8th Wonder of the world.

I have been given a lot of names, the latest of which being the 8th wonder of the world! Haha.  I guess this namesake was given me because no one could ever believe that I'd leave my promising career of 25 years and venture into the world of the unknown.  Where I set my foot at 45 is considered the road less travelled by many.

But I have no regrets.

Where I am right now promises growth in all areas of my life.  It is here where I have grown my mindset, beliefs and attitude.  It is here where I practice my faith in action.  It is here where I learned to practice positivity and gratefulness regardless of the circumstances that life may bring.    

Where I am right now promises freedom.  Right now, I am enjoying time freedom.  I don't have to ask permission from someone or to file for a leave of absence if and when I want to go somewhere.  While doing that, I am also blessed to be earning some passive income.   

Where I am right now is where I fully exercise my power over myself.  Everyday I have to make a decision to win over small things.  Everyday I must exercise that discipline to do things that I don't feel like doing but is important for my growth.  

Where I am right now is called entrepreneurship.   It is not easy, but it is all worth it! It is not easy, but I am slowly succeeding anyway.  And that's what makes me the 8th wonder of the world!

Never too late.

I was browsing my Facebook account just a while ago.  And this is what I found:  

This graphic resonates so much to me.  You see I reinvented myself at mid-40s.  I saw a lot of raised eyebrows when I made the decision to leave my job of 25 years!  Many got panicked for me.  They were thinking of my retirement.  Little did these people know that my retirement fund was one of the reasons why I left employment.

You see I have big dreams for me and my family.  Seemingly my 25 years of being employed had not given me the big dreams that I really want to get.  Mind you I was not just an ordinary employee when I left; I was, in fact, at the middle-management level position.  I had 73 faculty members under my wing back then.  I have nothing against employment --- it actually has shaped me and molded me to be the person that I am today. But I needed to leave, and pursue the dreams that God has planted in my heart.  

Ever since I was young, I have been a dreamer.  I would always imagine the life that I want to have, the house where I want to live, the car that I want to drive, and the savings and investment that I want to have.  Yes, I was receiving a good salary from my employer, but I was just living the life that I can afford, not the life that I want.  

Right now, I am in my journey towards the fulfillment of all my dreams.  I made the decision and took inspired action over a year ago to change my life direction.  I know that in due time, all of my big dreams will unfold before my very eyes.  

At 46 I know that it's not yet too late.  It's not too late to enjoy everything that life has to offer.  It's not yet too late to make my big dreams come true.  How about you? :-)

The Tale of Juliet.

The year was 2005.  I was in a religious bookstore when my attention was caught by the cover of the book, especially the barefooted child at the center of the front cover.  Judging by its cover, I thought it was a corny, lousy book.  But then I flipped through the pages (as I always do when in bookstore).  Lo and behold!  I got hooked.  I didn't put the book down; instead I paid it and brought the book home with me.  That day I learned to apply the old adage:  "Don't judge the book by its cover."

The Tale of Juliet: You have the Power to Change your Life.  I got hooked with this super amazing biographical story of the equally super amazing woman Ms. Juliet van Ruyven, who is fondly called Jhet. I am so blessed to have met her last November 2013 in one of the biggest Catholic learning event, the Kerygma Conference, where she was one of the invited speakers. Our meeting was the law of attraction at work.  You see I didn't attend her talk because, being a fledgling entrepreneur, I enrolled in business streams.  But I was hoping that I could meet her or see her, at least. And the universe conspired with my idea so much so that we met at the hallway in SMX!  From then on, Jhet and I have become friends!  OMG!  My inspiration has become my friend!

Well, I have known Jhet since 2005.  How?  From The Tale of Juliet!  You wouldn't believe this, but I have read the book four times before meeting her in person!  Yes, four times!  The first time that I read TOJ I got so excited at every chapter.  And so I went over it again and again.  I was able to relate so much to the story of Jhet! I felt that in every page and every chapter, my own life story was being unfolded.  

Then I read about Yemen and its culture in one of its chapters.   When I was reading this chapter of TOJ about the Yemeni culture, I would always imagine how these things would look like.  Little did I know that after four years, I would be on the same ground as Jhet was! (This is another blog entry :-)).  Whoa!  The law of attraction was at work!  

After meeting Jhet at the SMX last November 2013, I read the book again.  It was already my fifth time!  Plus, I go over each chapter of it every time I need an inspiration.  

I have been reading a lot of inspirational book because I want some changes to happen.  I have longing to change my life for the better.  "If you want change to happen, you have to change," I was told.  Right now, I am a work in progress.  Little by little, positive changes have been taking place. And these changes have been greatly influenced by The Tale of Juliet.  Deep in my heart I know that I have the power to change my life.  For the better!  

Kage bunshin (no jutsu).

According to Urban Dictionary, Kage bunshin no jutsu is a shadow replication technique from the anime series Naruto. "Shadow" has little to do with shadows themselves, but rather refer to a type of jutsus known as shadow jutsus, or kage jutsus if you will. Whereas a normal replication technique would create a near perfect copy of the one performing the technique, the shadow replication is far superior in that it can create a vast number of replications.

