Painting my Happiness!

Jesus never said it would be easy or that we would always understand everything. I suppose this is why we call it a life of faith.

Grant me, Lord, a singleness of purpose that I may fulfill Your will for my life.

One of my major concerns is that I lack clarity in what I want. I usually conform to what people want and to what is right. I have a vague picture of things that I want. As I remember it, I just want to be happy. And they say that happiness is a choice, the reason why I am jolly, its one way to tell people that I am happy. Though I know that I owe happiness to myself only, I can’t help but mind all the people around me. When they are happy, I am happy. I can say that I live in a life of faith for I believe that God prepared the best plan for my life. And things fall into places in God’s own perfect time. I am not sure if this works in my advantage or disadvantage but I still believe that at the end it will all be worth it. After all, the entire end destination is the life after death. Becoming financially free becomes a part of it by becoming an avenue to help more people and be of service to a larger scale.

With this the picture becomes clearer. My purpose is to give happiness to the people around me. And to enlarge the circle that I affect I have to be capable of giving them big help. That is I must make myself first successful to help others be successful, change their life and give happiness to others as well.

Years before I see success as climbing the corporate ladder, I once dreamt of becoming a CEO of a company but things change when some people inspired me to own the ladder instead of climbing it through employment.  I am still currently working but I hold in my heart that soon I will own that ladder. To learn the ropes of business I entered a business school called CA2020. We have this life entrepreneurship program to earn Time and Money freedom. This is important to my dream because happiness is best with Time to do the things that matters and comes in simple things you do for the people that matters most. 2 years in it I have seen some growth though I am encountering some setbacks and challenges I know that at least I have grown. Compare to 2 years before, I have now something to say about business and investing. Moving on I know that I will come in full circle as a leader and soon have that dream of being a CEO.

Bridging this dream, I need to accomplish our stage I business to have excessive cash, which is needed in putting up traditional business. Now, the highest level in stage I business is becoming a leader but it all start by becoming an executive. I must learn to maintain my own franchise and teach this to at least 15 people. To maintain my franchise, I should have a least 60 people that will monthly subscribe for products worth 3500 php or 30 partners that will consume or retail at least 7000 php worth of products.

At present I have 1, my own personal consumption. Soon it will come into place. I think this is workable.

I thank the Lord for it is done!

Live up the High standards

It is not going to be easy to live up to the high standard Jesus sets for us, but if we lower the standards and settle for second-best, what we are doing is giving in to sin and mediocrity. Let us seek the higher calling and embrace the cost of discipleship as it will bring us to the gift of eternal life.

Yesterday, I met a new friend who inspired me to continue my service in my organization. It is really in my heart to be of service to my dear MITSCA family but the structure is not yet established, however we are in the process of rebuilding it through our Alumni association. Just as my journey in this organization, it was never that easy but it is worth…It’s been 10 years since I started as an applicant. I got hurt, had fun, loved and forgave and still attest to the time that my commitment to this family is growing. In whatever way I can be of help, I will certainly give it. They are even a part of my dreams. I admit that I also have my downfall in terms of my attitude but just as Jesus thought us, we shall strive to meet His high standards. And I believe that serving in this family will lead me to that Holiness.

Same way in business, I am currently living in mediocrity and I want to change it. This can also be a form of service, service to the whole country by giving it hope and chance to be better. I am not used to being mediocre, I know that I live my life the best way I can and I maximize everything. I submit to the Lord to lead me where I should be and how I can be of service to my immediate family, my MITSCA and MITASCA, my business community and to the whole Filipino people.

I think I can start it again with managing my time to make the most out of it without any whining. I’ll start from here and hope to uplift my standard again and live life to the fullest.

Milk Tea Craze

The most popular drink today is milk tea...Gongcha, Serenitea, SIP, Cha Time and many more stalls are popping up to offer the most famous drink at present. But years before, while I am still in college, I love milk tea...freshly brewed black tea with powdered milk and sugar. i love it sweet. This drink was introduced to me by my friend susan. She got it when she worked in saudi...and i was surprise when I was am in Darwin that they really do the milk tea with fresh milk of course. Honestly, it is my 3rd day having milk tea and I know it is sinful...because of high sugar...i love it with full sugar...i am not happy if I make it sugar free....with this...i realized that i should take it in moderation...once a week will do. This has been my sinful week but next week I will try to limit it....

Business wise I will commend those who started this business...it is now on its momentum but if you are trying to jump in the business its already too late...its currently in its peak and sooner or later it will just be a normal drink...so if you thought of any new thing that you want to venture in...try it out fast..who knows...that idea can be BIG....

Action speaks louder

Knowledge is not enough. When we apply what we know, that is called wisdom. 

Lord, let Your Spirit convict me when I agree to what you say but fall short of putting it to practice.

