Give Back, Find a Friend

In true friendships, one has to know when to be the giver or the recipient.

Love is the foundation of friendship. It is like water that needs to be poured into a glass, represented by the heart. There has to be careful balance. When you keep on giving love and nothing comes back to you, you feel empty.

Be sensitive to the needs of your friends. If you are the type who's always in need of love and attention, you will soon find out that your friends are diminishing. You would have sapped all of their love that nothing's left as you don't give anything back. They'll have to find that love from someone else.

If you've been deeply hurt from past relationships or were abandoned, and haven't really been able to recover from it, you would've have failed to love yourself. You will be lonely. The solution? Love yourself first then it will be easy to love others. You cannot give what you don't have.

God, the giver of life, wants us to love Him back. That's the sole purpose of our existence. As we are made from God's love, having the same love for others means bringing the love back to our Maker. The circle of life is the circle of love.

Thus, true friendship is all about filling the other person with attention, fellowship, encouragement, care, trust, and even touch. Connecting, like love, is two-way. If you get a simple "hi" or a forwarded message from a friend, a simple "thank you" would be enough. You have to make your friend feel that you care as well.

Isn't it that whether you laugh or cry together with a friend, you feel refreshed? Or when you share a story, a reaction of a nod or smile is fulfilling enough? That's because the communication is shared. There is a connection.

That is why whenever I would find someone who wants to give more than he or she would take, I would want that person to be my friend. I know I can give back something, anything.

It is easier to love a friend who loves you back. It makes the relationship last. Find a friend who can love you back, you've got a friend for life!

Looking for more friends? Give something back.

Can We Be Real Friends?

I always ask myself this question whenever I invite or get invited to be a friend with someone I’d “virtually” meet online. I have more than 600 friends in Facebook, more than 300 in Linkedin and a couple more in Friendster. I’d say, of almost 1,000 friends – social or professional – I have personally met only 100 of them. Is that a bad thing?

Technology has driven the way we communicate and associate with people. When what was supposed to create more time and space for us to be “free” has actually caused us to cram more things into our lives. Now, our lives are so cluttered that we don’t even have real time for real people.

Time is a valuable commodity. Sadly, it’s not renewable. We can’t even buy it. No matter how much money or connections we have, we simply can’t influence time. True to the old adage, time waits for no one. Thus, given just a few minutes to socialize, we meet, greet and keep our friends in online space. Then again, are they real friends?

We have used the online social and professional networks to connect and reconnect. We’ve found former classmates, officemates, friends, and maybe even lost loves. With photos and albums galore, we have found a way to share our lives to others. We have found virtual space to share our trials, triumphs, notes, journals, status, availability, ability, faith and hopes. These are the things that remind us of our needs as human beings.

I love coffee shops. They were made for personal conversations. They were created so we can just sit around, enjoy a cup of coffee and watch people and the world go by. Like the coffee that warms your lips, coffee shops make you feel the warmth of people around you. Friends that you make over a meal or a cup of coffee are seemingly for real. Yes, they can also break your heart. But they’re for real. What you see is what you get.

What about my online friends – are they for real, too? I’m talking about friends whom I have never personally met in my entire life. It’s either I invite them or they invite me. After which, I say a casual “hi” or greet them on their birthdays. I also comment on their notes, blogs, journals or status. I just want to somehow interact with them, even if it will only take me a few seconds or minutes of my time. As long as I have shared a bit of my time with them, I consider them as friends. Well, I am for real. I don’t really care if they aren’t.

Guess what? I have made some real friends online. I have even been invited to their birthdays, weddings and family gatherings. I’ve even godfathered some in their weddings and children’s Christenings.

Technology may have changed the way we interact with others today. What hasn’t changed is the need (read as: urge) to genuinely connect. Hopeful that every human being we meet online is the real deal, we’ll never stop connecting and reconnecting. We were wired to be social beings. That’s who we are. So, I guess it won’t really matter if my online friend is genuine as long as I know I am. That is my nature. Maybe even human nature. That is what really matters. I have a conscience. I have a heart. Most of all, I have a soul. Now that's for real.

Making of a Salesman

Some of my friends call me Homerun.

