One thing I do not like with being away from your normal work routine ( in our case, out from the clinics and hospital) even if to take a short vacation (as side trip with your out of town seminars) would be the accumulated load you are facing head on once you've arrived back.
I had actually requested a colleague with the same specialty I have to relieve me in my clinic to make it easy for my patients to cope in my absence (especially to aide them with their medical needs while I was away). I arrived late Sunday.
I was however still deluged yesterday (Monday) with patients in my OPD consults that I finished quite late (past 9 pm). I asked my secretary why this is so, "Didn't the patients who came in during the days I was gone consult my reliever?" Her answer was a "no", they said they would just come back when I arrive.
I felt quite flattered with this due to their overwhelming trust but then again I began to sigh, "What would I do, it'll be our annual convention in Manila next week (for 4 days)? We are also like students, we are having our attendance checked for our CME units, and being delinquent will deter our chances to secure that certificate of good standing which we need badly as a requirement for accreditation as a Philhealth medical provider (Philhealth happens to be the National Health Insurance Program here in the Philippines). So being absent there and staying in our clinic to see patients ( yep our patients would prefer this) and earning too ( yep I would like this :) ) is really not an option.
That's what makes us doctors (some employed, especially the government workers and most the self-employed specialist) different from the enlightened entrepreneurs and the investors when it comes to providing services and building wealth. We may have comparatively greater income/ professional fees than a laborer and maybe some professionals but we do have to be always physically present to earn our daily bread. And the image patients have of their doctors are that they should be and look well-to-do.
Many patients would even equate the doctor's clinical competence with how he/she dresses, the car he uses when he comes to the clinic/ hospital, and even where they live. It would be rare for a class A or B patient to entrust their medical condition to a dude who rents and lives in a socialized housing community and who commutes to his clinic with a plain T shirt and jean type trousers to boot. Nope, that's why physicians also invest in their appearance and over all appeal so they make good impressions too to everyone. And yes, that involves spending for it.
In my next post, I would like to share something I read a few years back with regards to the four different groups of people with regards to wealth generation. Why did I bring this up when we are talking about the noble profession of medicine? That would also be answered in my next post...
" A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone."-- Henry David Thoreau, naturalist
Monday, April 30, 2012
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The two things in life amigo..
My sincere apologies as I was not able to post the past three days while I was away due to problems on internet connectivity and my device. Well here I am, recharged and ready to zoom :)
I'd like to share first this funny string of words with logic, this was delivered perfectly by Tessie, one of the best local tourist guides we've met. Yep there will always be two paths..
TWO things in life amigo..
It's either you live or die...
If you live, well and good.
If you die, there are two things..
It's either you become soil or fertilizer..
If soil, well and good.
If fertilizer, it's either you become a tree or a vegetable..
If a vegetable, well and good.
If a tree, it's either you become wood or paper.
If wood, well and good.
If paper, it's either you become a writing paper or toilet paper.
If writing paper, well and good.
If toilet paper, it's either you are used by a man or a woman.
If by a man, well and good.
If by a woman, it's either you get used in the front or the back.
If it's at the back, well and good.
If it's at the front, you will gladly say "I have not died in vain..." :)
Let's relax a bit, see you tomorrow....
I'd like to share first this funny string of words with logic, this was delivered perfectly by Tessie, one of the best local tourist guides we've met. Yep there will always be two paths..
TWO things in life amigo..
It's either you live or die...
If you live, well and good.
If you die, there are two things..
It's either you become soil or fertilizer..
If soil, well and good.
If fertilizer, it's either you become a tree or a vegetable..
If a vegetable, well and good.
If a tree, it's either you become wood or paper.
If wood, well and good.
If paper, it's either you become a writing paper or toilet paper.
If writing paper, well and good.
If toilet paper, it's either you are used by a man or a woman.
If by a man, well and good.
If by a woman, it's either you get used in the front or the back.
If it's at the back, well and good.
If it's at the front, you will gladly say "I have not died in vain..." :)
Let's relax a bit, see you tomorrow....
