the life journey coach

What is Passion?

November 7, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Do you remember the time when you really wanted something, the time you never gave up until you got what you wanted no matter how difficult it was? You were willing to sacrifice time, energy and even money. You believed that the risk was worth it. That was passion in action.

Passion is that intense feeling about something. The mind cannot easily shake off the object of the passion.   It captivates your thoughts and a longing for the idea or goal develops stronger and stronger. Instead of resisting, you willingly become a captive of your passion so that one day you can conquer it by striving to fulfill it.

By focusing your mind and heart on a certain passion, the object of your passion establishes a residency in your inner person. Like a seed, it may have been planted small, but it grows in size through time.  It becomes part of you. This affects your actions as well as your thoughts.  You slowly become one with your passion.

Passion is an overwhelming inner force that can stir a person towards a direction, goal, or objective.  That direction might be for personal benefit, or it might be for a higher purpose, that goal might be for a change in a community, or that objective might be something that can change the habits and actions of people around the world.  One thing for sure, whether it will benefit self or others, as long as it does not cause harm,  that overwhelming inner force called “Passion” must be unleashed.

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How I will remember President Cory Aquino

August 5, 2009 · 1 Comment

coryaquinoA nation, like an individual, experiences turning points in life, some of them major, some of them minor, some significant, some not so significant.  There are turning points that change the course completely.  At a point in history, our nation was desperate for a major, significant change. We wanted a new direction, we wanted freedom!

I was 15 then when it all happened.  I still remember that the city was yellow.  There were thousands who wore yellow shirts, yellow banners, yellow head gears.    As a kid I was trying to figure out what was happening.  I understood little.  But what I remembered in my teen mind was that something special was happening in our country.

The good Lord raised Cory Aquino, a widow and mother, to lead a restless nation to the change that they longed for.  The amazing thing about that turning point, that revolution that toppled a 20 year regime, was not the fact that it was successful, but the fact that it was peaceful.  The whole world took notice and the world was inspired.  Change can happen without violence!

I will personally remember President Cory Aquino because of her willingness to step up when the situation demanded it.  She felt the cry of the hearts of millions, who wanted change and freedom!  Of course she was not the only player in the revolution, there were others.  One of which also became a president, Fidel V. Ramos.  Thank God for the other people who played critical roles.

The city is once again yellow because Tita Cory has passed away last August 1, 2009.  Today is the internment.  The nation mourns.  We are sad because she is gone.  But we are also happy because we are thankful for her life.  She will always be remembered as a leader of character and courage.

The silent cries of our nation for change found expression in 1986.  The discontent could not be contained.  The need for major change was never stronger.  Change came.  We arose as a people and made history by making the turning point we wanted to happen.  And at the forefront of this turning point, the one leading us at that time, the hero that we will predominantly remember, was Tita Cory.

Thank you Tita Cory, we will never forget you.

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Make Your Own Reality

July 25, 2009 · Leave a Comment

We make our own realities that were birthed from our imagination. God created us in His image. Part of that image is to create; thus, a person who gets in touch with his creative side can, if he thinks it, and wills it, recreate the world around him.

Focus on one dream.  What do you wish to be. For example, you want to write a book. Imagine that you are already an author. Feel the rewards of being a well-known author, even if the rewards are not yet there.

Let that thought become a driving force for you to research the secrets of becoming a successful author. Learn the disciplines and habits that will lead you to your dream. Invest at least 30 minutes in a day towards your passion to be an author. Interact with successful authors. Squeeze the wisdom from their experience and drink every drop of it.

Of course the most important thing is to write and write and keep on writing, then you must rewrite and rewrite and keep on rewriting…

Consistently move in this direction and you will see improvements and changes. Your imagination can become a reality.

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Have Support Groups

July 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Every person who had achieved something significant had other people backing him up. Nobody does the big stuff alone. Those who tried to do things by themselves, well… ended up alone.

“In order to be happy we require all kinds of supports to our self-esteem. We are human beings, therefore human beings are the purpose of God’s creation” – Bertrand Russell

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The Power to Imagine

July 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

“I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see. ” – Duane Michals

The power to imagine possibilities beyond obvious limitations is one of the grandest gifts God gave humankind.  Every person must recognize in himself the capacity to think through a situation no matter how difficult and come up with unconventional solutions especially if conventional solutions have failed.

There are few important things before one unleashes the power of imagination: (1) One must believe that limitations are meant to be stretched,  what we cannot do can be overcomed, (2) detach oneself from mental and emotional pressure even though there is every reason to be bothered mentally and emotionally, (3) look at the big picture and understand the big picture impact, (4) mind the details because it matters too, and (5) entertain possibilities, even outrageous ones.

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The Privilege to Decide

April 25, 2009 · 1 Comment

“There is nothing more to be esteemed than a manly firmness and decision of character. – I like a person who knows his own mind and sticks to it; who sees at once what, in given circumstances, is to be done, and does it.” – Hazlit

There is something worst than a wrong decision. It is a NO DECISION. I respect a person who carefully weighs his options then makes a decision then learns from it, even if the decision turns out to be wrong.

This is in contrast to a person who has weighed his options but never makes a decision. He has delegated his future to circumstance; therefore , he has limited his opportunities to learn.