Besides having "Homer" as my first name, they have coined the term as a recognition of my sales career. Having had numerous hard-won victories in my long sales career, companies hire my services when a heavyweight batter is needed to create and push sales teams. Advertising has been my home stadium though some industries such as IT and recruitment have hired my services to create and make their organizations conducive to sales homeruns.

At 40, I think I've seen it all. I mean I have been able to profile who would be great salesmen and sales managers. I have spotted them and have been able to coach and mentor many mavericks.This leads me to what many have asked me through the years: "Are supersalesmen born or made?"

Let me tell you my story.

I believe I wasn't born into sales. I didn't even recognize the gift of gab. As a kid, I wasn't talkative or even had the trappings of a young politician. I never networked. I had a handlful of friends or playmates and that was it. I used to write poems and believed I was a loner. But living in a small rented apartment near a squatters area in Makati City, this little kid had big dreams.

Finding a Personal Need or Want

I used to play with penlight batteries replacing toy soldiers which I didn't have. I once picked up a plastic toy cyclist on the street and had it as my first favorite toy. It was the mid-70's and a small plastic red helicopter I fancied was worth 80 centavos. My dad didn't want me to buy one though. Maybe we couldn't afford those extras or maybe he simply wanted me to just concentrate on my studies. I also wanted playcards known as "tex" but I didn't have an allowance to save up with. We were studying in private schools but I believe all our money went into our "privileged" education in Don Bosco Makati.

One day in school, I saw kids claiming deposits for bottles of Yes Cola softdrinks and Vim Chocolate drinks they bought for recess. "Hmmm," I thought. We had some old Vim bottles at home hidden under the old sink. A lightbulb lit up in my little kid's brain -- "maybe if I claimed deposit on them, I'd get some money." I did.

That single incident sent me into motion. I searched for bottles in school and at home to sell. Well, I was able to buy that red plastic helicopter. But I didn't stop there. I bought the playcards as well.

Lesson learned: find your personal need or want. What drives you towards finding a way for you to satisfy that need or want? It may be a car or house you've been dreaming of having. Or your new born baby whom you want to provide the very best.

My bosses have always given me or my teams sales targets or quotas. I give my sales teams dreams to fulfill. I usually would ask each sales person what would s/he want to buy or have by the end of the year. Whatever answer I get, I'd tell the sales person that that would be his or her target in terms of commissions or incentives s/he would like to earn. Simple enough, huh?

So when I promised my wife that I'd buy her a house and two cars before I was 30, I worked hard to make sure I kept my promise. I was into media sales for a global publication and I was 27 when I made that promise. In two years and at age 29, I fulfilled that promise.

My practical advice? Dream big. Make it happen.

Being Enterprising

I loved Choc-nut when I was a kid. Since I didn't want to blow all my earnings on toys and chocolates, I tried to think of a way to make more money. An aunt once told me that if I bought Choc-nut by the box at a store near the wet market, I can save 80 centavos per box. I asked my friends, classmates and even our househelp if they would buy Choc-nut from me at a lower price than the store's. Of course they said yes. Thus, everytime I bought Choc-nut, I literally ate my profits -- 80 centavos worth of Choc-nut. At 5 centavos each, I ate 16 pieces per box, then replenished my stock. I was now both filling a want or need by buying and selling Choc-nut. I moved a notch higher and became enterprising.

But since I wasn't making real profits as I ate them, I had to find a way to increase my money. I found a way through renting out comics.I noticed that many students in Don Bosco were being fetched 2 to 3 hours on average after dismissal in the afternoon. Some were into sports and games while many more were bored waiting for their "sundo." I laid out about a dozen comic books one time and rented each for 10 centavos. On the side, I played tex. Each week, I replenished my stocks since my parents bought us kids (we were 3) new comics every Sunday. Inventory replenished weekly, in about a month, I was able to earn 400 pesos. That was big during those years when a jeepney ride was only 10 centavos. As an entrepreneur, it is always important to learn about inventory, cashflow and target market.

Lesson learned: be enterprising. Find what others need or want, then fill them. I believe that we will never run out of needs and wants as we create new ones each day. Technology and media are two of the most influential sources of these.

My practical advice? Be creative but grounded. If you can find opportunities in problems, then you're well on your way.

