            height: '',
            marginTop: '',
            marginBottom: ''
        });

        if ("top" === 'top') {
            return;
        }

        var visibleWidgetCount = column.find('&gt; .widget:visible, &gt; .qb-column-content &gt; .widget:visible').length;
        if (!row.length || !column.length || visibleWidgetCount !== 1) {
            return;
        }

        if (!rowIsSideBySideLayout()) {
            return;
        }

        row.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexWrap: 'wrap',
            alignItems: 'stretch'
        });

        column.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column'
        });

        contentWrapper.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

        wrapper.css({
            display: 'flex',
            flexDirection: 'column',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

        widget.css({
            width: '100%',
            flex: '1 1 auto',
            height: '100%'
        });

    }

    function bindRowMediaRefresh() {
        if (!row.length) {
            return;
        }

        row.find('img').off(rowMediaNamespace).on(rowMediaNamespace, function() {
            window.requestAnimationFrame(function() {
                applyVerticalAlignment();
            });
        });
    }

    function applyMotionItemStyles() {
        var delays = "together" === 'staggered'
            ? [
                "0s",
                "0.16s",
                "0.32s",
                "0.48s"
            ]
            : ['0s', '0s', '0s', '0s'];
        var transitionValue = 'opacity 1.05s cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1), transform 1.05s cubic-bezier(0.22, 1, 0.36, 1)';
        var items = [
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__eyebrow').get(0), translate: '18px', delay: delays[0] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__heading').get(0), translate: '34px', delay: delays[1] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__body').get(0), translate: '84px', delay: delays[2] || '0s' },
            { element: content.children('.qb-text-designer__actions').get(0), translate: '110px', delay: delays[3] || '0s' }
        ];

        content.children().each(function() {
            this.style.transition = transitionValue;
            this.style.transitionDelay = '0s';
            this.style.setProperty('--qb-td-translate-y', '26px');
        });

        $.each(items, function(index, item) {
            if (!item.element) {
                return;
            }

            item.element.style.transition = transitionValue;
            item.element.style.transitionDelay = item.delay;
            item.element.style.setProperty('--qb-td-translate-y', item.translate);
        });
    }

    function initTextDesignerMotion() {
        if (!widget.length) {
            return;
        }

        applyVerticalAlignment();
        applyMotionItemStyles();
        bindRowMediaRefresh();
        $(window).off('resize.qbTextDesignerAlign_cbf5a288_6f28_4bbc_63e9_806eec88b0b5').on('resize.qbTextDesignerAlign_cbf5a288_6f28_4bbc_63e9_806eec88b0b5', applyVerticalAlignment);

        if (revealTimer) {
            window.clearTimeout(revealTimer);
        }

        if (observer &amp;&amp; typeof observer.disconnect === 'function') {
            observer.disconnect();
            observer = null;
        }

        if (reduceMotion || "none" === 'none') {
            widget.removeClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
            content.addClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
            hasRevealed = true;
            return;
        }

        if (hasRevealed &amp;&amp; content.hasClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible')) {
            widget.addClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
            return;
        }

        widget.addClass('qb-text-designer--animated-ready');
        content.removeClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');

        var revealContent = function(delayMs) {
            if (revealTimer) {
                window.clearTimeout(revealTimer);
            }

            content.removeClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
            if (content.length &amp;&amp; content[0]) {
                void content[0].offsetWidth;
            }

            revealTimer = window.setTimeout(function() {
                window.requestAnimationFrame(function() {
                    content.addClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
                    hasRevealed = true;
                });
            }, delayMs || 140);
        };

        var widgetIsNearViewport = function() {
            if (!widget.length || !widget[0] || typeof widget[0].getBoundingClientRect !== 'function') {
                return false;
            }

            var rect = widget[0].getBoundingClientRect();
            var viewportHeight = window.innerHeight || document.documentElement.clientHeight || 0;
            var viewportWidth = window.innerWidth || document.documentElement.clientWidth || 0;

            if (!viewportHeight || !viewportWidth) {
                return false;
            }

            return rect.bottom &gt;= -40
                &amp;&amp; rect.right &gt;= 0
                &amp;&amp; rect.top ]]>
						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/231770</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Mon, 08 Jun 2026 16:34:05 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[I Wanted to Climb Into a Box for Six Months]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        


    
        
        
        
