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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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The Greatest Miracle in the World

It’s been a really long, long time since I last posted an article in this blog. There’s been a lot of great things happening in my life that I haven’t really found the time to write all about it.  One thing I realized is that when you’re having the time of your life, it can be a challenge to take a moment to reflect and appreciate everything.  Now, I finally found the time. 

Today, I’d like to share with you THE MOST SPECIAL blessing I’ve received in my entire life…the birth of my first born son, Ethan Gabriel.  This early our baby boy Ethan Gabriel is growing up to be a strong and healthy kid, thanks to a lot of prayers and a miracle from God.

The past few weeks has been a whirlwind adventure of holding on to the promise of God’s hope, of witnessing a great miracle, and of experiencing a deep and profound appreciation of all of God’s blessing of time and spending it with your loved ones.

Last April 10, 2012 marked the day a series of unexpected events started to happen.  It was my wife’s birthday.  And it happened to be the same day as her prenatal checkup.  To celebrate her birthday, I treated her to an early lunch at the Heat Restaurant in EDSA ShangriLa.  We had a really great time, enjoying the sumptous meal together.

After our date, we went to the clinic for her prenatal checkup.  It was supposed to be the last prenatal checkup before she’s due to deliver.  She was 36 weeks pregnant, a week away from being full term at 37 weeks.  It was supposed to be like any of the other almost a dozen prenatal checkups my wife have had the past 9 months.  Nothing could have prepared us from what’s about to happen next.

While doing her checkup, the doctor noticed my wife’s unsually high blood pressure.  It was 140/120. My wife also thought it was just a mistake because her blood pressure was normally at 110/70 on her previous checkups.  She was not feeling nauseous or anything.  She felt normal.  When her doctor asked her to have her blood pressure taken again to make sure and to take a urinalysis test, my wife was worried to say the least.  And when the doctor explained to her that if her blood pressure is really that high then she might have to be admitted to the hospital right away.  My wife was shocked.  And it showed very clearly.  My wife’s blood pressure shot up to 160/120 in an instant. She never imagined that she’d get admitted to the hospital and might get into labor ahead of time.  My wife’s doctor diagnosed her with pre-eclampsia, a rather critical condition for pregnant women.  The doctor asked us to immediately get admitted to the hospital.  So, with shocked and worried faces, we went directly to St Luke’s Medical Center in Global City. 

My wife was admitted to the High Risk Pregnancy Unit of St Lukes.  She was immediately given medication to stabilize her blood pressure, the hours went by which seemed like a very very long time…each time her blood pressure is taken, my heart stopped. I held my breath as I await the next reading of her blood pressure.  Still high at 160/100…and then getting even higher at 180/110…my heart bled in worry as if each moment was being frozen in time.  I was worried.  I knew my wife was worried not only for her sake but more for our baby’s condition.

After more than a day of torture, my wife’s blood pressure finally stabilized.  The doctor even contemplated of sending her home.  But because a pre-eclampsia condition is very critical, not only for my wife but also for the baby, the doctor requested staying for a few more days.  This way, my wife and the baby’s condition can be closely monitored.  I thank God to this day that we heeded the doctor’s advise and stayed in the hospital. 

The following morning, everything seemed normal.  Little did we know that the nurses were already getting a bit worried.  At about an hour before noon, the attending nurse seem to check my wife and the baby’s vitals signs a little more frequently at about every 10 minutes or so. Each time the nurse came by, a little bit of worry crossed my mind, curious why suddenly the nurse’s actions looked a bit more hurried.  I wanted to ignore it so that my wife won’t be concerned.  After another hour, the nurse once again entered the room but this time to hand me over the consent form for my wife’s emergency caesarian delivery.  Panic-stricken, I managed to ask why.  She explained that the baby’s heart rate has been dropping every 10 minutes or so and our doctor advised an emergency caesarian delivery right away.  All they needed before proceeding was my signature for the consent form. 

After signing the document, the nurse hurriedly prepared my wife for the emergency operation.  Everything happened so fast.  Next thing I know, my wife was already being transferred to the delivery room and I was trying to put on the scrubs on to be with her in the delivery room.  I was scared.  But I needed to be strong both for my wife and our baby.

I tried to reassure her that everything will be alright.  We both needed to have faith.  Perhaps, I needed it more than she did so I can have the courage to go through what’s about to happen next. 