Salesmanship + Entrepreneurship

In high school, I sold subscriptions to Reader's Digest and World Executive's Digest. It was by chance that I saw an ad soliciting community representatives to both magazines. Besides my fancy in reading those magazines, I found out I could earn extra by just sharing them with others. I stumbled upon the basic concept of being a salesman.

At first, I used my basic network: family friends, relatives, and co-workers of my parents. I asked for referrals and those referrals gave me their own referrals. Soon, my network grew -- and so did my income. But you know what? I loved it more when my network of friends and acquaintances grew. It's as if I broke out of my shell.By college at the University of the Philippines (in Diliman), I was organizing rock band concerts and contests, selling jewelry, and wholesaling eggs.

I wanted to be a musician but didn't have much interest in the long hours needed to practice the guitar. I thought of going one step higher -- I produced the shows myself. So, together with some friends, we organized campus rock concerts and band contests. Some projects failed but we carried on. It was fun anyway!One day, I stumbled upon an ad in the classifieds looking for young people who might want to sell a new line of fashion jewelry. The concept was direct selling under the master trainer Harry Pound (who I would be working with again 18 years later). I was 18 then. I invested a few hundred pesos and pushed on to be become the youngest sales supervisor in the company's history.

On the side, I also wholesaled eggs which came from an over-production at the Magnolia Farm. It was a short-term opportunity. I hired a salesman -- our houseboy -- on commission basis. Making the rounds of the community "sari-sari" stores and the small public market outside our village, I was able to make good money for more than a year.

What was good about my venture into the eggs business was my having trained our houseboy into a being a salesman than as a full-fledged entrepreneur. From selling commodities in the Zapote Public Market, he now grows, manages and sells cut flowers in Dumaguete City. He uses a one hectare land of the seven hectares my mom owns. This was my first mentoring and coaching experience, just before I graduated from college.

In my sales ventures, I was refused a lot of times. However, I was relentless instead of frustrated. Whenever I got a "no," I always found ways for my prospects to say "yes," may it be for me to simply repeat their name and ask them if I was right. Somehow, those little "yeses" moved closer and closer for them to say "yes" to my sales pitch. Also, I had to make sure that I got to present to more people till I got a "yes" so as to lessen the impact of the number of "nos" that I received. As I always say, "sales is a numbers game." The more pre-targeted prospects you have, the better your success ratio becomes.

Lesson learned: salesmanship with entrepreneurship is about managing your frustration levels creatively and with determination. Failures will always be part of the sales process. It's not how many times you fall, but the number of times you get up is what matters. Be strategic. Pre-target as many prospects as you can before making the actual call. Also, success is sweeter if you've been able to learn from your previous mistakes.

My practical advice? Work smart, instead or working hard. Do your homework. Learn about the product or service you will need to sell before hitting the streets. Know about your target market. Go first for niches.

Years of Learning and Practice

Right after graduating at the University of the Philippines with a Communications Research degree, my first job right was again selling magazine subscriptions and book sales, though this time to both corporate and individual clients. I even won a silver award in my rookie year, besting the veterans. I practically did building sweeps besides getting endless referrals. I also began to understand the need for targeted or niche prospecting. Instead of doing a shotgun approach to finding prospects, I did them by industry. This technique I still do until this day. I refer to it as a street-by-street and block-by-block guerilla sales approach. Traditional, but still massively effective.Wanting to try my hand at advertising, I cut short my sales work and got into McCann-Erickson Philippines, the top ad agency at that time. After two years learning the ropes in both media and account management for the San Miguel Beer account, I was taken in by San Miguel Corporation's Magnolia as it's very first Media Coordinator. Both experiences have opened the doors for me to learn more about strategic marketing techniques from my mentors Ting Jarme (my former boss and Account Director at McCann) and the late great marketing genius Bert Anido (my former boss and Marketing Director at Magnolia).

I realized that if you wanted to learn how to do strategic selling, you've got to learn marketing. I did not only learn basic marketing, but I attended lots of seminars, read numerous books and practiced what I learned. I even fell in love with marketing communications as a sub-specialty. This, I acquired due to my love of media.