            The other day, I found myself asking someone to help me find a big box. I wanted to climb into it for the next six months, have them throw food through a hole, and not emerge until the elections were over. Both of them, local and overseas.I&amp;#039;m not proud of that impulse. But there it was.The reason wasn&amp;#039;t complicated. I couldn&amp;#039;t stomach watching another election where politicians seemed genuinely tone deaf to what&amp;#039;s actually happening.And look, I know how that sounds, I&amp;#039;m the guy who usually argues for optimism, who tries to get people to see the bright side, who genuinely believes most humans aren&amp;#039;t evil and want to do better. So when I&amp;#039;m the one asking for a box, maybe that tells you something about the state of things.But here&amp;#039;s the thing. The frustration isn&amp;#039;t actually about the politicians themselves. It&amp;#039;s not about whoever promises three free doctor visits and thinks that solves a cost-of-living crisis. It&amp;#039;s not even about rates increasing faster than families can absorb them while councils shrug and say &amp;quot;infrastructure costs money.&amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s deeper than that.What&amp;#039;s actually eating at me is that we&amp;#039;ve built systems, government, banking, corporate structures, all of it, where good people can do genuinely harmful things and never have to look the person in the eye. We&amp;#039;ve optimized ourselves into a place where complexity has become a smokescreen. Where you can&amp;#039;t get a straight answer because there&amp;#039;s no one person who can give you one. Where the handshake, the conversation, the human agreement to work something out together, that&amp;#039;s basically gone.My grandfather was in local government. A farmer, seriously principled, got involved because he actually wanted to improve things for the people he represented. I believed him. I believed that was possible.But I&amp;#039;m watching that kind of integrity get buried under process. Under &amp;quot;the rules.&amp;quot; Under layers of bureaucracy that let institutions claim they&amp;#039;re just following protocol while real people get crushed by the machinery.My great-grandparents bought a piece of land and dragged a shed onto it. They lived in that shed. I know, most of us can&amp;#039;t imagine doing that now. But they lived within their means and created something. Over their lifetime, they built a house around that shed, room by room, as they could afford it. That house still stands. It&amp;#039;s probably better built than most modern houses, and they did it incrementally, without destroying themselves financially.That&amp;#039;s what happens when you build within your means.Now we have a system that everyone says is better, better quality housing, better protection, better standards. And sure, I understand the logic. Less mold. Safer structures. Better for people. But most young people can&amp;#039;t afford modern houses without totally indebting themselves for probably their whole lives. And the rules don&amp;#039;t allow them to do what my great-grandparents did. They can&amp;#039;t start small. They can&amp;#039;t build incrementally. They can&amp;#039;t even try.        

            



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            content.removeClass('qb-text-designer__content--visible');
            if (content.length &amp;&amp; content[0]) {
                void content[0].offsetWidth;
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            return rect.bottom &gt;= -40
                &amp;&amp; rect.right &gt;= 0
                &amp;&amp; rect.top ]]>
						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/228882</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:48:25 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Micro Finance - Give it a go]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        I love the idea of Kiva and have just made my 170th loan. If you'd like to start doing the same you Kiva is giving away free loans for people to try out the service.To sign up to Kiva, click here	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/140046</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 21 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Copying is a fundamental part of innovation]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137176</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Mon, 16 Sep 2013 04:18:57 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Is political correctness ruining education?]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        I so love this speech on TED because&amp;nbsp;Sir Ken Robinson&amp;nbsp;puts forward such a powerful argument contrasting what he sees as the current failure of the education system in the USA and his proposed alternative.
I often wonder if education is being ruined by political correctness?
Now don't get me wrong, I am all for behaving well and being aware of our behaviour toward other cultures, ideals, religions and the opposite sex; I just don't think people always think differently, they just know 'what not to say', and that's not the same thing. I often observe situations where I believe people are less authentic and free as they don't want to be labelled sexist, homophobic, racist etc and as a result don't actually say what is on their mind. To accuse people of these things is such an easy take down as it is quite disarming but in my mind is a truly lazy debate. Is it therefore possible that, because we don't want to be disliked or because of fear of retribution, we don't get to have the crucial conversations required to bring about change and ignite real and respectful bipartisan debate? Is it possible that teachers don't get to teach as they don't have the confidence to say "Fuck the system, teaching is more important that just testing"? In this speech Sir Ken Robinson talks about teaching needing to not be about 'command and control', but about leadership and influencing children and communities. My worry is that schools seem to be some of the most politically correct places there are, with teachers not wanting to offend anyone. To lead though, you actually need to risk upsetting people and be prepared to take a stand, and ultimately the environment has to support that stand by not being bullied by splinter groups and over zealous parents. We have to give teachers back their discretion, and support it, but in truth real leaders don't allow it to be taken from them in there first place. Teachers need to be leaders! PS I should say I love teachers and value education I'm not however so fond of the current environment.
	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/135350</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 16 May 2013 09:59:13 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[If you want to see me bring a shovel ...]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        This is one powerful story. A very inspiring and incredibly convincing story about the power of getting your hands dirty. I love that we're re writing the rules of society and building the world we want to live in. "Growing your own food is like printing money" Wow what an wonderful man.
	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/139666</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Tue, 07 May 2013 00:00:00 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[My Startup Weekend And The Possibility Calculator.]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        Early last year I had three things on my mind. I was researching the possible use of&amp;nbsp;Amazon AWS&amp;nbsp;for a project we were working on; I was watching the events at the&amp;nbsp;Auckland Startup Weekend&amp;nbsp;wishing I was there; and finally I was preparing for a presentation I was due to give at the&amp;nbsp;College of Business at Massey University. It was a holiday weekend, so much to Sonya's dismay, I wondered if I could run my own Start Weekend. The question I asked myself was "Could I launch an internet business in one weekend, in the process write all the code, learn AWS including EC2, Route53, Multi Region ELB, RDS, SSL, Cloud Watch and Autoscaling and could I prove to the University Students they had wonderful opportunities available as it was possible to launch an incredibly scalable business for a meer $60 a month?"First of all Amazon AWS is incredible, if you're going to build an online business do it there and make sure your start by building to scale. Anyway I worked like a dog, and I came close, but by the end of the 3rd day I was exhausted; I had a working website, but something that was still a little buggy, and without enough design refinement for me to want to put my name to it. It was however an awesome test and if I had, had a project partner it would have been easily achieved. I loved this project, and as I am so passionate about helping people design their financial or business futures I didn't want the work to be just thrown out. I put it on the virtual shelf where it stayed until last week when I had a few evenings free to finally finish and release the project. So on the 12/12/12 I released The "Possibility Calculator" as both a&amp;nbsp;Website and Facebook app. Slowly over the week people have been trying it out and having fun not just understanding their current financial situation but also playing "what if?" as they create alternative scenarios too.Anyway, I'm writing tonight to mark the occasion. A few days out from Christmas is probably the worst time to release this as everyone is so busy, but I had set a goal of doing so in 2012. If you're game, then please have a play. If you have friends that need budgeting assistance please share this with them. We are in difficult times and most of us could either do with more money, better understand where it all goes and almost everyone wants to pay down their debt. If any of that rings true for you then The Possibility Calculator might be just what you need. Enjoy!http://www.thepossibilitycalculator.com	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/135617</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 21 Dec 2012 08:01:50 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Hard Work - Taste and Getting Started]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        Ira Glass&amp;nbsp;on Hard Work, Taste and Getting Started

