Experience Bank: Live Now, Secure Your Future

Live your life. Deposit the experiences to your Bank. Withdraw them any time you need to draw the lessons or feelings that can fuel your passion. Gain interest by making good use of your experiences.

Live!

Invest now.

Secure the future—not only yours, but even your descendants’.

Imagine yourself in a deathbed. Cruel idea? Not really. It might even save you from thousands of regrets. If you would look back on how you lived your life, would you smile or frown?

Now snap back to reality.

Establish your own bank! Your own bank of experiences, where you deposit your lessons learned, failures, your dreams, your successes, what have you.

 

In your own Experience Bank, be your own CEO. Be your own teller; your own ATM; and even your own security guard.

Start monitoring your activities, your life transactions. In this way you’ll be in auto-active mode. Because you don’t want to be zero or in the red, yourself will naturally make activities that will propel you to progress instead of getting stuck at where you are now.

Have you tried playing a game on your phone or on the internet and you just suddenly get hooked on it because you want to beat the best score? Same thing could work if you will consciously monitor your life transactions.

Closing your eyes and recall the week that was. Would you want to see a dark blank image or hear a story on repeat each week? Of course not!

Start by refreshing your heart and mind buttons. Just like in real banks, you also have to "know your customer" or the KYC policy. Ask yourself what you want to achieve in life (finish this course, invest in that business, travel to this continent, earn that much…name it!). Then plot your personalized map or timetable on how and when you will get them. Be realistic in setting your goals and timelines, and be deliberate with your actions—short-term, medium-term, and long-term action plans.

Go out of your nook! See the world. Learn from people from various walks of life. Visit places. Have a taste of different cultures and subcultures.

Your experiences and your observations will inspire you in ways you do not expect and many useful ideas will just pop out of nowhere. If you will constantly move and progress, all these fruitful activities—simple and complex alike—will snowball and incur interest that will make you a million-dollar worth person without spending even a tenth of it.

If you have no money to finance any activity, it’s okay! If you don't have a college degree, it’s alright! In your own Experience Bank, your own CEO doesn’t care. You can still become a client, an investor.

Even if you don’t have money or don’t have a diploma, the world is so big and limitless, it can offer you wide array of opportunities to fulfill your goal. You just have to be determined to achieve your goal and be purposeful with your actions. Look around you, do you know Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Henry Sy, Lucio Tan, or any drop out or rags-to-riches in your place? Learn from them.

You see, your imaginations, your experiences, and your generosity can grow your worth. By doing something, you only gain, you never lose any.

I cannot tell how you must live your life. You are your own boss, your own captain. You are your own CEO remember? But what I can tell you with certainty and confidence is, you can be victorious! You can be worth more than a million!

Just have a goal. Own it. Do something about it constantly.

Your experiences are priceless and cannot be stolen from you. They can even gain interest by putting them to good use and sharing them with your kids, who can learn from them, or even try or improve them, and pass them on to their kids to further improve them.

Live your life. Deposit your experiences to your Bank. Withdraw them any time you need to draw the lessons or the feelings you had that can fuel your passion. Gain interest by making good use of your experiences.

If you are the CEO, you have the say on how to grow your Experience Bank; remember, you are also the security guard who has the duty to control what may be deposited and at what given time; what may be withdrawn and when; and who may come with you in the bank.

To launch your bank, get your pen and paper.

       1. Make a Gratitude Notebook

Divide the page in halves lengthwise. On the left column, write the “Things I Am Thankful For” (at least 10 things that happened during that day). On the right column, write the “Things I Am Thankful For (yes, same time, but these are the things that you claim to happen and you feel that is happening already. Attract them, think of them, and your body will naturally respond to get them). Do this daily to reinforce them.

       2. Make a Timetable/Map to get to your goals

By writing down your goals or dreams, you have a clear picture of where you are now and you can devise ways on how to get to your goal on a specific date. There may be many ways in skinning a cat, but be specific about your goals and timings. This timetable/map will serve as your guide, as your compass, in knowing where you are as you progress towards your goals or dreams.

       3. Keep a mini notebook with you

This will serve as your bankbook. Whenever  you learn something, observe something, realize something, write it down. In time you will need them. This bankbook will keep a record of your experiences, so don’t hesitate to write down both the “ouch!” and the “wow!”, and the “no!” and the “yes!”.

After mapping out your investment schedule, just keep on moving whatever your mood is. Do not worry about your future… just live where you are, your future starts now. Invest there, grow from here.

