Race With Age

Project 2

2010-08-26T08:03:00.001-07:00

Seems like a close friend of mine just topped the board.
He and I will be embarking on a new project hopefully by early next year, but we have already started ^.^

This will be project 2 btw (will name it later). It is a project that will take at least 2 years to experiment on and will probably cost me about half a million local bucks. I'll post details soon but till then, I'm wishing myself the best of luck.

Anyway, as they always say. Make mistakes as early as you can, as cheaply as you can afford them :) My clock is ticking, and I have 4 years to go to my retirement.

~This is not a blog. This is a Diary.

Made in China

2010-04-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

How do you know what you are? If you are a duck born amongst and raised by chickens, you would most probably think, feel, and act like a chicken. That is ofcourse until you get to be with geese, ostriches, and ducks. By going through those groups then you get to be able to fully decide. To be a chicken forever, or be a duck.

I might not make sense here but point is, how do you know what you are made of and for, until you get to find it? Tip: Find it fast!

Do you have what it takes?

2010-04-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

To most, this is just a picture of a creature. But to some Final Fantasy fans out there, this is a trophy of epic proportions. The unique thing about Final Fantasy games is that it provides an avenue for hardcore players to actualize their addiction to insanely extreme challenges.

Meet ruby weapon, a hidden boss in the Final Fantasy 7. You dont have to beat him to finish the game and end the story. But if you like to beat yourself up crazy for excellence in a form of self satisfaction (not just bragging rights) then go ahead. It will take 100x more effort and strategy than just finishing the official final boss of the game.

With excellent preparation, experience, and strategy, you may still even experience dying 10-20-30 times. Expect frustration to haunt you as you spend countless hours of trying, failing, and getting back up. But the feeling after bringing this big guy down, its... priceless.

Do you have what it takes to go against the "weapons" of life?

McAfee Epic Fail?

2010-04-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Talk about virus cleaner epic FAIL. Yesterday, McAfee, known as one of the world's biggest Anti Virus company made an estimated tens of thousands of computers all around the world useless.

Getting Older

2010-04-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

My birthday is fast approaching and I'm not getting any younger. My friend Nell gave me a good idea: to run my age. With this, I plan that every year, on the week of my birthday, I should run my age. I wonder if I can run 24kms...

However, this is just a plan (the short term kind) and execution is a whole other thing. Us being human, we plan so many things yet execute so little. So how do we help ourselves?

There are probably a thousand books out there and a million web articles about execution so I shall speak from my personal experience.

1. Realistically Attainable
I was able to run 15km on my last. 24 is not to far from that. Some plans with little time frame are so grandeur that motivation is immediately massacred on Day-zero of execution.

2. Document it
If its a goal, write it down. Your brain is no computer. Even computers are prone to corruption of data, what more your brain (with your diet).

3. Let somebody follow you up
It would help if this is a real person (close to you). Please, an alarm on your iCal or iPhone would help but a real person is something concrete. They respond back. They remember. Are you willing to be remembered by your best friend as an "all-talk-no-walk" kind of person?
Its basically social pressure.

Thats it. So, my 24km plan is realistic, and I wrote it down. Time to message my friend Nell after I click on the Publish Post button below. Ciao!

New Version of iPhone - Lost and Found

2010-04-19T18:47:00.001-07:00

There is this article in Gizmodo.com spreading like wild fire on the internet. It tells a story about how a certain Apple Engineer lost an iPhone v4 prototype in a bar at California that eventually landed at the hands of the site runners.

Fabricated story by Apple to make this whole thing more interesting to its Fans? I dont know. It seems very well executed. Which leads me to this week's topic. Execution.

On a sidenote, I can't wait to have this phone though.

Keep

2010-04-19T08:17:00.000-07:00

I may not know you name, how you look like, or where in this little world you are right now or then. But when I find you, I wont let you go, no matter what.

When does career end, and Family begin?

2010-03-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a slightly more-than-usual difficult time locating the bathroom even though I was in an apartment I lived in for almost 2 years. This was last night in Jakarta. Half asleep as I got up, I saw the room as if I was in the hotel in Kuala Lumpur, 2 days ago.