This is great. I saw this a while back and wanted to share but lost the link, sorry. Everyone was once a beginner; taste and creative skill develops with time, but only comes once you get started.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/140549</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Tue, 11 Dec 2012 03:38:55 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[My desire is to be grateful]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        
Hi everyone, I've got busy and having so much fun living life with my direct and Queensberry family. I wish I could get back here, but right now may I just share a video that echoes my desire&amp;nbsp;for us all to be grateful&amp;nbsp;:-)

	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137663</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Photographers: 31 Days to a Better Blog]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        Photographers, and my other blogger friends, I have decided to take the "31 Days to a Better Blog challenge"&amp;nbsp;by Pro Blogger. I downloaded the book last week and, having read it, decided it it has a lot to offer, especially at a time I'm considering how to bring more focus and value to my blog.
Please Join Me

I'd love to find photographers, and any other bloggers, that would like to undertake the challenge with me. If you would like to join me on this exciting and rewarding adventure, you will need to buy the book here, and if you constructively, and honestly, give feedback on my progress I will do the same for you. The cool thing about this program is there is at most two pages of reading a day, and one hands-on task per day, which is awesome without being overwhelming. Over the 31 days we will together try various blogging techniques, review the positioning and target audience of our blogs, learn how to promote and measure their success, and most importantly, get heavily engaged with our blogs for 31 days. If you're interested let me know below or contact me on twitter. Let's have some fun.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/140517</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:45:47 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Chopstickapps is Two Guys Crushing It]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        I've been so excited by this story since yesterday I just had to share.

Yesterday Danny told me that one of our developers, Simon, had launched a game on the iTunes app store. I was interested but to be honest, at least initially, more polite than excited. That was until Simon introduced me to "Nutty Bugs", and then I was blown away.



I am not easily impressed, but it's not an overstatement to say that I was stunned. Stunned, not just because I had no idea about the project, but because what they have created is so complete and professional. In six months they have not only developed a game, they've started a company, they've integrated it into Facebook, in fact they even needed to learn how to program the damn iPhone. 

Seriously, I can't see any difference between this game and those launched by much bigger organisations. It's impressive, the game play is great, it's good fun, maybe even a little addictive.

That isn't however the part that excites me

What excites me is the entrepreneurial spirit these guys have.