“…your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” ~ Matthew 6:32-34

“Fortune favors the bold.” ~ Virgil

Life’s like it! A Mural

Every detail in your life has a reason and purpose, and the story of your life doesn’t end yesterday nor today. Don’t live a boring and unproductive life. Don’t just exist. Live! Paint a good life.

Mural is a large piece of artwork, usually painted on a wall or ceiling, in which the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously applied into the master piece.

When you stand close to a Mural, you can see the details—the beauty of the skillfully painted intricate details or the imperfections of the strokes and the hues. When look at it a few distance away, you can see the entire picture—the work of art formed by the combination of the plain and elaborate details and of the dark and light colors and the combination of the imperfections.

Life’s like it! A Mural.

When we examine our lives daily, sometimes we don’t see the reason, or we can’t see the purpose, why some things arrive in our lives or certain events happen to us. But whenever we try to step out of and detach ourselves from the situation, we gradually realize the reason why such things or events happen to us.

The mural is the beauty and meaning conceived by the skill, imperfections, dark, and light elements of our lives.

Living our lives daily is like painting the smallest details of our own murals. We have failures, successes, heartbreaks, breakthroughs, disappointments, victories to tell.

Some parts are dark colored, others bright. Some portions are complex, others simple. Some painted on the corners, others on the center. These elements have their own right places and own roles in your life.

Because the mural is so big, some dark parts could mean non-sense when you look at it closely, or some strokes seem out of place. But when you take steps back, you will see how the dark parts harmoniously blend with the light and bright colors and the beauty it adds to the entire piece, or how the senseless strokes magically form the elegant images of the mural.

So whatever the previous years painted in your vast mural, don’t  sneer, they are just part and parcel of the master piece that is not yet complete. Don’t stay content either. For as you live each day, the meaning and beauty of the mural is revealed in half concealing.

You are in control. You hold the brush and the palette. You can always make the entire master piece become the image you envision it to be. Or, if in the middle of the course you have a change of heart, you can always continue and paint your story the way you want it to be.

You always have a story to paint, a life to live.

So jump off your couch. Don’t just analyze and plan. Move and progress, so once your mural is complete, it will tell a beautiful story of your life—just the way you intended to live it.

You are the painter, you are in control. But God gives you the skill and the imagination. So pray for His guidance and wisdom in order for you to interpret well the things that you have just painted (past) and so you will have the skill and genius to continue incorporating in it the right elements (now) to achieve the vision that you want to achieve (future).

You don't have to go far or do grand things in order to make meaning out of your daily lives. Just live—wherever you may be. Be productive. Improve. Keep on learning. Interact with people, including those you see everyday. Make the most of the moment...seize it. Don't hover regretting. Move over growing.

Every detail in your life has a reason and purpose, and the story of your life doesn’t end yesterday nor today.

Do you want a colorful life, a simple life, or an elegant life? Don’t just sit there. Make it!

Life becomes more meaningful when it is lived actively, not passively and safely. When we let ourselves experience and explore the various emotions out there we learn more and appreciate life from a different perspective.

Don’t be restricted by your disappointments yesterday. Break-free and breakthrough!

Don’t be content of your success of the past. Move forward!

Don’t live a boring and unproductive life. Don’t just exist. Live!

Paint a good life.

Happy new year! May you have a colorful year ahead filled with love, joy, good health, prosperity, and victories! Be grateful for every thing that will happen… God has prepared the beautiful story of your life already. You just have to live it!

Roar ain't Enough to Make a Good Bleat

The sun is peeping between the chains of mountains. The golden orange cotton cloud is gradually eating the light blue expanse. Life is starting to fill the surroundings—chickens clucking, birds chirping, goats bleating.

Unique, the outcast tiger cub, cheerfully jumps off his flattened thick grass bed and greets the baby goats good morning.

The kids, with their unkempt clumpy fur, look at each other and laugh at Unique in chorus.

Unique was found by mother goat alone, wounded, and helpless in the prairie, so she decided to bring him home and to raise him well like her own.

It's been months already since unique lived, played, and worked with them but the goat's ways just fail to be imprinted upon him.

He cannot bleat like how the goats bleat. He doesn't like the taste of the meals of the goats, but he just keeps it to himself. His coat and body structure is different from the goat kids he plays with.

The kids always make fun of Unique because he is different—big and guttural voice, stripy fur, thick but few whiskers, big paws, sharp claws, stocky body. So Unique thinks that he is ugly; he is unacceptable; he is weak; he is cursed. Unique becomes the laughing stock in the prairie.

