Day 19 - A Letter to Myself

Dear 25-Year-Old Me,

Hey, would you like me to share with you a secret?  Are you sure you're ready for this?  This might put a permanent smile on your face.  Are you really, really sure you want to know it?  Well here it is.  You are going to be SUCCESSFUL.  You will live a FANTASTIC life ahead.  You will be able to REACH your dreams.  And you will be able to HELP INSPIRE a LOT of people to follow their dreams too.

Just a few years ago, you did not believe something as wonderful and as fantastic as this would happen.  Well you gotta believe it now.  Because I'm certain It will happen.  You will be an accomplished man.  A successful millionaire/entrepreneur.  An active, carefree and  adventurous traveller.  A knowledgeable and well-loved professor.  A socially responisble citizen.  A loving partner.  And a faithful servant.

I could still remember how happy you were when you reached your first million.  It was through your businesses that you loved so well.  The shoe business that you put up with your friends finally started earning big time!  You did not see it coming but it was through exporting that you made huge sales.  Thank God we did not give up.  We just knew that we would make it.  Now Marikina Shoes are not just popular in the Philippines but it has also made its way in the international scene.

Just a few years ago, seeing the Great Wall of China seemed like a distant dream.  And I knew how unbelivable it must have felt when you finally saw the magnificent wonder of the Great Wall face to face.  It was breathtaking, you said.  And it was just the first of the many wonders that you will see.

You still pursued teaching even though from time to time you would get tired of the repetitious act of daily imparting knowledge to the younger generation.  But your love and your passion for sharing what you know would always prevail.  Now, almost every student in the campus know you and would always greet you with a grateful smile.  Everyone can't wait to have you as their professor.  And every lecture that you had still felt amazing.  You never lost that passion to help students learn accounting the easy way.

And the day you finally met 'the one'?  You never expected that things would always fall perfectly into place in God's time.  Just by the time that you felt you are ready to commit yourself, this person came.  Finally, you met your soulmate.  And from then on, you were inseparable.

God fulfilled His promise to you, and trust me, He would never fail to do that.  Continue to trust Him with all your heart and soul.  He will never fail you.  I knew.  Because I did.  And all His promises I am enjoying now.

Love,

30-Year-Old You

Day 18 - One Giant Leap

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." -Henry David Thoreau

Do you want to work from home?

These are the words that helped encourage me to attend the Hands-On Internet Marketing Workshop being conducted by Jomar Hilario.

I pondered over weeks, long ang hard, before I decided to register in this workshop.  Oh boy the cost of it was not at all cheap!  And this was the first time that I would be paying for my training at such high price.

So let's get to the bottom of it.  Was it worth it?

I couldn't tell you how much I am grateful that I enrolled myself in this workshop.  The knowledge and experience that I gained from it was worth more than what I paid for.  I was exposed to how amazing internet works and how I could maximize its benefits in terms of marketing my business.  There are so many tools in the Internet (and most of it are free) that could help you and your business.

We were also trained on how to become Virtual Assistants and how we could literally work from home.  The way I see it and based on how the trend on outsourcing is progressing, being a Virtual Assistant could be the next big thing for Filipinos.  Well who does not want working on a flexible time at the comforts of their home anyway?  Isn't that priceless?

I am very excited to apply all that I learned in the seminar and start earning online.  I'll definitely update you in days on how it was progressing.

God bless! :-)

PS.  Want to know more on how you could work from home too?  Perhaps Jomar could help you.  Click on this link.

Day 17 - New Habits, New You

For the past weeks, I have been trying my very best to develop new and healthier habits and at the same time get rid of destructive ones.  I could say that as of present, I have been successful in keeping up with these new habits I chose to imbibe.

Just to let you know, for months now, I was able to religiously pay my tithes and myself (through investments in stocks and mutual funds) first before I pay my expenses.  That way, I know I would be able to meet my financial objective in no time.

Also, two weeks ago, I started to embark on the habit of jogging every afternoon (before my shift at work) to keep my self physically fit.  One day when I noticed that I could not fit on my favorite clothes anymore, I likewise realized that there would be lesser and lesser clothes available for me if I would carry on with my unhealthy diet (sweets, junk food, excessive meat and lack of sleep).  And so, I decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle.  From then on, I also tried to avoid eating too much meat and instead increased my fresh fruits and vegetables intake.  So far, I'm totally enjoying it!

