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Sunday, August 18, 2013
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Diving into the unusual
I had been on a writer's block the past 6 weeks whereas come to think of it, my wife and I had been in 3 countries and there is really so much to tell. So much to tell but so little time. Well at least that's what I thought..
Until I got to sat down and pondered on an email Mr Jomar Hilario, an online entrepreneur guru, had forwarded me. It got me to clicking this Kindle thing and how I could earn passive income from it. Kindle? Well I (and probably 96% of Filipinos) are so used to reading pdfs as ebooks instead of kindle books so why bother?
That's when I began checking out this link he sent me and within an hour I was truly convinced that kindle books are the more user friendly ebooks in the market. I was amazed with its functionality..Just by touching a word a little longer in any of its text, a menu pops out giving you its definition and asking you either if you want to highlight such or take extra notes of or share it thru twitter or FB. It's an interactive book!(Nope, Amazon did not pay me to say kind words about this haha).
What caught my interest all the more was that the opportunity makes any interested writer make his own kindle book easily and have it published online in the Amazon stores for selling instantly entitling the author or publisher lifetime royalty income. Hmm, something which I had dreamed when I was in high school and thought as impossible (imagine National Book Store or Rex book store approaching you and asking if they could publish your work and put it in their stores...hmm far out!) is now something which I can now do at home and be seen and sold everywhere. :)
So having studied it well and watched Mr Deiss' videos, I was truly convinced to make the investment and dive into this. Of course, I investigated and checked some third party reviews on the site. It's not actually a walk in the park.. I paid a hefty sum (Philippine standards) to get enrolled and be in the club and get the course & necessary special softwares (let's just say it's much like our college tuition fee). But my heart is into it and in order to commit to it, I should not place myself once again in analysis paralysis again. I TOOK ACTION. Now that it takes extra effort & resource to do such...I have no excuse to fail.
I had searched online for solutions how to get rid of writer's block and the common suggestion is just observe & observe then write & write. Now to hurdle the most difficult task, "What will be my topic and title?"...... Please feel free to comment or suggest. Thank you!
What about you, what drives you?
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.
Until I got to sat down and pondered on an email Mr Jomar Hilario, an online entrepreneur guru, had forwarded me. It got me to clicking this Kindle thing and how I could earn passive income from it. Kindle? Well I (and probably 96% of Filipinos) are so used to reading pdfs as ebooks instead of kindle books so why bother?
That's when I began checking out this link he sent me and within an hour I was truly convinced that kindle books are the more user friendly ebooks in the market. I was amazed with its functionality..Just by touching a word a little longer in any of its text, a menu pops out giving you its definition and asking you either if you want to highlight such or take extra notes of or share it thru twitter or FB. It's an interactive book!(Nope, Amazon did not pay me to say kind words about this haha).
What caught my interest all the more was that the opportunity makes any interested writer make his own kindle book easily and have it published online in the Amazon stores for selling instantly entitling the author or publisher lifetime royalty income. Hmm, something which I had dreamed when I was in high school and thought as impossible (imagine National Book Store or Rex book store approaching you and asking if they could publish your work and put it in their stores...hmm far out!) is now something which I can now do at home and be seen and sold everywhere. :)
So having studied it well and watched Mr Deiss' videos, I was truly convinced to make the investment and dive into this. Of course, I investigated and checked some third party reviews on the site. It's not actually a walk in the park.. I paid a hefty sum (Philippine standards) to get enrolled and be in the club and get the course & necessary special softwares (let's just say it's much like our college tuition fee). But my heart is into it and in order to commit to it, I should not place myself once again in analysis paralysis again. I TOOK ACTION. Now that it takes extra effort & resource to do such...I have no excuse to fail.
I had searched online for solutions how to get rid of writer's block and the common suggestion is just observe & observe then write & write. Now to hurdle the most difficult task, "What will be my topic and title?"...... Please feel free to comment or suggest. Thank you!
What about you, what drives you?
