5 Tips for a Worry-free Long Weekend Away

Come Friday, the country’s national highways will once again be packed as scores of South Africans make their way to various destinations in an attempt to squeeze the last few drops of sweet summer from the rapidly-fading season. A mass exodus from all the major cities on Thursday afternoon will mark the start of the four-day weekend, the sun glinting off the roofs of cars, caravans and Venter trailers like the scales of some gigantic metallic snake coiled along the length of the N3.

Make sure that you get the most out of your long weekend away with these five tips promoting maximum peace of mind.

Inspect your mode of transport

Copyright: ikonoklast / 123RF Stock Photo

Nothing puts a damper on holiday festivities faster than car trouble. Not only can it be extremely dangerous getting stranded out in the middle of nowhere (we’ve all seen The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn, haven’t we?), but a breakdown is likely to end up costing you precious time and money that could have been better spent on typical holiday revelry.

Be sure to check the following aspects of your vehicle:

• That your tyres (including the spare) are all in a good condition
• Fluid levels (water, oil, brake fluid)
• That you have enough fuel
• Lights and indicators (including those of your trailer if you are taking one along)

Finally, if your insurance company offers roadside assistance, save the number on speed dial.

Confirm your reservation beforehand

Again, if countless horror movie tropes about cannibalistic families preying on desperate shelter-seekers are anything to go by, the last thing you want is to have to look for last-minute accommodation because your original booking didn’t pan out. Always confirm check-in times and dates a good couple of days before your trip, and be sure to take proof of payment and reservation with you.

Read some online reviews

Copyright: jirsak / 123RF Stock Photo

In the Information Age, there’s precious little information that can’t be found online, including accounts of previous visitors’ experiences at guesthouses, B & Bs, hotels and resorts. Do yourself a favour and search for ratings and reviews about your intended accommodation. Websites such as Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Lekker Slaap enable you to book directly via the website as well as read reviews. You can really save yourself a world of discomfort and disappointment by doing some online research first. Tried and true!

Check news sites for information about strikes that could affect you

There are a number of ways that your trip could be adversely affected by industrial action. Firstly, if there’s a fuel strike planned, it’s important that you stock up on enough of the stuff to get you to your destination and back. Fill up your tank, fill a couple of cans and keep them in a cool, safe place away from heat and open flames. Secondly, strikes often turn violent, so if you’re travelling through affected areas, you might want to consider a route change.

All-important security

We all knew we were building up to this point, didn’t we? But concerns about security amount to one of the leading causes of worry during vacations, probably because we are not comfortable with relinquishing control and leaving our homes and possessions unattended for extended periods of time.

But fear not, you don’t have to give up control completely. For example, you can install a GSM device and receive SMS notifications when someone opens your gate, or there’s a power outage back GSM intercom fitted and answer your intercom from anywhere, giving the impression that you’re home. Below we’ve provided some additional security tips:

home. Or have a

• Have a friend or neighbour collect your mail
• Check your alarm system before embarking on your trip (a GSM device can also be configured to notify you of alarm events, and it enables you to switch your alarm on and off via SMS text messages from your phone)
• Put outside lights on a day-night switch and set it up so that the lights come on at night (or – you guessed it – just invest in a GSM device! You can also connect lights to your D5-Evo’s light relay and use the gate motor’s onboard timer to automatically switch them on and off. #IntelligenceInMotion)
• Inform your armed reaction company that you’ll be away from home for a while
• Ask someone to maintain your swimming pool while you’re away
• Lock valuables in a safe
• Check that doors, locks and windows are secure

Psychology in Business Added to Training Roster

“What helps people, helps business”, quoth the influential advertising executive Leo Burnett, a man who was responsible for some of the best-known and most enduring characters in advertising and understood that to know business, is to know people. Burnett was the creative mastermind behind such immortal icons as Tony the Tiger and the Pillsbury Doughboy, and attributed the staggering success of his characters and campaigns to drawing upon shared emotions and experiences. Burnett knew how to connect with people on a very real and emotional level, and established rapport with his audience through what has been called heartland-rooted values.

Centurion Systems' trainer-in-chief, Chris Grobler

CENTURION training manager Chris Grobler is a man who has devoted a significant portion of his career to understanding people - and more specifically, what drives them - first as an educator, and later as a psychology scholar. He possesses a sort of calm, introspective wisdom and warmth that immediately inspires trust and makes one want to take him into one’s confidence. Behind the shy half-smile and kind eyes is a real passion for empowering and uplifting people, for taking them on a journey that will inevitably result in revelations of great personal potential.

It is this passion for unlocking greatness that inspired Chris to design a training course aimed at developing an understanding of psychology in business. While the vast majority of Chris’ courses have focused on developing technical skills, the Psychology in Business course has been designed to teach a better understanding of why people make certain decisions in the context of business.

According to Chris, this is a tragically overlooked but critical component of sales training, with the result that many salespeople lack conviction when selling their wares.

The course will cover the following material:

• Why do humans do the things they do?
• The working of the human brain
• Basic psychology
• Individual purpose
• Vision
• Mental toughness

Psychology for Business will be presented as a free course.

“Our aim is to assist our clients with some business psychology that will enable them to grow in person and leadership” says Chris of the decision not to attach a fee to the course.