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Prequel to the Greatest Miracle in the World

I can still remember as if it was just yesterday.  After trying to have a baby for almost 4 years and patiently going back and forth to our doctor’s appointments, I can still remember how anxious we were, hoping and waiting for the good news on our goal to have a baby.

I can still feel the heart ache my wife went through when well meaning loved ones were asking her why we don’t have a baby yet.  I can only imagine the pressure that she had to go through every time she hears the same question over and over again. That’s why I am very proud of my wife. Through all the challenges, even when her faith was failing her, he kept holding on to her dream, our dream to have a baby.

Our well meaning friends and relatives told her not eat too much for her to lose weight to have a better chance of conceiving.  Of course, they don’t know that my wife was having a hormonal imbalance…and that having a voluptous figure can be because of other things not related to overeating.  In fact, she has already done that, eating only “half-rice” at every meal.  On top of that, she even went through a strenous dance class  in the hope of shedding a few pounds which only made her cry and trembling in exhaustion after a few gruelling sessions.  If it were me, I may not have the emotional strength to go on and continue with what she went through.  My wife is a strong woman.  In spite of her fun-loving, amiable and high-spirited front is a fragile lady with a loving heart full of dreams.  She’s the first miracle in my life.

The First Glimmer of Hope

After years of trying, my wife went through the next stage of the work-up as advised by her doctor.  She was told to take a medication, which she had to inject on herself everyday for the next week or so.  One injection is worth PhP 3,000, and when I last counted, it was 10 injections that she had to take.  Not only was it painful physically for my wife…but also painful financially. That’s when I realized that if you have a dream big enough, you really don’t mind spending more than you normally would.  It is an emotional thing.

Finally, the good news arrived.  My wife was tested positive!!! Yehey!!! We’re finally going to have a baby.

But the good news didn’t last for very long.  The next few days were some of the most trying times of our lives.  Everyday for the next week, she had spotting. She was losing blood.  Exactly 7 days after, I had to take her to Medical City at 3am in the morning. I remember vividly holding her tight as we walked and asked a cab in EDSA Mandaluyong to take us to the emergency unit of the hospital.  She was losing blood, a lot of blood.  In the end, the baby was lost.

Without sleep, depressed, numbed from the whole experience, my wife and I went out of the hospital past noon with no clue what to do next.  All I can remember was that we took a cab and went to my in-laws’ house to deliver the bad news.

While in the cab, I remembered that I had a scheduled appointment at 3pm on the same day with a friend of mine.  At first, I really didn’t want to go, but as luck would have it, that appointment would pave the way for God’s healing and the greatest miracle to happen in our lives.

The Making of the Greatest Miracle in the World

After some chit chat with my friend, she showed me what she was busy with at that time. My friend even introduced me to her mentors. That meeting proved to be a turning point in my life.  I didn’t recognize it at first, but luckily I suspended my disbelief long enough to have a clearer view of what it really meant…and soon 6 months after the greatest miracle happened in our 4 years of married life.

It was March 2011 after having gone through the tragedy when my wife and I decided to temporarily stop the work up consultation with our OBGYNE doctor.  At times, I would see my wife, still feeling the emotional stress from the whole event, crying at her own corner feeling depressed.  It pricked my heart seeing her so sad.

My wife stopped going to the doctor, stopped taking medications, and sometimes even stopped going to work in days she could not contain her emotional depression. As a loving husband, all I could do was watch her helplessly go through deep emotions that only a woman who losed a part of her own would know.

When my friend recommended a weight loss program for us, we really didn’t expect any result from it.  In fact, because my wife was depressed, there were times we would not be able to follow the program and eat out heavily in an eat-all-you-can restaurant.  Until one night, my wife accidentally saw our anniversary pictures on her laptop.  On that same night, we were really surprised to see the difference in her.  I was so excited, I asked her to put on the same dress and voila, here’s the picture I got. 🙂

That encouraged us to take a deeper look at what we have stumbled into. Because of the miscarriage, my wife and I were extra careful in what we were taking.  In order to prepare the body for conceiving, it is important to have a healthy lifestyle especially for the 9 months the baby is inside the womb. Also with all the medications she was under as part of the workup, she’s afraid it would take its toll on her kidneys and liver. We discovered that nourishing your total body health is important, and taking a high-quality vitamin supplement like Cellsentials is key especially nowadays that eating healthy is so hard to do. We learned that Omega 3 is good for those wanting to get pregnant, so we decided to take it.  We learned that Coenzyme Q10 is good for those with ‘hormonal imbalance’ and those wanting to enhance fertility, and also took some of it.  And so on..