So how do you successfully throw away some of your bad habits and adopt really good ones?  Here are some guidelines I follow and which you might also be interested in.

1. It is not the HOW, but the WHY.  I don't know if you have heard this before but the moment I first heard this message (and its just very recent) it changed my perspective on adopting new habits.  Most of the time, we think that in order for us to achieve great results, we must adhere to some tried-and-tested formula.  But let me tell you this.  Without a powerful why (or cause), you won't be able to completely reach your goal.  A burning desire fueled by a powerful why is one sure formula to success.

2. Focus on th END result.  Small defeats would always come your way.  From time to time, you would experience failure.  But that does not have to stop you from reaching your goal.  Failures should only make you stronger.  It should only make you realize how badly you want to succeed in adopting a healthier habit.  Always visualize the end result.  So whenever you experience failure, replay your vision in mind and, oce again, rise up.

3. STICK to your game.  Repetition is the key whenever you desire to adopt a new habit.  Repeat whatever it is that you want your body to imbibe until it becomes automatic.

4. CELEBRATE each successful day.  When I say celebrate it doesn't mean that you let yourself go back to your bad habits for a while and just carry on with the new habits the following day.  I don't believe on cheat days.  I believe that the reason it was called a "cheat day" is because you are giving yourself the opportunity to cheat YOURSELF.  Isn't that crazy?  Who in this earth would like his self to be cheated by himself?  Anyway, celebrate in a good way!  Thank the Lord for every successful chance to carry out a healthier habit.

I hope these tips will help you out in uprooting destructive habits and replacing them with good, positive and wealth-attracting ones.  I will definitely update you of how successful I am in adopting my own healthier habits.

'Til next time.  God bless, people. :-)

Day 16 - My Special Gift

I have always believed that each one of us has a special gift or talent which is very unique to us.  I believed that, in a way, we are like the superheroes that we grew up admiring - possessing an awesome ability which one would rarely find with normal humans.  And like a superhero's mission, we also were given the task to use our core gift to save the world - or rather to bless more people and attract prosperity.

I just graduated from preschool when I had my first encounter with my special gift.  Back then I wasn't sure if my teachers considered timidity as intelligence because surprisingly I graduated with the highest honor in my batch.  Consequently I was asked to deliver a valedictory address in front of my classmates, my teachers, my parents, my classmates' parents and everyone attending our graduation rites.  I couldn't remember how I felt during the time.  I might have been nervous before I gave the speech which my aunt wrote for me.  But I could recall that it was the first time I was the given the chance to speak in front of the public.

The next encounter came in sooner.  I was in grade 3 and I just transferred school.  When the time came to choose on who should represent the class for a declamation contest, I was easily volunteered by my classmates and I felt I had no choice but to pick up the challenge.  I memorized the piece "The Guilty Child" and had my english teacher as my coach.  We practiced almost everyday and even during weekends.  Unfortunately, I did not get to take home the trophy that time.  It felt awful.  I remembered how I could not get tears to come out of my tear ducts when I was reciting the piece (to make my delivery more convincing) but when the moment my opponent was announced as the winner it became effortless for me to cry a bucket.  I never thought I would venture into public speaking again after that painful experience.

The following year, I transferred to another class and I learned that the student who beat me in the declamation contest of the previous year won't be coming in to our shool anymore.  It dawned on me that complete revenge won't be mine after all even if I join the contest again.  Still, I ventured on the contest again with higher hopes this time.  I delivered Og Mandino's "I Will Persist Until I Succeed" with great fervor and passion that I was able to convince the judges how much I improved from last year.  Ain't the piece very timely?  Needless to say, I won this time.  And year after year success came in as I continued to hone my special gift and shared it to others.

From then on, I always believed that I have a special gift - which is public speaking.  I could easily converse my ideas in front of a crowd.  Some call it charisma, others say that it is something I acquired through constant practice.  But I believe it is something God gave me and luckily I was able to grab the opportunities that helped me to develop it.

Right now I could say that through teaching I was still able to share my talent to others and, more importantly, develop other areas of this core gift that I have.  I still have a lot to learn about my talent.  And I still am left with a lot of space to grow.