Unique starts to develop self-pity and inferiority complex, and other self-images that breed negative attitudes. The once cheerful and friendly unique now becomes aloof and insecure.

One day when the goats and Unique go up the mountain to play. Each brings a bag full of leaves and grass since the season is dry.

The goats laugh at the way Unique walks and the way his tail moves. Unique cannot talk back since they will just keep on laughing, this time at the way he bleats. So Unique contains the anger in his throat. When the goats start to get tired from playing on their way up, they start eating their food. Unique, on the other hand, is still full of energy and his food still untouched, partly because he doesn’t like it.

When they are halfway through up, the goats' bags are already almost empty. They ask Unique for some food as his bag is still full. Unique refuses to share his every time they ask him for some food.

Unique's back is starting to ache while the goats are starting to feel hungry and weak, yet the goats keep playing and laughing on their way up as they keep on making fun of Unique's manners of walking and bleating and his seemingly unflagging strength. The heavy throb in his chest makes him want to tear them apart; but the voice of his mother goat talking in his mind stops him so.

Seeing a river, they all stop for a drink. Unique sees his reflection on the glaring, clear, slow running water. He realizes not only are his voice and coat different from theirs but also his face and size. Unique feels even uglier and more insecure after seeing his reflection. He feels so inferior and unblessed.

To make himself feel better, he seals his bag so tightly so the leaves and grass will not fall from it as they climb and so the goats will feel the pain he feels even just by means of hunger. Unique feels bad about what he is doing to his brothers and friends; but his anger and insecurity shoot up that he'd rather see them hungry than share food with them.

Some of the goats faint as they move up the hardly trailed ridge; others stop at some point to find food; until only Unique remains walking up with aching back and all alone.

Unique reaches the pinnacle, and no-one else.

Unique looks around. He stares at the vastness of the field below. He realizes how big the world is and how ugly and weak and different and lonely he is.

In his sadness, Unique sobs. Until he cries so hard that his voice trembles til it cracks a roar. Unique is surprised of what he hears. He gets scared of the voice coming from within. Another roar comes out of his throat. He chuckles in curiosity and fear. He thinks the monster inside him is coming out due to his uncontained anger. He just cannot control it, he keeps on roaring as he cries in pity and fear.

To his surprise, a bleat fades in with the gush of the wind from behind. It is mother goat trying to comfort him and thank him. All the while, mother goat was following them as they played and climbed unaware.

"Don't be sad because you're different," quips mother goat. "Unique, you are special. You will never be like any of us no matter how hard you try because you were born bigger, stronger, and faster. Thank you for doing your best to be one of us."

Unique’s sadness now melts to confusion as to why his mother goat is saying he is special and is thanking him. Before he talks in disbelief and further skepticism, mother goat tells him the truth—how she found him and who he really is.

"I love you that's why I brought you home and cared for you. I saw your goodness and potentials that's why I trusted you in a lot of things, including how gently and carefully you treat your brother goats, who belittle you and laugh at your differences," says mother goat.

"You are meant to do other things than what we are doing. Your brothers are surely better than you in doing our thing. Your roar will never be good enough a bleat. All this is because you are born for another thing. Listen to the beat of your heart, it is telling you who you are," added mother goat in assurance.

Unique brushes his face on the face of his mother goat. He is moved by the sincerity of his mother goat's words and the love she has shown him since the day he can remember.

Now Unique forgives his brother goats and friends, and most importantly, he forgives himself. He now embraces who he is and starts to unlearn his unfounded self-image as he begins to build a new self-image established on acceptance(of who he is), gratitude(for what he has), and forgiveness(for what his self-pity and insecurity made him to be).

"Go out in the open field, my son. Discover your voice, your strength, your beauty, and your role and place in the field," mother goat encourages Unique.

In gratitude and respect, Unique thanks mother goat and kisses her goodbye.

Unique checks, once more, his reflection on  the river. He practices his unsteady roar and runs and leaps as he reaches the vast open field. Unique feels the lightness and joy of being his own self. He now appreciates his strength, his size, and the purpose of the stripes of his coat.

Still in awe of his abilities and potentials, he realizes that the reason why his back ached as they climbed the mountain is not because he was lacking energy but because he never unloaded his "baggage" due to trumped up self-pity, insecurity, anger, and selfishness.

