After a Long Hiatus

I know that it has been quite a long time since I last posted something on this website. My apologies to my very modest number of followers (hehe), who personally sent me private messages asking whether this site is still active. I have been quite busy lately having started different ventures here and there — the most recent being that I am now also work as a lecturer on a part time basis at the University of Makati.

Yes, I am back in the academe again and it has been great! I currently teach philosophy subjects such as Ethics and Logic. It dawned on me that I have a bachelor’s and a master’s in philosophy and yet I am not making use of them in my career. From a financial standpoint, they are not making me money. On the other hand, from a personal standpoint, my level of understanding in philosophy had been stagnant for a very long time(more than half a decade), rendering the said degrees to become merely as paper decorations that not even hanging them on the wall would be considered worth it. So last November 2020, I started sending applications, was invited for a panel interview and teaching demonstration in December, got hired in January, and started teaching in February. Now that I teach public university students, my morale has been boosted knowing the fact that in my simple way, I am able to reach out to society through my students and, in effect, have a sense of public service.

Although there are challenges brought about by adding another active stream of income, I am able to manage. One of which is the fact that I have to adapt to the new normal way of teaching considering that the whole world is impacted by this Covid-19 pandemic. We were encouraged to lessen our synchronous classes (real time online classes) in favor of making pre-recorded video lectures that our students could access at their own pace and time. This difficulty is understandable since most of my students are government scholars and (thanks to the the unreliable internet connection in the Philippines) could not afford more expensive internet plans; hence, they attend online classes without turning on their cameras since they are only using a limited amount of data. This poses a challenge to me because it is quite hard talking and not connecting to an audience at the same time. I very much prefer to give a lecture to a physical audience, but these are troubled times and one has to adapt.

Moreover, preparing pre-recorded video lectures consumes a lot of time. It used to be that teacher and professors study and prepare for the lessons in class. Now, apart from constantly updating myself for the subjects that I teach, I have to add more items to my preparation checklist: study the topic, read a book, make an outline summary, create a powerpoint slide, create a video and edit it, upload the video online for my students to see. This requires a lot of work considering that I have a full time job.

Reviewing the Venn Diagram in Analyzing the Validity of Syllogisms.

However, thanks to technology, I am able to handle it. I know for a fact that this is not a permanent difficulty and it is only burdensome on the first year of teaching since it would be the first time for me to make the materials in class. It should be easier in the succeeding years (should I decide to continue) since I would just have to update my previous materials. So, kapit lang (Hang in there.) as we say in Filipino.

My return to the academe is actually one of the reasons why I decided to work on my website again. One of my projects is to share some of the lessons I give to my students in this website. I plan to add a philosophy section where my site visitors will also be able to see them if they are interested to know more about philosophy. The lessons will be delivered in Taglish (Tagalog and English) though. hehe. So this is an additional feature to look forward to very soon.

Aside from my academic venture, I also worked hard to find a tenant for my two real estate properties. I hired a 3rd party broker to see if they could find one for me. However, after a year of waiting, they were not able to find one for me. Thus, I decided to work on it myself. In building wealth, we cannot rely on others. There will be times when we will have to take matters in our own hands. Now, I am happily making rental income from my two properties. I will write about it in a separate blog article. They may not be enough to substitute what I make from my corporate job, but they establish the foundations of building my own empire.

I still continue to work as a bilingual specialist. The money is good and it pays the bills. At this point, it would be crazy to give it all up, at least not during these times of pandemic. Our company is generous and quick enough to respond to the needs of the times. When the Covid-19 virus first hit the Philippines in March 2020, we were one of the first companies that started to implement the work-from-home (WFH) setup. I continue to enjoy the benefits of working from home and that is the reason why I was able to recover, contemplate on my next steps, and start different ventures.

So far those have been the updates I am sharing for now. I will definitely work on this website more often starting today. There are quite a number of contents I am going to upload. I will definitely share them.

Again, to all those who expected to see more contents, my apologies. I am back!

What I Learned From the Fisherman’s Story

The Mexican Fisherman

I saw this interesting video clip in Youtube:

The story struck me. It makes me wonder as to how long I am willing to work my ass off to live the life that I want. Besides, what is the point of having a good-paying job and having spent all those years learning Spanish to land on a high-paying job just to end up in the rat race working in perpetuity before I can finally get off and live the life the way I want? The story of the Mexican fisherman presents to us a situation of a vicious circle. The businessman convinces him to amplify his livelihood from a mere job to launching his very own IPO just so he can cash in his chips, retire early and do the things that he is already currently doing with his present lifestyle. It does not make any difference to skip from Point A to get to Point B and C just to end up to A.