Its funny, yet scary at the same time, how a joke I and my boss played about waking up and not knowing where one's location is start becoming real. Well, last night was definitely one of them. 48 hours ago I was in Malaysia. 24 hours ago I was in Singapore. As I type this in Jakarta, I cant stop thinking by my Mum who's illness is getting worse. She needs an operation, and I need to be there. 24 hours from Now I will be in Manila. add 12 hours from that and Ill be home.

Frozen Yogurt Bandwagon

2010-03-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Ive always wondered what would happen if we would put up a frozen yogurt in Davao City that is "Pang Masa". By pang masa I mean, easily affordable by Class B and somewhat parts of class C.

Introducing, I SCREAM FRO YO! (Its a work in progress) Its really meant to be Ice Cream For You. Then it evolved to I Scream Fro Yo. Sweet huh? This is a photo of the place 3 weeks ago. As of yesterday, its daily sales have been very inspiring.

Its a soft serve frozen yogurt stall similar to the likes of Red Mango, Sour Sally, White Hat but with prices about 50% cheaper. You can easily mix and match frozen yogurt combinations for as cheap as PhP 60.00. What a steal! And the best part is, I SCREAM FRO YOU actually uses Australian yogurt premix. ;) you gotta taste it to believe me.

Check these blogs out by Partyphile. He's a DJ in one of Davao's top radio stations.
Blog 1
Blog 2

Yea, i know the site needs some massive upgrading. But hey, you gotta hand it to my mom. ;)
Love you ma! Ill be home soon...

My Valkyrie

2010-02-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

When things get tough, really realy bloody tough, it helps to find the kid in you again. Drawing out the powers of fantasy to bring about uncanny hope, inhuman strength, and heavenly inspiration. Im not exaggerating.

Whenever I am stressed, tired, and just down, I play a game- a fantasy. I imagine that I am a warrior in an epic clash of massive armies that have lasted for days without end. A bloodied fighter soaked in crimson red and gore, facing an infinite pool of enemies with barely any strength left. Equipped with limited weaponry and strength, no retreat, and with only my heart fueling my fight I await for my Valkyrie to come and deliver me to Valhalla, and turn me into an Einherjar for the Final Battle of the gods.

The valkyrie is said to be a female figure who descends from heaven (Valhalla) to bring home exceptional warriors who can be used to aid the Aesir in Ragnarok, the Final Battle. I consider "Ragnarok" to be life, as it is, which I have yet to live. And I know that as things could only get harder and harder, at that point where I feel giving up the most, My Valkyrie will come and save me.

My 2010 part 1

2010-01-31T01:30:00.000-08:00

Quoting my job post of about a year ago:

***

These are my goals for 2009:

Start a new business (the one i have been planning and saving up for the past few months)
Acquire at least PhP 200,000 worth of income generating Assets
Maintain my monthly personal expenses (no doodads for me this year)
Generate at least PhP 300,000 pesos of Net Income by Dec 1, 2009

***

Results:

I was able to start the business. Its a soft ice cream business.
The value Ive put in is somewhere above the targeted but due to a lot of cirumstances, asset value is a little bit below my target.
I failed on this one. Back 2008 my only doodad was Sponsoring Angelica through WorldVision. Now, it has increased with the following:

Monthly Payment for my iPhone
Electricity (I now pay for my Family's Bill in Davao which averages 4k Pesos)
Parking Space Rent in Manila

4. I ended the year with less than the targetted but i didnt end up with a loss, so its ok.

All in all, it wasnt so bad. But still, I fell way short. Now i have to do some catching up. I also realized that my objectives are too thin...

Poof Idea 2: Job Matching Real Estate Venture

2010-01-31T01:08:00.000-08:00

It saddens me to see people moving in to the city with the dream of helping their familes back in their faraway hometowns only to face the reality that there are none.

I dont have any business model to back this up but I could be working on it sooner or later. But here are general points to what Im thinking:

1. Small but cozy apartments for the low-income class hardworkers
2. Rent to own scheme
3. Applicants will be given nearby job/career opportunities (with salaries capable of supporting the rent+ daily expenses)
4. Very accessible locations (relative to the work place)

Strategy
1. Coordinate with local leaders (Barangay Officials, Mayor, etc...) with long term projects (infra structure or whatever, as long as long term)
2. Identify available jobs for low-income household earners.
3. Purchase foreclosed houses or NPA's at best rates and with additional shields/incentives as help from the Officials (LGU's).
4. Market followed by collecting, and screening applicants. (start with squater areas most probably or government lists of to-be-relocated people)
5. Calculation of dp, monthly mortage, and settling of contract.
6. Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly seminars on money management and stuff (periodicity depends on feasibility)
6. Pray, pray, and pray that everything goes well.

