A vision of what’s next. A vision of your achievements after 3 years, 5 years or a decade down the road. A vision of who you really want to be.

I know I have not written my thoughts about . . . → Read More: Begin with an End in Mind]]>

I am just so inspired today to share with you an overflowing thought about having a vision in life.

A vision of what’s next. A vision of your achievements after 3 years, 5 years or a decade down the road. A vision of who you really want to be.

I know I have not written my thoughts about life lately and I apologise for that. You’ve not heard from me for I have been busy with some business stuffs and I know it’s been eating much of my time.

And yes, it’s actually eating my time. My activities just ate time and with outputs that are far from what I am expecting from myself. I realized that I had the vision but lately I have forgotten to check on the status of that vision.

Errr… What are you talking about? You could be asking me? Let me explain to you.

Yes – I know what I want to do with my life and what I want to achieve in the future. Unluckily, I thought I am doing what I am supposed to do but really I don’t. Why? Because I am working so hard just for the sake of doing it. I don’t know where I am heading. I just do it!!! Thus, my output are not extraordinary. They are JUST… ENOUGH… Or lesser.

Today, I heard a good speaker share about the vision he had for his business. He knew that someday he will achieve that. He knew that it requires hardships and time and effort and financing and sleepless nights.

Times that he was sick. Alone. Unknown.

Times that he did not know what to do and where to go.

And these ‘times’ are what he used to propel his self forward.

So he can leave the agony behind in order to welcome success.

He kept on going. He kept on dreaming. He kept on striving. He had a vision and he held on to it.

He kept on reaching. Sharing. Giving.

He went on and on and on…

And finally, he arrived.

He arrived to a destination that he just envisioned.

A destination he knew in his heart will come true.

A destination where he knows he belong.

How about you, my friend? Have you arrived?

If not, do you know where you are heading?

I googled it and just had a thought of listening to that radio online because it is said in the audiobook that this radio station can help me keep track of my goals. Funny! But it turned to . . . → Read More: W.I.I.F.M. Radio ~ Cool!]]>

While listening to an audiobook, I stumbled upon a term “What’s In It For Me Radio” or “W.I.I.F.M Radio”.

I googled it and just had a thought of listening to that radio online because it is said in the audiobook that this radio station can help me keep track of my goals. Funny! But it turned to be that W.I.I.F.M. Radio is within us! It is what your mindset is all about!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Frank_Gasiorowski

Thank you, Greeters!

All of you are awesome! I wish you all the best – love, success, blessings, relationships, material things that this life can offer!

Live abundantly! Share your blessings and you’ll notice the downpour of blessings into your life.

God bless!

Praying for our . . . → Read More: Thank You, Greeters!]]>

Thank you, Greeters!

All of you are awesome! I wish you all the best – love, success, blessings, relationships, material things that this life can offer!

Live abundantly! Share your blessings and you’ll notice the downpour of blessings into your life.

God bless!

Praying for our life’s success,

Ivy

icbdelacruz@gmail.com

There were times that I won’t eat just to satisfy my teachers’ thirst for giving us difficult exams.

I know. I admit. I was very studious back then. I won’t go out with friends. I will go . . . → Read More: How did it all start?]]>

When I was studying, you would always see me in every corner of the library. Studying, studying, studying. Reviewing, reviewing, reviewing.

There were times that I won’t eat just to satisfy my teachers’ thirst for giving us difficult exams.

I know. I admit. I was very studious back then. I won’t go out with friends. I will go home early to finish all my homework. I will go to the National Library to develop the best research paper that ‘I can’ develop. I will really do everything just to please my self and most of all, my teachers.

My parents used to push me hard to be the best that I can be in school. I would always aim to get high grades in every subject. I would always aim to push myself as long as I can.

Sleepless nights. Big eyebags. Getting up early in the morning to review again.

My parents would always say, “Anak, edukasyon lang ang maipapamana namin sayo.”

I said to myself, “Ugh! I really need to be the best that I can be since this will be the only treasure that I will have.”

There. I used those words to motivate myself to study harder and harder and harder.

But something happened to me during the latter part of my college life. I was involved in extra curricular activities. I was voted as the president of our Student Council and from there I learned a lot more about life.

I learned that life is not only about books and teachers. It’s also about experiences.

That’s when I learned that I lack ‘experiences’. I realized that I need to be ‘street-smart’.

Actually, I would want to be more active in my extra-curricular that time. But I was torned between my academic and extra curricular.

I would always juggle time between these two. I was not focusing on just one. I was not giving my best. I was half hearted.

