That is the exact question that was put to me by a friend and mentor. Before I get into the answer let me go back a bit and tell you how the question came about.

As some of you may know, I have struggled to keep my family feed and housed for many years. Then a few years back I bumped into an old school friend, and to cut a long story short, he had a successful online business and I asked how could I get into online marketing. He asked me to think about what, I thought, was the most important thing to be successful online. He also asked me to think about what questions he would ask me the next time we met.

I went home and thought long and hard about what he had said.
To be a success online I thought the usual things: work hard, acquire knowledge, re-invest in my business, network, and so on. As far as the questions I thought he would ask me, I just got a pen and wrote out a load of questions. Eventually, I refined the list to just these questions:

Costa how much money do you have?
Do you have a computer Costa?
Costa, what experience do you have?
How much do you know about internet marketing?

That, at the end of the day, was all the important questions I could think of. For the next two days I worried about what he would think of my efforts. I had conversations in my head about what he would say and how I would answer.

“Costa you’re too old to do this” No I am not
“Your computer is ancient.” em, well, yes it is
“Costa you will need a $1000 to start” Guess what? I don’t have a 1000 cents.

When it came to the meeting he only had one question.

“How do you fillet a gold fish?

Find out next time why he asked it.

All The best
Costa

I woke this morning, red eyed and drowsey, with what I was a life changing vision. Life is shit. Yes, that was my world changing answer to the state of my life. Life is shit.

Why is Costa in this state I hear you ask, well you would if anyone read this blog. Well, Costa is in this position because, Costa has a low paid, crap job, and Costa has a wife that spends more than he earns. Costa also has four children that think the financial meltdown does not affect the bank of Costa.

I am like a dung beetle, running around on my ball of crap all day, afraid to stop in case I fall off, and never able to get the smell of shit out off my nostrils.

The funny thing, or not so funny thing depending how you look at it, is there are thousands of dung beetles out there, all trying to stop their balls of dung running out of control.

If you are one of them, lets make a promise for the New Year. Repeat after me. “I will not make anyone else’s dung ball bigger than it already is, and if I can I will try to give others a helping push.”

All The Best

Costa

Costa, Holiday? I wish. I don’t know what it is lately but life has been far from one big holiday. In fact I have not been on one of my infamous Costa Holidays for three years. Before I get into what makes a great Costa Holiday let me just explain what has been going on with me.

Firstly, I lost my business due to illness. Thankfully the banks came and took all my money, which meant I did not have to worry how I was going to spend it.

Secondly, my two eldest children have decided work is not for them and have taken lowly paid part time jobs. Obviously a full time job would interfere with their social life.

Thirdly, the credit crunch is biting hard here in the Goldfish Bowl. The price of gas and electricity has trebled, petrol is through the roof, and food is so expensive it’s cheaper to eat the money.

Lastly, what little we have left, the bailiffs have decided to take. Thank God they can’t take this computer, then again who would want a 7 year old Packard Bell 512?

Anyway, that’s the moaning out of the way.

The one thing I enjoyed before all this hassle began was a good Costa Holiday. So what makes a good Costa Holiday? Well here’s my checklist.

Costa Holiday - Check List

1. Plenty of money - Well there is no point in stressing over what you spend.

2. Spanish Costa - Spain is my favourite holiday destination.

3. Sun - No lack of sun in Spain.

4. Beach - Lots of golden sun-baked sand.

5. Food - When say food I mean local cuisine, not the usual steak and chips.

6. Beer - Lots and lots of ice cold beer….mmmmm sorry I was gone then.

7. Lastly, and most importantly, family. What good is a holiday if you can’t spend it with the ones you love?

There you have it, the perfect Costa holiday.

Well as this site is all about shooting the breeze on ever subject under the sun I am looking for topics to discuss, that’s where you lot come in. If you have any views on anything just leave a comment and start the ball rolling.

For now thanks for visiting the Goldfish Bowl and reading my mindless ramblings I artfully called Costa Needs a Costa Holiday