Did you see my friends and I this morning on the corner of Grayston and Rivonia Road in Sandton? Handing out matchsticks?

Why were we doing this?

Because I am trying to turn a matchstick into offices (read the full story and explanation here, or watch the short movie about it here). I will be using the offices for startup entrepreneurs to help them.

And right now, for my next step, I need to find 105 more people who will help me.


I am on my tenth trade which involves 375 Springleap T-shirts, and I have sold 270 already. I just need to find 105 more people to trade with. 105 people – who I know are out there somewhere – who will buy one of the remaining 105 funky, designer, limited edition T-shirts.

So are you one of those 105 people?

If so, all you need to do is buy your T-shirt online through Springleap.com, using the code onematchstick (so that we can track it) and email me your order number.

Here is how to trade with me by buying your T-shirt(s) and make them count towards my onematchstick trade:

1. If you haven't registered yet on www.Springleap.com, now's the time to do so.

2. When you are logged in, choose the T-shirts you want. You can choose ANY design. You can even choose a Gift Voucher (and use it in a few weeks when there are new designs to choose from, if you cant find a design you like now.)
Click on the SHOP button at the top of the page to see the available designs.

3. When you find the T-shirt you want, click on the size you want (there is a link which explains the sizing and the ladies T-shirts are a lady's cut). Once you click on the size, it gets added to your "shopping cart".

4. When you've finished adding your T-shirts to your shopping cart, click on the shopping cart icon on the top right hand of the screen.

5. Enter in your delivery details, and where it says "if you have a Springleap coupon, enter it here:" you enter the code, which is: onematchstick (all lower case, one word). This is a VERY IMPORTANT STEP! Please remember to add the code! This is how Springleap tracks that it is a trade with me, and it costs you nothing.

6. Choose your delivery options, then click the "confirm and pay" button.

7. Check your details, and then you can choose to pay by EFT or by credit card.

8. Just follow the prompts and you will have finalised trading with me, and your T-shirt will be delivered to your door by courier in about 3 days.

9. Email me your order number so I can add it to my list of trades, and thank you.


And there are other ways you can get involved too, so check out this page for more info on what buying one of my T-shirts will get you, and also the other ways to participate.

THANK YOU so much!
Telana

Aka 'matchstick girl
0837302979
@Telana
onematchstick@gmail.com

Here's is another superb 3-way Trade for those who want to support me and don't want one of my T-shirts. Perhaps you'd like a private Argentine Tango lesson?

Erik has just made the following offer:

Hi Telana

To support your matchstick mania for one Monday, in exchange for a t-shirt I will offer a private one hour Argentine Tango lesson at my studio Tango la Plata, in Bryanston. One lesson costs R350, but will be exchanged for one t-shirt. The lesson is for either a single person or a couple. Offer limited to one lesson per person/couple, but they may buy gifts for friends.

Let me know how best to promote this.

Regards
Erik Peers

Here is Erik dancing with Natasha- so you can get a taste of this beautiful dance.


How Three Way Trades work:

• An item or service is offered to me, for one or more of my T-shirts.
• You then decide you want that item or service (in this case the Tango lesson),
• and then pay for the relevant number of T-shirts (in this case one Tshirt, which is R219)
  which are sent to the person who offered the item or service (in this case, to Erik)
• The person (Erik) then delivers the item or service to you.
  Simple!

So, if you would like a private lesson for yourself, or for you and your dance partner, it will cost you just R219 (the cost of one of my Springleap T-shirts)!

All you need to do is CALL ME 0837302979 or pop me an email onematchstick@gmail.com so we can finalise this 3-way trade!

• You'll get a private Argentine Tango lesson from Erik in Bryanston, Johannesburg
• Erik will get a Springleap T-shirt
• I'll be one T-shirt closer to my offices

Sweeet!

(PS- for the list of all the 3-way trades currently on offer, check out this page)

After I took part in Africa's first No Pants train ride in January, I found out about Charlie Todd of improveverywhere.

He started the No Pants ride 10 years ago, and was heading to South Africa to give a talk at the Design Indaba in Cape Town. And the most exciting part – he was going to run one of his MP3 Experiments! I just had to take part!

So I booked my flight and last weekend flew to Cape Town to surprise George, and then take part in the MP3 experiment, and got to meet Charlie.


