Your LIFE is What You Make It

We cannot have everything.

May maganda pero wala namang pera. Mayaman nga pero di kagandahan. Matalino nga pero walang pang aral. Nagaaral nga sa isang magandang unibersidad pero mahina naman ang utak.

Kanya-kanyang pagsubok. Kanya-kanyang diskarte. Lahat may pinagdadaanan. Some greater than others. But such is what gives true meaning to life. The greater the challenge, the greater the triumph.

Embrace life's trials and move forward always looking towards the bright future. 😀🙌🏆🎯

The Key to Success

Hindi po araw-araw ay Pasko. So don't mind the occasional missed targets, lost opportunities, and other road bumps that come your way. Learn from them, strategize, and avoid committing the same mistakes again. 

In all of history, success is always preceded by failures. Ergo, you are on the right track!

The Stocks of Life

LIfe is like playing the stock market----HIGH RISK, HIGH GAIN. So if you intend to aim BIG in life, you need to: (1) study harder than everyone else in school in order to get employed to the top 100 company; (2) do the needed leg work and give VALUE to all the tasks you are given to climb up the corporate ladder.

Of course, like the stock market, NOTHING IS GUARANTEED. Bottomline is that you are willing to do the job that needed to be done and do it with EXCELLENCE all the time. Eventually, everything will fall into place. If it does not, then comfort yourself that the WIN is in the effort.

Planking and Looking Forward to a Six Pack Abs

At first I thought planking was a piece of cake. No movements; you only need to stay at one stationary position for a minute. Sisiw...until I tried doing it and found how hard it is to do. 60 seconds, 3 reps. Burning abdominal muscles after.

ISANG MALAKING MONAYpa din as of now but I'm hoping maging 6 NA PANDESAL sya after a lot of hard work, persistence, and the positive thinking.

About PROMOTION

In my personal experience (mine and those I have seen of those I have come to work with), being promoted is best savored when it comes as a surprise; meaning, you just consistently do your work well, be pro-active, exhibit initiative, always strive for excellence---do this day in and day out all for the love of what you're doing without any expectation of a reward.  

I have seen people make promotion as an end and most of them end up disgruntled when they don't get it on their desired time frame.  These people eventually end up burned out, slowly slacking off, and just work just like a vendo machine---NO COIN, NO WORK (well, work that has no value).  They just go through the motion of day to day work load.

Bottom line is:  DON'T EXPECT TO BE PROMOTED.

Simple Rules to Live a Happy Life

1.   Focus on the POSITIVE.  All of us have problems.  Each with its own special circumstances.  As the saying goes, “Hindi lahat ng mayaman ay Masaya; hindi lahat ng Masaya ay mayaman.”(Not all rich people are happy; not all happy people are rich.)  Whether we like it or not we cannot divest ourselves of problems---it is a validation that we are alive.  I believe that the person who does not have any problem is already “six feet under”.

2.     Look at what you have going for you instead of that of others.  Envy fuels negativity.  Negativity breeds bitterness.  Appreciate what you have and be thankful.  I firmly believe that we all have our own special situation to be happy about.

3.      Give yourself credit.  God gave us all individual talents that we will need to survive life.  Look back at what you've accomplished---the trials that you overcome---and give yourself a much deserved pat on the back. Not many people appreciate what you have done but at least YOU DO.

4.     Embrace your situation.  Nobody said that life is going to be easy so stop whining and accept the challenges that come your way.  Just put in mind that God does not give us challenges that we cannot endure or overcome.  It’s just a matter of digging inside yourself to find the courage and the strength to rise up to all your trials.

5.   PRAY.  #4 is easier said than done so a dose or two of Divine intervention can make a difference.  Miracles happen every day.  Often they are disguised as coincidences.  I guess this is God’s means of remaining anonymous.

Lessons Learned from the Story of Seabiscuit

For those who have not read the book "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand or seen its 2003 movie adaption starring Toby Maquire, Seabiscuit was a racehorse who inspired hope in hearts of the depression plagued Americans during the late 30's. He was undersized and had crooked legs but despite this handicap became a champion racehorse and by the time of his retirement in 1940---Seabiscuit was horse racing's all time money winner.