However I do not think that teaching is the ultimate purpose of my core gift.  I believe that this is just a phase which I must undergo to improve my talent.  I could see that one day my talent would take me to a larger crowd.  To a lot more people who needs encouragement.  To a lot more people who needs motivation.  To a lot more people who needs inspiration.

This I know will manifest.  Soon.  And so I need to prepare.  I need to sharpen the only weapon I would use on that day: my special gift.

PS I already started investing in a Mutual Equity Fund just last week.  A mutual fund is a pool of money professionally managed and invested in specific types of securities. (fami.com.ph)  I chose FAMI (First Metro Asset Management, Inc.) to manage my investment.  I suggest you visit their website (or their office) if you would like to know more about mutual fund and its benefits.  This is not an endorsement and I am not being paid by FAMI for this.

Day 15 - Wake Up!

"If what you did yesterday seems big, you haven't done anything today." -Lou Holtz

The quote above inspired me to write this post.

I just arrived from the retreat I attended entitled TOTAL! The Secret of Big Returns.  It was a three-day retreat organized by the Light of Jesus Community intended for the Lenten Season.  Today the topic focused on giving one's talent and treasure.  And all I can say is that the timing of this talk could not be more perfect.

For the past months, I felt that my dreams had been put to sleep.  For some reason, I felt that the fulfillment of my dreams resided on some distant unreachable star.  And for days I lived with a numb heart.  It has always been like this whenever routine would catch up on me.  And I would be left hoping for a breakthrough to create a change in the monotony.

I have always been a firm believer of pursuing one's dream and passion and I think that is the reason why whenever I would feel that I am losing that burning desire in my heart, I would really be bothered and greatly depressed.  One of the biggest dream that I have is for me to be able to realize my full potential.  Through that I know I would be able to serve my life's purpose, serve God and bless as much people as I can.  The Lord granted me with so many talents which I can use to prosper myself and others.  However, right now, I feel that I am not maximizing all these talents.  I could feel that I have a lot more to offer to the world.

In the talk I attended today, Bro. George Gabriel mentioned that there are two reasons why people say "no" to God or why some would opt to stay in their comfort zone and choose not to showcase their God-given talents.  First reason is that they feel they are ungifted.  I could very much relate on this one.  For most of the missed opportunities that I have, I would say that it could greatly be associated with my insecurity.  Growing up, I did not feel that I am gifted enough.  I would often compare myself to others and end up finding out how much they are better than me.  The second reason given was that people feel they are unworthy.  There were countless times that I felt unworthy of God's blessings.  As I already said before, it has not been always easy for me to forgive myself.

This Lent I want to change the habit of feeling ungifted and unworthy.  Deep inside me, I know I am meant for greater things.  The world is eagerly waiting to see what talents I can offer.  And God's love is enough to serve as a fuel to energize me to finally realize my potentials.  For God is my courage, strength and inspiration.

My dreams took a long unexpected sleep.  But as the Lord rose on Easter, my dreams shall again wake up. And through God's grace, it will come to completion.

PS The metal cross above was given to me by Sister Mel, a missionary of Singles for Christ, also on the day of the retreat.  I believe that it was a gift from God.  It is His way of telling me that He believes in me and in my dreams.  And whenever I would see this cross I would always be reminded of that.

Thank you, Lord.  I shall forever be thankful.

Day 14 - Failure and Little Deaths

In order for us to achieve success, we must experience failure.  In order for us to know how to fully live, we must experience little deaths.

I have failed countless times before.  I am not afraid to admit that.  The truth is, saying this makes me feel proud of the achievements that I have so far.  It makes me realize how persistent I am, how determined I am in succeeding.  Admitting I failed is easy.  But having to pick up the shattered courage I have and build up my determination in order to start anew is the difficult part.  I have always maintained a positive outlook on things.  But whenever frustration would get in the way, it manages to push me back in my comfort zone.

I had always considered mysef as a perfectionist.  I had high standards set for everything, even to myself.  And that was the reason why whenever I would fail, I did not find it easy to move on.  Because I did not find it easy to forgive myself for failing.  

