It’s this time of the year when I spend sometime looking back what the past year has taught me…as well as make some plans for the next year. But this time, I wanted to give you a little more glimpse of what I have been doing the past 5 years and the many lessons in my entrepreneurial journey.
There are moments when I think I should just stop this blog for good since I don’t write anything anyway. It’s just a hobby and from a pure business perspective, it doesn’t generate any direct income since I don’t sell anything on my blog. In my day to day business meetings however, I meet young hungry individuals who were just like me when I was starting. Because my business requires me to be more hands, it is actually harder for me to devote some time to write to you. Yet, there are so many things I want to share with you. T
The reality is for most of you, I may never have a chance to meet in person. Perhaps reading these articles from my blog will be the only chance I get to help you. So, for that reason, I continue to write.
In 2009 after getting back from a 2 and half year stint from Malaysia, I was very eager to learn the world of business and investing. I attended lots of seminars, read hundreds of books, and a whole lot more. The experience opened up new doors for me. I met some people that I otherwise would not have met. There’s this feeling of nostalgia when you meet the people who were like your “batchmates” in your financial journey and be mesmerized how far each of you have gone. It’s like a meeting of kindred spirits – the warriors of light.
After a couple of years, I started my network marketing business part-time with USANA Health Sciences. The business allowed me to quit my 9-year IT career after working on it for 6 months part-time. Later on when my wife gave birth to our first born son, we decided it would be better if she becomes a hands-on mom to our kids. For the last 5 years, our business has supported our family of 2 boys. It gave us the financial capability to buy us a 2-bedroom property and an SUV car for a comfortable travel with family. Every day I get to spend some time playing with my boys before I attend to my business. Those things don’t have a price tag. On a personal level, I feel I have learned more about business and people in the last 5 years than in the 30 years before that. It’s been the greatest experience and I would not trade it for anything else. I am grateful.
I wish I could tell you it’s been all great, but it’s not. It was not easy. I have had to learn how to handle many kinds of emotions along the way. How do you handle rejections? That’s easy. Getting it from people you care the most, that’s harder. The sting never goes away. You just learn to remind yourself that them saying NO does not define your value as a person. You have to keep in mind WHY you are doing this in the first place, what’s your mission, and why is it important for you to succeed.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. No one allows a child to be born only to be left alone. I have learned that in starting your business, you are like raising a “child.” In the early years, it demands your utmost attention. Every minute is crucial. You do everything you can to satisfy the needs of your “child” even if you don’t know how. You just…make it work somehow.
After a few years, it will soon grow a little bit. It will take a life of its own. You miss the early days when you can be hands on. But you know that life has to go on. You now have different expectations. You learn to accept the things that you cannot control. You try to work harder on things you can. You remind yourself that soon this “child” will grow up even more and make a difference in the world on its own.
You cannot build a business on your own. You need the help of other people. If a child needs a village to grow up, your business needs the right environment to flourish. You need mentoring. You need a platform to make mistakes and learn. You need people who value the same things as you, like freedom to choose your value in the marketplace, work your own hours, and escape the culture of corporate slavery. You need people who are on the same stage as you, to encourage you, to make sure you have someone to turn to when discouragements caught up with you. You need people to remind you to work hard and have fun in the process.
In this light, I would say I was lucky to be part of that kind of an environment while building my business. I became part of XTRM 1-11. The name comes from a latin phrase “eXcito Triumphus Recuso Mediocris” meaning “To bring forth triumph is to refuse to be ordinary”. It is an organisation of professionals from all walks of life, IT consultants, engineers, accountants, doctors, lawyers, nurses, students, teachers, seafarers, board topnotchers, cum laude’s, student leaders, and more. What’s common is their desire to learn entrepreneurship hands-on through different workshops and trainings on leadership, sales and marketing, financial literacy, wealth management, wholistic growth, and more. Our team has partnerships with established brands like Technomarine, Sun Cellular and BPI. Among our guest trainors have been Francis Kong, Anthony and Maricel Pangilinan, Direk Joey Reyes, Jonathan Yabut, and more.
Where am I in my financial journey? I could say the past 5 years have been very good to me. It allowed me to learn a lot of things in business and in leading people. In 2011, I had a goal to help 100 people earn an extra $100 a month. I have since achieved that goal. As of today, there are 546 people who have earned at least $100 in my group. Some have earned more: $200 – $600 part time, $1000 or more full-time. I have had the honor to bring into the business and mentor personally two special couples who worked harder than anyone I knew. They have gone on to earn at least $8,000 in a 4-week period. The group has presence now in Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, and more. It’s true what Zig Ziglar said, “help enough people get what they want and you will get what you want.” Yes, I have been blessed. I also worked hard. There’s also some element of “luck.” But my journey is far from done. In fact, I am only just beginning.
This 2017 is going to be another exciting chapter in my journey. There are BIG projects that I am going to embark on this year that I haven’t done the past 5 years. It’s going to take a lot of effort. It’s also going to be exciting. I can’t wait. I may need some help along the way. But I am sure help will come, I have an army of like-minded people who would like to venture with me. In my own little way, I hope this article inspires you to take charge of your own financial journey. I would love to hear about your success story soon. For some people this 2017 is going to be an epic comeback from a challenging 2016. I wish that you find the strength and courage within you to take action on things that truly matter to you.