After 6 months, my mother-in-law who is already a senior-citizen and still without a grandchild, prodded my wife for us to try again.  My wife, being a very obedient child who can’t say no to her parents, obliged on one condition – that she won’t have to go back to the same clinic and doctor again.  My mother-in-law referred another doctor to her. My wife went to the doctor bringing with her her very long medical history of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). The doctor did a new ultrasound scan, and much to my wife’s surpise the doctor said, “Oh, normal ka naman. Ok na siya. Wala nang PCOS” (You’re normal, there’s no longer any PCOS). My wife was stunned.  She couldn’t believe it. She kept going back to the past 6 months and asked herself what changed.  All she could think of were the healthy lifestyle changes that we went through.

The doctor advised her of the timing, and when she can do a pregnancy test.  My wife was so excited she did the test a week early.  One morning, she woke me up crying while holding on one hand the pregnancy test kit result.  I was still half-asleep when I checked the test kit from her hand.  I don’t know if it was because I just got off from sleep, I saw one solid line and I thought I saw another very faint one but wasn’t really sure.  I couldn’t ask my wife because she was already crying profusely at this point. I didn’t have the courage to ask her whether she was crying because it’s already positive or she was crying because it’s negative again.  All I could do then was hug her and not utter any word.

Another week passed and my wife did another test on the day the doctor advised us to do so.  The lines were more pronounced at this point so we were getting very excited.  After another week, we went through the doctor and it was confirmed! We are going to have a BABY!!! We were so ecstatic!!!

Past forward more than a year after, my son is now 5 months old.

Sometimes I still can’t believe I am now holding my own child in my arms while he lay soundly asleep.  I still can’t believe that what was only a dream a year ago is now a reality.  Truly there’s no impossible to the Lord.

Everything happens for a reason. Even tragedies have a purpose. When I look back, perhaps it was really meant to be for us to experience feeling the loss so we will know how to value what we have when the blessing finally arrives.

I feel really blessed.  My son Ethan Gabriel is the Greatest Miracle in the World in my heart.  Everyday, when I see my son smile back at me, it reminds me how much God loves me and my family. Amidst all the financial blessings that we have received, truly there are blessings that are PRICELESS.  This is one of them. No amount of money can compare to the happiness my wife and I feel every time we see our son Ethan Gabriel smile.

All glory to God in the highest!

P.S. I hope Ethan’s story inspires you in your journey as you experience the greatest miracle in your life.  Hold on to that dream for God would not have put it in your heart if it was not meant to be fulfilled in its own proper time.

P.P.S. If you want to know more about the products we took that has helped us improve our health to have a healthy baby after 6 months of taking them, you can contact me here.

P.P.S. If you want to try out the products and avail a 20% discount, you can CLICK HERE.

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Baby Steps to Financial Riches Part 5 – The Opportunity That Changed My Life

Last weekend, I had a chance to facilitate a cashflow game with my friends in Think Rich Pinoy. It’s always amazing to meet new people who are open-minded about the opportunities around them, be it in real-estate, stocks or business.  While speaking with one of the participants, I was reminded about a similar experience I had way back 2003 when I first played the game Casfhlow 101.  That marked the first time the new world of business opened up for me. 

The First Try.

From that workshop, I met someone who later introduced me to a business opportunity which can potentially give passive income.  I checked it out, thought it was a sound business idea and went on to start my own network marketing business. At that time, I was heavily in debt so I joined simply because I needed money.  To cut the long story short, I failed.  Miserably. I was so pathetic I thought I was really not meant to be in this industry.