The business I started out with friends is not in a healthy state right now.  We are experiencing a setback.  For months, we have tried to come up with ideas to move the business forward.  But most of our attempts failed.  For months I have also tried to analyze and pinpoint why we are not moving forward.  I came up with different conclusions, yet I really could not say that only one of it is causing the problem.  I think each cause I have on mind contributed in one way or another to the slow down of our business.  I feel frustrated.  Yet, I don't feel that we should give up. 

I firmly believe this is temporary.  This is just a phase that we have to go through.  And we'll be able to overcome it.  The vision that we have for our business is bigger than the problems the we are currently encountering.  And I would love to stick to that idea.

Ever since I grew my relationship closer to the Lord, I also have learned to forgive myself a lot.  I am human.  I am bound to make mistakes.  But I am also all set to learn from them.

We all have a huge future ahead of us.  In store for us are big surprises and immmeasurable success.  But in order for us to achieve it, we have to undergo some trials.  Because that way, victory will be sweeter.

I am surrendering to God all the plans that we have.  I trust Him that he shall bring it to execution in His way, in His time.

Day 13 - Rise

Even when I was a kid I already knew that one day I will become an entrepreneur.  I believe it was my mom who first inspired me to be one.  It was amazing to think back how she was able to put up one small business after another.  Though it were small businesses, each had its share of success.  My mom's persistence and efforts truly paid off especially whenever I would think about how these businesses were able to support us during financially difficult times.  Indeed, a degree is not necessary to become a successful entrepreneur.  My mom is a big proof.  She did not even finish high school.  But her desire to provide us a more convenient life served as a great motivation to become victorious.

To become successful, it all boils down to one's powerful why.  Why does one want to become successful?

Aside from becoming a successful business magnate, I also desired to become a writer when I was younger.  And you know why?  I had a big dream.  I want to touch people's lives.  I want to create an impact to as many lives as possible.  And I dreamt of making this come true through writing.  When I said I wanted to touch lives when I was younger, all I thought what I wanted to do was to stir emotions from people's hearts.  But I was wrong.  As I grew older, I realized I wanted more.

Long before President Noynoy Aquino occupied the highest office in the land,  I already had a strong belief that one day the Philippines will rise again and our people will never have to experience poverty anymore.  I am very happy that right now, people are becoming positive that we'll be able to achieve this.  Yes, I have great hopes for the Philippines.  It is one my biggest dream - to see the Phillippines rise.  And you know what's creazier than that?  To know that I have contributed significantly to the rise of our country.  My dream of touching people's lives has now evolved into a more defined objective.  I want to tranform my fellow Filipinos' lives.  I want to make it better.

And I would be able to do that more effectively when I become I multi-millionaire.  I would be able to serve more people.

I love the Philippines very much.  That is my sole reason why working abroad has never been an option for me.  I feel very proud whenever I say that, amidst the economic problems that the country is facing, I deeply believe that I could still make it here.  I will become a multi-millionaire here in our country.  And I think that is one of my greatest purpose - to help my country and countrymen rise.

Day 12 - Peace

This would just be a very quick post.  I just feel very excited and happy right now and I can't wait to share to you why.

I couldn't exactly describe how I am feeling but if I were to sum it up in one word, I would say its "peace".  Years ago, I would not be able to imagine myself being in this state as I was buried in debt, living a lifestyle more than which I can afford, and unsurprisingly not being able to save.  That was me in the early two years of my corporate career.  And this state of "peace" that I have in my heart, back then, remained only as a dream.

I am thankful that I was able to surpass that moment in my life and, of course, now that I am in a very much comfortable state.

Right now, I just couldn't contain the excitement as I started to ride another vehicle which will eventually bring me to the happy millionaires' land.  During the past months, I have two major leaps and these are:

1. I started investing in the Stock Market! - Oh yeah! I never knew how fantastic it felt until I bought the first shares I now have for long-term investment.  The feeling was surreal.  What once just a dream for me was now a reality.  If you may have noticed, it took me months to decide before I bought my first stocks.  Why?  Because of fear.  I must admit that I am very much a control freak.  And it scares the hell out of me if you would tell me to invest on something that I completely do not understand.  That explains why I did not easily jump on stock market investing.  And analysis-paralysis made it worse.  For months, I searched for materials and seminars which could increase my knowledge on the matter.

