Soon it will be 2013... to Living the "Better" Life!

In less than 30 hours from now, we will be saying our goodbyes to the wonderful year of 2012.   While everyone is busy thinking about their plans for 2013 and reflecting on what 2012 has brought them, allow us to share with you this quick message before the year-ends...

First, to all of you who have shown appreciation for the articles, through comments and "likes", in our facebook page or in this space, THANK YOU!  We are deeply honored by the fact that there are people who read and appreciate our thoughts in BEing More and Living the Good Life. Our first article was published just a little more than a year ago and we are glad to know that you still continue to be with us - through the good and not-so-good times.

Second, we would like to encourage you to continue Being More so that we can continue to give more, live more, and share more of the good life.  If God's willing, we will be giving more regular and frequent "thoughts to think about" in 2013.  By the way, we encourage contributions of articles.  So should you like to share with us your experiences, life lessons and words of inspirations, please send us an email at livdgoodlyf@gmail.com.

Third, we would like to remind you, as you reflect on the year 2012, to please avoid the common tragedy of looking back at life with "what ifs."  It is a fact that in this life, you cannot be anything, do anything and have anything.  No matter how hard you try, there are times when life will not give you what you want, when you want it, and how you want it.  Live with that; and appreciate life instead.

Fourth, we request you join with us as we thank the Lord for He delivered us "again" from another "end-of-the-world-frenzy" last December 21, 2012.  We all know that all things must come to an end, that is why we have to constantly remind ourselves to live a life that's full and worthy so that we don't have to be afraid when it finally comes to the point when we have to move to the next chapter.

Lastly, please be safe as you celebrate the welcoming of the new year.  It's gonna a fresh start for all of us.  Leave all the baggage and regrets behind but keep the lessons with you.  Treasure every moment for there will never be another 2013 in this lifetime.

P.S. >  2012 will soon be over.  What is that one thing that you've really been wanting to do, that you told your self you cannot let go of 2012 without doing it?   You still have time...

For me, it's this: "Iloveyou, Rheena.  And I will say "I DO" to you, over and over again..."


Happy New Year Everyone!  May you have a more blessed and more wonderful 2013 than all the past 2012 years combined....
  

From Here to Eternity.... 08 December 2012 and Beyond

“Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.” -          L.M. Montgomery in Anne of Avonlea 

 This is one of those very few moments when I run out of words to say what I feel... so instead of writing what I feel inside, let me just share it with you through these videos..

This pre-nup photoshoot was taken a couple of weeks or so prior to the big day... If there's one word to describe it, it's FUN.  Special thanks to Mr. Tacu for a very nice job!

This next photo-video was taken during the "Big Day."  See how lovely is the Bride... (thanks to Anjo's Point Photography)

Trying for a Come Back

It's been five months since I last updated this blog.  I almost forgot how this works.  My personal goal of at least one post per week is way too off. Right now, I really don't have anything particular to write.

May I just tell you some stories of the past five months?  I promise it won't be that long.  On second thought, please, just allow me to share this wonderful experience, among many others, that happened to me during that period.  

April, that's when I received an invitation to do a presentation for a teaching post in one of our local colleges in the province.  I gave it a shot with high hopes that my application will be approved.  That experience was both exciting and frightening.  Exciting because I believed that it could be the start of a career that I always dream of.  Frightening because I wanted it to be perfect.  I want that job.  I really do.

Fast forward to June...  I found myself in front of 22 young aspiring CPAs.  My first formal class.  My first batch of students.  I couldn't help but smile as I remember my self during my own school days.  It was 1:00 in the afternoon and for the next three hours that I stood in front of these young individuals, I still couldn't believe that I was delivering the lecture that could possibly change the course of their lives forever.

My day didn't end with that "first" three hours.  It was just the beginning. There's another three hours waiting for me... The thought that for six hours each Saturday of the next four months, I will be doing this thrilled me.  I have another reason to wake-up early on a Saturday.

Now I understand why there are people who fall in love with teaching so much, again and again.  It's a different kind of fulfilling experience.  Not only it makes you feel good, it inspires you be better than your previous best because it is not your future that's at stake but of those young minds who put their hopes in you.

For the past four months, I always pray that I have given justice to this noble profession.  This is no longer about my dreams or ambitions, this is about my students' future.

I used to say that when the time comes that I will have to retire from the corporate world, I will spend the rest of my life teaching (of course, that's aside from being a husband, a father and a grandfather).  But now that I have reached and experienced that dream, I think I want to do it forever.

With this experience, I learn to appreciate more the sacrifices, the pains and the patience that my previous mentors had shown me.

To all my mentors, 

...Who are worthy of more than just praise from this humble space in the world wide web, I salute you all! Thank you and may God grant you longer days of peace, happiness and wisdom. 

-Your eternal student.

 

Disconnect to Connect

Facebook statuses. Tweets. Updates.  Everyone nowadays knows what you are up to, where you are going, what you are doing, what your likes are, what your dinner is, who your enemies and friends are.  Sometimes, when I think about these things, I feel like people are giving up their privacy, either unknowingly or unintentionally.

We are now living in a very "connected" world, as they say; this is what commercialism has been teaching us since the advent of phones, mobile devices, PDAs, and internet.

But, take a look around you.  Gone were the days when you would have to set aside a whole weekend to meet your relatives living somewhere far from home.  No longer do friends send letters through snail mails.  Mr. Postman no longer walks around the neighborhood to give you the letters you've been expecting for a week.  Going out for a walk or a nice talk under the moon can now be done by the use of internet.  (Where's the thrill of holding each other's hand in there?) Love letters became "wall messages" and tweets.

It is true that communication has been way, way faster these days than it was decades ago.  It truly made our lives easier.  We can do more things because information are shared faster.  We became more efficient.  But like any other things, use in excess is not good.  In a very connected world, we're losing the "human" touch.

Which would you prefer, someone telling you directly, face to face, how beautiful you are or simply commenting on your profile picture?  Which is more exciting for you, the sound of your mobile phone when you receive a text message or when you tear that sealed envelope to open that letter?  You did a good job at work, would like to received a "good job" message from your boss's email or a pat on the back coming from him?  I know it's really cute watching your baby kiss the screen of the phone or computer whenever you talked to her. But how about letting those sweet little lips touch your cheeks and her little arms thrown around your neck after a hard day's work?