Do what you love. Know your own bone; gnaw at it, bury it, unearth it, and gnaw it still.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American naturalist, poet and philosopher.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Eighty twenty
I think I might have done too much rest (that is, from blogging) thanks to my previous post. My other side had been quite filled up, it's really sick season these past few weeks both in the clinics and in the hospital. Actually had just been back from a seminar and some respite, I might as well post on the same topic as promised.
The world literally had trained us to keep busy if we want to go up the ladder of success. Tim Ferris puts this in a graphic tone as follows: "If you want to move up the ladder in most of our corporate world, and assuming they don't really check what you're doing (let's be honest), just run around the office holding a cell phone to your head and carrying papers from 9 am to 5 pm. Now that is one busy employee". Unfortunately ( or quite fortunately), that's not how you increase your results and attain objectives.
Being effective is different from being efficient. Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency is performing a given task ( whether important or not) in the most economical matter possible. Sadly, being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the universe.
It is no different to you to see so many people working in a company or more so in the government, when you visit their offices. It would surprise you why even with so much manpower, you find yourself with so much people waiting like you in a queue where the service staff seem to have no regard for your personal time. Then observing them closely, some of them just chatting with each other, some just having their eyes fixed to their documents not even looking at you when they talk to you, and most just running around in circles. All for the routine of just to consume their 9 to 5 regimen. It is a wonder why it takes months just to get some simple government permits done. The society is infected with AIDS (As If Doing Something).
Applying this to your life, there are two truisms to take note of.
1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.
Enter this principle of a renowned economist who lived from 1848 to 1923, Mr Vilfredo Pareto. The principle he conceived and presented then is now one of the secrets of the most successful people in the world. His Pareto principle is more popularly called the "80/20 principle".
His principle originally describes how uneven the income distribution was in all parts of the world. "80% of the wealth and income was produced by 20% of the population". But this proportion is found actually in almost all aspects of human life.
So with this in mind, here are two basic questions which you should work on to free your precious time (as recommended by Mr Tim Ferris in his book "The Four Hour Work week)".
1. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?
2. Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
Just set an entire day to ponder on these questions and write and record your answers in each aspect of your life ( family, business or career). Your goal is to find your inefficiencies in order to eliminate them and to find your strengths so you can multiply them.
Being overwhelmed with things to do is often as unproductive as doing nothing and is far more unpleasant. Being selective- doing less- is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.
It;s easy to get caught in a flood of minutiae, and the key to not feeling rushed is remembering that lack of time is actually lack of priorities. Take time to stop and smell the flowers...
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but decrease. The height of cultivation runs to simplicity. - Bruce Lee
The world literally had trained us to keep busy if we want to go up the ladder of success. Tim Ferris puts this in a graphic tone as follows: "If you want to move up the ladder in most of our corporate world, and assuming they don't really check what you're doing (let's be honest), just run around the office holding a cell phone to your head and carrying papers from 9 am to 5 pm. Now that is one busy employee". Unfortunately ( or quite fortunately), that's not how you increase your results and attain objectives.1. Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
2. Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.
Enter this principle of a renowned economist who lived from 1848 to 1923, Mr Vilfredo Pareto. The principle he conceived and presented then is now one of the secrets of the most successful people in the world. His Pareto principle is more popularly called the "80/20 principle".
His principle originally describes how uneven the income distribution was in all parts of the world. "80% of the wealth and income was produced by 20% of the population". But this proportion is found actually in almost all aspects of human life.- 80% of the outputs result from 20% of the inputs.
- 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort and time.
- 80% of company profits come from 20% of the products and customers.
- 80% of all stock marketgains are realized by 20% of the investors and 20% of an individual portfolio.
So with this in mind, here are two basic questions which you should work on to free your precious time (as recommended by Mr Tim Ferris in his book "The Four Hour Work week)".
1. Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?
2. Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?
Just set an entire day to ponder on these questions and write and record your answers in each aspect of your life ( family, business or career). Your goal is to find your inefficiencies in order to eliminate them and to find your strengths so you can multiply them.
Being overwhelmed with things to do is often as unproductive as doing nothing and is far more unpleasant. Being selective- doing less- is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest.
It;s easy to get caught in a flood of minutiae, and the key to not feeling rushed is remembering that lack of time is actually lack of priorities. Take time to stop and smell the flowers...