There were a lot of times that I would have dilemmas: is it my exams or the council?

And yes, I always choose my academics. Because I was trained to do so. I admit that somehow I would not attend some of the council’s activities because I would choose going to my class.

I lacked focus and I realized that I am doing something wrong. I was ignoring my group’s activities! I was burning bridges!

I know that I could have done more, gave more. But my heart would tell me I go back to acads.

That was before I got my first job.

During my college days, I would always see myself working for a multinational company with a good salary.

And it actually happened after two months of graduating from college. I started with that company.

The company compensation was really great! However, as I was working, I would always say to myself, “Is this really for me? Is this really what I want?”

Why am I asking these questions? Because I don’t want to spend a decade with something that I won’t pursue or something that won’t strive to be the best that I can be.

I can strive and give it time. Yes. But I’ll be half-hearted. And I am not like that.

There were times when I would ask a friend if she knows what’s for her. Times when I cried because I felt lost. Hahaha! Funny… But I was really serious back then to know what I want. I don’t want to wake up without a goal. I need to go somewhere.

That’s when Bro. Bo Sanchez came. He visited our company last Feb 2010 and gave a talk.

I was struck with his terms: Financial Literacy and Wrong Theology About Money

He did not discuss in detail and I was curious as to what these words mean.

I bought 2 of his books. Read them within a week. Bought more of his books. Then bought books of others. I did not only learn more things about life in general but I brought back my love for reading.

Now, I am happy to share my knowledge to all those who want it. And I am now applying some of the things that I learned. Because I believe that analysis paralysis won’t do any good. I need to start and I need to apply them as a long as they are fresh and as long I am physically strong. I am keeping this momentum and sharing it with everyone who are willing to learn. And I deliberately resigned from my good job to follow my dreams.

So far, I am happy with the results. I am glad that I am learning everyday and meeting more and more folks. Oh! How I love to know that my network is now expanding. I am just so happy! I feel very blessed. And now I know where I am heading.

Hope you’ll know where you’re heading, too!

Praying for our life’s success,

Ivy

Let me share this story with you.

A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth. One day while riding . . . → Read More: THE RICHEST MAN IN THE VALLEY by Francis Kong]]>

I love this story. I discovered this in the Internet many years ago whose authorship is unknown to me. It’s entitled “The Riches Man in the Valley.”

Let me share this story with you.

A rich landowner named Carl often rode around his vast estate so he could congratulate himself on his great wealth. One day while riding around his estate on his favorite horse, he saw Hans, an old tenant farmer. Hans was sitting under a tree when Carl rode by.

Hans said, ‘I was just thanking God for my food.’

Carl protested, ‘If that is all I had to eat, I wouldn’t feel like giving thanks.’ Hans replied, ‘God has given me everything I need, and I am thankful for it.’ The old farmer added, ‘It is strange you should come by today because I had a dream last night. In my dream a voice told me, ‘The richest man in the valley will die tonight.’ I don’t know what it means, but I thought I ought to tell you.’

Carl snorted, ‘Dreams are nonsense,’ and galloped away, but he could not forget Hans’ words: ‘The richest man in the valley will die tonight.’ He was obviously the richest man in the valley, so he invited his doctor to his house that evening. Carl told the doctor what Hans had said. After a thorough examination, the doctor told the wealthy landowner, ‘Carl, you are as strong and healthy as a horse. There is no way you are going to die tonight.’

Nevertheless, for assurance, the doctor stayed with Carl, and they played cards through the night. The doctor left the next morning and Carl apologized for becoming so upset over the old man’s dream. At about nine o’clock, a messenger arrived at Carl’s door.

‘What is it?’ Carl demanded.

The messenger explained, ‘It’s about old Hans. He died last night in his sleep.’

So who is the truly wealthy person?

I guess the next question I have to ask you is this.

Are you truly wealthy?

I know many people who are greedy. Some are open and even honest with their greed. I remember one gentleman who talked to me one day and said, “You know Francis why we are not as wealthy as the super millionaires out there? “Why sir?” I asked. With a serious look in his eye he looked at me sternly and said, “Because we are not greedy enough.”

“Whoa!” I have never heard anyone say something like this but at least he is honest. The closest thing is Gordon Gekko from the movie “Wall Street” who popularized the famous chant of the 80’s “Greed is good!” (And he landed in jail)

But the worst kind of greedy people are those who scheme, plan, deceive and persist in saying, “It’s not the money but the principle behind it.” “Yeah Right!” It must be the principle of greed that’s what. Meanwhile they rob you blind.

