Deal or No Deal?

I’m very sure that every Filipino is familiar with this phrase, well actually that is not the only game show tagline that they know of. There’s “Game ka na ba?” where everyone even a 3 year-old child who hears someone saying it would instantly shout back “Game na!”. There’s “Pera o Bayong?”, “Laban o bawi?” or even the old-fashioned “Kwarta o Kahon” for the fickle-minded ones. These shows had been a part of our lunches since nineteen kopong-kopong and yes, it has been a part of our lives. So why do Filipinos like to watch these shows?
One afternoon after school I began to talk to our household help where she was telling me a story about a person who won a very big amount of money from her favorite noon time game show. She was telling me how funny the contestants were and how nice the program was. As the conversation went on I thought we were done with the game show and already talking about another topic and some other person whose name is Willie Fortune (I really thought it was the “lawyer”) but to my surprise it was still about the same show and the guy was actually Willie Revillame. She just thought his surname was Fortune because of the game segment “Willie of Fortune”. I couldn’t help but laugh. Just thinking about it makes me laugh and it still makes me laugh a little up to now. So in my quest to find an answer to why do Filipinos like watching those shows I ended up sitting comfortably on our sofa during weekends watching. Hahaha!
It was funny at first then, after sometime you’ll find yourself being frustrated on why the contestants weren’t able to answer such simple questions. Like translating simple Filipino phrases in English or solving basic mathematical problems. Hello RP education? Are we still alive or is it RIP for education? What happened to the 3rd world’s largest English speaking country? This trait has been our passport for international opportunity. On the other hand, if you think about it there is an enormous growth of the call center business in the country. Could we possibly say that Filipinos still have English proficiency? Looking though the files of my mother’s applicants for managerial position their essays could really trigger a major migraine because they really make a lot of grammatically incorrect statements such as my soul purpose in life is to be service to other, I have had became the breadwinner of all time for my family’s stake or I’m hard working and wiling to work hard, ok fine work as hard as you can! Seriously though, is this the way to impress a boss or a potential employer? Even in the internet there are messages being forwarded with funny boo-boos on pinoy-english. I do hope it will end soon.
Moving on, what’s with the game show? And why do people join? Well, winning one million isn’t that bad don’t you think? If you do get the jackpot you’ll be then dubbed as the instant millionaire. Your face will be on the newspapers and television you’ll get instant money, instant popularity and probably an instant target for kidnapping. Just like instant noodles, instant coffee, instant everything and let’s not forget instant kidney problem due to salt overload. I remember when my grandma used to cook pancit canton the traditional way for my birthday. It would take her an hour or so just to prepare all the ingredients and another hour for cooking. But I must say it is the best pancit in the entire universe (as if I had eaten pancit in Pluto or Neptune ). It is healthy and definitely worth waiting for.
Today, due to the emergence of a fast-paced life everything needs to be done in a blink of an eye. You have to be smart, you have to think fast and make decisions in a flash. And for some who finds it difficult to cope with the changing times, they just depend on their luck. Maybe one of the reasons why they join game shows. Believing in good luck makes some believe in feng shui, numerology, palm reading, card reading, face reading and all sorts of fortune telling. Some also believe that wearing Joy Lim’s™ charms and crystals would make them win the 4 million jackpot in Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal. Some celebrate Chinese New Year even if they’re not Chinese. Some buy whatever the feng shui experts say that will bring good luck. Just like my mom who recently bought 7 golden pigs now displayed in our receiving area. I’m sure others do that too because they also want to prosper in business like the Chinese. But I don’t think they just depend on luck. From my exposure to my mother’s line of work, businesses prosper because of hard work and commitment from people who work together to achieve one goal. It is more of thinking outside the box, searching for new products to sell and improving what they already have; knowing where to go and how to get there and also doing their best everyday. If people stop on complaining and start moving, I believe nothing is impossible. Probably you’ll say I’m still young and idealistic but I think the solution to all our problems are just very simple- a positive attitude and willingness to work hard. It will make us all instant millionaires in our own right. It will make us self-sufficient for life. Maybe then, we’ll not depend much on just winning in the game shows. Like an old quote I read from a book back in 2002 “No goal worth achieving is ever achieved by merely being smart. Every goal requires working hard- long hours, extra effort, more study and greater intensity of preparation”. Good luck or bad luck it will still depend on us.
We must realize that success will never come in an instant. Failures or disappointments may come our way but it will not last as long as we don’t give up. So discover your highest potential and see what you can do for yourself, your loved ones and the country. You can make a difference!