After getting a bruised ego and healing my wounds from that failed business venture, I decided to focus in doing a great work at my job. I became good at it and got promoted almost every year.  But the lingering feeling I have about starting my own business just won’t go away.  I tried starting my own TV show VCD retailing business which also failed, but proved to be very critical in my business education.  Frustrated I attended a lot of seminars, read a lot of books, but I still lacked EXPERIENCE.  I wanted to learn hands-on how to build a successful business. With no one to go to, I tried to go at it on my own…until an opportunity came my way that has been one of the best thing that ever happened to me.

Courage to Act In Spite of Fear.

In March 2011, my friend invited me over for coffee to discuss some ideas she wanted to check with me.  Being a very helpful friend, I, of course, went along to check what my friend was up to.  I checked it out.  Lo and behold, it’s yet another network marketing business. Since I have already tried starting my own network marketing business before and failed miserably, I had a lot of hesitations at first.  Truth be told, I was skeptic at first and did not really understand it at the time because my mind was still clouded by my previous experiences way back when I failed in my first network marketing business.  I did not think of it much that day but I promised to bring along my wife to check it out again a few days after.

My wife listened to the presentation, we spoke to the leaders of the company, and other people who were just starting out as well.  In the end we decided to try the products out.  After a few weeks of trying out the weight management products, here’s what I got.

In my mind, I was at least convinced that the products are really good.  But I was still reluctant to do the business.  With nothing much to lose, I tried to check the business out again and gave it a try. I was still working full-time at my job as IT consultant for a multinational company at that time. I really did not have much time to spare to do another business on top of my internet marketing gigs.  I already invested some of my money in real-estate and stocks at that time so I already have an idea how to compare it against other investment vehicles. 

When I earned my investment back in one and half month, I then decided to study the business even more.  It was the first time I really put in a serious effort in finding out how this kind of business works.  I then realized that there’s more to this business than meets the eye.  I discovered the 5 questions you need to ask before joining a network marketing company.  How to differentiate a legitimate companies from the scams, and how to look at it from a perspective of a business owner, not an employee working at a job.

The more I learned about the business, the more I appreciated its unique strengths compared to other businesses as well as my other income streams that I’ve built over the years.  I was even amazed after a few months when I realized that my income from my business was more than the income coming from my stocks, real-estate and internet marketing COMBINED.  That was the time I took a real notice to this new opportunity I discovered.

I wish I could tell you all the things that have happened to me ever since that faithful day in March 2011 up to the present.  But words could not describe all the challenges that I’ve had to overcome, the joy of watching your business grow in front of your eyes, the continuous learning along the way, the discovery of what I value most and what I can deliver in helping other people earn at least $100 a month.  Here are some of the things that have happened to me so far.

Last day working for a JOB.

After doing the business part-time for 6 months, I was able to pursue it full time.  September 30, 2011 was my last day working for a job at my previous company.  It was the day I earned more in a week in my part-time business than my IT job for almost a decade. 

Goal to help 100 people earn $100/month each.

October 2011 when I decided to set a goal for myself to help a hundred people earn at least $100/month.  As of today, there are now more than 80 people who are earning $40/wk – $600/wk. 

Here’s what those who have been part of my project has to say.

If you want to take part in my project and be one of the 20 remaining people who will get a chance to be personally mentored by me and my team of leaders to earn at least $100/month before the year ends, click here to email me. 

Get featured in a magazine.

In helping people earn their $100/month, my business grew as well.  For the first, time my wife and I were featured in a magazine.   We were also recognized on stage in front of thousands of people.  It was a proud moment for me especially since my whole family was there with me to celebrate.

Mentoring from successful business people.

Through my business, I also got to enjoy meeting a lot of my business mentors.  Some of them already own Mang Inasal stores, some Minute Burgers, while another one owns the first 24/7 gym for ELITE athletes like PBA players, and more. Others are ordinary employees from big companies like Meralco, HP, Accenture, and others.  They have different backgrounds, IT professionals, Certified Public Accountants, Engineers, Nurses, Doctors, etc.  Some are board topnotchers and Magna Cum Laude graduates from prestigious universities like UP, UST, FEU, and more.  Some are much younger than me at only 18 years old, but already millionaires.

