Yourself is the Best Commodity

"Imagine that a Genie offers you any car in the world. The catch is that it is the only car you will ever own. What would you do?

You would read the manual ten times, change the oil twice as often as required, and you would take fastidious care so that that car remained the car of your dreams forever.

Think about what this tells you about your body.

You get only one mind and one body–the same ones you will have at 20, 40, 60, etc.

Take care of them and maximize their potential. It will be too late to take care of your body and mind (and car) later on. You can maintain them, but it is hard or impossible to undo big mistakes or negligence later on. You do not want to end up with a wreck on your hands.

Your main asset in life is yourself.

Treat yourself as a valuable asset. I often explain to students that I would be willing to pay today for a percentage of the future earnings of good students.

If you value yourself, and invest in yourself, you will be worth a great deal through out your lifetime, both to yourself and to your community."

- Warren Buffet

The Twelve Gifts of Birth

Christmas is near! I'm excited about Christmas gifts! Whether it will come from our friends, family or a gift from ourselves, it does help to uplift and feel the spirit of Christmas.

I read an article that I want to share with you. It's about the 12 gifts we received when we were born.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, when princes and princesses lived in faraway kingdoms, royal children were given twelve special gifts when they were born. You may have heard the stories. Twelve wise women of the kingdom, or fairy godmothers as they were often called, traveled swiftly to the castle whenever a new prince or princess came into the world. Each fairy godmother pronounced a noble gift upon the royal baby.

As time went on, the wise women came to understand that the twelve royal gifts of birth belong to every child, born anywhere at anytime. They yearned to proclaim the gifts to all children, but the customs of the land did not allow that.

One day when the wise women gathered together they made this prophecy:

Some day, all the children of the world will learn the truth about their noble inheritance. When that happens a miracle will unfold on the kingdom of Earth.

Some day is near. Here is the secret they want you to know.

At the wondrous moment you were born, as you took your first breath, a great celebration was held in the heavens and twelve magnificent gifts were granted to you.

1. Strength is the first gift. May you remember to call upon it whenever you need it.

2. Beauty is the second gift. May your deeds reflect its depth.

3. Courage is the third gift.May you speak and act with confidence and use courage to follow your own path.

4. Compassion is the fourth gift. May you be gentle with yourself and others. May you forgive those who hurt you and yourself when you make mistakes.

5. Hope is the fifth gift. Through each passage and season, may you trust the goodness of life.

6. Joy is the sixth gift. May it keep your heart open and filled with light.

7. Talent is the seventh gift. May you discover your own special abilities and contribute them toward a better world.

8. Imagination is the eighth gift. May it nourish your visions and dreams.

9. Reverence is the ninth gift. May you appreciate the wonder that you are and the miracle of all creation.

10. Wisdom is the tenth gift. Guiding your way, wisdom will lead you through knowledge to understanding. May you hear its soft voice.

11. Love is the eleventh gift. It will grow each time you give it away.

12. Faith is the twelfth gift. May you believe.

Now you know about your twelve gifts of birth. But there is more to the secret that the wise women knew. Use your gifts well and you will discover others, among them a gift that is uniquely you. See these noble gifts in other people. Share the truth and be ready for the miracle to unfold as the prophecy of the wise women comes true.

 

Share your gifts,
Kev

It’s the first day of December

It’s the first day of December.

Do you feel it too? I’m talking about the Christmas breeze. It’s amazingly cold isn’t it? I believe that this is the season when men look more handsome than any time of the year. We can now open our mahiwagang baul  (old box), bring out and wear our jackets and sweatshirts. (Ha ha!)

Okay, women also.

We try to look better. And when we do that, we feel good about ourselves.

Isn’t that wonderful? Because when we feel good about ourselves, we attract more positive things and are now open for more blessings into our lives.

I’m also excited about Christmas meals. The Vegetable salads, fruit salads and pizzalads.

But it’s not just food, mind you. It is about being together. Relatives and friends from other provinces and other parts of the globe catching up. It’s going be a long-hour lunch and a long-hour dinner talking about relationships and all good stuff.