Spiritually, I know a lot. I owe it to my basic education they taught me a lot about my religion and my faith. For long I was stubborn. I find it hard to read the word of God. Maybe because I find it boring, luckily my mom once got a book with daily readings and reflection. For that time, I consistently read it everyday. But after the duration lapse, I find it hard to get a copy of that book. I stopped again. 2 years ago when I was dispatched to Darwin I included in my routine my daily readings through Kerygma family. It’s great but then after I came back to Manila I stopped again. A few weeks ago when I heard mass at Greenbelt chapel, the priest give emphasis on how important it is to read the Gospel daily. With this I was moved to try it out.  Several weeks already that I am reading the Gospel, I appreciated the messages it brings. I can see the resemblance of my experiences and situation to the readings especially in the 1^st reading and because of this I am thankful. I am hoping to really create this habit of daily reading. It gives me the strength to move on and be strong.

Business wise, this same passage is applicable. Every plan must be put into action. Its fun to create action plans but it must be implemented and measure to really know if it is working. This is the challenging part as well, to do the action plan. This is something new and out of our system, the reason why we are facing resistance. It is part as well that in trying new things; we are tested if we are serious with the change that we want. I know a lot of should be but I find it hard to live it daily. I should be listening to audio books at least 1 hour, I should be reading different books for 20 mins and so on. But in spite of this, I move on. I still try to find my formula of daily activities; the activities that I can stick to for years. This is hard for me but I know that with the help of God, this can be possible and achievable. To God be the Glory

-Mafe Pastorpide

www.ca2020.net

Eye on the Prize

The world has a myriad of seductions available to try and distract us from our goals. The only way we will prevail over the insistence of the world is if we place our eyes on the prize of eternal life and do not let them wander far from it.

As this is true in our religion it is true for our own self. As Rich Dad (from Robert Kiyosaki’s book) He said that sometimes we settle for less because we are trapped in the greediness and temptation. We cannot resist the job offer that is why we grabbed it not realizing that this is not aligned in our goals and that we can still have a higher value.

In my case, my initial goal in life is to be happy and make this world better while I am still alive. This is simple; I treat each opportunity that comes my way as a blessing from God. I was happy and contented. But as they say, whenever we attain one goal we should raise the bar so that we will not stagnate. Its when I met the community (www.ca2020.net) that open my eyes and let me see the bigger part that I can play in other people’s lives. It made me know my worth and my future worth. My new end goal is financial freedom. Instead of traveling the world as part of my Job why not travel the world leisurely and spend more time with people that matters.

To attain this goal we have the life entrepreneurship program where we learn the basics of business as we do the distribution business. Doing this business is not easy but worth it. Like the end prize in our religion, Eternal Life, obtaining financial freedom is challenging. It is due to the distraction that can comes my way. Most of my distractions are base on feelings; I do not feel like doing my tasks, and so on. But maybe I feel this way because my definition of financial freedom is not that concrete. Whenever I do the challenge in our dream building, I came to see that sometimes I haven’t think of that one dream yet. I have no idea on what to do or where to go. I feel also that my plan is not complete; I cannot clearly see the path, the reason why I cannot move.

It is with this awareness that I am now planning my future. Since I am seeing a very slow movement towards my goal, financial freedom, maybe I can do some crazy new things. Check my blog regarding Journey for my 1^st Million, it is that plan I am looking into. Increase income to assure my monthly overhead cost, then help others do the same so that we can build our business and soon have the time freedom.

Sometimes challenges seem to be a very big road block but it’s our choice if we make it as our reason or a stepping stone to reach the top. I know that the Lord will always lead me back to Him and His plans are the best. It’s a matter of adjustment to His right Time.

Discern. Decide and Do it!

Holy Spirit, help me to commit myself to discern well my choices in life. Give me the grace to act on the result of my discernment with courage and humility.

My attention was caught by the readings today because I am a fan of signs. I am observant and oftentimes I can see and read in between the lines. This makes me a bit invincible because I can easily decode a secret or understood what people really meant. I may say that I am a spoiler because I do not let the natural course of things to materialize; instead I confront it in advance, maybe because deep inside I am afraid; afraid to trust again the people around me and get betrayed once again. I know this is not a good thing to hold on to, the same reason that I ask grace from God to help get through with this pain. It’s been 7 years already yet I am still affected by it. I don’t want to cry over this same thing forever.

Everything that comes my way will teach me new things. I am thankful that I ran across these readings and reflection. I am now re-assured to always trust my decision because he is guiding me always and even if I make mistakes I just need to get up again and move on. Someday I will come in full perfection and all the pains will bring joy and happiness to me and my family.

My Journey to My first Million

I was inspired by this blog i ran across while looking for what to do with my first Million. Before I plan the things to do with 1 Million Pesos I will see first where I am now in my journey and how close I am with this dream.

