I have had an interesting time since the last issue of The Maverick Spirit.

Apart from the usual going ons with the business of being in business, I have been required to attend meetings with Government Solicitors, have travelled with my associate from New Zealand Richard Gee to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, and on that trip endured the coldest July day in Brisbane and Sydney and Melbourne for the last 20 years, and generally had some interesting experiences.

The week reminded me of a talk I heard by Brian Tracy about life… it went something like:

“You were abandoned at birth by your mother – get over it!
You have had a nasty divorce – get over it!
Everybody is better looking than you - get over it!”

Brian went on to list every possible set back you could experience and then added the retort… “ get over it!” In his view, that is the business of life.

During the week that was I visited with my guest the fabulous upmarket Chianti on Colins in West Perth and was waited on by a delightful young woman called Elanor who said she was from Europe. When pressed, she said that she was actually from what was East Germany but found it easier to say she was from Europe. She was in Australia with her partner and was doing the usual backpacker thing of working in a restaurant.

During our meal Elanor was attentive, humorous, accommodating and a really greater waiter.

Compare this with our visit to our usual Friday lunch venue and a new waiter, a mature lady who made it very apparent that she was “just doing her job”. She was very professional but coldish and when we tried to engage her in friendly banter she was unresponsive. It was very apparent that she wasn’t enjoying “serving people” which was somehow not her position in life.

Oh, I forgot to mention what Elanor’s real job was… apparently she was waiting for her European qualifications to be recognised a West Australian Government Department, a situation confirmed by Leon who owns Chianti on Colins, so she could help in our over crowded medical system. Elanor was a qualified Doctor who was 18 months into a heart surgeon’s speciality qualification.

On reflection I though that I should have mentioned to our unwilling server at Friday lunch…” Life isn’t fair -  get over it and enjoy what you are doing”, because, when all is said and done, we are just people sharing the journey of life and we should live every moment and every opportunity to its fullest.

Each set back is a chance to say to the rest of the world… “I know that some times life doesn’t seem fair but I am over it!”