As a media coordinator at Magnolia Nestle Corporation, I had four ad agencies who supported my team of three. Four media managers were at the forefront of these hot agencies of the early 1990's servicing our account namely Emma Deloso of J. Romero & Associates, Bing Aragon of PAC/BBDO, Jon Gatbonton of Ace/Saatchi, and Suzanne Capistrano of McCann. I loved my support team. They were my mentors, especially Emma who was so patient with a 22-year old media head as a client. Candidly, she taught me a lot. Both Bing and Suzanne were to move onto the supplier side while Jon was destined to be Saatchi's top media honcho. Emma would later be a media consultant.

My work allowed me to meet a lot of media suppliers. One particular TV blocktimer, whom everybody fondly called Tita Glo, became close to me. I even made her a godmother in my wedding. One day, she asked me a favor. She wanted me to go with her to meet rock n' roll great RJ Jacinto. She was offered to market his FM radio station in Manila. Politely turning it down, Tita Glo told RJ if he instead wanted to hire me. RJ offered me the job right there and then with a big smile on his face. He gave me the terms privately and I accepted. That was the start of my media sales career.

Now armed with a media and marketing background, I plunged into advertising sales for DZRJ-FM as marketing director. I was 24.

When I arrived at the RJ Ventures office in Makati Avenue, I was a bit shock by the adhoc nature of the sales and marketing organization. There were two freelance marketing agents and I had to build the team from scratch. I had to bring in a fresh team of young and good-looking guys and a lady who looked as if she came out of a fashion mag. I got my college friend Will Maligalig from the radio station of GMA-7 to lead the team as Sales Manager. We had a formidable team. I got Robert Velhagen (who eventually became ABS-CBN Marketing Director), Jude Garcia (who went on to become Aliw Broadcasting VP for Marketing), and two others -- Paul and Claire (forgot their last names). Eventually, Anna Cawaling, one of our freelance marketing agents, left to set up Target Marketing with my old friend Winnie Baling, selling cinema spots. Only the veteran Marsha Cacho, the other freelance agent, helped my young team market RJ.

In 6 months, we were able to turn the company around. We helped build the station into a 6-station network. Admittedly, Will was a big factor in pushing the sales promotions into unprecedented heights. We had back-to-back movie premieres in Silence of the Lambs and Robinhood Prince of Thieves. From a rock n' roll format that was shunned by advertisers, we were able to create a funky niche in our "Good Times" slogan. Ramon Jacinto's DZRJ and Bistro RJ became a hit among the oldies and the yuppies.

Lesson learned: go to a field that you will come to love and enjoy working in. Along the way, study your craft more than what's required of you to learn.

My practical advice? Don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn the trade. Find a mentor.

Sales as a Passion

When I was hired by the Asian Sources Media Group (now Global Sources) to be the Country Sales Manager for the publications World Executive's Digest (a.k.a. WED) and Trade & Travel magazines, I believe that's where I found my passion in sales.When my old friend Bernia Jiao, then WED Marketing Manager, asked me if I would be interested to be the sole sales rep for the magazine, I was excited. I have been a fan of WED since college. I sold subscriptions of the magazine and knew its readership profile. However, I was to pick-up ad sales from a 15-year marketing arm. "Tough act to follow," I thought. Sales were also in the red. A reversal of its trend. In my mind, it's another turn-around task. This time, it's a tougher industry -- publishing! I was also up against regional and global sales managers as WED was now part of a global publishing group. Oh, and I was alone. The stakes became higher indeed!Resorting to fervent prayer more often, I geared up for an uphill climb. I was relentless in my calls and forged partnerships with some high-value clients for long-term deals. After 4 years, I looked back and saw a 500% increase in sales. We were also already in the black and I was eventually awarded a Sales Person of the Year Award besting other nationalities. As far as I know, I was (and still am) the only Filipino who got that award. I also realized that 80% of my sales came from 20% of my clients -- the Pareto principle!

Having moved into various media including that of dotcoms, billboards, TV, and even a stint in recruitment sales, I realized that success comes with passion. It is waking up everyday embracing the prospect of a deal. This is where the adrenalin rush comes from. It's in the negotiations and crafting of proposals where the mind works more than the tongue. It's when after each presentation, faith sets in.

Lesson learned: many sales persons lose the game when they lose the passion. If you can spring back into action despite a setback, that's passion. If you're mind races into imagining solutions while the client is briefing you on their challenges, that's passion.