I am not saying that these modern devices are bad or evil.  I am not saying that we should go back to sticks and stones, bamboos and tree leaves to communicate.  Technology is gonna be here with us for a very a long time, even after we're gone.  But what I am trying to say here is something you already know. That is, it is not true that if you disconnect from these devices and gadgets, you will be living a disconnected life.  Instead, it may just be the opposite.

Try to disconnect from your "world" for a short time, say for a day, and see how much changes it could give you.  You will have more time to attend to other "manual" things.  You can have time to go out, feel the sunshine upon your skin, feel the breeze touching your face, yes, even the dust and smokes of the city, you'll feel them once again.  But more importantly, you will feel again how to be connected with "real" people.  Can you still remember how it feels to laugh with your friends, be smiled upon and smile to a stranger you meet in the street?  Take a day away from your "connected" world and get real connection with the people that matters to you the most.  Re-connect with nature and see how you may be re-energized by the silence of the woods or the beach or the rushing waters of the rivers.

"What if I missed important things while I'm disconnected to the world?" you may ask.  Let me answer that with a question too, "Aren't you already missing the most important things in life?"

As I have said, these things are gonna be here for a long time.  Tomorrow, they may have different looks and names, but they will still be here.  How about your family, your friends, your neighbors, people you love... are they gonna be here forever?

You know all these things already.  I am just here to remind you.  And as I remind you, through this "connected" world of the world wide web, I hope that I have made a little contribution for you to BE MORE and LIVE THE GOOD LIFE.

Courage in Giving Up

"Winners never quit and quitters never win."

Yes, yes, I know you've heard that line million times already.

If you think life is a battle, well, then, "maybe" you are on the right path if you think that quitting is synonymous with losing.

But let me tell you something...

Life is not a battle. It is not a game. Here is my take on that matter.  In a game (or a battle), there is always a winner and a loser.  Very seldom are "draws."  But such is not in life.  We all know that we could all be winners in this life. We have the every right and the capacity to be winners.  People who believe otherwise either do not believe in God or believe that God is biased - favoring some over the others.

Life is not always about taking chances but rather making choices.  It is not always the survival of the strongest but that of the fittest.  Those who survive are not necessarily the strongest, most of the times it is the one who knows how to adapt well.

Life is a about making decisions.  Lots of it.  You don't have to be the strongest, you only need to know where to put your strengths.

If your circumstances seems unfavorable, does it mean you have to end up the loser?  Of course not.  So what you do is turn things around.  And more often than not, what seemed unfavorable will eventually turned to become a happy ending.  Would you say because you have been more favored or stronger or smarter that you've succeeded?  Do you mean that others are less favored, weaker and dumb?  Then you are showing impartiality and for me, it doesn't make sense celebrating in such kind of success or victory in life.

As you can see my friend, life is an adventure of ups and downs.  Success and failures.  But at the end of it all, it is not what we went through but what we learned that truly matters.  There are things that are simply inevitable, and there are things we should rather accept than fight.

Not because you have been doing, enjoying or getting things your way for the longest time it means that that could not end.  No matter how great things maybe, there will always be a certain point in time where it will have to end, or less painful, change. And more often than not, it is really difficult to let go of things you've learned to love - things that became part of yourself.

But do not despair. What may seemed to be an end could only be the start of a new beginning.  So when life is pushing you very, very hard and you've done your very best, but still things are going the opposite way, think again.  Maybe the perfect thing for you is to simply "throw in the towel."  Yes, there's nothing wrong with quitting.  Let me repeat that, there's nothing wrong with quitting.  What's wrong is to keep on doing things that doesn't make sense anymore.  Addictions to material things, procrastination, lack of discipline and the likes, these are things worth giving up.  Continuous self-pity and self-hatred should not linger for too long.  Surrender these things.  It is better to give up than to give in.

I don't want to sound like a preacher here because I'm not.  I know you know that deep within you there are things worth surrendering, worth giving up.  Don't try to fight it on your own.  You don't have to prove how strong you are.  God knows how much capable you are to conquer every trials you are facing.  He created you.  And as much as He know how able you are, He simply wants you to realize that like opening a treasure chest, you have to find the perfect key.  And that key could only be found in Him - when you surrender to Him.

Friends, if you dare accept to give up these things, you should know to whom you should surrender.  Surrender only to the One who can make you even more victories - God.

So, what are those things that you think you really have to let go?  Lift them up to God. Surrender to Him and be even more victorious.  It is time to lighten your loads, BE MORE and Life the Good Life.

  

What Constitutes a Good Life? by Jim Rohn

Let me share with you an article from the jimrohn.com website.  It is on the net and free for all to see, so I guess I am not doing anything illegal by posting the article here. All credits go to Mr. Jim Rohn and to jimrohn.com.

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The ultimate expression of life is not a paycheck. The ultimate expression of life is not a Mercedes. The ultimate expression of life is not a million dollars or a bank account or a home. Here's the ultimate expression of life in my opinion, and that is living the good life. Here's what we must ask constantly, "What for me would be a good life?" And you have to keep going over and over the list. A list including areas such as spirituality, economics, health, relationships and recreation. What would constitute a good life? I've got a short list.

1) Number one, productivity. You won't be happy if you don't produce. The game of life is not rest. We must rest, but only long enough to gather strength to get back to productivity. What's the reason for the seasons and the seeds, the soil and the sunshine, the rain and the miracle of life? It's to see what you can do with it—to try your hand. Other people have tried their hand; here's what they did. You try your hand to see what you can do. So part of life is productivity.

2) Next are good friends. Friendship is probably the greatest support system in the world. Don't deny yourself the time to develop this support system. Nothing can match it. It's extraordinary in its benefit. Friends are those wonderful people who know all about you and still like you. A few years ago, I lost one of my dearest friends. He died at age 53—heart attack. David is gone, but he was one of my very special friends. I used to say of David that if I was stuck in a foreign jail somewhere accused unduly and if they would allow me one phone call, I would call David. Why? He would come and get me. That's a friend. Somebody who would come and get you. Now we've all got casual friends. And if you called them they would say, "Hey, if you get back, call me and we'll have a party." So you've got to have both, real friends and casual friends.