When the baby came out, I was both relieved and anxious at the same time.  Relieved because my wife has safely delivered our baby. Finally, my wife can now sigh a relief and concentrate on recovering from the operation.  Anxious because when our baby came out, the baby was under a lot of stress.  Our doctor said that the umbilical cord of the baby got entangled on his neck causing him a lot of stress during the delivery.  Considering that he has not yet reached full term, it was very critical that he becomes stable first.  When the doctor tried to make our baby cry, his crying was very weak and his skin color was not very good.  Our baby was handed over to the pediatrician right away.  Our baby was having a hard time breathing because of all the stress that he went through.  After our baby stabilized and was able to breath better, he was weighed in.  He came out at 2,190 grams which is only a little over 4.8 pounds. After another 5 minutes, the pediatrician heared a little murmur from our baby’s heart.  The pediatrician decided to consult a cardiologist right away and transfer our baby to the Neonatial Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.  My initial sigh of relief was flustered with a very worried face.

After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, the cardiologist did a 2D Echo on our baby’s heart and the look of worry came over his face along with all the other doctors once they saw what was happening.  I was trying to calm myself down but I couldn’t have imagined going through something like this in my life.  The doctor asked to speak with me in a room so he can explain it to me better.  Good thing my in-laws were there with me when the doctor explained it to me.  At the end of the conversation, my face turned from worry to desperation.  The doctor explained that his diagnosis is pointing to a problem in our baby’s heart described as coarctation of the aorta and he might need to undergo surgery to solve the problem.  My father in-law mustered enough courage to ask what were the chances of the baby surviving an operation like that.  The doctor responded with a reassuring voice that it’s probably around 70/30.  He explained that it’s a very delicate operation because it involves the veins of the heart, and also because the baby’s veins are very tiny.  To which my father in-law asked again, how much would the operation probably cost? The doctor answered, "perhaps around P700,000 or so."  I couldn’t even utter a single word at that point.  I was shocked.  I didn’t know what to do.  Not only because of the HUGE amount, which is also shocking, but more for the well-being of our baby and my wife who was still in the recovery room at that time. There were so many "what-if" scenarios, fears and worries going through my mind. I didn’t have the strength to speak a single word after that.

The next few hours were the most trying moments in my life.  I was advised by the doctors not to share the information with my wife because it might trigger her high blood pressure to shoot up once again.  She needed to be stabilized first.  At this point, I didn’t have anyone to turn to.  I had to be strong both for our baby and my wife.  But I couldn’t help myself.  There comes a point in your life when you can’t do anything else other than to TRUST GOD that HE KNOWs what you are going through, and HE WILL MAKE A WAY.  I excused myself from my in-laws and went to the hospital chapel alone.  Not only to pray but to cry out for help from the Lord.  I was like a helpless child crying out to his father in heaven to "please help our baby".  It was all I could do.  I wish I could say I was strong, but I was not.  I was scared as hell. 

The hours that passed seemed to take a life of its own.  Our cardiologist was searching from the different hospitals and his contacts for a hard-to-find medicine that would temporarily help our baby’s heart and prevent it from crashing down.  He wanted to transfer the baby to Philippine Heart Center that night, but after checking out the baby’s condition at the NICU, and a rather very fortunate event of him being able to get hold of the medicine from another doctor of PGH, he decided to postpone the transfer until the next morning.  At about 8pm that night my very kind brother-in-law helped drive me to PGH to buy the medicine.  He even offered to lend me the cash because I was still in state of shock aimlessly trying to look for an ATM to withdraw from.  I don’t know if it was divine intervension, but I realize looking back that God’s miracles was already working it’s way at that point in time, and that perhaps that doctor in PGH was a god-sent angel from heaven.