My practical advice? Be genuinely concerned in helping a customer or client find a solution to their challenges. See through those challenges as opportunities. In the end, it's how you got to closing the sale is what matters. This is where learnings come from. You solve a client's problem, you got a sale for your company. Think win-win -- genuinely.

Communication

We used to scribble on paper scrolls
And chiselled figures on a wall
With a stick we drew on sand
And even signalled with our hands.

With smoke we talked across the hills
And wrote letters with inks and quills.
As soldiers waved their flags in battle
The Scotsman blew his worthy bugle.

Mighty Morse took his code to flight
With the telegram putting a worthy fight.
A postcard sent was a quicky hello
An airmailed letter was unusually slow.

Fast-forward now to the telephone
To the facsimile that required a tone;
Leap-frogged the pager to the cellular phone
With Internet, communication's still a long way home.

Trail of the Boomers

Born in the last trail of the boomers,

When flowers were equal to power,

And everyone feared a nuclear shower,

Has the world changed for the better?

When television was in black and white,
Or ideals were either left or right,

Letting the big boys pick a fight,

Have we changed the value of might?

As rock and roll was being aired,

And Hollywood was being bared,

As many mothers’ teary eyes stared,

What price for blood was really paid?

Many more were born after us,

But there’s still division inside a bus,

We nurtured love of wealth as a must,

Now where’s the culture of trust?

Counting the silver and grey hairs we see,

Many more dreams that could never be,

If only fifty more years had we,

Can the captive nations truly be free?

Watching leaders and nations rise and fall,

We’ve always seen the writing on the wall,

We can still make our final call,

And be the generation that did our all.

Strange Stories, Amazing Pics

Ever since I was a kid and having lived in our house in Las Piñas City, our family has experienced strange happenings and have heard of similar stories from friends in our village. For many years, we have both believed and denied the spirits' existence since nobody has really taken a picture of these beings -- until this year, 2007.

The Duwendes

The first occurrence happened when, as an 8-year old, I came with my dad to inspect our house which was then almost finished. When we went around the house (which was smaller than it was today), my dad noticed that the hole reserved for an exhaust fan was covered with a glass window (jalousies). The carpenters were earlier instructed to just cover it with plywood. Well, first, we have no jalousies cut for that hole. Second, the jalousies had small fingerprints on them. We suspected "duwendes" (or dwarfs) which the local folk said abounded our place. There was also a time during the house construction that our camera was knocked down from a make-shift bench without anyone touching it. Hmmm...so what about our finished house having been photographed and when the film was developed, it showed an unfinished house? Then when the house was re-photographed with a carpenter in it, the film was okay? At one time, my sister's friend who slept over in her room woke up to see a small man in a dwarf's outfit pushing the buttons of the TV in the room. This poor girl never came back to our house. My young mind accepted it is a fact that we simply had to live with these little creatures from another dimension.

Of Ghosts and Spirits

Years after having lived in our house, many ghost stories have been shared among family members and house helpers. These spirit encounters became more frequent after our house was renovated -- and blessed three times!

One personal encounter was when, at 17, I was on the phone with a friend who I didn't know has been dead for 3 days already. It was a Saturday, the day of her funeral. When I was about 24 years old, I was throwing old stuff into a metal trash bin in my upstairs room. I took fancy in burning them. As I went down the stairs, I heard the voice of my brother telling me to come upstairs quick! One of our housemaids heard the call, too. As we were half-way towards the hallway leading to our rooms upstairs, I told our housemaid to freeze. I told her, my brother was in his dormitory and not in our house. So who was that voice? We decided to go up the room an hour later to confirm my statement.

These occurrences and other weird ones went on till I got married with my wife and kids encountering the same. We moved to our own house 5 minutes away more than 10 years ago and still, even my brother who visits from the U.S. once in awhile still goes through these strange encounters. Again, we never were able to confirm through a photograph or video of the "culprits" until this year.

Here's a picture from a cellphone photograph by my daughter of her sister during one of the sleepovers we had while our house was being renovated. Notice the woman in the lower right side of the photograph. My daughter actually felt a sting in her eye when the photo was taken. She surmised this due to the "hair" of the woman who flung herself beside my daughter. The color of the "woman" is pale and seems to be asleep or "dead." There even seems to be a scar on the woman's right side of her face.