3) Next on the list of a good life is your culture. Your language, your music, the ceremonies, the traditions, the dress. All of that is so vitally important that you must keep it alive. In fact it is the uniqueness of all of us that when blended together brings vitality, energy, power, influence, uniqueness and rightness to the world.

4) Next is your spirituality. It helps to form the foundation of the family that builds the nation. And make sure you study, practice and teach. Don't be careless about the spiritual part of your nature; it's what makes us who we are, different from dogs, cats, birds and mice. Spirituality.

5) Next, here's what my parents taught me. Don't miss anything. Don't miss the game. Don't miss the performance, don't miss the movie, don't miss the show, don't miss the dance. Go to everything you possibly can. Buy a ticket to everything you possibly can. Go see everything and experience all you possibly can. This has served me so well to this day. Just before my father died at age 93, if you were to call him at 10:30 or 11:00 at night, he wouldn't be home. He was at the rodeo, he was watching the kids play softball, he was listening to the concert, he was at church, he was somewhere every night.

Live a vital life. Here's one of the reasons why. If you live well, you will earn well. If you live well it will show in your face, it will show in the texture of your voice. There will be something unique and magical about you if you live well. It will infuse not only your personal life but also your business life. And it will give you a vitality nothing else can give.

6) Next are your family and the inner circle. Invest in them and they'll invest in you. Inspire them and they'll inspire you. With your inner circle take care of the details. When my father was still alive, I used to call him when I traveled. He'd have breakfast most every morning with the farmers. Little place called The Decoy Inn out in the country where we lived in Southwest Idaho. So Papa would go there and have breakfast and I'd call him just to give him a special day. Now if I was in Israel, I'd have to get up in the middle of the night, but it only took five minutes, ten minutes. So I'd call Papa and they'd bring him the phone. I'd say, "Papa, I'm in Israel." He'd say, "Israel! Son, how are things in Israel?" He'd talk real loud so everybody could hear. “My son's calling me from Israel!” I'd say, "Papa, last night they gave me a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean." He'd say, "Son, a reception on the rooftop underneath the stars overlooking the Mediterranean." Now everybody knows the story. It only took five or ten minutes, but what a special day for my father, age 93.

If a father walks out of the house and he can still feel his daughter's kiss on his face all day, he's a powerful man. If a husband walks out of the house and he can still feel the imprint of his wife's arms around his body, he's invincible all day. It's the special stuff with the inner circle that makes you strong and powerful and influential. So don't miss that opportunity. Here's the greatest value. The prophet said, "There are many virtues and values, but here's the greatest, one person caring for another." There is no greater value than love. Better to live in a tent on the beach with someone you love than to live in a mansion by yourself. One person caring for another, that's one of life's greatest expressions.

So make sure in your busy day to remember the true purpose and the reasons you do what you do. May you truly live the kind of life that will bring the fruit and rewards that you desire.

Shaken Not Stirred: As Solid As A Rock

"Shaken not stirred."   That's just one of the famous lines of world's most known spy, James Bond a.k.a Agent "Double-O Seven" (007).  Of course he referred that line to his favorite Vodka Martini.
Do you think that it could also apply to real life?

In simple terms, let us define them.

Shaken - "Disturbed psychologically as if by a physical jolt or shock"

Stirred - "Being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion.  Mixed"

Hmmm.. doesn't make any significant difference at all, does it? I think being shaken means being disturbed while being stirred means acting based on emotions, being pushed around unreasonably and illogically.

Let us take a closer look.  James Bond, as most of us know, could face and overcome all kinds of troubles and dangers and accomplish superhuman feats, either using his wits or his latest gadgets.  We have seen him experienced harrowing experiences that would definitely shake every average human being.  But despite of all those saddening and literally painful experiences, he remained true to his oath of service to his government and to his missions.  No matter what happens, Bond always completes his assignments by isolating himself from the situation. He is very seldom moved by the emotions attached to it, enabling him to judge rightly and think accurately as warranted by every situation.  He is shaken, yes, but not stirred.

But that was 007, a fictional character, human, flawed like you and me.

There is, however, someone who had shown a true meaning of being "Shaken but not Stirred."  This man is a Carpenter who lived thousands of years ago before us.  His name is Jesus.   Jesus was disturbed by what was happening to the world during that time.  Evil doings were rampant.  Dishonor and disobedience to God were everywhere.  People were living in sin.   He thought that it was the right time to  come down to earth and bring these people back in the arms of the Almighty.  He was shaken.  His love for mankind moved Him to offer His own life as a ransom for every human's wrong doings.  Was He stirred?  No.  He was tempted not just a single time to abandon His mission.  But He never bent.  He was accused of treason, rebellion, blasphemy and even associated to the devil himself.  He was  arrested, persecuted, crucified and killed by the very people He saved.  He know all these would happen.  But was He stirred enough to abandon His mission? No.  Was He shaken by these things.  Yes.  We know that He wept for these people.  But He never gave up on them.  He never gave up on His mission.

Unlike James Bond, Jesus did not rely on His intelligence or gadgets.  He used His love for mankind to help Him accomplished what He was supposed to do.  His faith in humanity that somehow, someday, they would all return to their true God inspired Jesus to stick to His mission.

Jesus was shaken but was never stirred to abandon or take another path to His mission because His foundations are as solid as a rock.

In our daily lives, we also face situations where we are shaken and stirred.  More often than not, we tend to play the James Bond role, trying to overcome everything, relying on our own wits and abilities.  There's nothing wrong with that.  In fact, it signifies that we trust that which have been bestowed upon us.  However, the problem arises when we tend to rely too much on our self, forgetting that there's a greater source of power and relief.

Human sufferings and experiences will shake and stir us.  It's a given fact.  It can sway us away from the path we ought to take.  We're just humans after all, vulnerable to pain and mistakes.  But before we totally surrender to our opponents - the challenges of our lives, let us try to look for the example that Jesus have shown us 2000 years ago which still applies today.