After two-hours of waving through traffic going to and back from PGH, we arrived in St Lukes with the medicine on hand. The medicine was given to our baby immidiately.  At 11PM, we asked if there’s someone from the St Lukes Chapel who can help us bless our baby boy Ethan Gabriel.  Fortunately there was a resident pastor who’s available at that time.  Pastor Chris came by and together with my sister and brother in-law, we prayed over our baby and for God’s healing to be upon him.  Pastor Chris and I chatted a little bit afterwards and his message of hope for our baby was very reassuring.  Up to this day, I am grateful for Pastor Chris for being there in our most trying time.  Our friends in XTRM 1-11 also came by to visit and offered to pray over baby Ethan Gabriel and my wife Anna as well even if they couldn’t enter the room because it was already 2AM in the morning.  Sleep-deprived. Shocked. Restless. I tried to rest and sleep aftewards but my mind and body was simply too worried to get a decent sleep.  At 8AM, my mom who recently arrived from an overnight trip all the way from Ilocos came with me as I visited our baby in the NICU.  When we arrived, the cardiologist was busy doing another 2D ECHO on our baby, and he signaled for us to wait outside and he’ll speak with us after checking our baby’s condition again that morning.  While anxiously waiting for the result, I was busy praying under my breath for our baby’s miracle recovery.  After seemed like a lifetime of waiting, the cardiologist came out of the NICU, his face beaming with delight as he puts his 2 thumbs up sign and walks over to where my mom and I were standing.  He said, "Great news! It looks like your baby doesn’t have to go through surgery anymore." All I could say was "THANK YOU LORD!!!"

The cardiologist explained that overnight our baby’s condition improved significantly to a point where the initial diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta was no longer evident.  The narrow nerve that was supposed to be operated on improved and was now pumping blood from the heart normally.  It looked like the medication that they gave to our baby helped improve his heart’s function overnight.  All I could utter at that point was, "THANK YOU LORD", over and over and over again.  When the cardiologist waved goodbye, he said, it looked like OUR PRAYERS WORKED! And it worked indeed! Up to this day, I still don’t know what happened.  It was a MIRACLE! To God be the Glory!

Until now, I can’t seem to thank God enough for giving us a GREAT BLESSING in our first born son Ethan Gabriel.  Prayers really work.  To our family, friends, and all other people in our community, my in-law’s Lifers community, my brother-in-law’s Light of Jesus community, our XTRM 1-11 family, and all the countless people who helped prayed with us that night and continued praying for our baby’s recovery, my heart will be forever indebted to you for your kindness.  God bless you!

The experience reminded me once again, that every blessing comes from God.  Each moment that we are living is a gift from the Lord. No matter how prepared you think you are, no matter how confident in your abilities you may be, no matter how financially secure you believe you are, God can take everything from you in a snap of a finger.  Every riches, financial or otherwise, are only an accessory to the real riches we have in each of us all — a loving God who knows the desires of our hearts even before we are able to speak them.

My hope is that our baby Ethan Gabriel’s story help encourage you to hold on to God’s promise of hope in whatever challenges you are facing right now.  God knows the desires of your heart.  And just like a father who loves, He will surely bless you in ways you can never imagine.  Miracles do come true.  God bless you.

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The Hidden Cost of Having a Job

Just recently I received news that some of my friends were being let go by their company simply because the business could not support the cost of doing some of its projects anymore.  Nothing personal, it’s simply a fact of doing business that sometimes people have to be let go.

While reflecting about the unfortunate turn of events, I remembered a similar experience that happened sometime in 2008 and early 2009 in the middle of the financial crisis, back when I was still working in Malaysia.  To tell you the truth it is not the most encouraging sight in the world, getting to work everyday, always wondering if today your boss will ask you to come to his office to talk to you because it’s now your last day at work.  No, I didn’t get fired.  I was prepared to receive another blessing.

Looking back, I felt very lucky to have been open to other opportunities, even when at that time, I didn’t seem to have a need for one.  I was comfortable with the life that I had. Event then, I simply stayed open for more. Now, I have more options.

Before I say anything else, I want to make things very clear.  I have nothing against employment. And I will always be forever grateful to all my previous employers.  They taught me important lessons in life, working with other people in my 9 long years of IT career that proved very valuable in building my own businesses.

In the process, I discovered 3 hidden treasures that my job was costing me without me realizing it at that time.

1) Freedom.

Financial and time freedom.  The freedom to enjoy the fruits of your labor.  One thing I realized after a few years working is that even when you have the financial capability to buy the things you want, if you don’t have the time to enjoy it, it really doesn’t make any sense.  If I tell you I would give you 1 million peso as a reward for working 24 hours a day for 1 month straight, would you take it? Maybe. Perhaps some would try.  But most would consider it ridiculous.  Who would want to risk their life for something like that?  Educated as we are, you would think we would see the insanity of sacrificing our health, rendering lots and lots of time working for money only to use the same money paying for our hospital bills after your body collapses in exhaustion.