My brother told us that he has seen a woman's spirit many times in the house. Usually, in front of a mirror or looking out a window. Is this her?

Here's another picture, this time taken by me in the house of my wife's cousin in the village across ours. Notice the picture of a small female at the lower right side of the photograph. My cellphone was used for this.


We were told that the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa traverses a kingdom of "duwendes" and that spirits are among us. Whatever the theory, the photos do not lie. I'm no expert in these things, and am not a prankster.

Believe 'em or not.

DFA ala-Divisoria

We went to the Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines) yesterday morning (December 27, 2007) to have our passposrts renewed. We've heard raves about the faster cues in that very important department of the Philippine government (given the millions of OFWs leaving the country each year).

What greeted us was a sea of people similar to a what Divisoria looks like during the Christmas season. Whoa! Why was I not surprised? The swarms of people were actually on cue! The lines snaked through the whole street that was located at the back of the DFA building along Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City. The parking on the side street was difficult but at least there was a parking space. That's being positive.

People brought their kids along. These made things worse. Though they said there were separate lines for children and senior citizens inside the building, that didn't matter at this point. All one silly guy had to do was to shout "Sunog!" or Bomba!" and that would result in a terrible stampede maybe close to the ULTRA incident of Wowawee.

I brought my wife and two of my three kids just in case things were really smoother contrary to my suspicions. Well, after wading through the sea of humanity in a 5-minute walk to the end of the line and after 10 minutes trying to stay on line, we decided to call our travel agent and pay twice the price for an appointment to be set by our agent. We had to wait for an appointment but I guess the point of it all was to make sure I didn't put my family in danger.

I wish the good DFA Secretary, Alberto Romulo, would take time to stroll the backstreet of his office and see what the picture I included here really looks like. The picture was taken from the starting point of the line.

Let's give our people the respect and proper service that they deserve. Most of those who were there were either current OFWs or those to-be. Their contribution to the Philippine economy is tremendous and heroic.

As for me, I'll wait for my appointment. Even if that means PhP 1,800 out of my pocket, I'd rather pay up than take the risk.

Let's do a better job guys.

Christmas and the Joy of Giving

Christmas is a celebration of giving. For many years, this day has been synonymous with Jesus' birth and that of giving gifts. As a child, Christmas also meant Santa Claus and Noche Buena. Today, with kids of my own, I still view Christmas the same way as I did as a kid -- but with a huge difference.

Before, it was I who was the eager recipient of other people's generosity. Today, me and my family sponsor and organize the annual Gawad Kalinga-Sibol Christmas Party. This is our fourth straight year.

Last Sunday, December 3, we helped organize the Christmas Party of underprivileged kids from two GK areas: Kaingin and Multinational in Paranaque City. It was a happy riot to say the least. My friends Merrick and Maureen Chua, owners of MEC Network Corporation, sponsored the event. We had 64 kids and around 24 adults for a total of 90 people! That was the largest Sibol party we ever organized! MEC's staff and some managers provided lots of toys and give-aways, besides helping out in hosting games.

As a sidebar to this blog entry, let me just point out that for the past four years, not one of our Couples for Christ immediate household has known of this project. Amazing, isn't it? How can an annual big event, involving top leaders from the same CFC cluster or sector not be known by our household? Simple -- we never told them! That's where true blessings lie. Whatever kindness you do in secret, the Father himself will reward you in secret.

God has been good to us. After having us endure financial turmoil for almost 10 years, we're back on our feet again and much more! Our businesses have picked up and I'm in a job that I am enjoying and pays very well. Thus, I simply am paying the Lord a simply gesture of gratitude by making Sibol kids happy.

Looking back, we started giving back to God during the lowest points in our lives. We started giving tithes (10% of income after tax) when I lost my job in RJ. We were also assigned to the financially-draining Gawad Kalinga as pioneer Sibol project managers when we didn't even know where to get our kids' tuition. Talk about giving...until it hurts...no more.

What's the lesson in all these? Have a big heart for those in need, and God will never leave you when you yourself are in need.

Next year, we are gearing towards a pending appointment in Youth for Christ (YFC). Another challenge, another opportunity to serve. What else can I ask for?