"One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but decrease. The height of cultivation runs to simplicity. - Bruce Lee
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Hurrah to rest :)
It seems a little bit odd for me to be sitting here at the balcony of our hotel typing on Blogger thru my iPad right on top of and almost beside the blue clear resort pool and the gushing waves of the blue sea. My wife is attending her lecture, the kids are already having their classes so they were left home, and here I am alone in the room just pondering on what to do.
It's a bit odd coz just days or even hours ago, my mind is filled up with so many things to do and self guilt as to why I'm not accomplishing everything as planned out. Is it my old habit of postponing things again at the helm? Hmmm, let me work at why I don't think so...
So far, I was already able to take a step forward as far as medical pursuit is concerned. Had already fulfilled & submitted the requirements to be a member of the prestigious American College of Physicians. And as of last week, I had received an official email from them confirming me now as an official international member. :).
It was not just the title I was after. What lured me was the perk of being able to access all the full text journals of the Annals of Internal Medicine (whether past or present) and their other resources which certainly would help me a lot with my practice and in my teaching. So far the past few days I had been actually been busy downloading some PDFs which some I had come to and were indeed very good material. I hope that as I intend to share them with the medical residents, they would have the enthusiasm to appreciate them and use them in their training.
As for my online marketing ventures, I was able to get involved with a low entry network marketing company with good products which is also backed up with huge online resources to boost its marketing and pay plan. I felt it was a good fit for my brother in law and my wife's secretary whom my wife and I are trying to help. So we got them in and in the past few days had managed to enroll too my other 2 sis in laws and placed them in my bro in law's downline. I missed attending their online marketing seminar this Saturday and missed clinic too but in exchange was able to attend my niece's daughter's birthday and saw our son dance with her.
Enough mumbling.....it's now time to go back inside, rest so I could clear my mind for the following days and be more in tune with my life purpose (or maybe in tune with the latest hits on Myx or what's up at HBO). I believe I should take heed of what Tim Ferriss says, "Less is not laziness". Doing less meaningless work so you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is NOT laziness. Focus on being productive rather than busy.
I have a full week ahead once we get home but for now it's rest time......... :) Why slave, rest, and retire when you can do the mini retirements and enjoy things at the moment . The next few posts will be about achieving results by not necessarily being busy.
Hurrah to rest!!
"By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day..." - Robert Frost (tsk tsk tsk)
It's a bit odd coz just days or even hours ago, my mind is filled up with so many things to do and self guilt as to why I'm not accomplishing everything as planned out. Is it my old habit of postponing things again at the helm? Hmmm, let me work at why I don't think so...
So far, I was already able to take a step forward as far as medical pursuit is concerned. Had already fulfilled & submitted the requirements to be a member of the prestigious American College of Physicians. And as of last week, I had received an official email from them confirming me now as an official international member. :).
It was not just the title I was after. What lured me was the perk of being able to access all the full text journals of the Annals of Internal Medicine (whether past or present) and their other resources which certainly would help me a lot with my practice and in my teaching. So far the past few days I had been actually been busy downloading some PDFs which some I had come to and were indeed very good material. I hope that as I intend to share them with the medical residents, they would have the enthusiasm to appreciate them and use them in their training.
As for my online marketing ventures, I was able to get involved with a low entry network marketing company with good products which is also backed up with huge online resources to boost its marketing and pay plan. I felt it was a good fit for my brother in law and my wife's secretary whom my wife and I are trying to help. So we got them in and in the past few days had managed to enroll too my other 2 sis in laws and placed them in my bro in law's downline. I missed attending their online marketing seminar this Saturday and missed clinic too but in exchange was able to attend my niece's daughter's birthday and saw our son dance with her.
Enough mumbling.....it's now time to go back inside, rest so I could clear my mind for the following days and be more in tune with my life purpose (or maybe in tune with the latest hits on Myx or what's up at HBO). I believe I should take heed of what Tim Ferriss says, "Less is not laziness". Doing less meaningless work so you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is NOT laziness. Focus on being productive rather than busy.