Its not really designed as a Non-profit. It is still a real estate venture, just with a purpose (aside from earning income).

Make a List

2010-01-10T21:44:00.000-08:00

Make a list, and cross them one by one.

For today,
For this week,
For this month,
For this year,
For this Decade
For this Lifetime.

I promise you, you will get MORE done. Write it down. :)

Poof Idea 1

2010-01-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

Poof Idea 1:
Ad-Powered Traditional Moving FoodStalls

We see them everyday in the streets of Philippines. Whether you are in Davao, Cebu, or Makati, its highly probably that you will come across at least one.

What if we put up a group that produces these kariton frames, allow them to be rented at nearly break even (accounting maintenance and stuff of course) something similar to a mini-franchise with products that can be variable (fishball, isaw, kwe-kwek, etc...).
The profit: Ads. Instead of promoting your franchise/company, leave all space for the ads. Side, front, top, everything. I really hate adds but imagine, the ads helping this biz become more affordable for the poor who wants to start a business.

Im only human

2009-12-10T02:15:00.000-08:00

Up, then Down, then..

There is no middle ground. The question is, can you hang tough?

21 pt 3: Getting Back On the Road

2009-11-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

This is a series of blog that might not end until...
II Resistance
I Genesis

It has been 2 weeks since I achieved 2 and I clearly suck, no additional proof needed.

I was in Coffee Bean Midvalley, Kuala Lumpur. After a long day, and night, I settled with a cup of coffee and a book in my hands (Iconoclast by Gregory Berns). I settled down, took a cigarette, and as my point of view shifted there she was: A beauty to behold. She had 4 friends with her, they were laughing the Tuesday night away. I took a deep breath of smoke, stood up, and walked straight at her. Facing towards my direction, she noticed me walking directly at her. My heart was jolting but I was confident and I did not hesitate to eventually clash her teasing stare. As i neared, I smiled without breaking the eye contact. Unwavering, she didnt back down herself. Standing right there within their proximity, silence engulfed the group, daggering eyes at me.

"Hi ladies, evenin'!"
*pause*
"Sorry for my intrusion but I just like to say,... uhmmm... BLAB!"
*pause with confusing looks"

BLAB!?
I just couldnt think of anything to say at all. But im glad I was just fantasizing it all. They left without me leaving my seat for 1 second.

Anyway, here we go:

3. Joyce(?) - Malaysia Air Girl waiting for her bus to hotel(she looked chinese, could this really have been her name?) I just said Hi, and then she smiled. Conversation lasted until I finished my smoke. Id say it was a good chat.

3.5 Doesnt Count - A Filipina at the departure area of the airport (used the "need-help-on-taking-your-photo-instead-of-you-taking-a-photo-of-yourself-bit".
3.6 Doesnt Count - Indian (she was pretty) asking me about cream in the grocery, somewhere in Jakarta.

4. [FAIL] Did not get the name - Not so tall, grey shirt, firm voice. As the flight was delayed 3 times, my FAIL ice-breaker was "Are you waiting for the Jakarta flight too? They delayed it again..." She went bonkers and said "Huh!? Again!?" and she walked briskly away from me to see the flight scheds on the screen. I didnt want to engage anymore. Chickened out ~.~

So thats 4 down, 17 more to go...

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

2009-11-08T06:31:00.000-08:00

Steve Job's Speech at Stanford:

No one gets anywhere in the world being logical, intelligent, and conforming.
You have to be a kid, to make it BIG. A hungry, foolish individual that has nothing to lose.

Making My First Tribe

2009-11-06T06:06:00.000-08:00

For those of you who dont know, i dont mean tribe by 10,000BC tribe. Im talking about Seth Godin's concept of tribes.