I have seen the greedy falling and I have seen the greedy fallen. I have seen the generous blessed. God does not sleep. The scheming greedy people when given enough rope will hang themselves. Because they have forgotten the principle that greed may get them what they want but will certainly rob them of what they already have.

Meanwhile, we have to make sure that our riches and wealth would go beyond this life and the boundaries of this decaying planet. And when our riches are in our intimacy with Christ then this kind of investment is safe. Our relationship with our loved ones is strong. We have peace in our heart. We have the confidence to face people because we are as real as we can be. This for me is what true riches is all about.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reflection:

Indeed it is with a grateful heart that we become wealthy.

I remember a preaching from Bro. Bo Sanchez about two people he met one day.

There was this agent who just earned his 350K commission from his sales. However, he was extremely sad. He said that it should have been 500K if he just reached the quota. Bro. Bo prayed over this guy so he’ll feel better.

When he got to the backstage, there was this woman who hugged him tight. She was so happy and very thankful for what God has given her. The woman shared to Bro. Bo that she received a 3K raise in her job!

See the difference? It is how people value the overflowing blessings that come everyday that made them happy. And it made them feel very blessed!

=))

Praying for our life’s success,

Ivy

Today, I introduced some hungry souls about financial literacy through IMG. IMG’s being promoted by Bro. Bo Sanchez because of their passion to deliberately introduce folks about securing their selves through investments and insurance.

I feel happy because they were introduced to financial literacy. And I hope they were enlightened.

However, I felt remorseful for not telling . . . → Read More: I learned something today]]>

Ayayay…

Today, I introduced some hungry souls about financial literacy through IMG. IMG’s being promoted by Bro. Bo Sanchez because of their passion to deliberately introduce folks about securing their selves through investments and insurance.

I feel happy because they were introduced to financial literacy. And I hope they were enlightened.

However, I felt remorseful for not telling them ahead of time that the sharer will not be me but my financial mentor. I feel incapable because I’m not the expert. =(

I felt I betrayed them… But that’s not really what I purposefully wanna do.

Anyways, I learned that I need to disclose the name of the company. It’s I-M-G. Hehehe. I think I’ll feel better if I’ll tell beforehand so people won’t think that it is scam or networking or something else…

(Oops, I have nothing against any networking companies. Pardon my sentence above. But a lot had really thought that networking companies are scam… I feel not – I remember Robert Kiyosaki even promoting networking to acquire money to be invested. It still depends on the person – whether he feels it’s for him or not.)

Oh, well! That’s life. I’ll just think of the quote about 18 (you think people think about you)-40 (you don’t care what people think about you)-60 (you realized that they don’t really think about you at all)…

As long as I don’t hurt people, I should feel good. =))

Who . . . → Read More: I said yes!]]>

Just today, I got news that the person who replaced me in my previous project had been offered to travel to US. Of course, (as a normal person), I felt remorseful… Hehehe. I just resigned. I served the project wholeheartedly and sometimes even worked at home until the wee hours because the connection is soooooooo slow…

Who would not feel that? It’s been my target this year! Hahaha… We have been telling them to offer me a travel so I can work better. Hehehe. It’s not just for me though… To compensate that ‘lost’. I started to count my blessings.

When I counted my blessings I realized that God gave to me more than what I had asked for…

The gift and fruits of the Holy Spirit when we had our encounter with Him; The peace of mind that I have long been asking for; The overflowing blessings that I have been receiving every day; Mentors who had been recently appearing everywhere; The gift of good health; The heart of worship and service.

Hahaha! You bet! I am really blessed. God bombarded me with tons of blessings everyday and He had not failed to give what’s really for me.

I am just glad that I got to know Him more… Now I know that when you’ve fully SAID YES TO GOD… Blessings just pour everywhere and you wouldn’t even have a chance to compare yours with others.

I am sorry if I failed you. I am not as performer as you are and I envy and I salute you for that! =)

I tried as hard as I could but this really does not work for me. Please give me a chance. This is really not me. I am better outside.

I remember I . . . → Read More: A letter to my boss and my friend…]]>

Hi —-,

I am sorry if I failed you. I am not as performer as you are and I envy and I salute you for that! =)

I tried as hard as I could but this really does not work for me. Please give me a chance. This is really not me. I am better outside.