I have a full week ahead once we get home but for now it's rest time......... :) Why slave, rest, and retire when you can do the mini retirements and enjoy things at the moment . The next few posts will be about achieving results by not necessarily being busy.
Hurrah to rest!!
"By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may eventually get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day..." - Robert Frost (tsk tsk tsk)
Friday, June 15, 2012
No excuses please!
One of the common reasons why people fall back from their plans and promises is that it's easier to just let things happen, stick with your old habits, and hope and believe that something better will just come by.
Alcoholics anonymous define insanity as " continuing the same behaviour and expecting a different result. Nope it's not going to happen. If you're an alcoholic and you keep on drinking, your life is not going to get any better. In much the same way, if you continue your current behaviors, your life is not going to get any better either.
People are so used to believing they should be getting all the good things in life but they could not take in the thought that they should take action for it. Jack Canfield in his big white book "The Success Principles" puts out as Principle #1: Take 100% responsibility for your life.
He likens most people as this man who was on his knees looking for something on the street under the streetlamp. A passerby asks him what he was looking for and he answers that he's looking for his lost key. The passerby offers to help, bends on his knees too but after an hour of searching, nothing was found. "Are you sure you really lost it here, asks the passerby. The man replies, "No, I lost it in my house, but there is more light out here under the streetlamp..(Tsk tsk tsk, toink!).
It is time to stop looking outside yourself for the answers as to why you haven't created the life and results you want, for it is you who creates the quality of life you lead and the results you produce.
As you take 100% responsibility of your life, you have to give up all your excuses, all your victim stories, all the reasons why you can't and why haven't until now, and all your blaming of outside circumstances. Mr Canfield brought out this life formula:
E + R = O
( Event + Response = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it is success of failure, wealth or poverty, health or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you responded to an earlier event/ events in your life.
He says there are only two basic choices you can make if you don't like the outcomes you are currently getting.
Choice A: You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O).
Choice B: You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) - the way things are - until you get the outcomes you want.
Examples:
Common Event: Traffic is at a standstill. Two 10 wheeler trucks collided with each other at NLEX causing a traffic jam. Your usual 2 hour trip turns into 3 hrs.
Response A: "Nakakainis talaga, buwisit! ( What the f...., I hate this!!! Grrrr!). " Then the guy opens his window and shouts curses.
Outcome: 1. A very bad day. The bad mood shortens his life quality 3 notches lower.
2. He created equally hot headed people by inviting other people to join him in the "Ain't it awful" club...
Response B: "Well ok, at least I have some more time to eat my snack in the car, listen to inspiring audio CDs, and maybe even do some leisure reading..good thing knowing traffic can happen anywhere, I had prepared a traffic survival kit. :)"
Outcome: 1. A great day. I was able to finish my snack.
2. I learned new skills and ideas from the audio CDs and entertained myself with the book which I planned to read in weeks.
Everything you experience today is the result of choices you made in the past.
Examples:
Event: You are given a P20,000 bonus.
Response: You spent in a casino thinking you'll win a million the easy way.
You spent it with the guys drowning yourselves with beer and gin.
Outcomes: You are broke!
Event: You are given a P20,000 bonus.
Response: You invest it in mutual funds or a well thought off business.
Outcomes: You had an increased net worth!
You only have control over three things in your life --- the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior). How you use these three things determine everything you experience.
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
- Dale Carnegie -
Alcoholics anonymous define insanity as " continuing the same behaviour and expecting a different result. Nope it's not going to happen. If you're an alcoholic and you keep on drinking, your life is not going to get any better. In much the same way, if you continue your current behaviors, your life is not going to get any better either.
People are so used to believing they should be getting all the good things in life but they could not take in the thought that they should take action for it. Jack Canfield in his big white book "The Success Principles" puts out as Principle #1: Take 100% responsibility for your life.
It is time to stop looking outside yourself for the answers as to why you haven't created the life and results you want, for it is you who creates the quality of life you lead and the results you produce.