Yesterday, while in the taxi from a meeting, me and my colleague Tirta were discussing on so many possible partnerships with various groups/authorities. It bothered me how there were so many options, but so little resources, and so little man-hours (or woman-hours). Then it hit me!

How can you have them all, with less time, effort, and most especially, with very minimal cost?

The answer: Make a Tribe.

Ive always read/listened to materials on this concept but never really could imagine how to practically put up one. Now I think I know and my team will show you how.

Its going to be Legend-... wait for it... -... ary!

21 pt 2 : And the struggle continues

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Do you know the difference between acceleration and velocity? Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. Acceleration is, how fast you can go to fast from slow or stop while velocity is simply how fast.

I have almost nil acceleration. sucks.
Its been a week since my last encounter. And I have failed twice this week.

Case 1:
Tall Girl with purple dress, black skirt and loong heels. She was BB'ing all the way up to the 28th floor. We were alone in the elevator. I couldnt even say Hi.

Case 2:
Short Girl with green flowery dress on her way to the convinience store. We had eye contact. Disengaged.. Then another eye contact. As my bestrfiend always said, the 2nd eye contact is a go signal. Boo for me.

Im still 2/21. And 2010 is on a high speed chase towards me. TIck tock.

The 21

2009-10-31T08:54:00.000-07:00

I have this new goal. That is to approach 21 pretty girls who are strangers to me, and strike a conversation with them out of thin air. This should be completed before 2010.

It sounds easy, I know. But, in my most recent trip to KL I just realized how weak I was at approaching girls. Dont get me wrong but I am confident with my conversation/negotiation skills which explains my work responsibilities. However, when it comes to facing a cute girl, I GET LOST. I dont even have the guts to admire their beauty from afar (case in point, Pinky and Tatoo). Ill get back to Pinky and Tatoo some other time in another entry.

Now, what do I get in the End? Hopefully, when I meet the girl of my dreams, I wont be just a furniture or a decor in the sideline. I dont wana be one of the losers who just drool and flood their brains with excuses. I want to be that guy who takes the risk of crash and burn. Also, as inspired by the book im currently reading (The Talent Code), im hoping when that moment comes, I will be talented enough to get her to notice me.

***
1. Ms Fresh Grad Hotel Check-in Desk
2. Ms Blackberry with a black dress and Coffee

Gowth by Ignition

2009-10-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Been reading this groundbreaking book referred by my boss Dennis. Its title is The Talent Code and it talks about dismantling the common perception of what talent really is all about.

A concept in it talks about developing talent through Ignition. Motivation, it says, is really more about external than internal. People become more outstanding when they are forced be as compared to when they try to be. Think about it? Cramming has most often than not brought out the best works from you hasn't it?

My boss never fell short of practicing this even way before he even found out about the book. I'm sure our Brands in the Philippine office can attest to that. He threw me out alone to Indonesia around a year and a half ago to take charge of operations. I was a fresh grad, at 22. Who would argue with me that wasn't IGNITION can go to hell.

The HERO we Need

2009-10-15T07:01:00.001-07:00

Efren does what he can to change the world - 1 kid at a time. He has been doing this for about a Decade. Kudos to you my friend. How I wish we could be more like you.

Virus me NOW

2009-10-11T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ever seen a ball girl do a 6foot wall climb-jump to catch a foul ball? Take a look at this short clip:

Looks real huh? Turns out, it isnt. Was a released clip by Gatorade for a viral campaign last year. Talk about wildfire.

Kacian

2009-10-08T00:48:00.000-07:00

Hendry, a simple and honest office boy (where I work in Jakarta) who I test my Bahasa Indonesia with during my cigarette breaks just bought a Mio Automatic Transmission Motorcycle about a Month ago. He has always loved riding a motorcycle and I bet he had been saving months for it. During my first cigarette break of the day, I found out from someone else that his bike was stolen a few days ago.

I couldnt help but feel angry, sorry, and disgusted all at the same time. Here is a 17 year-old boy, trying to make a living on his own through an honest minimum wage (even less) job. After months (might even be years) of sacrificing, he finally gets his simple dream of being able to go around the city on his own humble motorcycle-and the world takes it away from him.