Continue to nurture our love for one another.  Keep the faith in humanity alive.  Believe that pains and trials are not meant to hamper us in arriving at our destination but rather stepping stones that will help us reach higher and farther.  Each of us has at least one mission in life.  Find it.  Stick to it.  Have faith in God and in Jesus so that no matter what life may throw, though we may be shaken, we will not be stirred, because we know what we need to do and we know where we could anchor our faith as solid as a rock.

Enjoy the rest of the day!  Continue to BE MORE and Live the Good Life!

(The contents of this article are the author's personal views and opinions and his sole responsibility.)

Guilty as Charged!

I would like to start this article by saying that life is good.  I want to make that declaration for myself and for everyone.  It just feels good. Try it. Say, "Life is good!" Look to the person next to your left and say "Life is good." Now, do it again, this time to the one to your right.  Repeat it to the person behind you and to the person in front of you.  Finally, touch your chest and say, "Life is good!"  Doesn't that feel nice?

No matter how miserable we may think life has been, I would still want to believe that life is indeed good and it will continue to be as such.

Have you ever wonder how fortunate you are simply by reading this article or any article from the internet?  Well, perhaps you may not realize it but, together, let's try to take a look into it.

First, the computer (or whatever gadget) you are using and the internet connection.  How many people around the world are blessed to have computer in their homes or have internet connection, just like you?  I don't know.  But what I do know is that there are places not even reached by electricity so computers and internet are aliens to them.  They live in darkness, literally.

Second, how were you able to have this computer?  You bought it using your own money?  Somebody gave it to you?  Or, you are in the office and you are using your company's computer and internet connection.  (Ha! Ha! Ha!)  I don't know how you were able to acquire your computer or access the internet.  What I do know is that there are millions of people who are jobless right now and having the money to bring foods to the table is their primary concern rather than purchasing the latest gadgets or surfing the internet.  These are people who would rather burn their skins toiling under the sun rather than spend their time in front of the computer.

Third, your comfort.  You left your house this morning, went to the office, worked in an air conditioned room, had a sumptuous lunch, snacks in between meals, coffee breaks, left the office after eight hours, return to the comfort of your home.  Have you ever thought how blessed you are?  Imagine how many people have no home to call their own.  Imagine how many people walk for miles just to reach their destinations.  Imagine how many people stay under the sun, burning their skins and stretching their muscles for a day's wage.  And they will have to do it again tomorrow, day after day.  Imagine how many people were afraid to come home because they have nothing to give, no food to hand to their children, or sick parents, who are waiting for them.

Fourth, your time, your talent and your treasures.  These three things are possessions that everyone would want to have.  You have the time to spend on the things you want to do.  (Well, probably not all the time but still you're better off than those who, if wouldn't work, won't earn and eat.)   Your talent, what you know and what others could only envy from afar. They can't steal it from you but you can always share it to them.  Your treasures, your material possessions.   Are you among those who have the latest gadgets?  Upgrading every time new updates are released?  Did your mansion shrink that you have to replaced it with a bigger one every now and then?  Your car is already a year older so you have to replace it again?

The list may go on and on.  And I know it is not my business if you enjoy these things while others don't.  In fact, I won't even ask you to sell your possessions and distribute to the poor.  No!  I'm not even asking you to donate to charities, adopt a child, sponsor a scholar, build a house for the homeless,  or anything like that.  If you are privileged than the other, that's not your fault (of course, that's if you got it from moral and legal ways).  It isn't the underprivileged's fault either.  You may be rich and they may be poor because of circumstances, behaviors and beliefs, or for any other reason.  It is not my intention to discuss that right now.

What I want to share here are simply two things that I've realized when I looked back on how hard my parents worked under the heat of the sun or in the midst of heavy rains and thunderstorms and those ordinary people I see everyday on my way to work - people who will not eat if they wouldn't work.

One, Gratitude.  Be thankful for what you have and what you enjoy.  The tendency for us, based on what I've observed and what I personally experienced, is that, we compare our selves to the people who have more than what we have.  They may be more good looking, richer, more intelligent.  We seldom look at people who look up to us - the poor, the homeless, the jobless, the lonely, those who are alone, starving, sick, abused, threatened, and on and on.  We seldom realized how fortunate we are compared to these people.  We always want to have more.  To be above the others.  What we don't see are the ones who have less.  Have a sense of gratitude.  When you have a grateful heart, what else could go wrong?

When was the last time you've been thankful for what you are and what you have?  May be you could start NOW.

I don't know to whom you believe you owe that gratitude.  I believed in One God, and for me, first of all, I owe that gratitude to Him, then to my parents and to the people around me.  What matters is you know how to be thankful.

Two, Honor.  Honor yourself.  Bring honor to who you are.  Bring honor to the One who blessed you and to the people who raised you  Show that you are worthy of what you have or what you became.  Make whatever you have as instruments to bring honor to other people, to yourself and more importantly, to the ONE who has given you those things. If you have the time, the wealth and the talent but you are using it to degrade other people, take advantage of them, look down on them, where's the honor in that.

I am not saying that I am better than you are.  No one's better than anyone, unless he thinks less of himself than that of the other.  And the only person I know who did that was a Carpenter by the name of Jesus. With all the glories He has since time immemorial, He chose to be among men, lived among the poorest of the poor, betrayed by His friend, abandoned by His followers, died in the hands of the very people He healed and taught and saved.  He lived and died like a poor man, a servant, a slave, only to live again and be hailed as King of all kings.

I don't ask you to be Jesus.  Just be thankful for all the blessing you have and have the courage to bring honor to who you are and to what you have.  I repeat, bring honor to who you are and to what you have by being a living example of an honorable person who knows the value of gratitude.  

 If you would ask me right now if I am living with gratitude and honor, all I can say is that, I am trying.  But for now, let me just admit, "Guilty as charged!"

But even so, I am striving to BE MORE and Thank More so I can Live The Good Life.

This One's For You

It is love month again and I think love is really in the air and people are in the mood for some love.