Freedom to fire your boss any time you want.  One of the things I realized early on is how big a bully big companies can be.  When your boss says come to work on a weekend, you have no choice but go.  When your company says render more hours so we can tell we are cheaper than other companies, then you have no choice but to work more hours.  When they say you have to work even while on vacation or an important family event, then you have no other choice but to do so.  Why? Because you have no other choice.  You simply can’t say no.  Otherwise, what will you feed your family with?  How will you pay for your house’s mortgage?  How will you pay for your mounting debts?  How will you pay for your kids schooling?  There’s too much at stake to be even thinking of saying no.  It’s perfectly understandable.  I’ve been there and I know how it is to be afraid.  I know how it feels like thinking you’ve been “bullied” into doing what you don’t want to do simply because they know you don’t have any other choice.  That’s one of the reasons I remained open for other opportunities, I simply wanted to have the option to say NO.

2) Time.

You get paid for your time.  Yes, some people get paid more than others.  Doctors get paid a lot more than a simple minimum wage earner.  But the reality is, both of their incomes are tied to the number of hours they can render.  To increase their income then, they would either need to increase their hourly rate or render more hours.  Increasing your hourly rate is sensible but you would have to invest time & money to upgrade your skills.  If you’re a doctor, perhaps you would have to undergo a sub-specialization, or if you’re an IT professional take a certification for a specific skill.  Both requires time and money to do.  You can render more hours by doing over time at work, but the reality is you can only go so far.  We only have 24 hours in a day.  You can’t go beyond that.  Simply said, if your time is limited, so will your income be.

When my grandfather died, I remembered reading a passage from the bible noting that a man only lives up to 70 or 80.  When he goes beyond that, it is already a great blessing from the Lord.  We sleep for 8 hours.  We go to work 8 hours, or 10 hours considering all the commuting and other stuffs.  That leaves us 6 hours per day to do the things we want to do.  Perhaps you spend 2 hours watching TV, another 2 hours surfing the internet or reading your friends’ updates on Facebook or Twitter, and 2 more hours for playing with your kids or reading the newspaper.  The sad reality is that when you have a job, you will have less time spent working on your business and investments.

In life there are two basic assets that you have, your time and money.  Most people only know of money as asset. Time is an asset just like the saying “Time is Gold.” When you think about it, time is actually better than money.  Because you can get back the money, but not time.  In fact, you cannot even save time, you can only spend it.  So spend it wisely if you want to become rich.

3) Opportunities.

The more time you have to spend in your job worrying about other people’s businesses, the less time you have to mind your own.  Unfortunately, the odds are against you when you’re only building other people’s businesses.  At some point, you have to build something that you can own.  Not to become a boss, but to become an owner.  Otherwise, you’d end up locked up with a job on your own company, instead of building a system where you can leverage other people’s time, money and effort to multiply your results.

Why do you think Henry Sy can make millions more than an average person even when both have the same 24 hours in a day?  It’s simply because Henry Sy is leveraging the time of thousands of his employees to build his business empire. Yes, he has the money to spend to pay for those employees now. But a long time ago, when he was starting he didn’t have the money, all he had was time on his hands and his ability to take advantage of whatever opportunities available to him.

When opportunities come and you don’t grab it, it might not come back anymore.  It’s not something you can just buy in a grocery store.  If you’re spending your time thinking too long, the opportunity may have already passed.  Successful people have the habit of deciding fast and changing their decision slowly, if at all.  Unsuccessful people take too long to decide, but once they get a decision they change it too quickly.  Ironic, but it’s true.

These are just 3 things that I discovered in my journey so far — FREEDOM, TIME and OPPORTUNITIES.  There are more things that you can think of I’m sure, but these are the things that have really created a HUGE impact on how I live my life.  There’s more to life than money, business and investing.  There’s time with your family.  There’s leaving a legacy to those people you care most.  There’s living a great life to glorify the one who made you, your God.  I wish that in your journey of discovering the true treasures and riches outside of your job, you will find it in your heart the courage to stay true to what you believe in and improve the lives of many people in the process.

Lastly, I want to leave you with this quote on a picture of me and my wife living the life of our dreams, simply because we stayed open.  Hold on to the promise of HOPE.  God bless you.

P.S. Are you tired and frustrated with your job or your boss? Feeling underpaid?  Scared of getting fired? Are you looking for other options? Here’s your chance. CLICK HERE to email me and find out how.

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How to Kick-Start Your Year with a Bang

Time flies so fast. Especially when you’re enjoying what you do.  A year ago, I was counting the hours at the office, eager to leave work and do my own thing.  Now, I hardly have time to count because I’m having the time of my life in what I do.  I am meeting a lot of very interesting people every day, learning from their own life’s journey, getting mentored by highly successful multi-millionaires and yet very humble individuals.  This is life indeed.

