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Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019 Part 2 of 4: Dean Pax Lapid’s Building Your House of Entrepreneur

This is the 2nd installment to the 4-part series on the Truly Rich Club Wealth Conference 2019. If you missed the 1st part, you can read it here.

Dean Pax Lapid’s Building Your House of Entrepreneur

The second speaker during the Truly Wealth Conference was Dean Pax Lapid. I first came to know him when I attended the Truly Rich Entrepreneur’s Workshop back in 2009. He has started and grown a lot of businesses in different industries and he teaches entrepreneurship in one of the biggest business schools in the country, the Asian Instute of Management. He also wrote books on entrepreneurship including the book “Go Negosyo: 21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business.”

Dean Pax is a lively speaker. He is a teacher by heart and you can really see it on his slide presentations. They are full of details, almost like that of a textbook.

During his talk, Dean Pax told some personal stories that really caught my attention. One story he shared is about the time when he was deeply in debt. He was so depressed he was about to end his life. But God had better plans for him. He was saved from that situation and he never looked back. Imagine the number of people who would not have learned from Dean Pax and got inspired from his stories if he decided to end it right there and then.

Another story he shared was when he wanted to pass down his business to his son, but his son didn’t want it. His son wanted to work as a corporate employee. He knows fully well that the income from a job offer his son can get will pale in comparison to running their own business, but he had to accept his son’s decision amidst his own frustrations and emotional pain.

As a parent, I can only imagine how painful that might have felt like. I know I always want to do the best for my two sons. I want to provide for them financially. But Dean Pax’s story reminded me of a fundamental truth that a lot of Billionaires know. Warren Buffet, one of the world’s richest man, is donating most of his wealth to charity. I wondered why he doesn’t want to give it to his children until I realized that doing so will only hinder their children’s growth. It’s like crippling them.

Now, I work hard to provide for my kids. But I understand that ultimately, they are their own individual beings. They have their own journey here on earth and personal decisions to make. I am not about to hinder their character sculpting experiences by putting them in a situation where it becomes a hindrance instead of a blessing.

These two stories made me realize that no one is immune to having challenges in business. When you see Dean Pax with his lively antics and cheerful demeanor you would think everything was smooth sailing for him in his entrepreneurial journey. That’s why it was a surprise to me that even with these huge challenges he had to overcome he still maintains a cheerful spirit.

Perhaps, this is all part of the journey we have to make in life. Otherwise, our stories would all be boring. Nobody gets inspired by a boring story. So if you are going through a challenging situation right now, just imagine the inspiration you will share to people once you are able to overcome it. You will definitely bless many.

LIFE CYCLE OF A BUSINESS

Dean Pax also shared the life cycle of a business. The ups and downs from conceptualization of a business idea to eventually selling the business or having your own exit strategy. He shared about the challenges that a typical business goes through during the startup stages and what he calls the valley of debt. When I learned about this, I could not agree more.

I can certainly relate because I too went through similar stages while putting up my business and getting it off the ground.

It is pure hard work. I experienced having little sleep. You work so hard, you ask yourself if it’s really worth it. Then the next day, you muster enough courage and strength and go through it again…and again…and again. Inspite of all the challenges, you go at it day in and day out. You have to be a little bit insane to endure those kinds of pain.

You cling on to the idea that one day, it will all be worth it. As they say, as an employee you are overpaid in the beginning but underpaid for the rest of your life, but as an entrepreneur you are underpaid in the begininng but overpaid for the rest of your life. Most people are not able to get past through the emotions of being underpaid for a long long time..

You battle with your own self confidence and self-worth. You get frustrated with your dismal results. You go through so many ups and downs you question whether it will ever going to end.

Eventually you will learn to take everything in stride, both the good and bad. The bad times are not meant to make you fall. They are meant to sculpt your character.

Good times do come. But the challenges never end. It’s just evolves into a different one. Each stage brings about a different situation which requires a different skill to solve. You must evolve if you want to survive.

Here is a picture from Dean Pax’s talk about getting from “NOWHERE” to “NOW HERE.” It depicts the different stages you have to go through being the entrepreneur that you are.

 

You start from your COMFORT ZONE. You know you are in your comfort zone when you are feeling bored. Perhaps you are in comfortable situation. But one day you realize that you want something more. It’s normal human instinct to desire for something more. More money. More time. More happiness. Eventually, something within you is stirred up and you can no longer accept the reality of your situation. You decide to take action.

Once you realize this, you start to move into your FEAR ZONE. This is the hardest part for most people to overcome. Everyone has a deep-seated need to feel accepted. That’s why you care so much about what other people say about you. At this stage you have to face those fears upfront. When you are able to overcome your own personal insecurities, and you muster enough courage inspite of your fears, you will soon level up to your COURAGE ZONE. The good book even says that when you have faith as little as a mustard seed, you can move mountains. You are more than what you think you are. Once you start believing in yourself, you will learn new skills, you will develop a new perspective about your business, you become a master of your craft and eventually you will elevate to your GROWTH ZONE, where all your dreams can come true.

Eventually your current growth zone will become your new comfort zone. With the new comfort zone comes boredom. Eventually, you will start to dream again or desire a new level of growth. In order to grow, you once again have to ask yourself what is it that you really want. You decide to take action. You ask yourself what is it that you fear the most. You decide to overcome your deepest fear by facing it head on and taking action. Because you understand that on the other side of fear, is your dreams waiting for you…and the cycle again begins.

P.S. Watch out for the 3rd and 4th installment of this series. We will talk about stocks and investing, as well as maximizing your potential while working for other people as an employee.

P.P.S. Do you want to learn about financial literacy? Want to be part of a community where you can learn to explore the different financial vehicles without the huge risk of doing it on your own? Join the Truly Rich Club. Click here.

P.P.S. Do you want to be mentored personally by me? Visit www.allaninocente.com/work-with-allan/ and follow the instructions listed accordingly. Many of those who worked with me have gone on to earn from $100 in a week part-time up to $8,000 a month full-time. You can read and watch the videos of their success stories here.