Yesterday, riding on the bus on my way home, I found a crumpled piece of paper on the seat next to me.  A portion of it was a little exposed and my curiosity got the best of me again.  No matter how much I told my self not to pick it up, I was not able to resist the temptation.  So I picked it up and read it.  It has neither an addressee nor the name of the writer.  And as I read through it, I realized that it was too general it could be for anyone.  I don't know if it's a prank, an open letter or what.  It may be left there intentionally for others to see.  Lucky for that writer, I found it and now it has find its way to the cyber space.  Here's the content of that letter and hopefully, if it is really intended for someone, may that person find this letter's place in his/her heart.

"Our fight last night wasn’t as big as the previous ones we had but it made the deepest wound so far. My head was buzzing with thousand questions that I can’t even remember how I fell asleep. All that I remember was that I was crying last night.  And when I woke up this morning, I had an aching head and swelling eyes. The only consolation I had, I woke up with you still by my side.

I wonder why you always ask if I really love you whenever we had an argument. Do you really feel that I don’t? I may be narrow-minded as you always tell me, but as far as I know, it doesn't have anything to do with how I feel for you. I do not argue for the sake of arguing or even try to prove you that I was right.  I just want you to see things the way I see them.  I just want you to know that there’s another side to it, not just your side.  And if I do sound like I’m always trying to prove who’s right, I’m sorry.  It was never my intention. I just want you to see the bigger picture.  And if right now you feel like I am again trying to prove that I’m right or insisting on my side, I’m sorry. If you prefer me to remain silent, then silent I will be.  I just wonder how that would help us both grow and know more about each other.

You are the most intelligent person I’ve ever met and I love exchanging ideas with you. I love talking to you.  Whenever I remember how I would sometimes fall asleep while talking to you, it always brings smiles in me.  One day we’ll both grow old and moving and playing around like young children will no longer be possible.  One day, all we will be doing is just sit on our porch or on our couch and talk the whole day through.  I look forward to those days; I look forward to those days when I can simply say that I became a better person because of the one who never got tired “arguing” with me - the one who held my hand all through my life.

I know one day we will have our arguments again, petty or big, but I want you to know that it won’t affect how I feel for you – how I love you. 

You ask me if I love you, and that question swirled in my head the whole night.  It brought me back to our younger days, back when our love was young and new, the days when we don’t ask why or how but simply believe that we “do” love each other.  I long for those days.  I long for those moments. I wonder what happened to us.  Why do we suddenly need proofs now? Is it because of all the mistakes of our yesteryears?  Seems we haven’t really let go of the past then.

There’s only one person whose hands I will forever love to hold, one face that I will always love to see before I close my eyes at night and the moment I open it in the morning, one house to come home to and  one person to share my love with.  If you will still ask me if I love you, then you don’t know that I am talking about you. 

If you know who’s the one who really loves you, hurry, I will be waiting for you. You know where to find me." 

Goals on Track

Just a couple of days ago, I made something really funny and I am surprised until now of its effect.  But, before I tell what it is, or show rather you, I want you to take this step by step procedures for a short while.

Did you know that you can change your default homepage when you browse the internet?  It's like your corporate web address if you are using company computer or Yahoo! or Google or whatever is that first internet site that appears when you launch your internet browser.  Did you also know that with just a simple change in your browser's home page it could make a significant impact to your life, your career and in keeping your goals on track?  

If you're in the office or using NOT your own computer, I suggest NOT TO DO the following.  But if you are USING YOUR OWN computer (or your company allows you to personalize your web browser), follow me in this little experiment.  

Ready?  Here we go... 

What internet browser are you using right now?  Internet explorer?  Great!

Launch your Internet Explorer and find the upper most gear icon on the right hand side of your window.  It looks like this.  

Then, click on the "Internet Option" menu and a similar box like the one below would appear.  Now hold it for a second cause we're not done yet.  You see, the highlighted portion is the URL of your homepage.  That is what we want to change, which we will do later.  Ok?

Now, If you are using Mozilla Firefox, here's how you are going to do it.  

Launch Firefox.  On the upper left hand side of your window is the tab "Firefox." See it?  Click it and then the menus will appear.  Select the "Option" menu and then "Option" again, just like the second picture below.  Once you've clicked that, a box similar to the third one below will appear.  

Notice the highlighted portion again.   That's what we are going to change.  But don't proceed just yet.  Let's wait for the Chrome users.  

Chrome users, are you ready?  Here we go!  

Launch your Google Chrome and on the right hand side of your window you will see a "wrench" icon.  See that?  Yep, click on that and the menus will show up.   Select the "Options" menu and the second window below will appear. Are you there now?  Good.  See the "on start up" and "home page" items like the ones highlighted below?  Great! Hold it just right there.  

Now, IE, Firefox and Chrome users, are you ready to achieve your goals by simply changing your personal computer's home page?  Ready?  

Type this on the highlighted portions you've seen thus far:  

http://goalontrack.blogspot.com

You got it?  Amazing! It isn't that hard is it? Now save what you've just did. (Chrome users, there's no "save" option on that window, but it's OK, it will be saved automatically).  

Close your browser now and then re-launch it.  

There you go! 

I was quite surprise that for just three days after I made that site, it has been viewed by more than 30 unique visitors.  You could be one of those.  

Imagine what a simple reminder like this one can do to keep you on your goal.  I made this my browser's homepage and whenever I am tempted to surf the internet for unnecessary matters, I would just back-out and say, "Whoa! Do I really NEED to use the internet right now?"

There, I hope you've learned something new today and I hope that I have shared something to you to keep you on your goals of BEing MORE and LIVING THE GOOD LIFE!  

Old Habits Don't Die... They Simply... Well, They Just Don't Die

Staring at the monitor for a half of a day isn't a good way to spend your waking hours, is it?  There's more to sore, dry and tired eyes that it brings - it is the feeling that you haven't done anything worth the while.  Unless you are being paid to stare at the computer which is probably impossible, I think there's no personal satisfaction in that.  Well, again, that a different story if you enjoy looking at your monitor simply staring blankly at you.

Old habits, same, old habits.  Just when you think you're finally over them, they'll just come back creeping silently into your world.  Habits could be both good and bad.

Good habits include daily reading of your Bible, daily exercise, saving a certain portion of your income, choosing healthy foods and the likes.  Bad habits include, among others, unhealthy midnight snacks, gossips, laziness, impulsive buying, procrastination and many more.