As you take 100% responsibility of your life, you have to give up all your excuses, all your victim stories, all the reasons why you can't and why haven't until now, and all your blaming of outside circumstances. Mr Canfield brought out this life formula:
E + R = O
( Event + Response = Outcome)
The basic idea is that every outcome you experience in life (whether it is success of failure, wealth or poverty, health or illness, intimacy or estrangement, joy or frustration) is the result of how you responded to an earlier event/ events in your life.
He says there are only two basic choices you can make if you don't like the outcomes you are currently getting.
Choice A: You can blame the event (E) for your lack of results (O).
Choice B: You can instead simply change your responses (R) to the events (E) - the way things are - until you get the outcomes you want.
Examples:
Common Event: Traffic is at a standstill. Two 10 wheeler trucks collided with each other at NLEX causing a traffic jam. Your usual 2 hour trip turns into 3 hrs.
Response A: "Nakakainis talaga, buwisit! ( What the f...., I hate this!!! Grrrr!). " Then the guy opens his window and shouts curses.
Outcome: 1. A very bad day. The bad mood shortens his life quality 3 notches lower.
2. He created equally hot headed people by inviting other people to join him in the "Ain't it awful" club...
Response B: "Well ok, at least I have some more time to eat my snack in the car, listen to inspiring audio CDs, and maybe even do some leisure reading..good thing knowing traffic can happen anywhere, I had prepared a traffic survival kit. :)"
Outcome: 1. A great day. I was able to finish my snack.
2. I learned new skills and ideas from the audio CDs and entertained myself with the book which I planned to read in weeks.
Everything you experience today is the result of choices you made in the past.
Examples:
Event: You are given a P20,000 bonus.
Response: You spent in a casino thinking you'll win a million the easy way.
You spent it with the guys drowning yourselves with beer and gin.
Outcomes: You are broke!
Event: You are given a P20,000 bonus.
Response: You invest it in mutual funds or a well thought off business.
Outcomes: You had an increased net worth!
You only have control over three things in your life --- the thoughts you think, the images you visualize, and the actions you take (your behavior). How you use these three things determine everything you experience.
Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
- Dale Carnegie -
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Enforcing life changing habits into your own "comfy" life
It was almost 11 days ago when I last posted here. Tsk tsk to think that I plan posting daily as much as I could when I made this blog a month or so ago.
To ensure this, I changed my Yahoo homepage to blogger (it has been Yahoo since I "discovered" the internet about 12 years ago). This is to constantly remind me that when I begin to surf (which I do daily), I would get subconsciously "forced" to write a short piece to share to the world before I get lost in my emails, Twitter, and FB...
Apparently, starting a new habit is really hard. Life always get in the way. There is this call (referrals/ admissions) from hospital A, then hospital B. There is this habit of patients to come in your clinic when you are about to have your lunch ( clinic time is 10-12 in am, not much to see when you arrive early but a throng arrives at 11:45am) so you finish almost 2 pm very hungry. And when you are to come home for dinner ( clinic time in pm is 4:30 to 7pm, the gang cluster of patients arrive around 6:45pm) so you finish almost 9pm and when you come home, the kids are usually asleep and you take your dinner watching the last batch of telenovelas for the day and you're so poofed right after, you lost consciousness the moment your back hits the bed.
Beyond the medical life, there are too many distractions also. Your wife who is equally busy with her patients suddenly asks you to bring the kids to the dentist for their dental appointment (Yep, I have a 2 hr window to travel from Dau after my morning clinic to Bacolor to have lunch, bring the kids to the dentist in Angeles, wait for them to finish, to bring them back to our home in Bacolor and then catch my 4:30pm clinic in Dau....whew). If not dental appointment, maybe their singing and painting lessons and of course, our tutoring them on their classroom assignments, etc. Yep, life is SO SO filled up and busy for me......... Well, that's what it appears to be..... but I chose NOT to be.
Yes each of us have 24 hours a day to spend on what we think will make us feel good (well not really everything is spent actively, take off at least 6 hours for sleep, so 18 hrs). But honestly, many of us spend at least 3 hours of television everyday. 18 hrs of awake time, 3 hrs of TV time..that's 1/6 of our lives awake infront of the TV ( about 85 hours of TV a month!). And I can't understand why many of us (me included) could not spend at least 20 minutes a day writing down what you want to do with your life (believe me it should not be just work and FB!) for the next 5, 10, and 20 years. Or spend the same amount of time learning something new beyond your daily routine/ work, Or sharing what you already know to others so you can make a statement in the world (like what I am supposed to do with this blogging). 18 hours a day for each of us human beings...whether very poor or very rich...and it's how it is properly spent that makes a man poor or rich.
