Did you ever watch the Zoo Keeper working in the monkey enclosure?

I can recall watching the Zoo Keeper when he was sweeping out the big monkey enclosure. He was industriously sweeping up dead leaves and twigs and the rest of the litter the monkeys had made and he was taking no notice at all of the antics of the noisy crew of monkeys. I guess he was used to their racket. Suddenly one of the monkeys swung down from a branch and snatched the Zoo Keeper's cap right off his head. The Zoo Keeper hardly had time to react to what had happened before that monkey was out of reach in the higher branches of the tree.

The Zoo Keeper looked up, the monkey bared its teeth in that special grin monkeys have and chattered quietly. The Zoo Keeper pantomimed a shrug for his audience: no point in him even thinking of climbing the tree after that monkey. The Zoo Keeper carried on with his cleaning up and ignored the chattering monkey.

The monkey tried the cap on for size, on his head, then on one foot, then he sniffed hard at it. The crowd laughed but the Zoo Keeper didn't bother to look up. The monkey dropped from the tree just a few feet behind the Zoo Keeper, screeched in that way monkeys have and flourished the cap when the Zoo Keeper looked round startled. That sure got his attention!

The Zoo Keeper stood, hands on hips. The monkey did the same, putting its head a little on one side as if he was waiting for an answer. The Zoo Keeper took a slow step towards the monkey and the monkey just stood there holding the Zoo Keeper's cap. The Zoo Keeper took another cautious step towards the monkey and this time the monkey took a step back. The Zoo Keeper tried another step, the monkey stepped back, turned, let out a screech and leaped into the lower branches of his favourite tree. The Zoo Keeper grabbed at his cap but he was no match for the monkey's swiftness.

By now a crowd of children had gathered and they giggled as the Zoo Keeper looked up at the monkey who had again perched out of reach chattering loudly and waving the cap in the air. What the Zoo Keeper didn't know (but the children did) was that another monkey had removed a small shovel from the Zoo Keeper's unattended cart and was marching about waving the shovel in the air as if he was conducting some invisible monkey orchestra.

When monkey number two started beating the shovel against the bars of the enclosure, the Zoo Keeper did notice and his attention was completely diverted from the first monkey. While the Zoo Keeper crept up behind the monkey with the shovel, monkey number one dropped out of the tree and upset the Keeper's cart, scattering all the rubbish he had swept up.

At that moment, the gate into the enclosure opened and a Feeding Attendant brought in the monkeys' lunch. Monkey number one saw the attendant and lost all interest in the cap, which he dropped on the ground. The second monkey threw the shovel over his shoulder as he loped in the direction of the food.

The Keeper made the most of this opportunity. He rescued his cap, picked up his shovel and walked back towards the strewn litter. Unfortunately, on his way to gather up the litter, he trod in a pile of monkey pooh and had to stop to scrape his shoe clean..

What does chasing after monkeys have to do with your Internet business?

When I am working at my home based business on the Internet, I often feel as if I am trying to work in a cage full of monkeys. There are so many distractions, so many people trying to get your attention and lure you to their websites. If you do not remain focused on the job in hand, working on the internet can turn out very much like chasing monkeys. If you lose your focus, you will find yourself being led in every direction apart from the one you intended to take. You will spend your morning chasing about and achieving nothing. Suddenly you will realise it's lunchtime and you have still not managed to complete the morning's tasks. If you let this situation carry on, you are likely to find yourself in the sort of mess that's best tackled with a shovel.