For the purpose of this article, let us talk about the "bad habits."

Bad habits are like some annoying weeds on you yard, no matter how many times you've cut them, they'll just grow even more, suffocating the flowers and eventually killing them.  Uproot them! Uproot them, I say!  Great if you can do that to your old-bad-habits.

Unless you take old habits out from the roots, they will just keep on coming back.  Always worse than before.

But uprooting them doesn't seem to be way too easy, right?  So what do you do then?  Discipline.

Discipline yourself into fighting bad habits with good ones.  You can't just wake up one day and say that all your bad habits are gone.  I don't think so.  Trust me, I've done that many times before and yet, those old habits just keep coming back.  So what do you do then.  Commit yourself to the daily grind.  Take that painful step of saying "NO" to what were once blissful and easy activities. Admit it, you find it more fun and easy doing your bad habits than the good ones.  

Join me in this journey as we wage war against this old-bad-habits of ours.  It doesn't matter if your bad habits are the same with my bad habits or not.  Let's do this simple and general approach.  Customize it to fit your needs.

Ready?  Here goes...

1. Commit to yourself that you are putting an end to your bad habits - starting NOW!  Yes, it should be NOW, as in right NOW. In this instant, as you are reading this post. Why?  Because that's commitment.  If you don't do this first step NOW, then you aren't really committed.  Or maybe, you are just aren't that serious to shake off that habit.
2. Write it in a piece of paper and read it when you wake up and before you sleep.  Do you remember when you were still a child your parents used to teach you a prayer usually at night, just before you go to bed?  Remember that?  I don't know how you would explain it but the prayers you say at night seems to stick in to your mind more than the prayers you heard or say during day time.  Haven't you noticed that?  Or is it just me?  Anyway, give it a try and see for yourself.  Also, when you prepare for an exam, you review your materials at night, right?  With the hope that maybe you'll get the chance to remember more.  And most of the time it works, agree?  Well, consider your battle against your bad habits as part of your prayer and an exam you have to pass as well.  Prepare at night, before you sleep, and remind yourself when you wake up as you went your way into the day.  
3. Remind yourself that no matter how bad your habits maybe, it isn't you.  Your habits are just part of your being but it isn't you.  It's just like your favorite dress that you love to wear.  You can always change it and you still have yourself.  
4. Think of all the wonderful things that I could bring if you have totally subdued your bad habits.  Also, I don't know what's in it if you imagine the outcome of something.  For example, you want to see a movie and you believe that you'll gonna enjoy it.  Isn't it true that even before you buy your ticket you already feel the excitement and joy?  And the more excited you are, the unstoppable you become.  Be excited about the NEW YOU and be unstoppable. 
5. Commit everything to GOD.  You can do all the first four but that will be futile if you are not clinging on the right rope.  It is like like being in a boat and rowing to death but towards the opposite the current.  USELESS.  So before you proceed any further, remember the basic: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all your ways be mindful of him, and hi will make straight your path (Proverbs 3:5-6)"  Let God show you the way!

I hope that with those steps, I have helped you in your fight with your bad habits. So there, don't let those bad habits take the greatness that awaits you in your life.  ADD MORE GOOD HABITS and BE MORE!  Habit can only be destroyed by another habit.  So make it a habit of Living the Good Life!


To a new and better you!

J. Roy
Author of "The Five Successful Ways to Fail (Things You Weren't Told About Success)"


P.S.  One day on my way home from the office, I asked myself, "why do you keep on writing even if your readers don't increase in numbers?  What do you get from writing?  You haven't even earn anything from it?"  Well my answers are these: One, "why should I not write?"  And two, I think it is not what I get from it that matters, but rather, what am I able to share through it.

Or maybe... just out of an old habit!

YOU COMPLicaTE ME

Now, that doesn't look too original, does it?  Yep, more like the famous line by Tom Cruise from the movie Jerry Maguire.

Alright! First, let me ask you a very simple question.  Will you please explain this:  E=mc2.

Whoa! Don't ask me to do the explaining for you. If you want, check it out on wikipedia or check out the book Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein.  I think it came from that book.  Whatever you chose, don't you look at me and ask me to explain it for you.

"Okay, what's the point?"

Here's the point my friend.  That equation seems to be too simple.  Yes, it appears to be so.  Agree? But, it has baffled the minds of countless scientists of modern time.  Many have tried to disprove it and failed.  That simple equation solved many of mankind's greatest problems and it is still solving even more until now.

What I am trying to say is this.  Solutions to our problems need not be too complicated.  Sometimes, the answer we've been looking for is too simple that we couldn't believe that it is true.  To make my point clear, let's have an illustration.

"What's my life purpose?" You say.

Well, that's a pretty tough question.

I don't think I can answer that in here.  But to simplify my answer, here it is:  "Try GOD."  Yep! Six letters.  That's all there is.  That's all I can say.  That's all we need.  Don't ask me for your purpose in life.  Ask God.  He puts in you here, He must know the reason why.  Why do you like to complicate things looking all by yourself for the answers to your existence?  Have you tried asking Him? Seriously, did you?  If God doesn't seem to answer, maybe you haven't asked seriously.  If you'll keep trying to find the answer to that question of yours, well, I've got news for you.  Before you find it, you will have no more time to spend on that purpose.  So try God.  It will make your life easier and your answers faster.  For some, the answers come in an instant.  For others, a longer period of time.  Here's the thing,  aren't you complaining about life's too many problems already?  So why burden yourself on something you could ask God to answer for you.

I don't have the answers to life's questions.  But I know Someone who can.  And I just told you about Him a while ago.

I've often said that I am a fan of self-help philosophy.  It is reflected in the books I read and perhaps in the articles I write.  One day, not so long ago, I realized that I've been spending too much on too many books that takes too many hours to read and yet too little effect on me.  Then I saw this thick black book I have that has been gathering dusts for a long time.  I opened it and there in front of me were 73 books in one volume (for others, yours may have only 66, depending on the version you're holding).

Here it is, the best "God-Help Book" that I could ever need just being ignored.  Why?

"Because that'll be just too plain and simple.  It can't be the answer?! The answer to my life's questions, the solutions to my life's problems must be complex.  It can't be just as simple as reading the Bible!"  