I loved getting this skype message from Simon as orders rolled in a little faster after I tweeted

"my heart is pounding with excitment!! thank you!!"



In Gary Veynerchuks book Crush It, he talks passionately about the fact that if you want something bad enough you have to Crush It!. You have to throw yourself at something, you have to work through the night while your friends sleep. You have to commit your personal time to your passion constantly. Then you have to get up and go to work so you can pay the bills until your successful.

In my opinion, not many people have the heart and stamina to do that but ... Simon and his partner have done exactly that. Launching however is just past the starting line, getting noticed will be as hard. When they get there, their success will be completely deserved. I'm of mixed emotions, I know that if this takes off a great developer will probably leave us, but I would never want to deny someone the excitement of chasing their passion.

Well done guys, you have my every support, and I trust success will be with you soon.
	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/139990</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:03:48 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Invigorated but a little scared]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        I just had a wonderful evening with CEOs from some of New Zealand's best companies. The group was brought together by Better By Design to visit some of the USA's best Design-led and Innovative companies. It's going to be an amazing week, challenging I am sure, but an interesting thing happened tonight: if you like, a small distinction became clear to me.

There I was talking to Diego Rodriguez a partner at Ideo, a brilliant design company, and Perry Klebahn a consulting associate professor at Stanford Design School, two great people who were truly gracious in the knowledge they shared. To be honest, I was little in awe, I wanted to launch into the Queensberry story, to sell what we do and why what we do matters, but I got stuck.

The first reason was, my normal story is an IT-led one, and I was in Google, Facebook and Apple territory so that was going to be hard to get anyone excited about us. The main reason however was I don't really care about that anymore. Sure IT is an enabler, but it comes at what we do from the wrong direction.

We make tens of thousands of albums a year, all in New Zealand and every single one different. Not a little different, completely different. Like this one by Johannes van Kan of Virginia and Richard's wedding in Barcelona.

This was a truly special event, set in a beautiful church and the story carefully captured and presented by a very talented photographer.



So why don't I care about the technology any more?

Well of course I still do. It's an enabler, but what I care about more is the fact that, unlike the people we met at a printing exhibition last week, we aren't bragging about having taken all the people out of the manufacturing process. In fact we celebrate the fact that people are crucial to the process. Have a look at this video, and listen to the talk about it on blogs and around twitter, and you realise that there is a yearning in people for 'things that are special', items 'made for them' and for objects 'made with love'.



We do this - this is Queensberry - and I am incredibly proud of it. We make albums for royalty, celebrities and the not so famous. And in that moment when we make your album, it is the only one that matters to us.

And why am I scared?

I'm scared for two reasons. It's easy to get caught up in the technology, and I must admit I am one of the worst. I love my iPhone 4, and in fact right now it looks like Apple threw up on my desk. I love sharing and I love watching my friends and family through Facebook when I can't be with them.

But I am also scared because in our desire to share, I think we forget to 'remember'. Throwing images on Facebook is great, but if history is any guide it is unlikely that Facebook will be around when our children or grandchildren are wondering where they came from. I don't really care if it's an album you store them in, but people need to take more care of how they bring these images through the different changes in technology.

I'm even more concerned that people start to highlight what's precious. A DVD of images is great, but how does anyone know which people and memories are most important? Your wedding day is precious, it's a carefully staged and choreographed event. Everything is perfect, but sadly with too many people their memories fade as quickly as the flowers, because they don't care about the photography until it's too late.

We're ok!

Fortunately Queensberry is ok, we have a strong brand and our core message is simple, and heard by the people who get us. We are storytailors, it's not our job so much to tell you how to tell your story, as to help you tell it the way you want it to be.

https://www.queensberry.com/blog/
https://www.queensberry.com/mentions/	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/134699</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:20:12 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[I feel curious]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        


Every so often I come across a project that speaks to my interest in celebratining human interaction, story telling and technology. This one certainly does that. You too will see why I feel curious about how the world is feeling right now and how long it will be before you are curious too?
Once you've watched the movie, go and play at http://www.wefeelfine.org/, it's fascinating. 
Thanks to Justine for
sharing this video.
It's funny, we must have been on the same wave length tonight. I saw Justin's
tweet
about this TED video, excitedly I wrote this post and then found he'd done the same. I think that perfectly sums up exactly how powerful an idea this is. Enjoy.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/139026</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:58:16 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[When Empathy Goes Bad]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

Wikipedia describes Empathy as the capability to share and understand another's emotions and feelings, and is characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes".

This connection to others is both an honorable and natural feeling, but can also often drive us to do something that, is the completely wrong thing to do. Since joining the Fire Service I've seen many situations where peoples empathy for another has not only caused them to be unable to render help, but on occasions has actually put everyone in danger.