 

All of us have our own handicaps to contend with but with the right values, hard work, determination, and the unwavering belief that life can be made better, we can rise from our difficulties.

As the Roman Emperor Hadrian said while building the Roman Empire, "Brick by brick my citizens, brick by brick." Success carries a hefty investment of blood, sweat, and tears. It is not handed to you on a silver platter for you to enjoy. I believe that the most fulfilling accomplishment is the one which you gave your best and most effort to. For an undersized horse like Seabiscuit, his anatomical measure obviously was not the source of his speed. The source of his speed was in his heart. As Charles Howard would comment, "Sometimes when the little guy doesn't know that he's a little guy, he can do great big things." This should be the same attitude we have in life. However bad the cards that we are dealt with in life, we are but a choice away from moving forward.

 

Sharing with you the quotes that would summarize the moral of Seabiscuit's story:

 

"Though he be little, he is fierce." (Red Pollard quoting Shakespeare)

 

"Sometimes, all somebody needs is a second chance." (Charles Howard)

 

"You don't throw a whole life a way because it's banged up a little bit." (Tom Smith)

 

"It's better to break a man's leg than his heart." (George Woolf)

 

"Everybody loses a couple. Either you pack up your things and go home or you keep fighting." (Charles Howard)

 

"For any man who have pride and ambition; if your dream is big enough and you have the guts to follow it, there is truly fortune to be made." (Charles Howard)

 

"Every horse is good for something." (Tom Smith)

 

"His (Seabiscuit) speed is not in his legs but in his heart." (Red Pollard)

 

Seabiscuit with Red Pollard.

 

Seabiscuit with owner Charles Howard.

 

 

Seabiscuit with Tom Smith.



Job Interview Tips

After a disastrous first interview of my daughter, I found myself remiss to not have coached her on what to expect.  Since I don't want to just babble on in what first comes to mind, I decided to just sit down and write  my own take on how to go about a successful job interview, not just for my daughter, but for the other job seekers out there.

Job screening does not start on the interview itself.  It actually starts the very instant that you hand carry your resume or send that unsolicited email application.  So my very first tip is:  Make a good first impression.  In each of the interaction you have with any employee of the company you are applying in, you are judged.  This is what you call as Moments of Truths.  

All companies takes stock in a good customer relation; hence, an applicant should exhibit traits that would show just that.  Having good communication skills is definitely a plus.  If you wrote "FLUENT in both English and Tagalog" under special skills of your resume---you should have the actual skills to back it up.  Now, if you just typed that in to make your resume look good, then you are in big trouble!  

Relationships are cultivated through communication.  But to establish an excellent customer rapport requires a touch or two of a positively engaging personality or as what you put in your resume as "a pleasing personality".  This is especially true for service oriented companies.

My second advise would be:  Put yourself in the zone.  In other words---always be ready.  A job interview can happen any time.  So whenever you go company to company to submit your resume, make sure that you are fully made up and  in your business attire so in case an interview is in progress, you're good to go.

You should also be ready with the correct mindset.  Companies look for long term employees---somebody they can nurture into the corporate mold.  So it is important to think yourself already a part of the company you're applying in at the get go.  If you're just going through the JobStreet page and looking for ANY job available, NEVER hint on the possibility of leaving for better opportunity.  No company would not want to invest on training you to just see you off and go to another firm.

My very first job interview was a similar bust.  At the onset, everything was very casual.  Truth be told, I was confident and at ease as I re-lived my previous job experience as a service crew and the lessons I learned in the process to become an ideal manager.  Then out of the blue I was asked, "How do you see yourself 5 years from now?"  This would have been an easy question to answer if I had been in the correct mindset; however, I was not in the proper mindset that time and was entertaining thoughts about going abroad and it slipped.  So my answer hinted on this possibility and that was the end of my interview.  

When I conduct my interviews I focus on what is written on the resume.  So it would be helpful to review what you've written and anticipate potential questions.  Mind you, the questions will not be answerable by a simple YES and NO.  They will be open ended questions that you may need to expound on. (Anticipate situational questions pertaining to attitude, leadership, initiative, and morality.  As a giveaway, try answering this question:  If you witness a co-worker or superior doing something immoral, what would you do?)   