They say if you want to start a good habit right and regularly, set a fixed time of the day to do it. Some prefer the moment they wake up, some right before sleeping. Sigh, I know too much principles but I still have to work these principles into my life.
I would be reading self discipline and time management articles/books this week and would share them to you thru blogging in my next posts (which I hope would be just a few days from now. Ciao!
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why they call it the present.“ –
Kung Fu Panda
To ensure this, I changed my Yahoo homepage to blogger (it has been Yahoo since I "discovered" the internet about 12 years ago). This is to constantly remind me that when I begin to surf (which I do daily), I would get subconsciously "forced" to write a short piece to share to the world before I get lost in my emails, Twitter, and FB...
Apparently, starting a new habit is really hard. Life always get in the way. There is this call (referrals/ admissions) from hospital A, then hospital B. There is this habit of patients to come in your clinic when you are about to have your lunch ( clinic time is 10-12 in am, not much to see when you arrive early but a throng arrives at 11:45am) so you finish almost 2 pm very hungry. And when you are to come home for dinner ( clinic time in pm is 4:30 to 7pm, the gang cluster of patients arrive around 6:45pm) so you finish almost 9pm and when you come home, the kids are usually asleep and you take your dinner watching the last batch of telenovelas for the day and you're so poofed right after, you lost consciousness the moment your back hits the bed.
Beyond the medical life, there are too many distractions also. Your wife who is equally busy with her patients suddenly asks you to bring the kids to the dentist for their dental appointment (Yep, I have a 2 hr window to travel from Dau after my morning clinic to Bacolor to have lunch, bring the kids to the dentist in Angeles, wait for them to finish, to bring them back to our home in Bacolor and then catch my 4:30pm clinic in Dau....whew). If not dental appointment, maybe their singing and painting lessons and of course, our tutoring them on their classroom assignments, etc. Yep, life is SO SO filled up and busy for me......... Well, that's what it appears to be..... but I chose NOT to be.
Yes each of us have 24 hours a day to spend on what we think will make us feel good (well not really everything is spent actively, take off at least 6 hours for sleep, so 18 hrs). But honestly, many of us spend at least 3 hours of television everyday. 18 hrs of awake time, 3 hrs of TV time..that's 1/6 of our lives awake infront of the TV ( about 85 hours of TV a month!). And I can't understand why many of us (me included) could not spend at least 20 minutes a day writing down what you want to do with your life (believe me it should not be just work and FB!) for the next 5, 10, and 20 years. Or spend the same amount of time learning something new beyond your daily routine/ work, Or sharing what you already know to others so you can make a statement in the world (like what I am supposed to do with this blogging). 18 hours a day for each of us human beings...whether very poor or very rich...and it's how it is properly spent that makes a man poor or rich.
They say if you want to start a good habit right and regularly, set a fixed time of the day to do it. Some prefer the moment they wake up, some right before sleeping. Sigh, I know too much principles but I still have to work these principles into my life.
I would be reading self discipline and time management articles/books this week and would share them to you thru blogging in my next posts (which I hope would be just a few days from now. Ciao!
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift, that is why they call it the present.“ –
Kung Fu Panda
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Giving back part 1
Since it's Sunday anyway, I want to share a very nice story I'll always remember, including what Mr Bo Sanchez has to say about being God's good business partner. :)
The rich man looks kindly on the beggar and asked, “How did you become a beggar?”
The beggar said, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man. Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.”
The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job. I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.”
The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do you mean, Sir?”
“I own a rice plantation. You could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance every day for the next 30 days. All you’ll have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Business Partners, we’ll share in the profits.”
Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. “Oh Sir,” he said, “you’re a gift from Heaven. You’re the answer to my prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He then paused and said, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get the 90%? Do I keep 5% and you get the 95%? I’ll be happy with any arrangement.”