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Committing to wealth building
Missed last night blogging session due to my hectic MD schedule but nevertheless, got the chance to sit and type again. It's really hard too to start a new habit especially when all your previous activities are like clockwork. But giving in once and especially twice in a row would be the precedent of the lackadaisical mode of failure.
A good chapter I read from Jack Canfield's book, the Success Principles ( Success Principle 35 ) says “99% is a bitch; 100% is a breeze.” When you make a 100% commitment to something, you eliminate exceptions. Unfortunately, many people think that they are fully committed to their dreams, when in truth, they allow exceptions that slow their momentum and derail their success.
If you had committed yourself to do something, by all means do it (NO EXCUSES). A man who walks the talk ( does what he says) is a man of integrity. He brings forth an image of respect that people will look up to and also develops a high regard to himself. And it starts by committing to what you told yourself you would do.
I've been trying my best to apply this too with my wealth management. Here in the Philippines, the norm of most people when it comes to savings would just be to pur your money in a time deposit. From a high rate during the 70s (as much as double your money in 5 years), the interest rates in the banks nowadays had flunked to a LOW low 3 to 5% per annum! Inflation beats you so you actually lose your money gradually when you just leave it there.
I learned about 3 years ago the concept of investing safely in the Philippines stock market and doing online brokerage to do so. Way back, I thought investing there is for the big boys and you should know your terminologies and contacts when you talk with a stockbroker, now you can do it online. Thanks to Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Seminar, I learned about peso cost averaging ( citiseconline's peso cost averaging).
In a nutshell, it's investing as little as P5000 ( $120) monthly in a choice company (one that had been and will always be there in the long run and will certainly be growing in profits) irregardless of the stock price. In about 5 to 10 years of doing so, the performance and earnings/interest go on the average as high as 58% . I started with Jollibee, SM, and BDO about 3 years ago though honestly had missed some months putting in. Nevertheless, had already earned about 33% interest with the money I had put in. Of course, you have to know your companies really well (in my case, I had been given a review of fund performance by the company).
Now I had to commit to this new discipline of building my wealth thru this monthly without fail. More on this on the next posts.
PS: Will be out of town tomorrow till Saturday so the posts would be shorter as I'll be doing this thru my mobile and email.
A good chapter I read from Jack Canfield's book, the Success Principles ( Success Principle 35 ) says “99% is a bitch; 100% is a breeze.” When you make a 100% commitment to something, you eliminate exceptions. Unfortunately, many people think that they are fully committed to their dreams, when in truth, they allow exceptions that slow their momentum and derail their success.
If you had committed yourself to do something, by all means do it (NO EXCUSES). A man who walks the talk ( does what he says) is a man of integrity. He brings forth an image of respect that people will look up to and also develops a high regard to himself. And it starts by committing to what you told yourself you would do.
I've been trying my best to apply this too with my wealth management. Here in the Philippines, the norm of most people when it comes to savings would just be to pur your money in a time deposit. From a high rate during the 70s (as much as double your money in 5 years), the interest rates in the banks nowadays had flunked to a LOW low 3 to 5% per annum! Inflation beats you so you actually lose your money gradually when you just leave it there.
I learned about 3 years ago the concept of investing safely in the Philippines stock market and doing online brokerage to do so. Way back, I thought investing there is for the big boys and you should know your terminologies and contacts when you talk with a stockbroker, now you can do it online. Thanks to Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Seminar, I learned about peso cost averaging ( citiseconline's peso cost averaging).
In a nutshell, it's investing as little as P5000 ( $120) monthly in a choice company (one that had been and will always be there in the long run and will certainly be growing in profits) irregardless of the stock price. In about 5 to 10 years of doing so, the performance and earnings/interest go on the average as high as 58% . I started with Jollibee, SM, and BDO about 3 years ago though honestly had missed some months putting in. Nevertheless, had already earned about 33% interest with the money I had put in. Of course, you have to know your companies really well (in my case, I had been given a review of fund performance by the company).
Now I had to commit to this new discipline of building my wealth thru this monthly without fail. More on this on the next posts.