In a blog post the other day Seth Godin talked about empathy and asked marketers to not assume they know how people are feeling emotionally. His logic was that unless you had had the same experience, how could you know how a person was feeling and that it was therefore dangerous to pretend you do.

I agree with this, but in a stressful, high anxiety situation, peoples imagination and emotions can run away on them if the environment is not managed and if people do not control their own state. As we grow, we develop a strong natural empathetic response. It's that feeling that makes us want to rush over and help someone we see struggling, or aid someone in pain.
The problem is, if we get caught up in that emotion - we actually lose the ability to help.
What I've discovered, partly through training and partly through observation is that there is a space (a period of time) between the stimulus (what happened) and your response to it. For some people that time doesn't seem to exist and they react so quickly, so the challenge is to take a deep breath and take as long as needed to respond appropriately.
'Feel' but don't get caught up
It's important to have empathy and show compassion, but you can't get caught up in the emotion of the situation. You help best when you are totally present and strong.
What's your role
Be clear, "what's my role in this situation", and respond appropriately. At the scene of a car accident it would be a natural instinct to want to help a crying child first and remove them from the situation and give comfort. But to remain effective we must control those feelings, and do what is right. To solve an emotional situation effectively there should be a process that works best
The same situation we see on the Fire Ground exist in normal life.
To be effective in our jobs, our businesses, and our families, we need to learn to have empathy without over reaction, this allows us to assess and then act in the most effective manner. If not the situation becomes overwhelming and we lose both our clarity of thought and the creativity required to solve the problem at hand.
Empathy can become an addiction
It feels good to be connected emotionally to people, but it is not always best to be like that. Build a strong emotional muscle to help guide your response as It's a lot easier to assess and react to a situation by looking in 'at it' rather than when you are 'too close'.

In business we're required to make big decisions in stressful environments, think strategically under pressure and set an example for our employees. Don't go running into any burning building without taking a minute to control your frame of mind.

Cheers, Stephen.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/134807</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:51:28 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Crazy Dancing Guy Creates a Movement]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

Derek Sivers did a talk at TED about this crazy dancing guy and what we can learn from him in terms of leadership, and more importantly about the importance of the first few followers.

"If you want a movement, a leader needs the guts to stand alone and look ridiculous". What you really need however is the first few followers, you need to nurture these people as they indicate to the masses that following is ok.

Because they help to establish momentum, we need to love and embrace our followers as equals.

In the video watch a movement happen in under 3 minutes as Derek dissects some lessons ...

BTW This video was shared by the very inspiring Brian Johnson of Philosophers Notes fame. I would thoroughly recommend them for those interested in this sort of thing	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137042</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 01 Apr 2010 01:42:06 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Dirty Jobs]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        
People with dirty jobs are happier
In this movie Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs does two things, first he talks about a day he worked on a farm and amongst other things docks lambs. I saw this show and couldn't believe he did what he did. I thought it was inhumane and as it turns out initially he did too, but in an entertaining fashion he talks through his learning and explains.

The second thing he does is he makes the point that in his opinion people with Dirty Jobs are happier. He puts forward a strong case that following the advice "Follow Your Passion" might be bad advice. For some it will just lead to a life of disappointment and I therefore guess unhapiness.

Certainly there are lots of very happy people picking fruit, waiting tables etc so that they can collect just enough money to do what they really love such as surfing in the evening and snow boarding all winter. That's not to suggest these are "dirty jobs", just examples of jobs I no longer want to do to earn an income. They don't meet my needs but do work perfectly for many and therefore support Mikes point.
It's an interesting observation and ...

maybe it's a crazy addiction but I however am someone that has chosen to persue my dreams through work. Not just in what I do day to day, but also through what I am able to do with the reasources and network of people that result from my efforts.

I care deeply about What I do, How I do it and more importantly Who I do it With.

Work for me has become one of the ways I express myself, I see our company as a reflection of me. When things are going well, I find it easy to feel good about myself. When the stress kicks in for a prolonged period of time I need to remind myself that "it's just a game", yet sometimes it can get me down. I guess that's his point. If you take it personally, and if you don't keep the self judgement under control it is going to be hard to be happy.

Life is always easier when we keep things simple ... when we stay present and we design our lives around what makes us smile.

So why is it so easy to build up a story which starts with "I'll be happy when ..." especially when it comes to our work?

If I've learnt nothing else from the Fire Service it is this...

You only have THIS MOMENT ... Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is still a dream and sadly some people wont even have this afternoon.

'Follow Your Passion' is fantastic advice, but there are so many ways to do this, not just at work. Great family, friends, laughter, work, sports, hobbies.