All I knew before taking part in the MP3 Experiment was that:

• I had to be in a park in Camps Bay on Sunday 20 February in the afternoon,
• with a specific MP3 downloaded onto my iPod,
• my watch synchronised,
• wearing a red, yellow, green or blue T-shirt (of course I wore the official onematchstick red T!),
• with a deflated balloon,
• ready to hit play on my iPod and do whatever Steve, the voice I would hear, told me to do!

At 15h00 I hit play and for 45 minutes had the most fun I have ever had with over 400 strangers!

We had thumb wars, hugged trees, high-fived passerby's, danced like it was 2020, took power naps, played human twister, hugged, played tag, had moments of freezing then jumping, square-danced, made a human dartboard based on our coloured T-shirts, had an Epic Battle using our balloons as weapons, and ended with a meditation!

Here's my video as a participant, with a bit with Charlie explaining what it's all about.

(Youtube video here)
And for the official video, go here, and spectator photos go here.

Now I wish I had my own jet plane because I heard that Charlie is organising a Freeze today in Cape Town, and I would so love to go and take part!

Seeing as though I don't have a jet plane, I guess I'll just have to envy Cape Townians who can take part, and start planning a Freeze for us here in Joburg (hey Charlie- you keen?).

So if you are keen to know about this kind of wackiness, then make sure you follow me @telana or on Facebook to find out about the next one.

It's super fly fun!

Last weekend I flew down to Cape Town to surprise George Scola.

He had been walking the distance of 2300 km's from Beit Bridge, in the far north of South Africa, to Cape Point, in the far south over the last 6 months to raise awareness for the Stroke Survivors Foundation.

Rod the Frog, Jonathan, Marli and I joined him on the N1 highway and walked 14 km with him, through Cape Town. I take my hat off to George because he averaged 18 km every day for 6 months, and I was exhausted and starving after just 14 kms. (Thank goodness George introduced me after our walk to Jack at Cape Town's best pizza spot: Ristorante Posticino).

George finished this walk, a massive 2437km today and is celebrating at a banquet tonight. Jolandi, Mongezi and I share our wishes for him here.


(view youtube video here)
Rod joined George and Ray Chaplin (his support vehicle driver) for quite a bit of his walk- so you can read about his adventures with George on his latest blog post here.

The Stroke Survivors Foundation is playing a vital part in helping survivors with their recovery, adjusting to life and staying informed, motivated and positive. They are creating a national network that provides the much needed post-discharge rehabilitation and support for stroke survivors, their families and caregivers.

If you would like to support George on this mission, then please get in touch!

I have about 2000 matchstick ready.

They are for my next idea to find the now 117 people I need to still meet, who will trade with me by buying one of my Springleap T-shirts. This idea happens on Monday 28 February.

My fab friends Jolandie and Genevieve will be joining me – together with whoever else wants to join in (contact me if you keen!) – and we will be standing on the busy intersection of Grayston and Rivonia Road in Sandton, Johannesburg. We're going to be there early, and catch the rush hour traffic as people make their way to work.

Amongst the hundreds of people who will pass us, we will be handing out matchsticks, hoping to find at least a couple of dozen more people who will help me. My mom helped create the shoebox full of matchsticks stuck to my web address, and Jolandie and I have been writing hundreds of my "business cards", and I have a few more boxes to still write in time for Monday morning.

So if you pass us by, give us a wave, and help spread some matchstick love!

HOW ELSE YOU CAN HELP ON MONDAY

1. Change your profile picture on Facebook to a matchstick on Monday, and let your friends know why, and direct them to onematchstick.co.za. There are some pictures to use here.

2. Invite friends to this event on Facebook here.

3. If you live in Sandton, Johanneburg and pass us by on Monday, give us a wave, and cheers us on! Also take a photo and upload it to twitter and facebook.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP ME

4. Be one of the 117 people I still need to meet and buy one of my T-shirts (you buy them online at springleap.com and just use the coupon code onematchstick (one word, lower case) so that we can track it), and email me your order number to onematchstick@gmail.com.

5. If you don't want a T-shirt, but want to support me, consider one of these 3-way trades where you get a product or service (ranging from diamonds to pilates classes.

6. If you are single, enter the onematchstick Bachelor (for the single girls) or Bachelorette (for the single guys). Join the groups on Facebook too:

• The onematchstick Bachelor - Ian


• The onematchstick Bachelorette - Laura

7. Enter the onematchstick Joke Competition and you could win a Springleap Tshirt.

8. Join the onematchstick page on facebook.


It's time now that I finish this T-shirt trade. And I will. I just need to keep finding ways to reach those last 117 people. Can you help me?