There! Again, I failed! I can't accept that God is all I need. That simple. That plain.

How about you?  How long will you keep looking for complicated answers to your life's questions and problems?

***

I also have a book entitled, "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" by Robert Fulghum.  It's a gift from Rheena and it has been a long time since I've completed reading it (I guess I must re-read it).  

I want to share with you Fulghum's credo.  He said, 

"All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in Kindergarten.  Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School.  These are the things I learned:

Share everything.Play fair.
Don't hit people.
 Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw some and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Wonder.  Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup:  The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK."

 I didn't go to kindergarten but, I must say that it is indeed during those early part of our lives when we are still young and innocent and life is simple and plain that we learned a lot of things that get us through with life and it's problems.  But when we grow old, we think that our problems become complicated and the solutions should be complex as well.  Could be. But still, I wanna Live the Good Life and so my resolved is to live trying SIMPLICITY FIRST.

***

“Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” - Thomas Kempis

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” - Leonardo Da Vinci

Over Qualified or Under Rated

If you are an employee, you would probably experienced being turned down from a job application even just for once.  If not, then congratulations.  But even so, this article is also for you, so read on.  

What's the usual feedback you get?  Generally it would be that you are "un" qualified for the job.  What else would the reason be?

So you asked yourself, unqualified because of what?  Either you are "over" or "under" but much the same "not" qualified. 

If you applied for a job and you were told that you under-qualified, good for you!  Why is that? Because it means you have the opportunity to improve some more. If your qualifications didn't match what they are looking for, it means you have to improve on those traits a little more.  Be More I say!

But if you overqualified, there goes your dilemma.  What would you do?  Apply to a higher posts or look for another opening.  Seems a pretty good idea.  But before you move in to that, let me ask you something.  Could it not be that you are overqualified because you "under rated" yourself?  You are applying for something lower than what is required of you.  In life, it is asking for something lesser than you deserve.

Let me repeat that.  Could it not be that you are overqualified because you UNDER RATED yourself - asking for something lesser than you really deserve?

Well, it boils down to this.  If you have no clear understanding of yourself and your abilities, chances are, you'll end up in the wrong path.  Not only in your search for work but in life as well. In any way, you must match your strength and character with the choices you make. If what you want seems too high for you, then raise the bar, Be More and reach for it.  There is no use in looking small on yourself.  If there are far greater things you can do or attain, don't make humility an excuse.  False humility makes no sense at all.  I don't think that it appeals to God either.  

So next time that you are tempted to go lower than what is expected of you or give lesser than what you can, think twice whether you are fulfilling your purpose.  

And one last piece of advice, don't settle for less because if feels good, comfortable and that is where most people are.  Rather, strive and then thrive to BE MORE and Live the Good Life!

***

Well, I am just expressing my thoughts, if you have another point of view, please feel free to share.  I welcome comments and constructive criticisms.  

Stick with Your Story

A job application turned down.  A project that never worked.  A diet that was never started.  A business that went south. A sweet life turned bitter.  A love that became hate.

"Why such a sad opening?"

Because we live in the world where "duality" of things and events prevails.  Life isn't always good.  We can't always have a good life, can we?  Well, as we have said before, to everything there is a season.  Let us just say that I just had my share of it no so long ago.

We are all aware that nothing is permanent in this world, even our jobs that we thought were stable enough to survive the tests of time.  We have seen corporate mergers and takeovers.  It's a world of "dog-eats-dog"  the "survival of the fittest."  And normally, it is the people who are the first ones to go.  We have heard of top honchos being kicked out of their offices.  What more could save a rank and file? So I said to myself, before that thing happens to me, I gotta be few steps ahead of it.

But what if, you've applied for a new job and you've been turned down not just once but a lot more?  Well, I know it's frustrating.  The world isn't just unfair, it's ruthless.

Once in our lives we experience helplessness and desperation (and the author of Live the Good Life is no exception).  In one of those low moments of my life thinking how I could be more successful in my career and how to augment the money I've been earning, I have resorted to all the self-help books I could grab, financial magazines, leadership books and business ideas.  I did not spare internet just to have ideas on how to earn more.   I was too fascinated with success stories of other people - people who get rich quick and people who earn money with virtually doing and investing nothing.  I thought my blogs could help me.  I put on adds and joined affiliate selling.  But so far, I have yet to earn my first dollar.  Then I get depressed even more.  I applied for another affiliate site and I was turned down for the following reasons:

"The website does not have enough link popularity"
"The website is submitting too many posts in a day"
"The website is not posting unique content"


What do all these things supposed to mean?  


Was all the time I've spent on reading and researching getting me no where?  Well, it seems to be heading that way.

In my desperation, I just wanted to isolate my self from the world.  Sometimes I would just blankly stare at something somewhere.  I longed for the moments when my head would just be still and quite.

Then it hit me.

It was staring at me for the longest time.  I haven't found my biggest "why" yet.

Do I want to be wealthy?  Yes, of course!  I believe that there's nothing wrong with being wealthy.  More so, I believe that there are more good things that I can do when I become wealthy.

But why?  So I can buy freedom of time to do the things that I wanted to do.  But why?  Because I want to spend more time with the people who matter to me the most?  But why?  Because I want to show to them how much I love them and how much I longed for the moments to spend my life with them without having to worry about where, when and how to get the money to spend.  But why?   Because at the end of my life story I want to be remembered by the very people I loved that I've lived my life for them.  But why?  Because it is my way of repaying the Lord, in my own simple ways, to give back to others the blessings He has given me - love, talent, time and treasures.  These are my big WHYs.

At the end of this journey, it won't matter how much I've succeeded, nor how many times I've tried and failed.  It won't matter how many streets they would name after me, or holidays after me, or books they would write about me.  It won't matter how much money I've made, how much I gave or how much I've kept.  At the end of this journey, what would matter would be how much I've complied with what was expected of me - loving with all the love I can give.  Being rich is just one of the many vehicles I can ride.  (We want to be rich not for the sake of being rich but for what we are becoming along the way.  This is the philosophy of we have at one of our new blog Pinoy Millionaires Circle.)    