A question is raised: Why work for a long time to live a life that you want rather than living the life that you want right now while working?

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Having read Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it became clear to me that I do not want to be an employee for the rest of my life. I work because I want to learn things I can use in the future in order to create my own business and thus, establish multiple sources of income. Kiyosaki points out one fault of colleges and universities, i.e. to train future employees with the hope of retiring in their old age. There may be exceptions but this is the main “blueprint” in which traditional schools operate.

The reason why I studied and work for big corporations is so that I can learn. After school, employment will be the next source of information. Companies are excellent sources of information. What better way to get educated than attending free trainings and workshops to learn the ropes of business and, in most cases, get paid? The objective is to train new hires, expose them to real-life situations with a plethora of soft and hard skills. Given that employers invest money in people, it is natural that they expect something in return. The very principle in economics is that there is no such thing as free lunch; everything has a price.

There is nothing wrong with being an employee provided that a person is clear with his objectives. Some people are happy being employees and that is completely fine. Society cannot operate if all people are business owners. Who would account for curing the sick, teaching the illiterate, solve crimes and so on and so forth if all people are too busy dedicating their lives to their own businesses. Nevertheless, people who are, like me, have no plan of being an employee forever, who have a vision of establishing business and providing jobs to others, those who dream of being free to do things that matter the most, then business and investing is the way out.

The Right Approach

The best way to do is to enjoy life in the here and now while being clear to gradually, slowly but surely work one’s way out of the rat race. Work hard for a reason. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life to the fullest as long as you remain grounded and determined to your objectives and live a life in moderation.

Career Game Changers

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

-Seneca, Roman Philosopher

Game changers do happen in one’s career. Be it a promotion, a new job that pays a 6-figure salary, or a new business capital raised from one’s lottery winnings, its frequency varies from person to person. Even Aristotle admitted that some people are born lucky. Nevertheless, one needs to be in a constant lookout for such things, for when they go, they may be gone for good.

I, for one, turned down a number of opportunities when I was younger. They could have influenced what I am today. There were some decisions that could have changed the entire course of my life. I am sure each of us has a fair share of such an experience. The reality is we cannot turn back time. Those missed opportunities may not return. Some may be luckier to have second chances, but life is indeed a box that may not always be filled with sweet, good-quality chocolates (to put a pun on what Forrest Gump said).

What then is the point of moving forward? What is the point of pursuing a degree, of learning a new skill, or on working hard on achieving our dreams if all of life is but a game of chance – a couple of few windfalls enjoyed only by a chosen (lucky) few?

There is hope; there is a sense of purpose. Now that we have established that life is filled with occasional game changers, preparation is key. One can never go wrong with preparation. Opportunities do come and go. I would rather be prepared when I am lucky than be lucky yet unprepared. This fine demarcation is what distinguishes successful people from the rest. They work hard so that when an opportunity opens, they catapult themselves to their goals. Game changers are catalysts in that they can fast forward events to help us reach our goals faster. Success is, therefore, not merely all about luck. It is a combination of luck and hard work.

We may not have any control as to when game changers present themselves in the course of our career. However, we do have control over our decisions. It is either we wait for life to throw lemons at us or we have baskets ready to catch them!

At some point in my career I thought I became stagnant. I thought I reached a plateau in terms of career growth. I believed there was no chance for me to be greater than where I was. Until one day, one company – one whose offer I rejected twice – contacted me and “gave me another job offer I could not refuse”. It showed me some figures I never anticipated early on in my corporate career. Not only that, they were even willing to wait for me for 2 months before I could go on board with them. I always work hard to be good at my craft, but I never expected that an opportunity would present itself to help me get to my goal faster. It was my game changer.

I eventually signed up and am now a part of this new company. I made the right decision and I am happy with where I am now. This new company values me for what I can do. It never fails to let me feel that I am part of something big. I am proud to be part of a team that plays a crucial role in meeting the company’s goals and objectives. For me, this is the very definition of preparation meeting opportunity. It changed everything – it changed my plans, the direction of my career, my ambitions. Am I lucky? I say I am prepared for such an opportunity.

We may feel like we are working hard only for naught. We need to change our mindset. It is completely fine to work hard, just do not do it blindly. Work hard and at the same time be vigilant of game changers.