I am still looking for people who will trade with me for one of my T-shirts, and I have just 119 more people to find!

Sonja aka the Ubuntu Girl had started a onematchstick joke Competition and is looking for the best joke about matchsticks by the end of the time- that's by Friday 18 March!

She is offering the winning joke a Springleap T-shirt of your choice!

So tell us your joke! To get you going, here is one Sonja came up with:

What did onematchstick say to the other matchsticks?

Buy a Springleap T-shirt!

So what joke can you come up with? Post it as a comment on this blog, or onto the onematchstick facebook page and enter to win a Springleap T-shirt!

May the funniest joke win!

There are fabulous prizes that have been sponsored for The onematchstick Bachelor and Bachelorette virtual reality endeavours!

The lucky lady who the Bachelor, Ian, chooses for the winning date, will get a lovely nine bead necklace worth R900, which can be made up in red or blue depending on the winner’s choice and has a snake braid necklace with a clipped fastener, sponsored by Louise van der Bijl of GirlsOnly.co.za .

GirlsOnly are also throwing in a Spa Bath Soak to help the winning lady get ready for her date, together with some crystal Stars to make her shine!


The Bachelorette Laura, with her lucky guy, will have their date at Lapa Fo in Emmarentia, and Percy is sponsoring their pizza- arguably the best pizza in Joburg!

And then both couples –that's The onematchstick Bachelor Ian and his date, and The onematchstick Bachelorette and her date, will also win a tango dancing lesson with Richard Carlsson of the Dance Junxion!

They will get to embrace the art of Argentine Tango and step into a world of dancing drama, passion and excitement!
I would like to thank all those who have sponsored prizes, to help make The Bachelorette and Bachelor even more exciting! You all rock!

To enter The onematchstick Bacherolette and meet Laura, click here.

To enter The onematchstick Bachelor and meet Ian, click here.

Entries close 4 March 2011 - extended to 11 March 2011!

So I need some help. Really. I do.

And no, not necessarily that kind of help- I might be a bit off the wall, but I'm ok... I think... ;)

What I reallllly need help with is to find the 134 people that I haven't met yet who I know will trade with me by buying one of my Springleap T-shirts, or doing one of these 3-way trades with me.

I know that there are 134 more people out there in the world that will trade with me gladly, but I just haven't met them yet. I know this. Absolutely!

So this is where you come in- please help me to reach those 134 people? Pretty, pretty pleeeeez?
I have two ideas:

1) If you have already traded with me and now own a funky Springleap T-shirt, wear it on Fridays until I finish trading the 134 T-shirts (I'm aiming to finish soon, so it will just be for a few Fridays!). You're bound to get comments about the T-shirt, and then you can mention onematchstick.co.za and how they can trade with me to get their very own Springleap T and help me get to offices.

2) Change your profile picture on Facebook and Twitter to one of a matchstick (a few samples to use are below, and alot more here on this page) and let your friends know why. (I got this idea from the Ubuntu-Girl who did just this on Facebook, and got her friends to guess why- it was fun too!)





So will you please help me find those 134 people?

Please?

THANK YOU!
Telana
aka 'matchstick girl!

I'm a feedback junkie!

Yeah really! I'm serious!

I mention this when we get to the section on feedback during my Communication Excellence course that I present, and the participants usually laugh!

However it's true! I love feedback! And with my training as a coach, I've learnt to get the most out of any form of feedback, even what is perceived as harsh criticism.

So after launching the onematchstick Bachelor and Bachelorette and hearing some of the feedback, we've decided to make it easier for people to participate.

So: Now to enter Phase One of these virtual-reality-projects, and get to attend the Cocktail party of the year at the fab FTV Cedar Square, all you need to do is go and buy one of my Springleap T-shirts (using the coupon code onematchstick) and send in a sentence of two about yourself, with a photo. You can even use a pseudonym if you are that shy ;) It's that short, simple and easy!

So the process has been updated, and you can read all about it here:

• Single ladies, check out The onematchstick Bachelor – Ian here, or join his facebook page here.


• Single guys, check out The onematchstick Bachelorette – Laura here, or join her facebook page here.

Any questions, or feedback (because now you know I love feedback) let me know!