What ever you do life is to short not to enjoy it!	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/134989</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:36:10 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Apple ... A fan boy's dream. #aperture]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

Well today, has been a pretty exciting day. Apple launched their latest professional photography software, Aperture 3, and for me it was particularly special as we (Queensberry) were involved in our own small way.

After approximately a year of working with Apple, including a trip to Cupertino in October, today's announcement shared information on how professional photographers could buy our wedding albums through Aperture. Using a cleverly developed plugin our clients can now use their favourite image tool to order albums from us.

It's not just exciting because we're working with Apple, but I've been an Apple fan boy since I was literally a boy of maybe 9 or 10 years old, when Dad brought our first Apple IIe. I have only owned Macs etc since, our companies run almost exclusively on their gear and our own software is largely developed on Mac workstations.

I'm obviously proud. Quoting their website, it's not only great to be included in an elite group of "some of the  world’s finest bookmakers" but I get to work closely with a company I have admired for decades.

The team there are an awesome group of really nice people, and I congratulate them on the success of a great product.

Thanks Apple. :-)

	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/140225</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 11 Feb 2010 06:22:26 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Rich guys and what they taught me - The Wool Guy]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

I'm a believer in education, I really am, and my children's eduction is very important to me. I've pursued high-level tertiary education myself, and I regularly attend business and personal development courses.

But I'm also a believer in determination, passion and experience. A huge believer in fact, and sitting next to a guy in the Wool business one evening  after speaking at an Icehouse event, I was reminded of why...
His story went something like this:
He was sacked from his first job packing shelves at K-Mart when he was young. I believe he left school early as he suffered with dyslexia and to add insult to injury, as he walked from his job that day, his boss told he would never amount to anything.

That comment ignited a fire in his belly. He so badly wanted to prove the world wrong.

He now owns and runs a company in the wool industry turning over tens of millions of dollars each year.

The key to his success wasn't some fancy education - it was something thats hard to teach - it was pure determination, passion and drive to achieve his dreams.

I truely believe some people are born with it. Born with such determination and passion that it'd be hard for them to fail - like Gary van Ner Chuk. I blogged about him a couple of days ago and posted a video in which he explains how school wasn't really for him. His constant 'F' grades told him that.

But get this. During the weekends he was down at the mall earning over $2k selling base ball cards each week, and dispite what the education system said about him, he's gone on to become famous and build a company  turning well over $60m a year.

A lot of people fail in the 'system', but one of the things I've learnt over my career in is that there's no substitute for determination and passion. Someone who's clear about their dreams and has the drive to achieve them, will almost always outsmart someone with only an education.

I've also learnt as a father that I'll only influence my children if I have their attention and respect. More important than my children's education is that they learn to focus, to be strong in themselves, to form their own opinions and believe they can do anything. Their self esteem is precious to me.

Unfortunately those values aren't always treasured in the education system, but I am certain it will do a lot more for you over the long term than any single university degree.

Do you agree? What are your thoughts?	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/136085</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:17:03 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Website Monitoring]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        Hi everyone. 

I have been asked a lot recently about my website, especially who hosts it and about the fact that I have it monitored 24/7 for uptime and reliability.

Basically late last year I had lots of issues with uptime of my blog, so moved to Host Gator. They have been amazing. The server is quick, but the support has been even better. Even while a hurricane battered their data and call centre the support tickets continued to be answered. 

Below is a link to their site if you're interested, trust me they are cool and about 10 of my friends host with them now, they consistently rate high on "Best ISP" lists, and I love that they have an environment policy and plan.





As I said in an earlier post I really love how they present themselves giving a sense of size, combined with the promise of support from the owner ... You can even chose for your support ticket to go to CEO Brent Oxley if you're not satisfied with the help you're getting. Anyway setup was easy, registration and getting started took less than 20 minutes, just like it should be.



It might seem weird that despite them being so good I would therefore want to monitor my site. Well to me it's about piece of mind, I mean I might even mess up. InternetSupervision.com monitor my site every hour automatically 24/7 and another 20+ services our companies run from FTP, SMTP, HTTP, DNS etc.

It is so cool, despite these services being on various servers around the word, I know pretty well as soon as one goes down. Like last night, a local fault in a fibre cable had us hidden from the world for a few hours. When this happened I knew almost immediately, so could log a fault, and was advised as soon as service returned both times via email and SMS message.

I believe even the smallest site should consider such a service. Offerings start from Free, but a few services with SMS notification will cost only a couple of dollars a month ... that's less than a cup of coffee to sleep soundly at night.

Remember ... whether you like it or not, a downed website reflects on YOU.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137043</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:53:05 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[To play at your whiteboard]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        I love drawing and outlining at my white board or in my note book because I connect emotionally with my thoughts so much more powerfully and with more clarity than if I use my computer alone.