PS: Will be out of town tomorrow till Saturday so the posts would be shorter as I'll be doing this thru my mobile and email.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Getting that focus
It's summertime here in the Philippines and the temperature goes to as high as 35 C. Our kids had been pretty much confined at home, their eyes glued over their respective game devices with their fingers on the keypads and their focus almost 100% to their preferred game/ movie. So much so as when you call them, you pretty much would have your voice to a loud 10/10 before you could at least make their head turn and ask "what?".
Times had been so different when we were kids, our games were pretty much more physical and more social. Who wouldn't miss our hide and seek games, "What's your name...Orange juice (huh)", tumbang preso (hit the can), syoto, and pasi (top)? Instead of us hitting each other's tops and having the last top turning as the winner, my kids are now into the commercialized "Beyblade" game, each mini top with its metal cover cost almost P500! ( ~ $10!). That money could buy me a dozen tops, problem is I think they are nearly extinct nowadays.
Whatever the game is (whether circa 1970s or 2010s), one thing is for sure with kids.... that ability to focus and play into the game.
Sad to say, as adults since we are all so exposed to different situations / faces / predicaments (in short, stimuli) in life, we fall victim to distractions and get lost with the ongoings around us. We lose focus as we start our day, we most of the time do not fulfill our worthwhile goals/ agenda because "things happen" and we do this, we do that, we go astray our purpose.
Sooner or later, the attitude degenerates into the "come what may" attitude.....just wake up in the morning, wait for things to happen and simply react to them. Whoa, we are not plants, we can move and think!
Indifference and laziness are the main ingredients of a complaining, uncontented, and miserable life. The best cure for grief and frustration is action.
And kids are the perfect example of the indefatigable spirit. Just watch them closely how persistent they are when they want something. You're watching TV and your tot scratches your back and say, "Dad, I wanna watch Barney". "No, I'm watching the news" , you say. But then he goes again, "Daddy, I wanna watch Barney". You resist again but there he could go on and on until you give in....
Talo ka sa bata! " (You lost to a kid!).
Times had been so different when we were kids, our games were pretty much more physical and more social. Who wouldn't miss our hide and seek games, "What's your name...Orange juice (huh)", tumbang preso (hit the can), syoto, and pasi (top)? Instead of us hitting each other's tops and having the last top turning as the winner, my kids are now into the commercialized "Beyblade" game, each mini top with its metal cover cost almost P500! ( ~ $10!). That money could buy me a dozen tops, problem is I think they are nearly extinct nowadays.
Whatever the game is (whether circa 1970s or 2010s), one thing is for sure with kids.... that ability to focus and play into the game.
Sad to say, as adults since we are all so exposed to different situations / faces / predicaments (in short, stimuli) in life, we fall victim to distractions and get lost with the ongoings around us. We lose focus as we start our day, we most of the time do not fulfill our worthwhile goals/ agenda because "things happen" and we do this, we do that, we go astray our purpose.
Sooner or later, the attitude degenerates into the "come what may" attitude.....just wake up in the morning, wait for things to happen and simply react to them. Whoa, we are not plants, we can move and think!
Indifference and laziness are the main ingredients of a complaining, uncontented, and miserable life. The best cure for grief and frustration is action.
And kids are the perfect example of the indefatigable spirit. Just watch them closely how persistent they are when they want something. You're watching TV and your tot scratches your back and say, "Dad, I wanna watch Barney". "No, I'm watching the news" , you say. But then he goes again, "Daddy, I wanna watch Barney". You resist again but there he could go on and on until you give in....
Talo ka sa bata! " (You lost to a kid!).
Monday, April 23, 2012
Eliminating a bad habit
Speaking of diet, I had read of an article in Medscape stating that red meat intake increases mortality risk. From the study, it was estimated that 9.3% of deaths in men and 7.6% of deaths in women could have been prevented if all participants consumed fewer than 0.5 servings of total red meat daily. Estimates were 8.6% in men and 12.2% in women for deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD). You may read the article here...http://bit.ly/IkxYaB.