Now, as Unique accepts his whole being—both what he can and cannot do—he also gains self-respect.

xxx

Friends, go out, experience the world, and push yourself to the limit... Perhaps the reason why you feel awkward or your voice cannot be understood or others see you differently or you don't fit in is simply because you are different... Be bold. Your "bleat" will never be good enough if you are meant to "roar." Discover what you are made of, treat yourself as how you are to the eyes of your Creator, and grow where you should be. Seize the day as how He sees you!"

-----------------------------------------------------------

I am so happy I am here again! I have been very busy, happily busy, for the past few months that I was not able to write an article... I have a list of entries to write, though. I just need to buy time to sit and type. For now, enjoy the fable :-)

Pork Barrel SideBar: Burning Unnecessary Fats

Greed allures one to obliviously live in the allegory of the cave, making one forget the beauty of light, authenticity, and freedom...

Janet Lim-Napoles is in the ridiculous conflict of being a victim, a medium, and a beneficiary. Whatever the real story is, the result of her choices and actions is just about to unfold.

Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is so hefty for a body whose task is primarily and generally to make laws. For me, PDAF should be abolished. The budget must be wisely rechannelled directly to the LGUs, educ/health/youth/livelihood/environmental projects, and marginalized groups and legit cooperatives of farmers and fishermen. Provided, there is a wise set of standard and safeguards for the budget allocation, project execution monitoring, and post-execution evaluation... Sadly, legislative is the one which can pass or approve such bills.

Whatever we say now, our remedy to our political diseases is found in elections itself. This is one of the reasons why we should know very well the candidates for public office and vote very wisely during elections.

For now, we are just spectators of the political exhibition and acrobatics.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)

Ø  a lump-sum appropriation in the annual General Appropriations Act to fund the priority development programs and projects of the government; popularly known as “pork barrel”

Pork Barrel

Ø political largesse

Ø spending is subjective as opposed to “earmark”, which is an objective determination

Ø spending which is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes.

Ø originated in a pre-Civil War practice of giving slaves a barrel of salt pork as a reward and requiring them to compete among themselves to get their share of the handout. A barrel of salt pork was a common larder item in 19th century households, and could be used as a measure of the family's financial well-being (1919, Chester Collins Maxey).

Soft Pork Barrel

Ø non-infrastructure projects that are more in the vein of financial assistance like scholarships and livelihood programs.

Hard Pork Barrel

Ø projects or infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, school buildings, and the like.

House of Representatives (each Congressman, yearly)

Soft Pork Barrel Project: P30 million

Hard Pork Barrel Project: P40 million

Senate (each Senator, yearly)

Soft Pork Barrel Project: P100 million

Hard Pork Barrel Project: P100 million

Choices of Projects:

 1.        Education – scholarships

 2.        Arts and culture

 3.        Health – financial assistance to indigent patients, purchase of medical equipment

 4.        Livelihood/ social services

 5.        Housing

 6.        Rural electrification

 7.        Irrigation

 8.        Water supply – construction of water system, installation of pipes/pumps/tanks

 9.        Financial assistance – for specific programs and projects of LGUs

10.       Public works – roads, bridges, flood control, school buildings, hospitals, health facilities, public markets, multi-purpose buildings and pavements

11.       Peace and order – purchase of firetrucks and firefighting equipment, patrol vehicles, prisoners’ vans, multicabs, police patrol equipment, construction/repair of fire stations, police stations, jails

12.       Forest management

Managing Stress: Breathe and Start Living

Stress wreaks havoc on our mental, emotional, and physical health. Stress narrows our capability to think clearly, enjoy life, and function effectively. It hampers us in our journey toward our goals.

Time flies so fast!

We are now in the second half of the year. I bet many of us need to reboot or refresh…

In the busy and fast-paced world we are living, stress, burn out, tension, strain are just some of the popular words we hear [and experience] almost everyday, may we be at work, in school, or even at home.

If we are living with high levels of stress, our entire well-being is being put at risk.

Stress wreaks havoc on our mental, emotional, and physical health. Stress narrows our capability to think clearly, enjoy life, and function effectively. It hampers us in our journey toward our goals.

Difficulty is part of life, and this difficulty is the one that makes us feel stressed out. We cannot just shut “difficulty” down or be blind about its presence. The good news is, we can manage it!

Take charge of your stress! Do your best to prevent, reduce, and cope with stress.

The key to enjoy your life in the midst of hustle and bustle? EQUILIBRIUM. A balanced life.

Below are some of the easy-breezy strategies that can help you combat daily stress.