Whether you started the year in January 1 or follow the Chinese calendar (Kung Hei Fat Choi!), it’s always a great idea to start the year right and on the right note.  This is the season of new year’s resolutions.  Of taking new beginnings.  Of fresh new look, hairstyle, or even new hope for a brand new year.

Today what I’d like to do is share with you some ideas on how you can maximize this year by starting it right.  Let me share with you how I started it, and hopefully you’ll get some ideas of your own.

Tip # 1 – Get Recharged

Right after the new year’s celebrations, I hit the ground running with a 3-day retreat with our guest speaker, none other than one of the most sought-after motivation speaker around the world, Mr Francis Kong!  The retreat’s theme was aptly described as Recharge 1.0 because last year 2011 has been a gruelling, but very fruitful and rewarding year for most of us.  It really helped me reflect on the past year’s blessings in our family’s, spiritual life, financial and personal.  And also provided a venue to recharge for another great year ahead 2012.

This exclusive retreat was organized by XTRM 1-11, and spearheaded by one of my youngest but highly successful and driven mentor, Ms Ivy Dela Cruz.  I’d like to share with you a video to illustrate how much fun we’ve had during that 3-days!

Tip # 2 – Get Connected

Right after that retreat I had to go straight to my hometown in the northernmost part of the Philippines to attend my grandfather’s funeral.  He lived a long, healthy and meaningful 99 years of his life touching many lives.  From what I heard, he died in his sleep and did not have to endure so much pain.  But before he died, he was a very loving husband to my grandmother through all those years.  I spent my time growing up in the provinces in the company of my grandparents when I was young and I have always had very fond memories of them.  It’s an experience I would treasure for a lifetime.

Seeing all my cousins, uncles and aunties and relatives mourn and share their sadness, I realized how death sometimes connects each of us together.  All walls break down.  All shortcomings are set aside for a moment.  All bitterness and shallow misunderstandings are temporarily forgotten.

More than that, while listening to my dad share a story of how my grandfather touched the lives of many people, I realized that we are all passers by in this world. One day, we too shall pass.  What is left is the lives we’ve touched along the way.  My grandfather certainly had an impact on many lives not only with his 10 children and countless grandchildren, but all the other people who seeked his help. My grandfather had the gift of healing, of being able to pray and be an instrument of God’s love to his people.  My dad seemed to have inherited the same gift. What’s great though is that they both acknowledge that it’s simply God working through them to bless other people.

I’ve been very blessed to have a grandfather who had a pure heart.  Yes, he had his own shortcomings.  But aren’t we all? What matters more is the love he freely shared and blessed this world with.

Cheers to you my grandfather, lilong Kido!  Your legacy will live in our hearts forever!

Tip # 3 – Get Organized

After getting a few days rest, I’ve had the chance to get my thoughts together and really plan for this year.  I’ve had to really think long and hard what I want to do this year.  Last year was really a great year for me and my family with all the blessings that we’ve received.  And sometimes I still wonder, what more blessings can I ask God this time?

This was time to dream again.  And dream I did! I have lofty goals this year but I’ll leave that for my next article.  For now, my tip is for you to take some time to dream and set your goals for this year.   Write it down.  Cut out some pictures if you can and put it in your dream board.

After setting my goals, my next step was to plan.  So, I got myself a planner.  Last year, while it was very fruitful it was also a great learning experience for me.  For the first time, I had to be accountable for my own results.  I had no boss.  There’s no one telling me what to do.  There’s no one checking on me every now and then if I delivered what I promised.

The temptation was there to simply procrastinate and become lazy.  And most of the time, I really was.  Without a plan, it’s been a chaotic exercise of wasting time.  This time I really wanted to take some time to get organized.  So I bought a planner.  And the first week I used it, it probably tripled my productivity, and for the first time, I actually got something meaningful done so fast and brisk free! 🙂

I’ll share with you some other productivity tools that I do next time, but for now just get a planner and create a plan to get your goals this year.

Tip # 4 – Get Going

Next step for me was to get going and take action.  And that’s what I did.

In my business, I meet very interesting people every day, learning from their stories.  I learn from their successes and challenges.  It’s really amazing seeing through another world out there different from my own.  For 9 years, I was in front of computers day in, day out.  Now, for the first time in my life, I get to interact with people with colorful lives.