--> Published 2007 The Aesculapian Year-ender Issue

TM Speech Project 3: The Secret Revealed

Do you want to know what the mystery behind these men (showing photos on power point) who lived meaningful lives and made millions? You want to know (call participant)? Come over here and I’ll tell you. How about the others? Do you want to know what the mystery behind their millions? If I tell you then that wouldn’t be a secret anymore, is it? Tonight it is a great privilege for me to share with you one of the books I read that truly gave my life a new meaning and a new balance on my bank account. It is The Secret.

I was introduced to this book by a friend from a networking company. I read the entire thing in less than seven days. Aside from that I watched the video version of it almost once a week back in 2008 when my life leaped from what I think was meant for me to do to what is really meant for me to do.

I was a clerk (for those of you who doesn’t know a clerk in medical world is the lowest form of a doctor, that was our first year internship) in a hospital working 36 hours shifts, no social life, no love life no life at all. Everyday seems like a haze. I don’t even remember how my days, my weeks and months were spent. Then one morning I woke up and my niece was there. She was sitting on the edge of my bed waiting for me to wake up. She said “Tita I want to paint. It’s been a long time since we last did some painting.” There she was and I couldn’t believe my eyes on how tall and big she is compared to the last time I saw her. Then boom! It hit me. I then asked myself “Is this really how I want to live my life?”

Maybe at some point in your life you’ve asked yourself the same question. I don’t know what you did to overcome that stage of your life. But I’d like to share you my own story. After deciding to leave my could-have-been profitable career as a doctor, the book the secret opened doors of countless opportunities for me. It gave me a new mindset and belief that whatever we think about comes about. It is all about the law of attraction. In my mind all I want to do is to get out of that state of failure and earn a lot to cover all the expenses my mom spent for my medical education. I soon ventured to a business selling items for summer season. It included some flip flops, sarong, shirts and accessories. I earn pretty decent amount of money until someone from a network marketing industry called me up. There I was sitting down in one of their business opportunity meetings and listened to the presentation. I guess the saying “Ignorance is bliss” worked for me. Not knowing the negative reputation of networking businesses in the Philippines, I signed up right then and there. I paid Php12, 600.00 for products that I would be selling. My mom went berserk after knowing that I threw a couple of thousands in that business orientation. I just told her I WILL MAKE THIS WORK.

As soon as I finished reading the book and learned the business in 2 months time I earned my first 6 digit commission at age 24. I was in total euphoria. And everything in the mall seemed so cheap. It was a great feeling. Then I bought my mom a designer bag something that she really wanted to have for a long time but will never buy for herself. The bag meant nothing, but it symbolized something, something very concrete when the secret is applied. And I told her “I told you I will make this work.”

So what do we do knowing this? Very simple, instead of saying things like “I can’t, I won’t, this is not possible, I can’t do this, I can’t do that” say “you can, you will” and the universe will respond to you. The universe is like the genie in Aladdin’s lamp. Whatever you say you can do or not do. The universe will respond to you and say “your wish is my command.” Focus your energy on the things you do like. When I was in medicine being away from my family was a negative emotion that triggered more negative things to happen to me. I became depressed and sick because of too much worry and stress. There are numerous things I was unhappy to do but I have to. It was not an easy thing to accept that being a doctor was not meant for me. After all the sleepless nights and gazillion pages of books read and the embarrassment of failing to survive medical school on your last year was not easy.