Tsk tsk tsk, it gets harder and harder everyday. Sooner or later with the researches they keep on bringing up, all the good and savory foodstuff that makes you pig out with the gang will soon be prohibited.
Joking aside, there are so many supposedly bad habits we have to get rid of or correct and we do know that if we succeed in eliminating them, we could have reached our goals earlier. Let's take smoking as an example, whenever I talk with my patients and discourage them from smoking again, they would automatically tell me it would be very hard to impossible coz they had been smoking for decades and they would end up crazy if they did this.
But when my chain smoker patients end up in the ICU for an acute MI or an attack of COPD ( chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), it's so clear that they could not touch even a single stick of cigarette for the next few days/weeks while in the hospital and...they will still keep their sanity. No wonder those discharged from medical confinement are more likely to succeed in quitting smoking than the outpatients. My observation is that it takes a strong situation or an intense emotion to make a radical change in one's habits.
A technique I learned in eliminating a bad habit is not by focusing and thinking about it. Even if you say "I will not eat carelessly red meat in large amounts" a hundred times and concentrate on avoiding it, at the end of the day, these two words will still stick with you.....RED MEAT.
Rather, we should affirm something positive (when out of the way from indulging in red meat). Something like "I enjoy eating green leafy vegetables and fresh fish and salmon", " I eat wheat bread and lots of fiber", "I grow leaner and leaner everyday", "I begin to look fit and attractive", "I have good endurance and health because of the food I eat". Creatively visualize each scene...savor the taste of the veggies, salmon, and the freshly baked wheat bread...run a kilometer in your mind without catching your bread...make the opposite sex look and admire you when you walk amongst them. This affirmation technique should be done 5-10 minutes 3x a day and live by them. Focus on the good benefits of the alternative route.
A bad habit is the by product of loneliness & lack of trust in God's love and is really a poor exchange for something bigger, better, and right for you. - Bo Sanchez
So put your habits in alignment with your goals and dream it.
Happy dreaming!
Tsk tsk tsk, it gets harder and harder everyday. Sooner or later with the researches they keep on bringing up, all the good and savory foodstuff that makes you pig out with the gang will soon be prohibited.
Joking aside, there are so many supposedly bad habits we have to get rid of or correct and we do know that if we succeed in eliminating them, we could have reached our goals earlier. Let's take smoking as an example, whenever I talk with my patients and discourage them from smoking again, they would automatically tell me it would be very hard to impossible coz they had been smoking for decades and they would end up crazy if they did this.
But when my chain smoker patients end up in the ICU for an acute MI or an attack of COPD ( chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), it's so clear that they could not touch even a single stick of cigarette for the next few days/weeks while in the hospital and...they will still keep their sanity. No wonder those discharged from medical confinement are more likely to succeed in quitting smoking than the outpatients. My observation is that it takes a strong situation or an intense emotion to make a radical change in one's habits.
A technique I learned in eliminating a bad habit is not by focusing and thinking about it. Even if you say "I will not eat carelessly red meat in large amounts" a hundred times and concentrate on avoiding it, at the end of the day, these two words will still stick with you.....RED MEAT.
Rather, we should affirm something positive (when out of the way from indulging in red meat). Something like "I enjoy eating green leafy vegetables and fresh fish and salmon", " I eat wheat bread and lots of fiber", "I grow leaner and leaner everyday", "I begin to look fit and attractive", "I have good endurance and health because of the food I eat". Creatively visualize each scene...savor the taste of the veggies, salmon, and the freshly baked wheat bread...run a kilometer in your mind without catching your bread...make the opposite sex look and admire you when you walk amongst them. This affirmation technique should be done 5-10 minutes 3x a day and live by them. Focus on the good benefits of the alternative route.
A bad habit is the by product of loneliness & lack of trust in God's love and is really a poor exchange for something bigger, better, and right for you. - Bo Sanchez
So put your habits in alignment with your goals and dream it.