New Work, New Challenges

Fast-forward to November. Time indeed flies so fast. Two significant things happened since page 3. First, Jinky was operated on her salivary glands to take out the stones. It was a success (though costly) since Jinky was operated on with local anaesthesia only. Second, I got the Manpower job. To say the least, it was a good deal (much better than the other one).

I started on October 2, 2006 at Manpower, a global employment services company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was my prayer to get back into the true-blue corporate world in a true-blue multinational company. God did answer my prayer. I'm sure, this was also my family's prayer.

Work at Manpower is close to alien to me since the industry is far from my advertising background. Eighteen years is quite a long time to master a field. Thus, shifting to recruitment is not a breeze to say the least. I warned them about that but nonetheless, they still hired me. They said they needed my sales background.

The whole of October I was in induction. It was like being in suspended animation wherein you sort of watch time pass by while your training goes on. Mark, a former colleague from Digitel and his staff of two were good to me. They let me squat in their workstations during my first two weeks.

Last week, 5 days after celebrating my first full month at Manpower, I closed my first contract worth PhP200,000 (about US$10,000). I'm currently on my way to closing my next contract, hopefully, before the end of November.

I admit that going to mass everyday has been key in all the blessings we've been receiving. The mass, being the highest prayer (according to our former parish priest Fr. Nip Frugosa), will always be a major part of our Catholic life. I pray this also shall be for our children.

Directions

A lot of things really happen in a span of one month, so they say. I believe its true. My loving wife Jinky was diagnosed to have at least one stone in one of her salivary ducts. What? Well, yes, I, too, didn't believe that such condition exists. Our ENT doctor Manny Villegas even has a name for it -- Sialolithiasis. Practically ailment-free for the past months, last week, Jinky's right cheek became swollen. An hour after, Doc Manny gave the diagnosis. I believe it's not that serious but knowing Jinky -- who has endured 7 operations and their after-effects -- she'll always worry about it. Doc Manny recommends a procedure called a "canulation" which will somewhat siphon off the stone from the duct. Local anaesthesia is needed, or rather required by Jinky. I worry a bit on Jinky being a worrier. It's bad for her heart. I just keep on reminding her that we should live to a hundred that's why she has to keep healthy. I just hope she gets tired of worrying. I miss her trooper attitude. It's a good thing we go to mass almost everyday. I know that'll help.

Then, I got a call for an interview. It was a return bout with global employee services giant Manpower. I really thought I missed the chance of joining that company after a grueling set of interviews (local and overseas teleconference), a 3 hour exam, and a panel presentation! I got a letter in early May that I didn't make the cut. Admittedly, I charged all those to experience. Only my ego was scathed.

So a few days after another brief interview with my future boss, Randy Rively, last week, I got a job offer as Sales Manager. Why does it excite me despite my other job offer at Level One? Maybe it's because of the nature of the industry being employee services.

For many years, not only have I advocated entrepreneurship, but I have helped entrepreneurs as well. This time, I have the opportunity to find more jobs for my fellow countrymen.

Tomorrow, I will be personally looking into the job offer of Manpower. If the offer is good, then, I have to personally let Level One know of my decision, despite earlier telling Jan (the CEO) that her offer was interesting enough to be initially acceptable (even with some reservations). Actually, I was never able to sign the offer sheet. I hope she'll understand. At least, she told me that she also hired the other candidate from Citibank.

The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Page Two

It was sister Nina's birthday yesterday and I guess since she's a prolific writer, I thought of getting back to writing page 2 of my blog myself and experiment with my skills. Another 3 months has passed since my last entry. I hope it doesn't really take that long to update again.

Well, I got a 3-month project on corporate restructuring which kicked off on the first week of July. We are now in the half-way mark and there's still a lot to be done. The other week, I got a formal job offer to join a customer experience & relationship company. The offer is good enough given my current financial status and direction. Status quo, I'd say but I would like to think that it's a breath of fresh air career-wise.


Projects still seem to be pouring in such that my hands (and feet!) are tied-up. I'm not complaining. I just hope I'll be able to extricate myself from them as soon as I join Level One (the new company) by October. I'm looking forward to the next 20 years of my career. As they say, life begins at 40. (Close. I'm 39 now.)