But, the wealth in finance, relationships and career I have now is a true manifestation of applying the secret. I will soon have my millions but that is nothing compared to the meaning of my life today. I now have time for family and friends, the people who really matter. And I am happy. The secret was now revealed to me. The secret is the answer to all that has been, all that is and all that will ever be. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step in faith.

TM Speech Project 2- Destination: Success

I remember a time when I was just starting to learn how to drive. At that time we only had a car that was driven manually. At first, it was hard for me to shift gears on an uphill road. But even on perfectly straight roads I find shifting gears a challenge simply because I was an inexperienced driver. There was even a time when I was passing thru a hump on the road and suddenly my engine went off and my car slowly moved back down. It was embarrassing and funny at the same time. I immediately looked around to make sure no one saw me. Then I re-started the engine and went away as quickly as I can. As time passed, driving a car became automatic for me. It’s like second nature. Now I can do my make-up, eat breakfast, do my pedicure while driving. Of course the latter is not true. Manicure, yes. Pedicure, no. 

Then I realized that driving to and from places is pretty much like a life’s journey. We determine where we want to go, which road to take and how fast or slow we want to travel. These 3 compose what we call our personal success plan. Do you have one right now?

I hope so because according to Hartford Insurance study done in the U.S. 54% of Americans at age 65 die broke because of various reasons such as lack of education, lack of resources, poor governance but most importantly they failed to have a success plan. In addition, a comparative study was done among the schools and universities also in the U.S. saying that most successful people in the industry today are those who planned to succeed. They have a big dream and a clear vision of the future which fuelled their imagination and creativity that made way for the dream to come true. And because they know what they want, they know how to begin. They know how to follow through. And they are not afraid to take risks.

To further illustrate, let’s say your dream in life can be represented by a place. Let’s say that place is Baguio. May I ask where you are today? Are you getting anywhere closer to Baguio? Or have you been running around in circles, in Manila or probably in Quezon City? I think a lot of men is relating very well on that one huh? Seriously though, where are you now if the goal is to get to Baguio?

We know going to Baguio from Manila may take around 6-8 hours by land depending on the flow of traffic, how slow or fast you drive and also what type of vehicle you are using. Example, (participant) you use a Ferrari and (participant) you use your old grandfather’s car. Who do you think will arrive at Baguio first? Well, it is logical to say that the one driving the Ferrari will arrive first but what if they both were stucked in heavy traffic along NLEX. Do you think the Ferrari could still outrun the old car? No. Moreover, (participant) do you know how to drive? This means knowing how to drive is another thing. It is mastering the skill required to contribute in our pursuit of success.

There are 4 stages in mastering a skill:
1. Unconscious incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence
3. Conscious competence and
4. Unconscious competence.

Does anyone know these? Let me discuss them to you briefly. The first one is the unconscious incompetence stage. It is very simple, you don’t know anything. Probably you’ve seen it done by others but you have never tried. Second, conscious incompetence stage this is where you have tried to do a certain skill but have not mastered the skill yet. Third, the conscious competence stage it is where you wield your power at will. Lastly, unconscious competence is where a skill is natural to you and needs no effort. Just like my example awhile ago of how I learned how to drive.

Hence, the solution in mastering a skill is indeed simple. Learn how to do it. Take some classes, read and expose yourself. You can never be a champion racer if you don’t expose yourself to the race tracks. You can never be a champion swimmer, speaker or even a businessman when you don’t immerse yourself into the world of what it is you want to pursue in life. Success is not like instant noodles. Success is predictable.


Now my challenge to you is this: When you go home tonight, think of these 3 simple things: your goal, your roadmap and your skills. Identify which stage of mastery are you at. Move forward and never give up. After all every person has a dream and those dreams are non-negotiable. Imagine if Howard Schultz, Walt Disney and Thomas Edison after several failures, threw their hands and gave up, there would be no Starbucks, Disneyland and electricity. And if I just stopped driving and dreaming. One thing is for sure. I will never discover what kind of success I can achieve. And the same goes to every one of you here today. You will never discover the kind of success you can achieve if you stop now. So, have a great morning to everyone and good luck to our destination: success!