Ahh... what a relief.  Just a while ago, I was about to bang my head on the wall because of the gloominess I've felt.  Now, I feel much better.  Is this the hour of "sweet-lemoning?"  Nope!  I don't think so.  I think the darkest part of the night just passed, that part of the night when the dawn is about to come.

Do I still feel down because after all the money and time I've invested on books and researches and yet the only source of my income is STILL my monthly salary?  Do I still feel sad because my blogs "aren't popular" and "without unique contents?"  YES!  I won't deny it because I can't and there's no need to.  But I can say now that it doesn't matter to me that much.  As long as there are people who read my posts and learn from it, even that be only a single person, I won't stop sharing my thoughts.  Whether I earn or not from my blogs, it doesn't matter.  What matters to me is the life that I could change because of what I share.

Maybe earning from blogging isn't for me.  Maybe my "luck" is yet to come.  But that's no excuse for me to stop acting on my dreams.  I think I'll just have to squeeze out some more ideas.  If there's such thing as "luck", i think it would be "being the right person at the right time, at the right place and FOR THE RIGHT REASON."  

Life doesn't always give us milk and honey. Sometimes, it throws us lemons.  And when it does, let's be thankful we now have another flavor for our drinks.

I believe in a greater future.  I believe in miracles and I believe that I am one.  I believe in Living the Good Life!  How about you? 

Trials, success, failures, joys, sadness... It's a roller coaster ride.  But this is my life.  This is my story.  And as inspirational speaker Les Brown would say, "This is my story and I'm sticking with it."

You Are Not An Exception

"Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law." -Sophocles

 Let me ask you a very personal question today.  Why do you think you experience things going out of orders or simply not the way it's supposed to be?  Was it because of some external factors and the circumstances or was it because of our own actions?

I have been in this world for more than a quarter of a century and in my life and work experiences I've seen people who make and break their own laws.

You may have heard of lawmakers being sued or accused of graft and corrupt practices, business owners and executives being fired out for not following established rules and regulations, and companies going into bankruptcy because they violate the laws they are supposed to adhere to.

I don't have to go too far and cite as many example as I can.  All I have to do is just look in the mirror and there I'll see the living example of a man who makes and breaks his own law.

As humans, we know we have to abide to certain order of things.  But how do we really respond to this order?

Let's take the following examples for living a good life:

• Love and serve God
• Honor and love your parents 
• Treat others as you want to be treated
• Make new friends and keep the old ones 
• Eat healthy foods
• Exercise daily
• Get enough rest/sleep
• Read a good book
• Save
• Invest
• Work hard
• Pray harder

... and the list goes on and on.  These are just some of the laws or rules we set for ourselves but remain in the list and were never followed.  Most of the time, it is us, the person who are supposed to impose it, are the first ones to break it.

In every aspect our lives there are laws - in living a good life, in dealing with people, in dealing with our families, in running our businesses, and in our workspaces.  As many as the laws we have are the ways we do to circumvent it and make ourselves the exceptions.  

We know the laws.  The universal ones and the ones we make for ourselves.  But more often than not, we are the first ones who break it.  Then we ask why are things falling apart?  We ask why we don't get what we want.  The answer is simple - STOP BREAKING THE LAW.  You are not an exception to the law, even if you the one who makes them.  Because when you do, you are throwing away your self-respect.  

Remember what we've always said, Be More to Have More.  If you want more respect from others, learn to respect yourself more.  If you want a more orderly life, put more order in to your heart.

God said that the wage of sin is death.  That's His law.  There's no one above it, even His own Son Jesus.  Jesus died in the cross as a payment for sins.  Whose sins?  Mine.  Yours.  Ours.  Even God did not excused Him from His Law.  That's obedience.  That's dignity.  That's true honor.  That's leadership.  

If God did not spare Himself from the Law, who are we not to follow?  

May I ask you to do something?

Write down your personal laws, it could be ones you've already established or the ones you would like to implement into your life in the future.  Then, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP MAKING EXCUSES!  YOU ARE NOT AN EXCEPTION!  

It may seem that I am a little harsh this time.  That's because the message is not just for your, my reader, but for me as well.  

I encourage you to take time to think about this.  And in the process, may you learn to Live the Good Life.

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way." - Thomas Paine

Young at Heart

Happy New Year Everyone!

It may be late but still, I think I ought to greet each of you a very wonderful new year.  However, a few days ago, I mentioned in Facebook that we are too excited about new years and the new things it could bring us that sometimes we neglect the changes a new day brings.  So each day, why don't we greet ourselves a "happy new day?"

Normally, at every turn of the year, people started thinking about their age increasing.  Like me, every new years eve, I would always say, "It's year ___ now and I will be ____ years old by next month.  I have grown older by a year."

But the thing is, it is not always the number of years that adds to our lives that matter but the number of lives we've touched all those years.  

My New Year's wish for each of us, "may we find meaning in those years we've lived."

***

Earlier as I was preparing for dinner,  I played my Michael Buble album and for the first time, my attention was caught by the song "Young at Heart."  I believe that this song was an original by Frank Sinatra.  For those who happened not to know the song, here's the lyrics that I've got from the internet:

"Fairy tales can come true

It can happen to you if you're young at heart 

For it's hard, you will find

To be narrow of mind if you're young at heart 

You can go to extremes with impossible schemes

You can laugh when your dreams fall apart at the seams

And life gets more exciting with each passing day

And love is either in your heart or on the way

Don't you know that it's worth

Every treasure on earth to be young at heart

For as rich as you are

It's much better by far to be young at heart 

And if you should survive to a hundred and five

Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive

And here is the best part, you have a head start

If you are among the very young at heart

And if you should survive to a hundred and five

Look at all you'll derive out of bein' alive

And here is the best part, you have a head start

If you are among the very young at heart" 

The very lines that made me stop with what I was doing are the lines that say,

Don't you know that it's worth

Every treasure on earth to be young at heart

For as rich as you are

It's much better by far to be young at heart

So my friends, instead of worrying about your age this new year, think that those are just numbers.  Material treasures matter, but it is much better by far to be young at heart.  So Dear Friends, feel young, feel the energy, feel good.  Live the Good Life.  

Take time to listen to good songs like this one and may you also find inspiration as you continue living the good life.

Happy New Day!