I was not able to convince myself to invest until...

2.  I joined the Truly Rich Club! - Its an online membership community organized by Bo Sanchez which helps people to understand long-term investing on stock market.  Indeed, the information I got from this helped me to jumpstart my stock market investment.  It provided me the information that I need from how to go about creating my account up to buying my first stocks online.  And I'm looking forward to more meaningful information that I will get from Bro. Bo as I continue investing.

The old Filipino phrase "Magtanim ay 'di biro" is undoubtedly true.  It would entail great amount of effort, suffering and discipline.  But never did anybody tell me that its also fun and exciting!  Most especially when you visualize the fruits that you'll reap come harvest time.  Oh, isn't it such a wonderful idea to retire as a millionaire?

PS.  If you are interested to know more about the Truly Rich Club, please click on the image that appears at the left side of this blog.  God bless. :-)

Day 11 - Looking Back and Planning Ahead

It was an awesome day yesterday!  My day started early as I woke up around 3am.  I decided to engage in my weekend morning ritual which was walking and a little bit of jogging around the Marikina Sports Center.  Then, I attended The Feast at PICC, which had a very inspiring topic.  Right after, I met with friends slash former officemates to watch Sherlock Holmes and stayed around the MOA for until around 9pm.  Crazy schedule right?  Well my schedule for the past months has always been like that!  Now you should know why this blog went on hiatus for quite a time.  But now, I'm back!  With greater fervor than before!

Let me backtrack a little and update you of some small triumphs I had which I know would eventually lead me towards the achievement of my goal.  Here are some:

1. The evaluation I got from the students I handled during the first term of my teaching was very satisfying.  During a faculty meeting that we had, I was announced as one of the faculties who got an "Outstanding" remark from students.  Not bad for an amateur, right?  But that won't definitely make me rest on my laurels.  This actually served as a challenge for me to serve even better and to aim for a higher goal.
2. I was hired last September as an accountant for a multinational company which operates in the IT distribution industry.  I was back on the rank-and-file level.  But it doesn't matter.  Right now, I am perfectly enjoying learning new skills in this job.  The process I'm handling was quite simple and easy.  And now the challenge is on how I could deliver more from the small process I perform.
3. The shoe merchandising business I started out with friends did great during the Noel Bazaar last December.  We had an amazing time!  From the planning phase until the last day of the sale, we enjoyed it!  And not just that.  We even earned money while enjoying.  Now I'm looking forward to the fulfillment of our greater plans.
4. I was able to cross out one special thing in my dream list last December.  And it was "to take my family in an all-expense-paid trip to Baguio".  Oh yeah, I have no idea that it would happen sooner than I expected.  I guess I wanted it too much in my heart that the universe truly conspired to make it happen.  Again, I'm looking forward to new family vacations and trips that I would be crossing out in my dream list.

Time indeed flew fast.  The next thing I knew it was already 2012.  And I feel very excited.  I bet you would want to know why.  Well, it is because 2012 is my banner year!  This is the year that I will become a millionaire.  I am claiming it with all my heart.  I knew God will prosper and bless me more this year so I could bless more people.  He will make my dreams come true.  And I completely trust Him.

Bro. Bo talked about planning last Sunday and since this is my first post for 2012, let me share with you some of the small dreams or plans I wish to accomplish this year (aside from earning Php 2 Million by the end of the year).

• Start earning a masters degree
• Invest in the stock market
• Start new businesses
• Grow my current business
• Develop my accounting and teaching skills and start freelancing

Bro. Bo shared a very important thought.  He said that our mind would usually be filled with only two things: Memories and Imagination.  Planning takes a very important role in terms of how we live our life.  If we don't plan, we live our lives based on memories.  But if we plan, our lives will be lived based on our imagination.  Isn't that a great realization of how critical and important planning is?

My next post would focus on my purpose, my higher cause.  I know I have touched on this topic before, but let me do a quick reassessment and reinstating of my purpose.  I know this should have came rather ealier than this post, but I believe its never too late to go back and do some quick fixing.  After all, the chances given to us to recreate our life is unlimited.  So as our opportunities of redefining our purpose.

God bless everyone!  Yes to the fulfillment of our dreams! :-)