Happy dreaming!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
The struggle to build good habits
Just woke up at about 7:30am and realized that I've missed a pretty important event. I had been invited by Dra Dizon 2 nights before to join in the "Ta Run Na Abe" ( Come on Let's Run), a 2.5, 5 ,10, & 21 km marathon/ fun run organized by a medical organization (group of Family Med MDs) which supposedly had started at 5 am this morning....
Nah, running is not for me, and yes to support that, my companions here at home are still in cloud 9 snoring. I would just get a tiger look if I woke them and forced them to go with me. I've been telling them esp my better half about the event and what if we join in just for fun. Yep my invitation entered their left and exited their right ear.. :( . It looks pitiful if I alone would set off for it in Clark so I rested my case.
Though well rested I still feel I've missed a lot and so I turned on that threadmill machine & in spirit, joined them marathoners while watching David Foster (The Hitman and Friends DVD). The music is superb and keeps me to the beat, it distracts me from being tired though I just have to stop at 2.8 km in 30 mins ( a pre set program). I'm not an endurance conditioned man. Besides I don't have a cardiac monitor attached on me...
It was always my goal to remain healthy but I just had an attack of an irregular heart (atrial fibrillation) December 2005 after having had a drink in our Christmas party. A series of tests while being confined showed that I have a bicuspid aortic valve, a 28% stenotic obstruction in my right coronary artery, and hypertriglyceridemia. My world literally stopped during that time as I always limited myself from doing physical activities, just walking gives me chest discomfort. I felt depressed not being able to help my wife with our daily bread. Yep, one sad thing about being a doctor is you may earn much bigger while working but when you stop (like when you get sick), nothing will go in.
But then I recall my good friend-colleague Edgar telling me, "Hey, you're still too young and you have small kids to look out for. Don't let this control you.". When this got into me, I suddenly realized the truth in what he said. Though I've been on maintenance since then, am glad to be almost always symptom free for the past 7 years. I've been "fortunate" enough to have fatty liver, GB stones (had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 2009), & kidney stones (had shock wave lithotripsy in Dec 2011) but what the heck, I remain committed to reach a ripe old age of 90 so I could still meet & even play with my grand kids.
I'm formulating an exercise plan despite my toxic schedule as a practitioner, my patients are not quite benign nowadays (have had 4 intubated ICU patients this week :( ). It's hard but will be using some tools to achieve this, I'll be sharing them in the next posts (tools I learned from success mentors). Yep, there's the diet thing, I eat like a true blue Kapampangan, salty and fatty foodstuffs are really hard to resist especially when all the people in the household crave for them and that our helpers are great cooks. That's an extra challenge to use tools upon.
Good luck!!
Nah, running is not for me, and yes to support that, my companions here at home are still in cloud 9 snoring. I would just get a tiger look if I woke them and forced them to go with me. I've been telling them esp my better half about the event and what if we join in just for fun. Yep my invitation entered their left and exited their right ear.. :( . It looks pitiful if I alone would set off for it in Clark so I rested my case.
Though well rested I still feel I've missed a lot and so I turned on that threadmill machine & in spirit, joined them marathoners while watching David Foster (The Hitman and Friends DVD). The music is superb and keeps me to the beat, it distracts me from being tired though I just have to stop at 2.8 km in 30 mins ( a pre set program). I'm not an endurance conditioned man. Besides I don't have a cardiac monitor attached on me...
It was always my goal to remain healthy but I just had an attack of an irregular heart (atrial fibrillation) December 2005 after having had a drink in our Christmas party. A series of tests while being confined showed that I have a bicuspid aortic valve, a 28% stenotic obstruction in my right coronary artery, and hypertriglyceridemia. My world literally stopped during that time as I always limited myself from doing physical activities, just walking gives me chest discomfort. I felt depressed not being able to help my wife with our daily bread. Yep, one sad thing about being a doctor is you may earn much bigger while working but when you stop (like when you get sick), nothing will go in.