I remember I declined your proposal for me to stay until September. I refused. Because I know that I will just spend my days here in very unproductive ways. I just can’t reach my full potential and really I was depressed. Months before I told you I’ll be resigning from work, I tried to identify why I don’t perform the way I was performing in college. I looked for ways to earn a living without having to go through the 8-5 typical job. And luckily, I got it… It may not be as lucrative and stable (as of writing) as with <Company> but I am happy because it is purposefully aligned with my goals in life.

I am a people person. I want to inspire, share and be with other people. And I achieved that through my entrepreneurial stints outside work. I guess, that’s my core gift and whenever I do these things I seldom feel stressed, I feel energetic and I could speak about it until the dawn appears. That’s me.

I am not trying to give excuses but these are just what I feel.

<Company> has given me a lot of opportunities, learning and very-good-if-not-the-best compensation a worker could have. And I am not closing my doors to any possibilities of returning to the corporate world with a different job title. I just need to give it a try. I just don’t want to repent in the future.

Thanks for your understanding. Don’t worry I’ll finish all my tasks. =)

I remain a colleague and a friend,

Ivy

Aw!!!

I am sad but inspired. I will miss them but I know I will have new found friends. I am fearful but excited.

Hey, Ivy! What are you talking about? If . . . → Read More: What will I miss about you?]]>

As I am writing this post, I feel very emotional. What a coincidence! David Pomeranz is singing “If you walked away from me today” in the background!

Aw!!!

I am sad but inspired. I will miss them but I know I will have new found friends. I am fearful but excited.

Hey, Ivy! What are you talking about? If you’re new in my page, read my “About” Page and you’ll know.

It’s hard to kick this sadness out of my system. I am not after the compensation I was getting but I am most concerned about the people that I will leave behind. These folks made my stay in the company all worth it. How I wish that we all can be together forever. But really, that’s not how life goes… It’s an ever-changing process.

What else will I miss?

Aside from having dinners or lunches at fine dining restaurants, I’ll miss my ergonomic workstation, my reclining chair, the Starbucks GC’s I get whenever I do fitbreaks, free calendars, tshirts, tumblers, and jackets.

I will also miss my ID, my desktop, the elevators, the security guards who always ask, “Ma’am, last name?”.

I will miss Ate’s and Kuya’s in the pantries. I always hear them say, “Good morning, Ma’am!”, “Excuse me, Ma’am,” (they will open a cabinet and I’m blocking the cabinet), “Hugas po kayo ng pinggan?” (when I’ll just stare at them while they wash the plates.)

(David Pomeranz sings “On this day”)

I will miss the free post its, bond paper, stabilo, envelopes, notebooks, paper clip, glue, envelopes, binder, stapler, and all the National Bookstore merchandize.

Endless things, thoughts, people – everything! All of these I’ll miss about the company I have worked with for two years. I feel so blessed that I was accepted with open arms, with no pretensions. I was accepted for being me.

(Tell Me’s being sung in the background… Yeah, it ended too, soon…)

I am with a saddened heart to leave this company that I have loved. Sad but happy. Happy for a new chapter that awaits me. A new chapter that’s yet to unfold.

I will miss you friends!!! I love you all…

Let’s keep in touch. Add me on facebook!
Till our next encounter,
Ivy

I was happy because I was able to juggle both extra curricular and acads. Hehehe. I . . . → Read More: Change of mind or heart?]]>

When I was in college you’ll often see me in almost ALL of the college’s activities. You bet, in four corners of the school. I was very active. I would spend even Sat’s and Sun’s just to attend school related activities.

I was happy because I was able to juggle both extra curricular and acads. Hehehe. I am very energetic. Full of life. I am friends with everyone. I felt like I can be in two places at the same time. God-like? Hahaha.

That was then… I don’t know. Sudden change of mind… or heart? But when I started working I felt drained. My job is very challenging but I felt that something’s missing. I don’t know. I guess I am just weirdo. BUT that’s what I felt. I felt sleepy. It is seldom that I feel awake, lively.

I know something’s changed.

I felt that I am very unproductive and I lost time for other things. I was not accomplishing anything! I was a major disaster. Hehehe.

I am a cowboy. I can do things specially if it is required to get ‘good grades’. BUT suddenly my mind stopped working. It started looking for other things. My feet dragged me somewhere else. My eyes asked me to look beyond my perspective and my heart told me to follow them.

And, yeah, you’re right. I followed what these ‘body parts’ told me. Hahaha.

Now, I am heading somewhere. I know what and where it is BUT right now it is blurred. My heart tells me to pursue it so I can see it in full color. Of course, with tint and life.

Hope you’ll find yours, too!

Praying for our life’s success,
Ivy