In this video Milton Glaser talks about drawing while he is drawing, and makes an observation of art schools where drawing has been removed from the curriculum to allow time to learn software. It seems increasingly that students now have the creative tools, but not the emotional connection with their craft.

MILTON GLASER DRAWS &amp; LECTURES from C. Coy on Vimeo.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137934</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:17:34 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[6 wealthy guys and what they taught me #3]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

'How did you become so wealthy?' is a question I've asked plenty of people in my life. But the answer I got from a very successful colleague of mine when I worked at Xerox wasn't about a product, or a service, or a sales  or marketing strategy. It was about a belief that underpinned everything he did.

His answer was this. "I got rich by making other people rich... I add value to peoples lives."

He took it upon himself every day, to go out and add value to peoples lives - whether it was his clients', or his customers' or his friends'.

Now you're not necessarily going make people rich simply by adding value to them, but by believing you can add value in a way specific to your industry, the wealth in whatever form it may be, will follow.

Let me use Queensberry as an example. We add value to our customers by doing three things:

1) Helping our clients make more money - by differentiation
2) Saving our clients time - by offering to do their post-production work or providing tools so they can do things more easily
3) Giving our clients with a better experience than anyone else

If our clients don't feel like we deliver on at least one of those areas - we may as well not exist and we wouldn't be flourishing if you didn't add value to your customer's lives in some way.

You need to express your care in a way people will value

I wrote a while ago about how I demonstrate my love for my wife Sonya by turning her light off for her each night. I do this because I know that she likes me doing it. The same principle applies in business. It's our job to understand how our clients like to be loved and what makes them tick. Then we can go the extra mile and add value in a way they didn't even know we could.

At Queensberry, we know it's simply not enough to just add value to our clients' (Photographers) lives as they are not the end user. Their Brides and Grooms are the ones turning the pages of our albums, cherishing the memories and emotionally connecting with the story they tell.

It's our goal to add value to them also by providing a treasure that they can remember their day by and hand down through the generations.

If we do it right, we might even provide Brides and Groom's with an experience better than they had on the day. Their album is a reflection of the detail, the emotion, the love, the family, the venue... most of which is often just a blur. We're adding value to our clients, by also adding value to theirs.


Be clear how you add value to your clients

The challenge is to do it in an authentic, respectful and in way that honors people, and real value is only really provided when it's perceived as of value from the other persons perspective.

When a Bride and Groom cries when they open their album for the first time, or when our product helps a photographer up-sell to their clients, or when we can help a photographer spend more time with their family by doing some of their work for them - we've added value to their life in a way that no marketing or sales strategy could ever achieve.

Cheers, Stephen.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/136107</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:32:02 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        Take a few minutes, sit down, switch off, listen and think as you watch this ... share it with your kids and consider your own life ... deeply cool.



From the YouTube Video

"For complete lyrics, audio and video clip please visit PersianDNA™ Website at http://www.persiandna.com/4u.htm

Wear Sunscreen is the common name of an essay, (actually called "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young") written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997.

The most popular and well-known form of the essay is the successful music single released in 1999, accredited to Baz Luhrmann."	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/139554</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:25:30 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[It's about Eyeballs]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

An awesome presentation and Q and A with Gary Vay Ner Chuk. In this he talks very powerfully about "Working the Room", His Strategy, And about how the internet is about getting eyeballs.

To use his term he is pretty Potty Mouth. But don't get put off by that, he is authentic, deep and extremely passionate. 

Awesome and thank you Gary.
	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137006</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:25:51 +1300]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[My Elevator Pitch]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

Yesterday I let you know that I was going to take the "31 Days To A Better Blog" challenge and I am getting more and more excited.

Day 1

The task for today was to write an "elevator pitch for my blog". This was something that had been on my mind for a while, as I felt I didn't have a strong focus around what I wrote. 

I genuinely think I could go "toe to toe" and hold my own in a discussion on most of the issues I write about, but I wasn't providing any depth of information. We have deep experience and knowledge in HR, IT, Marketing, Relationships, Leadership, Strategy etc but I didn't want to be an "expert blog" on any one topic as that would be boring for me. I wanted to be a generalist, and share experiences and hopefully inspire. I want to start conversations.

So here is my pitch

Tui's voice is a blog by Stephen Baugh, a successful entrepreneur who, with his family, runs two significant international companies based in the photographic and wedding industries. This blog covers an entrepreneur's journey through business and technology with tips, observations and strategy blended with a little self reflection and fun. This blog covers a breadth of issues with either a human or business perspective. He shares experiences as assistance and inspiration to others.

Why "an entrepreneurs journey"?