I believe this is what Christmas is all about.

Together thanking the Lord for the blessings of the year and praying for new blessings for the coming year.

I will write more about the Christmas season in my next article.

Advance Merry Christmas,

Kev

Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan): A Lesson of Humility

Were you a victim of the strongest typhoon in the world this year, 2013?

I live in North Luzon, way far from Visayas where the typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) struck. Experts claim that it is, so far, the strongest typhoon in the world for the year 2013.

I couldn’t agree more.

Even I was not one of those typhoon victims who not only lost their material things but some of their loved ones, I feel their feelings. I empathize with them.

I must admit that at this point, I have not been able to actually help the victims except my prayers.  While I’m writing this short article, I pray for the typhoon victims. I also pray for the people who flew to Visayas region to give support and service to the victims.

Right now, it is difficult for them to accept what just had happen. I can’t blame them. But I have a high regard for them being grateful despite of the catastrophe. They’re thankful for even the smallest help they received.

Why is that? Because “the greatest advantage of having nothing is that everything becomes a gain.”

And this thought is a lesson of humility.

That what we are now, our status, our achievements, all we have is the result of our hard work WITH the help and guidance of our Blessing Giver through our family, friends and mentors.

Friends, are you grateful?

You don't need to experience a destructive storm in your life.

Start appreciating. Deliberately decide.

Live a Grateful Life,

Kev

p.s. Do you have any idea on how to help the typhoon victims? How to raise fund? Please leave a comment. Thanks!

Are You Single? It’s Good News!

Disclaimer: This article is not for everybody. This is for single people out there. If you have a partner at present, it’s good news. If you don’t have a partner yet, it’s also good news!

Confession, I’m a no-girlfriend-since-birth man. I really am! I was raised up to truly focus on my studies.

I remember my mom telling me “Son, study hard because [formal] education is the most important thing we can bestow upon you.”

Because I came from poor beginnings, I took my mom’s advice seriously. I understood what she was trying to point out to me. And so, I graduated First Honorable Mention in elementary and Salutatorian in high school. In college, I was listed in the Dean’s List in two of my eight semesters.

During my school days, I never courted a woman. Can you imagine how difficult it was for me AND for the girls around me? :)

But I did have crush to some of them.

When I started to work I said to myself, “Hey, school’s finished and I now earn my own money. I can court a woman I like!”

Then I saw myself constructing a plan, doing some research, interviewing people asking for their advice to court a friend. She’s beautiful, kind, down-to-earth and family centered.

But before the planning and researching stage, I normally visit her as a friend. We go out as friends. We talk and text over the phone as friends.

Then I blurted it out. I said, “I want to court you.” (One of the things I learned in leadership is to be clear to the people around you.)

She denied.

I pressed on. Of course I asked her “Why?”

But it didn’t take long and I stopped.

And then I was enlightened by a timely quote I read, “Just wait, the right one will come along. If they haven’t yet, maybe it’s because God wants you to love yourself more first.”

I realized that instead of spending my time with a single person at such a young age, I started to work on improving myself, my gifts and my talents.

I started to go to the gym to work out.

I lead people to serve patients for their medicine needs.

Last month, I attended seminar about Organic Farming (I dream of having one). And I encourage you even just to visit the farm. It’s awesome and amazing experience!

A few days ago, I bought the cheapest model of guitar from the music store. Because I didn’t have the time to study how to play the instrument years ago, I believe I now have it, the time. It is one of my fondest dreams to play “bahay kubo.” (Don’t laugh too hard).

This coming November, I’m scheduled to attend conference about entrepreneurship. I’m excited!

I focus on growing myself more, on taking time to care for myself.

Preacher Bo Sanchez keeps on talking about “love tank”. He said, “I believe that each of us has a ‘love tank’ from where we scoop up and dispense love to others.  If we keep on giving love to others, our love tanks will soon be empty—so we need to replenish that tank.”

If you’re single, use your time to discover more about yourself.

To grow as a person you dream to be.

To expand your territories. To serve more people.

To love yourself.

And I believe, soon you will attract the person harmonious for your life.

Have a blessed weekend!