I was trained to use the S.T.A.R. format in conducting applicant interviews.  S.T.A.R. stands for Situation-Task-Action-Result.  This is a job interview technique to gather relevant information to assess the applicant's job fit based on the job requirements and corporate values.  The questions will be based on the most recent events.

In order for you to prepare your answers, let me elaborate on what the S.T.A.R. format requires:

     Situation   Site a recent challenge and situation where you found yourself in.

     Task           What did you have to achieve?

     Action     What did you do to achieve the task at hand?

     Result       What was the outcome of your action?

At this point I must say that you're almost ready to hit the job streets but there one more thing that cannot be taught that you should have.  A good positive attitude.  With unemployment still one of our country's challenges, there is a chance that you will not immediately get a job.  However, it is important that your mind is made up to think that you will not be part of the unemployment statistics.  Needless to say, persistence is a key trait that you will also need.  As Winston Churchill said, "Success is going from failure to  failure without losing your enthusiasm."

So to all you job hunters out there---GOOD LUCK and may the Force be with you!

The Value of Having to Work for a Living

Unlike, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, or the Sultan of Brunei, little people (like myself) need to get their hands dirty to earn their keep.  Personally, I don't think this is such a bad situation.  First, it opens your mind to the world of the working class and come to appreciate the blue collar kind of work.  Secondly, it provides you a better perspective of the value of your hard earned pay.  Now you know why your parents keep on ranting "hindi ko pinupulot lang ang perang pambayad..." to whatever waste of utility, food, or personal items (part of the grocery list that you don't pay for) that you were caught doing.  Unless of course if you ARE the son or daughter of the Sultan of Brunei---in which case I'd say that you're one lucky SOB!

I was part of this work force before.  I started out as a dining crew at Jollibee where I bused tables, mopped the floor, cleaned the rest rooms, and made sure that the Jollibee standee was sparkling clean.  Lucky for me, I was used to house chores and garbage handling when I was in the seminary---something that would have made a newbie puke!  Believe it or not but I found the Jollibee garbage fragrant!  Of course, if you had the experience of being the underling you also get an idea on how NOT to become an ASS HOLE of a manager (which what I eventually became after graduating from college---NO!  Not the asshole part but a manager). As they say, "you need to be a good follower before you become a good leader". 

Naturally, when my daughter underwent her OJT, I asked her what she learned from the experience.  However, she does takes up on her father in terms of the knack for giving ridiculous answer to a serious question.  After a week of working for a travel agency, when I posted her this question.  Her answer:  "Mag photocopy, Daddy!  At gumamit ng fax machine!"  Funny that it may seem, deep inside I was praying that she has learned more what she's leading us to believe.  It was during her 5 day OJT for 2GO Travel that I found confidence in her future when she texted my wife, "Mader, kakatapos lang ng duty.  Pagod me. Pinaglinis ako ng banyo."  I'm not being sadistic but I firmly believe that the best teacher in life is when you encounter hardships.  Difficult situations defines our character.  Hence, the more difficulties you come into in life, the more well rounded you become.  And this scenario was proof that my daughter has the right attitude to go about her work no matter how hard it may be; otherwise, she would have texted us that she wants to quit and go home.

As Clement Stone said, "There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. That little difference is ATTITUDE.  The big difference is whether it's POSITIVE or NEGATIVE."

Having a positive attitude is the very foundation of success.  Couple this with persistence, patience, initiative, pursuit of excellence, and love for work can guarantee a bright future.  

Why do the Good Die Young?

This has been the incessant question that has been asked every time  someone dies (especially if that someone is perceived to be a good person).  Is it just coincidence or is this a logical consequence to being good?  God forbid it's the former otherwise the world will be besieged with bad people! 

God works in mysterious ways.  It is not our place to question God in terms of His decision making.  What we need to question is what do we learn from such a loss?  I totally subscribe to the saying, "Things happen for a reason."  Our lives are intertwined and all events provide a ripple effect in the lives of others.  How events affect us is a matter of choice and our choices are affected by the attitude that we have.  As John Maxwell said, "God chooses what we go through; we choose how to go through it."

A good person is someone who has positively touched the lives of many people.  I believe that good people die happy because they know that they have done their part in making this world a better place by imbibing in others the same set of positive attitude and life perspective to create yet another good person.