Great cultures like the New Zealand Maori have passed their traditions, their rules, their inspiration, their culture down through generations in the form of stories and song. I am not going to start singing anytime soon, but I think that is what I am about, in fact I think that's what our business, Queensberry, is about. We tell stories.

Our family jokes that when I was brought home as a child it was to a boat yard, to a house built from car cases. Hardly what you could call luxury: we were emotionally wealthy but financially poor. Today we run two reasonably large companies that trade globally as if we were local in each market and live a very different life from the one living in a car case.

I don't tell the story of my journey to brag, I don't tell it to say we are better than anyone else, or even that we know better. We are a fairly humble family so I tell these stories so that hopefully they will assist, and even better that they will inspire.

We've seen it all

As a family running a business together we've seen it all. We've had to deal with difficult family stresses where you wonder if you will get through, in fact we had to meet in restaurants because you can't fight in restaurants. Fortunately we are past that now. 

We have developed all our own IT infrastructure and now have one that works 24/7 and rivals the world's best. We manufacture, we employ, we've built a software company and we design albums that have been presented to to Kings and Queens.

So this blog is simply my story, it isn't a corporate site, it's not polished and some days it will be a little hit and miss, but I do love telling stories and hope you will enjoy them too.

Please join me

If you care to subscribe to my RSS feed or ideally by email I will over then next few months share a couple of things I know you will enjoy. 

The first is I am going to finish my series "Business Lessons of a Fire Fighter". I am a Senior Fire Fighter (volunteer) in the New Zealand Fire Service and have had some amazing insights into business through my days on duty. Some past ones have included "Trust" and "Have Courage or Die"

Secondly I am going to do a series called "Queensberry Rules". This series will share our business philosophy in a way that is powerfully simple. You wouldn't want to miss it.

Finally ...

Finally we live in a world that needs leaders, new leaders, strong leaders, people that care about business, the environment and education. I believe I am one of those leaders. The power and value of what I have in my head through years of experience is multiplied if shared. You are my friends and if you get one little piece of value from it, my time will be of value.

Thanks again. Please let me know your thoughts. Is my pitch strong enough, is something missing, how could it be better? What stories do you want to hear?

And of course thank you.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/137670</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:32:10 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
					</item>
							<item>
						<title>
							<![CDATA[Journey of a Thousand Links]]>
						</title>
						<description>
							<![CDATA[
	
        

Don&amp;rsquo;t just sit there! Do something!
Over the years I&amp;rsquo;ve been and done many things. Everyone has. In my case, I&amp;rsquo;ve been a Xerox salesman, a volunteer firefighter, and a successful entrepreneur. Believe it or not, all these seemingly unrelated personas had at least one thing in common, what I&amp;rsquo;m going to talk about today, and that is:  A bias toward action.
What do I mean by this? I mean, if there&amp;rsquo;s a choice between sitting in a conference room planning what I&amp;rsquo;m going to do, and getting out there and doing it, I hope that I choose action. This is not to knock planning, discussion, and consensus-building. Believe me, I&amp;rsquo;ve done my share of those. I know that you can&amp;rsquo;t reach your goals unless you take some time to define them and plan how to reach them. What I mean is, there comes a time when you need to stop planning, talking, thinking, dreaming, and get out there and make it happen. And, too often people use the excuse of planning or researching to keep themselves from taking needed action.
They confuse planning how to do the job with the real job itself.
As a salesman, my &amp;ldquo;real&amp;rdquo; job was not to sit at my local Xerox office and plan to call on clients; it was to get out there and make the calls. And can you imagine if a volunteer firefighter arrived at the scene of a blazing building, sat down and whipped out his laptop, and began to develop a keen Powerpoint presentation about how best to put out the flames?
Good Enough
No, there comes a point when your plans are good enough; a point when it&amp;rsquo;s time to get out into the real world, and make your plan a reality. So whether you&amp;rsquo;re just starting a business, or you are developing and online business strategy to extend your brand equity, you&amp;rsquo;re going to have to take action. I know it can be overwhelming at times. You realise just how much you&amp;rsquo;ll need to do to succeed, and it can freeze you up so you can&amp;rsquo;t take that first step. The thing to do is try not to think about all the tasks you&amp;rsquo;ll need to do, and concentrate instead on just doing one thing, no matter how small. Take one baby step toward realising your goals, and you&amp;rsquo;ll get a boost of confidence and energy. You can use that enthusiasm towards taking your next baby step, and so on. Just do something. And then do another something. And before you know it, you&amp;rsquo;ll realise all those baby steps added up to that proverbial journey of a thousand miles, and your goal is within reach.	

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						</description>
						<link>http://www.stephenbaugh.com/a-blind-man-and-his-sign/post/135593</link>
						<pubDate>
							<![CDATA[Sun, 16 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +1200]]>
						</pubDate>
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