And there's a note after that definition, which says:  kage bunshin no jutsu is Naruto's worst -and- best fighting move. He always hated the replication techniques at school because he was so bad at them, but then again kage bunshin no jutsu is so powerful that it enables him to easily create a horde of replications rather easily.

When I heard this word the first time, I found it weird.  Well, what can you expect from a forty-six-year-old-academic-person?  But when the simple meaning of the word was mentioned to me, I got the whole idea right away.  For a forty-six-year-old-academic-person, kage bunshin simply means duplication.  You simply have to create your clone!  That's it!  

I did my research today to get the whole picture of the representation of this word.  And this is what I found:

Kage bunshin!

And it makes me smile to know that I am not doing the perfect clone of kage bunshin action. For one, when Naruto does "kage bunshin", the index fingers do not form an X; they form a cross (+).  

So when does Naruto use this kagen bunshin technique?  Ideally, it is used in spying the enemies' field, so that a clone can easily disperse itself and send the information back to the user.  But more importantly, he uses this clone for training purposes, since the total amount of experience the user gains is multiplied by the number of clones being used to train.  For example, if a user creates one clone and trains together with this clone for one hour, the user gains two hours of training by adding the hours of clone and the user together. Therefore, when done with several hundreds, like Naruto does, training that could take weeks or months can be completed in a few hours. 

Aha!  Kage bunshin makes more sense to me now.  As my mentors told me, p(h)erfect duplication happens in training!  It saves time and effort in training people in my team to produce the results that I want.  And that is a tested and proven practice in the field where I am now.  My mentors' words are always full of wisdom eh.  

Well then Kage bunshin is not weird after all.  If applied properly, it can make billionaires!  Don't you think so?  :-D

On your birthday.

Today is your birthday. The way I look at it, you have gone a long, long way since you have changed the path of your life. Your perspectives have changed a lot. Your attitude towards life, most especially towards God, have changed a lot. And those changes that I see are positive.

We've been friends for seventeen years now. Somehow, we have the developed the bond that no one can replace. And I am thankful for that. Indeed, nothing happens by chance.

On your birthday, I would like to tell you that I am here to support you no matter what. So be courageous to take the road where you wish to take your life's direction. Be brave to take the road less traveled. Be optimistic that tomorrow will be a better day. You, just like anyone of us, are a work in progress, and that is okay. Remember that you are loved, no matter what.

Today, I wish that all your dreams come true. I wish that God and His generous universe will listen and grant all your wishes, too.

Cheers! May you be tremendously blessed as you celebrate the 51st page of your life :-D

Richard, the graduate.

Richard. March 30, 2011. SMX Convention Center

Richard is my eldest nephew. Just like Reign, Richard has been maternally orphaned since he was three years old. Her mother died when she was giving birth to his sister. Sadly, the baby died, too. It was such a sad sight way back in 1994 when there were two coffins at home, one for my sister, Richard's mother, and one for her baby, supposedly Richard's sister.

Anyway, Richard grew up with his grandmother, my mother. Since he was orphaned at a very early age, we (my brothers and I) tried our very best to give him all the love and care he needs. Basically, I was the one who provided for him of almost everything albeit the mother's love that he has not experienced.

While growing up, he always has been reminded to pursue his own dream, to design his own future. Hence when he told me that he wanted to study in Manila in college, I agreed.

Today, Richard reaped the fruits of his labor. He may not have studied in an expensive, exclusive school nor finished his degree with flying colors but at least he never had any failing mark. I think having studied in an expensive, exclusive school and finishing a degree with honors is great, but what could be greater than being offered a job even before you graduate? Yes, Richard will not be joining the ranks of those who are unemployed right after graduation. As a matter of fact, he already signed a contract with a Japanese company where he spent his on-the-job training for nine months. Yes, that company offered him a job after seeing that he was performing great!

I know deep in my heart that Richard's dreams and our dreams for him have started to come true. Being maternally orphaned, we only dream that he could have his own life in the future, a life that is anchored on the right values. But Richard has his own dream for himself, too.

And those dreams have started to unfold today.

Dreams list for 2011.

This was posted in my other blogsite. But I opt to maintain the secrecy of that site though.


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I do believe in the power of dreams, and in the power of the universe to make my dreams come true. I also believe that when dreams are expressed, especially when committed in writing, all the more that the universe rush to connive with the dreamer.


So here’s my dreams list for 2011.


more income for our newly-acquired mini-bus (aka jeepney) in Leon, Iloilo.


more consultancy projects for me, local and international.


a ”money machine” that would provide an extra income of 100,000 monthly.


a doctorate degree in applied linguistics by May 2011. (May I be blessed with wisdom, knowledge, strength and perseveranace as I continue writing my dissertation).


a new house-made of bamboo – in Leon, Iloilo.


a new car for myself.


a European tour particularly in the cities of Rome, France, Netherlands, Austria, Greece and a trip to the snow-capped mountain in Switzerland.


a trip to Singapore with my mother.


more trips to the middle eastern countries like Bahrain, Qatar and others.


a business for my brother, Nick.


a successful career for Richard after graduation.


good health for Reign and for my mother.


get married in 2011. LOL.


Boracay with my beloved in May 2011.


a new house/condo unit with 2 bedrooms within Manila (specifically a rent-to-own one).






“For these dreams will come true that I may bless the world.” ~ January 18, 2011.