Hastiness, lack of information, lack of experience or lack of careful analysis may cause wrong decisions. We must pay careful attention to avoid these; however, there are times that a decision must be made quickly even when the information is insufficient.

If the information is sufficient, yet we fail to decide, we have surrendered our future to chance. We gave up the privilege to pursue the improvement of our situation.

Making decisions for our present and future is a privilege that we must not turn over to our environment. We are who we are based on our decisions, it includes deciding not to decide, including being allowed to be swayed by external forces instead of planning our own lives; it also includes the opposite, the courageous decisions that set us part and helped us become better people.

Circumstance will try to trap us, unnerve us, or make us insecure to make decisions. Regardless of a negative environment, we must take the risk to decide and hopefully, we would make the right choice; but if we make the wrong choice, hopefully, the mess would not be too much to clean up. But that is always better than deciding not to decide.

To succeed in life, one must learn to make decisions and learn from them. Whether the decisions end up right or wrong. We can charge that to experience.

The more we understand the consequences of our decisions, the more we become equipped by experience. The more we experience, the more we learn; and the more we learn, the more we grow in wisdom. And the more we grow in wisdom, the more we achieve holistic success.

Let us face what we need to face. Let us make courageously yet carefully weighed decisions and learn from their results.

Once there was a young man who asked an old master, “How do I succeed in life?”

The master replied, “Wisdom”.

Then the young man said, “How do I gain wisdom?”

“By making the right decisions,” said the old man.

The young man persisted, “How do I learn to make the right decisions?”

“Experience!” answered the master.

“How do I gain experience?” inquired the young man.

“By making wrong decisions!” exclaimed the Master.

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The Delight of Adversity

March 15, 2009 · 1 Comment

“Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” – Horace

Olives are pressed so that the desired oil would come out. It is first washed then stripped of any leafy material then crushed by a stone mill or metal crusher. The desired oil is used for food flavoring, shaving, shining steel and brass, body massage, as a food dip, removing make up, cure diaper rash, hair tonic, softening skin, treating lice, and more.

Oftentimes, we learn to be creative when we encounter limitations. Answers to difficult questions are sought, and many times, they are found by the persistent thinker.

We also learn to fight for every inch during times of difficulty. Yielding is not an option. The instinct to survive takes over then we strive to protect our remaining territory then we begin to expand slowly but surely.

Therefore, when difficult times loom, we should not be afraid, rather, we should welcome it. Because it will bring out the best in us. And when the best in us is “pressed” out, it will benefit many, including ourselves.

The delightful thing about adversity is that we discover that our potential is much more than we thought.

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You are never too old

January 21, 2009 · Leave a Comment

During one of my Maximizing Your Potential seminars, someone made a comment about herself, “I do not think that there is any more potential in me that I can develop. Maybe this message of Maximizing Potential is for the young.”

I agree with her statement that this message is for the young. But I would also disagree with her in discounting herself too soon. She did not even look  55 years young.

When I heard her statement,my memory retrieved a man’s name. With the name came a picture of a chain of restaurants and the aroma of delicious food, I could almost taste those finger licking good chicken of Col. Harlan Sanders. Yes, the founder of KFC – Kentucky Fried Chicken.

His retirement at age 65 signaled the beginning of a new adventure. He tried to offer his chicken recipe to a number of restaurants. His arrangement was that he would earn 5 cents from every chicken sold. He traveled by car all around North America. He was rejected 1008 times. But he never gave up. Prospect 1009 said yes to him.

He started franchising his chicken in 1952. By 1964, he had more than 600 franchised outlets in Canada and America.

For everyone who feels old and worn out, let this story of a man who believes that there is more out there, that one can still achieve dreams way beyond his present limitations, that a man can rust faster than be worn out, be an inspiration to you.

You are never too old to maximize your potential. And back to the lady in my seminar. Yes, my message is for the young. But it is not only for the young. It is for everyone.

“You are never too old to set another goal

or to dream a new dream”

- C.S. Lewis

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Action is Eloquence

November 9, 2008 · Leave a Comment

“Action is eloquence; the eyes of the ignorant are more learned than their ears.” – Shakespeare

The best way to communicate our thoughts with those around us is through our actions. It is good to say, “I love you” to a family member but those words can be reinforced if an act of love is done. For example, I may say, “I love you” to my children but if I do not express it in actions, they are just words. The best way for me to reinforce it is to invest time with them in what they enjoy doing like play a game of swords or play ball with them.

If I want to say to my co-workers that I am a team player. The best expression is to do what a good team player would do. I must listen to others, show respect to my teammates, do my assigned tasks, meet my deadlines, communicate and give constructive feedback, motivate a disheartened teammate, and to be on time during team meetings.

The best way to reinforce what we say is to act on them.

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Focus on the Task at Hand

September 26, 2008 · 1 Comment

“Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” – Carlyle

It is good to plan ahead, to have a vision for the future for life, family and career. But we must remember that it is the short-term activities done well that contribute to the long-term goals.

If I am a student and my goal is to be president of a large company one day, I must focus to excel in my studies now and also to learn from other sources about leadership and management.

Focus on the task at hand and do it well.

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