The rich man shook his head and chuckled. “No, I want you to give me the 10%. And you keep the 90%.”
For a moment, the beggar couldn’t speak. When he tried to speak, it was gibberish. “Uh, gee, uh, wow, I mean, huh?” He couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was too preposterous.
The rich man laughed more loudly. He explained, “I don’t need the money, my friend. I’m already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.”
The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me!”
And so that was what happened…
He Forgets Where The Blessings Came From
Each day, the beggar—now dressed a little bit better—operated a store selling rice in the market. He worked very hard. He woke up early in the morning and slept late at night. And sales were brisk, also because the rice was of good quality. And after 30 days, the profits were astounding.
At the end of the month, as the ex-beggar was counting the money, and liking very much the feeling of money in his hands, an idea grew in his mind. He told himself, “Gee, why should I give 10% to my Business Partner? I didn’t see him the whole month! I was the one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work! I deserve the 100% profits!”
A few minutes later, the rich man was knocking on the door to collect his 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it!” And he slammed the door.
If you were his Business Partner, how would you feel?
Friend, this is exactly what happens to us…
God Gave You Everything
I’ve got an announcement to make: God is your Business Partner. And your Business Partner gave you everything.
God gave you your life—every single moment, every single breath, every single second… God gave your talents—your ability to talk, to create, to earn money… God gave you your body—your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your hands, your feet, your heart… God gave you your mind—your imagination, your emotions, your reasoning, your language…
In the Old Testament, your Divine Business Partner only asks that you give 10% of your profits.
But I’ve noticed that many don’t want to tithe. Because they feel they own everything they earn.
Big mistake.
Some Christians believe that they don’t need to tithe because it’s an Old Testament Law. They say that in the New Testament, God tells us to give as the Spirit of God leads us to give.
I totally agree. But does that mean we should give less than the Old Testament?
The story I gave you above is the Old Testament Version.
Let me share with you my second version…
Here’s The New Testament Version
In the New Testament version of my story, it begins in the same way. The rich guy tells the beggar that he wants to do business with him. And after the beggar gets flabbergasted, he asks, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get 90%?”
Instead of the rich man saying, “Just give me 10%,” he says, “You decide how much you want to give me. Give according how grateful you are.”
Wow. Tell me. Will that guy just give 10%?
Here’s my interpretation: Giving 10% is the starting point of grateful giving. A lot of people think that 10% is the maximum. I don’t think so.
I believe 10% is kindergarten. 10% is like a kid’s bike with training wheels—it’s for someone who doesn’t know how to be generous yet but would like to learn. And as you learn to give 10%, God will teach you to give more generously.
Do You Want Blessings To Flow?It’s easy to give once in a while.
Even a selfish man can do that.
But for happiness, life, blessings, and abundance to flow into your life, you need to give faithfully.
More to follow on the next charity topic post...
Opportunites to give back:
100% of your support will go to ANAWIM, Mr Bo Sanchez's work for the poorest of the poor, Tahanan ng Pagmamahal Orphanage, Pagasa ng Pamilya Scholarship Fund for Poor Children, Grace To Be Born Half-Way House for Pregnant Women in Crisis, He Cares Streetkids Ministry, Shepherds Voice media evangelization, Light of Jesus Family and Counselling Center, and other KERYGMA FAMILY work.
http://www.kerygmafamily.com/modules/subscriber/donations.php
World Vision invites people to share the same kind of love that can change lives—lives of children in need. With a very small act of kindness these children will be able to look ahead to better lives with better opportunities, all because you willingly opened your heart and share love! Start saving someone for as little as P20 a day.
http://worldvision.org.ph/
UNICEF Champions for Children is a community of individuals whose regular contributions enable a growing number of Filipino children to enjoy the right to education, healthcare and nutrition as well as protection from neglect, abuse and exploitation.
http://www.unicef.org/philippines/supportunicef.html
The Story Of A Generous Business Partner
One day, a very wealthy man was walking on the road. Along the way, he saw a beggar on the sidewalk.The rich man looks kindly on the beggar and asked, “How did you become a beggar?”