I. Avoid Unnecessary Stress

Managing stress is all about taking charge—of your thoughts, emotions, environment, and your manner of dealing with everyday difficulties.

a. Learn how to say “No”

Identify your limits and work around them. Accepting too much responsibility eats up most of your time and energy. Don’t spread yourself thinly; otherwise, your assets (skills, talents, and good attitude) will become your liabilities because your deliverables would become of less quality, or eventually you feel tired and abused, or your health could suffer.

b. Avoid people who stress you out

Limit the amount of time you spend with your emotional vampires, or those who consistently cause or bring you worry, anxiety, irritation, or complications. If you still cannot prevent them, handle them lightly and don’t allow them get into your nerves by just letting them be and just deal with them diplomatically (like if at work), and do your best to stay focused at what you need to accomplish at that very moment.

c. Take control of your environment

Think ahead. Figure out ways on how to deal with the situations that may arise when scenario A, B, C, or D happens. Don’t push yourself against the stress wall and be stuck, instead, find ways on how to climb it and get to the enjoyable side of life. “Preparation” reduces, if not totally eliminates, stress in every situation.

d. Avoid hot-button topics

If you get easily upset over a certain topic and you often find yourself arguing with people over it, just stop bringing that issue up or simply excuse yourself from the conversation to prevent conflicts that might burn you out.

e. Trim down your to-do list

Know your priorities and schedule your daily tasks accordingly. Distinguish between the “should” and the “musts”; and the “urgent” and the “important. Eliminate the unnecessary tasks. Don’t manage time for it will always be 24 hours a day; instead, manage your tasks efficiently and effectively.

II. Alter the Situation

If you cannot avoid a stressful situation, alter it! Figure out what changes you can do to reduce or prevent stress.

a. Express your feelings

If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your feelings honestly but courteously. Repressing your feelings tends to build up stress and might just complicate the situation. Conversely, opening up reduces your stress.

b. Be willing to compromise

If you want someone to change his attitude or behavior, be willing to meet half-way and change or adjust yours too. That person may also be experiencing something about you that he doesn’t like or agree with. Whether he is the only problem or not, doing your part will help you improve your social skills when learn the art of coping with people having a personality different from yours.

c. Be determined

Delay gratification. If you have something to do, stick to it. Be prepared and focused. If interruptions or distractions come your way, stand your ground by tactfully informing others what you need to finish or by abiding by first-things-first principle.

d. Take quick breaks

Don’t soak yourself in your work. It will not make you the Best Employee in town. Take quick breaks to stretch so blood will circulate well in your body or take a quick snack so your mind can refresh and be able to digest ideas or to release creative juices. During a “toxic” season, avoid overwhelming yourself. Break deliverables into manageable tasks, and do them systematically rather than one-time big time. Committing yourself to tasks that you cannot handle within the day will just affect the quality of your work and your mood.

III. Accept the Stressor and Adapt

Accept the things you cannot change and control. If you cannot control external factors, it’s okay! You can always manage the internal factor—you can choose to do better, feel better, and think better. You can better adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and your attitude.

a. Don’t force yourself to control the uncontrollable

Forcing yourself to control the uncontrollable (like the weather, the traffic, the mood of your boss, etc) will only create your burn out, and even fan the fire. Focus on the things that you can control and change.

b. Look at the bright side and from the upside

When faced with a problem, don’t focus on its inherent difficulty. Look at it as a good break to shine. Trials are opportunities in work clothes. Once you solve or overcome the problem, it will not only take you closer to your goal but will also reward you with good self-confidence and self-image.

c. Adjust your standard and attitude

Perfectionism is a major source of stress. Don’t be cruel to yourself and to others by expecting perfect results or the best quality of work all the time. Set reasonable and attainable standard for yourself and for others.

IV. Back to Basic

Refresh your outlook and reboot your system by going back to the heart of it all—yourself!

a. Nurture yourself

Dedicate one day a week for a really good rest day. Sleep like a baby. Relax! Do the things you enjoy and love. Have a good time with friends or simply have a “Me-time”. The important thing is you afford yourself a window time to recharge and appreciate your life.

b. Laugh

Keep a good sense of humor. Read funny articles, watch funny movies, or crack jokes with your friends. Loosen up and learn to laugh, even at yourself!

c. Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Exercise regularly to allow your blood to circulate well and to stimulate your brain. Have a healthy diet so you feel  healthy and feel good about yourself. Get a good sleep.

Remember, life is a gift to be enjoyed and shared with your loved ones.

Take care of yourself and live a balanced life!