Here I am with my business partners from Cebu gracing our company’s convention in SMX Mall of Asia.

I also had the good fortune of being invited to share my thoughts on stocks investing with almost a thousand PUP banking and finance students this month.  I had a really great time enjoying the event, especially in answering the very intelligent and interesting questions from the young and energetic crowd of future business leaders of this country.  I still can’t get over this simple token they’ve given me.  It’s the first time someone thought of giving me this kind of a wonderful gift.  To the PUP banking in finance students, thanks again for inviting me to share with you. All I can say is you guys rock!!!

Tip # 5 – Have fun and enjoy every moment.

Have fun.  Enjoy.  That’s it.  No gets out of life alive.  So, enjoy every moment, for it shall pass only once.  As Francis Kong always said during our 3-day retreat, “In all things, always GIVE THANKS!”

Here I am enjoying a nice barbecue party for new year with my family at our new home.  One of the best new years I’ve had so far!

I also spent my birthday party with friends.  Here’s a picture of us munching at Charlie’s Burger.

There’s another photshoot I had just last week which I am even more excited to share with you! Watch out for those pictures!  🙂

As you can obviously see, I am having the time of my life! Thank YOU Lord for all these blessings!!!  Truly YOU are the greatest!!!

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to also take this time to say THANKS TO YOU my dear reader for sharing in my journey.  You are one of the reasons I get excited each day gettting up in the morning, having fun and enjoying this wonderful life! I pray that whatever goals you set for this year, God will grant you the wisdom to create a workable plan to help you bring closer to your goals.  I wish you well, and let’s go get our goals together this year with flying colors! Cheers to a successful 2012!!!

P.S.  How about you? How did you start your year so far? What goals do you have this year and how I can help bring you closer to those goals?  Contact me, if you want a more private discussion.  Otherwise, simply leave your comments below. 🙂

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Your best blessings are on their way…

I feel blessed.  I’ve always felt very lucky, as if the great stars have all aligned when I was born.  Perhaps it’s really true.  God plays favorites. That’s why He made me. 🙂 Don’t worry, you are his favorite too.  🙂

Whether you agree to it or not, it really doesn’t matter. As one of the most profound thinkers of our time, the late Jim Rohn once said, "it’s not what happens that determines your future, it’s what you do with what happens." In short, what matters is how you look at life.  Do you feel blessed?  Or do you feel cursed? The choice is yours.

As for me, it’s easier to just show you proofs than to explain.

Proof #1. When I was about to enter high school, I remember guessing the last 50 questions of my entrance exam and ended up getting the highest score. I must have been really lucky that day…or perhaps, I was not the only one guessing?!

Proof #2. When I was attending christmas parties, I would almost always win raffle prizes.  Grocery items.  Chocolates. You name it.  Except the high-ticket items like LCD TV or trip for two to the US…I’m still waiting for the next christmas party for those. 🙂

Proof #3. When I was old enough to marry, God gave me a beautiful and loving wife to be with me until the day I die. I must be the luckiest guy in the world!

I have always felt blessed.  And this time I feel it even more…I feel God’s greatest blessings are always under way. 

I would sometimes say, "This is the best gift I’ve ever had! There’s no way God can top this! This is awesome"…and then with a smile, God simply answers back, "Watch me! You ain’t seen nothing yet!"….and gives a me a gift that would top everything I’ve received thus far. 🙂

Today, I’d like to share with you a really short story. 

One day, two people fell in love.  They got married and planned to bring a child into this world from the first day they became one.  Every month, they watched with excitement for any sign of good news.  But the angels up the heavens are saying…"no, it’s not time yet."  Months passed…and still no sign.  Months of waiting slowly turned to years.  The couple are praying for the good news…but the reality still looms in.  Depression begins.  Life stops and desperations set in..

Until finally…out of a seemingly ordinary series of events comes the beginning of the journey where an extraordinary gift awaits. The gift of life.  Literally. 

That’s me and my wife’s story…and the beginning of the story of God’s greatest gift to us.

With great joy and pride…I’m sharing with you, the first of many pictures to come of my 3 and a half month child happily giggling in my wife’s womb.

 

Just like all the best things in life…this one is priceless!

Cheers to God’s blessings!

P.S. If you’re curious what those series of events are…or know someone who has been in the same situation of waiting and would like to help, feel free to email me. 

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