The beggar said, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man. Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.”
The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job. I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.”
The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do you mean, Sir?”
“I own a rice plantation. You could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance every day for the next 30 days. All you’ll have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Business Partners, we’ll share in the profits.”
Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. “Oh Sir,” he said, “you’re a gift from Heaven. You’re the answer to my prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He then paused and said, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get the 90%? Do I keep 5% and you get the 95%? I’ll be happy with any arrangement.”
The rich man shook his head and chuckled. “No, I want you to give me the 10%. And you keep the 90%.”
For a moment, the beggar couldn’t speak. When he tried to speak, it was gibberish. “Uh, gee, uh, wow, I mean, huh?” He couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was too preposterous.
The rich man laughed more loudly. He explained, “I don’t need the money, my friend. I’m already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.”
The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me!”
And so that was what happened…
He Forgets Where The Blessings Came From
Each day, the beggar—now dressed a little bit better—operated a store selling rice in the market. He worked very hard. He woke up early in the morning and slept late at night. And sales were brisk, also because the rice was of good quality. And after 30 days, the profits were astounding.
At the end of the month, as the ex-beggar was counting the money, and liking very much the feeling of money in his hands, an idea grew in his mind. He told himself, “Gee, why should I give 10% to my Business Partner? I didn’t see him the whole month! I was the one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work! I deserve the 100% profits!”
A few minutes later, the rich man was knocking on the door to collect his 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it!” And he slammed the door.
If you were his Business Partner, how would you feel?
Friend, this is exactly what happens to us…
God Gave You Everything
I’ve got an announcement to make: God is your Business Partner. And your Business Partner gave you everything.
In the Old Testament, your Divine Business Partner only asks that you give 10% of your profits.
But I’ve noticed that many don’t want to tithe. Because they feel they own everything they earn.
Big mistake.
Some Christians believe that they don’t need to tithe because it’s an Old Testament Law. They say that in the New Testament, God tells us to give as the Spirit of God leads us to give.
I totally agree. But does that mean we should give less than the Old Testament?
The story I gave you above is the Old Testament Version.
Let me share with you my second version…
Here’s The New Testament Version
In the New Testament version of my story, it begins in the same way. The rich guy tells the beggar that he wants to do business with him. And after the beggar gets flabbergasted, he asks, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get 90%?”
Instead of the rich man saying, “Just give me 10%,” he says, “You decide how much you want to give me. Give according how grateful you are.”
Wow. Tell me. Will that guy just give 10%?
Here’s my interpretation: Giving 10% is the starting point of grateful giving. A lot of people think that 10% is the maximum. I don’t think so.
I believe 10% is kindergarten. 10% is like a kid’s bike with training wheels—it’s for someone who doesn’t know how to be generous yet but would like to learn. And as you learn to give 10%, God will teach you to give more generously.
Do You Want Blessings To Flow?It’s easy to give once in a while.
Even a selfish man can do that.
But for happiness, life, blessings, and abundance to flow into your life, you need to give faithfully.
More to follow on the next charity topic post...
Opportunites to give back:
100% of your support will go to ANAWIM, Mr Bo Sanchez's work for the poorest of the poor, Tahanan ng Pagmamahal Orphanage, Pagasa ng Pamilya Scholarship Fund for Poor Children, Grace To Be Born Half-Way House for Pregnant Women in Crisis, He Cares Streetkids Ministry, Shepherds Voice media evangelization, Light of Jesus Family and Counselling Center, and other KERYGMA FAMILY work.
http://www.kerygmafamily.com/modules/subscriber/donations.php
World Vision invites people to share the same kind of love that can change lives—lives of children in need. With a very small act of kindness these children will be able to look ahead to better lives with better opportunities, all because you willingly opened your heart and share love! Start saving someone for as little as P20 a day.
http://worldvision.org.ph/
UNICEF Champions for Children is a community of individuals whose regular contributions enable a growing number of Filipino children to enjoy the right to education, healthcare and nutrition as well as protection from neglect, abuse and exploitation.
http://www.unicef.org/philippines/supportunicef.html
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