A review of what I have been through the past 20 years of my working life:

At 18, I joined a direct selling company (MLM) and was promoted to supervisor in just 1 month. This kicked-off my sales career such that I even did wholeselling of eggs a few months into the MLM business. By the time I graduated from university (U.P. Diliman) with a bachelor's degree in communications research, another sales career pushed me to sell publications and subscriptions.

Wanting to practice my learnings, I joined McCann-Erickson at 20 and got a staff post at the media department handling the San Miguel Beer account. This was despite a note from the president at that time (Ray Dempsey) to put me in accounts management. What do you know, they exported me to the accounts department after about 8 months. A year and a half later, I was pirated by the client via San Miguel's Magnolia Division (from beer to ice cream). I was only 22 at that time and the position I got involved me creating the media department. What a promotion from a junior account executive post!

In Magnolia, I had a great mentor: Bert Anido. He was the one who broke the news to my father who was the head of R&D at that time and who didn't even have a clue I was joining the company to be with him! Such a great mentor was Bert that I was pirated by Ramon "RJ" Jacinto and became the RJ Group's corporate marketing director (at 24!). I turned around the company in only 6 months which resulted in the creation of more radio stations and business opportunities for RJ. I left RJ after 2 years due to a simple misunderstanding.


Some months later, I found myself in publishing, having joined the Asian Sources Media Group (now Global Sources). After almost 5 years and a 500% increase in revenues (as an outstanding country sales manager), I moved to Benpres Publishing (now ABS-CBN Publishing) where I became its marketing director for 2 years.

I then moved into various phases as a consultant and chief marketing officer for a U.S. publication and two dotcoms (worldroom.com and clickthecity.com). I consequently joined a telco (Digitel) and a start-up ad agency handling marketing and communications. I also did work for business development for events companies and a toy company.

I am currently a project consultant for a marketing services company and do other consulting work for others in various fields such as IT, below-the-line media, direct marketing, and events.

Through all these, together with my wife, I have been involved in various religious and social activities through Couples for Christ and Gawad Kalinga. This, I believe, adds to the balance in my life and family.

We have been in CFC since 1995 and have been entrusted with God's work in various ministries including the youth, music, education, police and military, and the environment. I'll cover this part of my life in another page in the weeks or months to come as 11 years of fulfilling work is truly an exciting discussion for me. Something which me and my wife believe is worth doing till the end of our days.

In the meantime, I'd say I'm wanting and preparing to embark on another career. I want to get the best out of life and experience its twists and turns. That's where the excitement of life is -- the experience. Life begins at 40? Well, it really never ends. You just have to re-boot when the keys hang. With Level One, I'd like to believe that this is the right step in the right direction.

Page One

After a 3-month hiatus, I'm back to writing for a new blog which will represent my e-journal. I've been shopping for a new notebook which I can turn into a journal when I was in Hong Kong for 2 weeks ending April 18. Another enjoyable trip, too, I'd say, especially for my 14-year old son who got to nursing another crush.

I'll begin this journal with my recently concluded trip with the family -- as it is a major event for this summer of 2006. One, because it involved a lot of financial maneuverings (and prayers), and second, it signals a beginning of another chapter in my life story. This seems to be the case for me everytime I go on a 2-week vacation. I try to leave the past year behind, contemplate (and strategize), and plan for the next steps in my life.

Life is basically family for me. This, I believe, is the career God has given me. Work is simply making a living as I look ahead to a fruitful retirement with my wife. Too far ahead? I don't think so. I think I have a good 20 years to push myself to the limit in my work as a sales and marketing professional in the field of advertising.

For 10 years, I have done lots of wheeling and dealing for various ad-related projects. These projects have brought about my entrepreneurial spirit as well as my ability to handle many projects at the same time (project management, they say). Tiring, yes, but also enjoyable.

Today, I look forward to change. I am hoping to shift gears towards a new field, hopefully in one of the jobs I am applying for. Maybe in an organization with more structure. I've been in loosely structured teams and organizations for the past 10 years. I'm rearing to go back to a multinational company this year -- God-willing. I've got an interview this afternoon which I hope and pray I can hurdle.

I read somewhere that we go through 7 careers in our lifetime. Maybe, I'm on my fourth or fifth. So I guess I still have 2-3 careers left in me then? Well, here's to change! (clink!)