I had a good conversation with my good friend Randell Tiongson while we were in Bagiuo as speakers for the Go Negosyo Teen University event. We talked about how to plan life in terms of milestones and finances. One concept we discussed was the importance of your “young professional” stage. You put in effort and time and you rake in a good amount of active income. What’s critical here is that you should make all of that count. Let me expound after the break.

I received a lot of books as gifts for my recent 27th birthday. One of the more interesting ones is the latest masterpiece of Tipping Point author, Malcolm Gladwell – Outliers. In this book, he writes about how the environment, circumstance, and efforts of individuals play key factors for the level of achievement and success they reach in life. He goes on to explain that one of the key elements for success is the amount of hours put into practice or learning. Based on several studies, it takes around 10,000 hours before a person can master a particular skill. Gladwell cites several examples...

The good thing about being known as a book lover is that you frequently get books for presents during your birthday. I think I received more than 7 books already and I’m really excited to start diving into them this weekend when I get free time. One of the books I’m currently into is “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” written by Harv Eker. It’s a really interesting read and it coincides with my earlier posts on education and mindset. I’m not yet done reading it but let me just share a powerful line that I came by in one of the first few chapters. Most people are...

I recently came from a seminar wherein the speakers talked about how hard it is to become wealthy these days. He sited some stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to his presentation, out of 100 Filipinos who started working at the age of 25, only 1% becomes wealthy. 4% will be able to raise adequate capital to just survive, 29% will die, and 63% will probably still be working or dependent on charity. This is such a powerful and scary statement. If you are living a normal life and you’re just working “enough”, then it will be a miracle for you to become part of that...

US President Barrack Obama gave one of the most powerful and sternest speeches in New York for the centenary of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. In his speech, he hit hard on the roles of parents in raising their children to become the future leaders of the country. He goes on to explain that not all black children should aspire to be like Lebron James or rappers like Little Wayne. Children should also dream of becoming professionals like doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. His speech made such a profound impact on me, even if I’m not yet a parent myself. This...

I gave a talk to the trainers of the Microsoft-TULAY program last weekend about the emerging internet trends in the Philippines. I discussed Micro-blogging a lot, by I also shared a few insights about how you can apply internet marketing for small-medium enterprises (SME). I won’t go into detail about the technical “bruhaha” of my talk, but I’d like to highlight the part where I talked about the right entrepreneurial mindset when it comes to maximizing the internet for your business. My personal opinon is that a lot of people fail in whatever they do because they’re...

One of my all-time favorite books is Tribes by Seth Godin. It’s a management, marketing, leadership, and tech book all rolled into one. I appreciate Seth’s writing style a lot because it’s so easy to read yet each page is filled with so many insights and learnings that you can readily apply to life or your work. In his book, Tribes, Seth talks a lot about leadership in the advent of the internet. Let me share with you a striking paragraph that he wrote which I’ve actually printed and framed on my office wall, haha! Check it out after the break.

Author’s Note: This is the first entry under the Leadership Principles Category which I shared in my previous post. One of the things I love about the Management Committee Meetings (MANCOM) that we have at Level Up Inc. is that the room turns into a civilized royal rumble each time we discuss major issues. I really have to give it up to our CEO, Jane Walker, for allowing all the members to freely share their insights, which can be opposite of the view of the person presenting. Yes, tempers can flare up and the volume and tone of voices can also increase. However, we all understand that we...

I’ve added a new category for the posts here at New Media Philippines. This is in response to some of the feedback e-mails that I’ve received as well as from talks with several readers and friends. I’m a voracious reader, and I’ll be more than happy to share with everyone the tips and tricks that I’ve learned about leadership and management through my personal experiences in the corporate/consultancy world as well as whatever I pick up from books and seminars.