I think there’s a growing trend nowadays where the industry is undergoing a radical change thanks to XTRM 1-11 Inc.  More and more, I see people eager to look at opportunities around them that can give them back their dreams.  If you are one who’s open to looking at opportunities other than what you’re currently doing and would like to check out what I do, you can simply email me here.

There are a lot of more great things that have happened to me while pursuing my bliss of entrepreneurship, and helping other’s make the same leap from employment to business, but those will be shared with you some other time, perhaps in one of my future articles.  The baby steps to financial richers series will come to a close, but a new journey is only just beginning.

To end, I’d like to share with you one thing I’ve been asked a few times after I resigned from my job.  Not once have I been asked this intriguing question, "do you want to go back to employment?" The short answer is — No. At this time, I am still enjoying the time of my life, learning and getting a lot of business experience that I won’t be able to learn otherwise.  It’s only been a year in my journey to entrepreneurship but I won’t trade it for anything else.  Imagine what will happen in the next 3 to 5 years.  I am excited to share everything with you! Let’s go make our dreams happen! 🙂

P.S. I’m currently expanding my business in Makati and Singapore at the moment.  I am looking for 20 serious people who would like to pursue a home-based business earning an initial $40/wk – $200/wk part-time in the first 90 days.  If you would like to check if this business is something you can do, email me so we can schedule some time to get to know each other and see if we can do business together.  This business is obviously not for everyone, only for those people who want to work hard and pursue a legal and ethical way to earn money.  Not for those looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.  The first time I opened up the slots, my mailbox got so many inquiries that it took me 3 days to go through all of them.  So if you don’t receive a reply from me within 24 – 48 hours, please resend your email again as I might have missed it or it got buried along with the other emails.  God bless!

 

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Work Smart

Today, we will temporarily take a break from our ongoing Baby Steps to Financial Riches Series to give way to a guest article ‘Work Smart’ by one of my friends Sha Nacino.  Read on and enjoy!

Work Smart
By Sha Nacino

We always hear the phrase “work hard.” Yes, working hard is very important. However, I think working hard is not enough. One needs to work smart as well.

I am a poor singer. My father and brother would always tease me when I sing. When I was in High School, I auditioned for our school choir. No matter how hard I practiced, I didn’t pass the audition because I was tone deaf and my voice was sintonado. In fact, I was lucky if I could finish a song without revising its tune.

John Maxwell said, “Don’t work on your weaknesses”. By weaknesses, he is referring to our talents and skills. For example if you rate yourself 3 in singing in a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, then pursue another career other than singing. Because companies only reward excellence! Assuming that you work hard to improve your singing and you raise your score by 2 points, your rate is just average at 5.

It’s the same thing with work. You may be doing a job that is not in line with your skills. No matter how hard you would try, the best that you could achieve is an average performance.

It may also be that you want to augment your income because you want to provide a more comfortable lifestyle to your family. So you decide to work overtime on weekends. Then you begin to think about rewarding yourself for your hard work. You then treat yourself to a nice movie or a sumptuous meal, or an expensive watch. You are too busy and tired to realize that though you’re earning extra from your overtime, you also spend a lot.

I therefore suggest that you work smart aside from working hard. If possible, try to commit working only 5 days a week. Use the one day to feed your mind regarding financial management and the other one day to bond with your loved ones. Read lots of financial books from best-selling authors. Look for mentors and take time to talk to them and learn from them.

Speaking of books, I wrote an eBook titled How to Earn While on Vacation with a Foreword by Bo Sanchez. You can visit http://seminarphilippines.com/free-ebook/ to get the eBook for FREE.

I wrote this eBook because I wanted more people to know about passive income and how it is earned. I am giving this book away for free. If you don’t have a copy of the eBook yet, you may log on to http://seminarphilippines.com/free-ebook/.

About the Author:
Sha Nacino is an author and a blogger. You may visit her at www.seminarphilippines.com or www.happysha.com.

 

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