But then I recall my good friend-colleague Edgar telling me, "Hey, you're still too young and you have small kids to look out for. Don't let this control you.". When this got into me, I suddenly realized the truth in what he said. Though I've been on maintenance since then, am glad to be almost always symptom free for the past 7 years. I've been "fortunate" enough to have fatty liver, GB stones (had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy in 2009), & kidney stones (had shock wave lithotripsy in Dec 2011) but what the heck, I remain committed to reach a ripe old age of 90 so I could still meet & even play with my grand kids.
I'm formulating an exercise plan despite my toxic schedule as a practitioner, my patients are not quite benign nowadays (have had 4 intubated ICU patients this week :( ). It's hard but will be using some tools to achieve this, I'll be sharing them in the next posts (tools I learned from success mentors). Yep, there's the diet thing, I eat like a true blue Kapampangan, salty and fatty foodstuffs are really hard to resist especially when all the people in the household crave for them and that our helpers are great cooks. That's an extra challenge to use tools upon.
Good luck!!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
What's with this blog??
It's my first day to blog again in about 2 years! My previous blogs were more of the cut and paste type, heck mainly to create an advertisement filled page for others to click on and for me to earn (how sad). Well mainly it's because I barely have the time to write. Too much preparation gets you into analysis paralysis. Now I just know I have to place my fingers on the keyboard and let it flow...
Why did I create this blog? What's with the title? There are billions of super blogs out there, who would take the time to glide their eyes on my piece? Well I can't answer all these. I just have to share what I learn, see, experience daily and just write, write, write.
What to expect here? My hopefully daily journal 1. as a father 2. as a medical doctor-internist ( nope, no medical lectures here!! But yes to tips and uncanny experiences) 3. as an aspiring online entrepreneur ( delving into internet and online affiliate businesses worth exploring, the very good ones will be share with you), as a network marketer (lots to spill on the groups I've joined in), 4. as an inactive licensed realtor ( I'm still updated on the good projects, thanks to my local realtor society), 5. as a traveler ( the world is a colorful and strange place!), 6. as an investor ( thanks to Mr Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad who I virtually met in 2005 thru his book, money is not evil and scarce as I thought it was), and more importantly 6. as a life and success learner ( I actively strive to be taught by mentors like Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Bo Sanchez, Jomar Hilario, Larry Gamboa, etc and even pay subscription fees to learn from them. And yes, in my following blogs I'll just lay some for you to take in.
When a candle is lit, it should be placed far out in the dark to fulfill its purpose. That's what our life's lessons are supposed to be, to be a lightpost for others.
Feel free to comment and give suggestions! We are all learners here.
PS: To avoid spamming and VERY violent counter comments (I hope none :), I will have to moderate them before publishing.
It's the start of a new adventure!!
Why did I create this blog? What's with the title? There are billions of super blogs out there, who would take the time to glide their eyes on my piece? Well I can't answer all these. I just have to share what I learn, see, experience daily and just write, write, write.
What to expect here? My hopefully daily journal 1. as a father 2. as a medical doctor-internist ( nope, no medical lectures here!! But yes to tips and uncanny experiences) 3. as an aspiring online entrepreneur ( delving into internet and online affiliate businesses worth exploring, the very good ones will be share with you), as a network marketer (lots to spill on the groups I've joined in), 4. as an inactive licensed realtor ( I'm still updated on the good projects, thanks to my local realtor society), 5. as a traveler ( the world is a colorful and strange place!), 6. as an investor ( thanks to Mr Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad who I virtually met in 2005 thru his book, money is not evil and scarce as I thought it was), and more importantly 6. as a life and success learner ( I actively strive to be taught by mentors like Jim Rohn, Jack Canfield, Brian Tracy, Bo Sanchez, Jomar Hilario, Larry Gamboa, etc and even pay subscription fees to learn from them. And yes, in my following blogs I'll just lay some for you to take in.
When a candle is lit, it should be placed far out in the dark to fulfill its purpose. That's what our life's lessons are supposed to be, to be a lightpost for others.
Feel free to comment and give suggestions! We are all learners here.
PS: To avoid spamming and VERY violent counter comments (I hope none :), I will have to moderate them before publishing.
It's the start of a new adventure!!
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