The first step to change is awareness. At present, I honestly say that I am not earning enough. My Income from work and business is not enough for the expenses that i have to live in Makati, share to the expenses in sending my brother to school, run my business and live life. With this I am to start again.The way is to increase my income and reallocate some funds temporarily. The way to increase my income from work is to have a raise, i really hope it will happen very soon, it will be a big help...the next option is to look for better opportunities if it didn't materialize. Next is to increase my other income, that is through my businesses. To increase income, i have to improve in advertising and sharing my products. I will review again my plan and make the necessary changes for improvement. If the income improves it will be easier. I can finally pay off all the outstanding debts, align my spending with the money jars and finally have a balance of spending my play account.

Target Deadline for my 1st Million is my Birthday May 2014. I know I can get this, keep in touch for updates...

My God Knows best!

In other words, I believe that God wants to use us in ways beyond our understanding and expectation. The problem is that we are not willing to surrender our lives to His will sufficiently.

http://kerygmafamily.com

In previous years we are very dependent with the Lord in everything that we do. Maybe because the technology is not yet that advance that we have lesser means to know what will happen and prepare for it. As the technology improves, we are becoming too proud that we can do so much preparation but still there will be disastrous calamities that slip once in a while that serve as our wake up call. Amidst all the advancement in technology we should still be dependent to our God that he will deliver us from such uncontrollable situations.

I have this great devotion to our Mother Mary when I was in high school. Since then I always seem to have no fear in going home late, doing stuffs alone or going to unfamiliar places. I can say that I have develop this sense of trust since then that nothing can harm me because she is always there to guide me and to pray for my safety. It’s an acknowledgement that her miraculous medal always delivers me.

When I went to college, it’s my 1^st time to be in Metro Manila yet I still felt her blanket of protection. There was this instance that I still didn’t have my own cellular phone and that if I did not call my mom, we won’t be able to communicate. Even in finding work, I never thought that it would be that easy for me to got that job, and her guidance did led me to one of the international company in the country. Even in my assignments, I usually wonder why I was assigned into certain projects until later my value will be revealed. My first assignment was the happiest, it was struggle at first, we have differences yet we still manage to adjust to each other until we became like a family. The international dispatch is another example of how the Lord has blessed me. It never did come to our senses that having Arts related courses is expensive. When I brother is already asking for different Art Medium, it’s when it reminded me that luckily I am earning more than usual. The Lord really provides.

Then I met the business community. I still believe that the Lord led me to them so that I can already think of my future and started early in learning the ropes of business. It was never an easy ride, but with the community it was fun with service. The journey is worth it because of the people I am with. The business is quite extra ordinary, it does not need any qualification but the room for success is big enough for everyone.

At present, I know that the Lord God knows best, he knows the right time for my success and I trust that all that I am currently doing will contribute to my success. He leads me to be the person I am destined to be and to meet my leaders and help them to have a brighter future. In my limitations, He will be the one to fulfill and because of this His greatness will be revealed.

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Story of my transformation

All my life I have the label of being chubby or plainly fat. Personally it was never an issue to me because It doesn't hurt my self esteem but reality still bites that there are some clothes better fit with slim ones. And that's what actually inspired me last 2008 to enroll in a gym and have this crazy diet of oatmeal for breakfast and dinner, and half rice, fish or vegetables for lunch. I was pretty serious with that project that I went to the gym 5-6 times a week. I initially lost 10 pounds then i plateau And after I slim down i enjoyed meeting up with friends. They gave me compliments and it made me happy that i did not notice that I am gaining back the weight again due to the numerous dine out. After a year I went back to the same old chubby MAFE. After I came back from Darwin, I stopped drinking beer and I slim down a bit but having a stressful work made me eat more and i became bigger again.

 Then I encountered this program that made me slim down without exercise, I started it last July until September yet it was sustaining. The 3333 diet is really effective...part of it is portioning, choosing the right kind of food and right supplementation. I already changed my wardrobe and it really feels great to be your own best self, happy and inspired. To learn more about the program, email me at mafepastorpide@yahoo.com

LOOK FOR GOLD

Andrew Carnegie was the richest man in the world. If you translate his wealth using today’s values, Carnegie would be more than two times wealthier than Bill Gates and Warren Buffet combined.

And he knew about the importance of relationships. At one time, he had 43 millionaires working with him. This was the secret of his success. Because you can’t become wealthy (in the long term) if you don’t make others wealthy as well.

 Bo Sanchez

 

Knowing this I found myself lucky because I was working on my fortune for 2 years already. And in this business I encountered, rejections ad mockery from people that you expected support. It is sad that their familiarity of me causes the contempt. These are the things that I need to overcome to be successful. Some May say that I am slow in this business but at least I am working on this, how about them, when will they start?

At times I looked at my situation that I work on self sufficiency. I think I have sinned the same as David because I perform with my own limitation. I usually say that I seek His guidance but I have not put all my trust to Him. In the past I lived without a plan, everything was brought to me as chances and I know that everything has fallen into its proper place through Him that works in me. Today, I renew my commitment to Him. I entered this business with the same chances that you gave and I know that in the right time I can regain my executiveship and maintain it effortlessly. I will soon find my leaders and help them improve their lives. I put my trust to the Lord that he will give me all the Best at the right time.