"Kacian" (poor him) we would say. "Gila" (crazy), I would say. I wonder what he would be thinking of God. If he is what he is (an average 17 year-old), he must be angry and his faith might be devastated. If he is what i hope he is (a real fighter), he would find means to make this inspire him to even greater heights.

Guts and Scrap

2009-10-05T23:35:00.001-07:00

Its not always about cutting edge technology. Sometimes, its just all about practicality, and guts.

See here how a 14 year-old African boy made it possible.

Super Powers

2009-10-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Everything is just too fast. And every heavyweight decision is pressured by time. In this fast-paced world, time will always be the ENEMY. And finding means to buy time creatively will always be a priceless skill.

Reminds me of the movie NEXT starring Nicholas Cage. In every time pressured situation, he uses his unique ability of foresight to do what most practical scientists do: TRIAL and ERROR. From every possibility he branches of sub possibilities and so and so forth multiplying action points almost infinitely. In the end, he chooses the most effective decision path simulation and acts upon it in the present. Unlike scientists though which takes forever to do the Trial and Error method, he can process all those possibilities in a fast and accurate manner.

How I wish I have this talent. Or at least, a weaker more humanly possible version of a skill to apply to what I'm doing. Either that, or the ability to turn back time.

4 cross-border flights and a bottle of beer

2009-09-16T00:22:00.000-07:00

It started with 5 days, 4 tickets, 3 objectives, 2 luggage, and ended with a bottle of beer.

Was one helluva week.
Friday to Sunday was Singapore. Met with a PnG Veteran who wants to wage a war against status-quo to end her corporate addiction. I admire her that even though her work gave her all the stability she would need in life, she decided to shake things up and start a business. It was a fair trade. Her Asia-wide utilized marketing and management skills with DEG's uncanny Entrepreneurial Craziness.

Sunday to Monday was Malaysia. Met with a 7-11 veteran who wanted to test his limits by going on his own. Similar to his counterpart in Singapore, he didn't want to settle for mediocrity and is always looking for action.

Monday was Jakarta. Long story, I just had to go back.
Tuesday was Manila. With a 4-hour flight and a warm passport, i bought a 3USD beer at the aiport cafe just a few mins before the flight to bring me home sweetly and soundly.

...and when I arrived at the Manila aiport 5:30 in the morning, it just so happens my Boss just landed from his U.S. trip. We had a wonderful early morning meeting at Jollibee. Filipino fastfood and coffee has never tasted so good.

Rule of Thumb on Luxury

2009-09-12T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have always had this belief about luxury:

For everyday you put off treating yourself to unnecessary luxuries, that's two days earlier you will enjoy financial freedom.

Business is NOT all about marketing

2009-09-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my business partner found a great new spot for our 2nd Ice Cream Machine. It was a school somewhere east of Jakarta. It sold an average of 300 cones a day each sold at 3000 IDR (0.3 USD). That was 90 USD of gross sales a day, around 900 USD net a month. unfortunately, there wasnt enough electricity and our Machine kept dying on us once in a while. The nuns that ran the place did not want to give us anymore increase so after many failed negotiations, we ended up pulling out.

Business is not all about Marketing. Its also about winning negotiations. Its like in the movie "Boiler Room". Ben Affleck's character pointed out that when you make a sales call some one always ends up selling and someone always ends up buying. Its either you (the salesman) sells the person what you want to sell, or he (your target customer) sells you a reason he/she cant. Either way, a sales is made.

9 mins before 4:30 now, hafta chug down my last ounces of water for the day.

The Most Unique Week of my Professional Life

2009-09-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, im not kidding. But, im gonna top this off soon so dont bother reading.

This week i tried fasting the Islam way. I never thought Id learn a lot from not eating while there was daylight. I have concluded that being full actually makes a person more irritable than having an empty stomach!

Then there was the 7.3 Richter Scale earthquake. I heard the stories of my friends in Jakarta. Them feeling one helluva tremor from their 3rd floor office room. Turns out, I was on the 33rd! The feeling? I actually thought I drunk a whole bottle of tequilla when everything around me started "bending". Running all the way down to the ground floor made me sober though.

Then there was the international business. I was discussing things with a prospect distributor in Malaysia and a prospect partner in Singapore. Crunching numbers on what definitley looks like another big dive for our company. Everything turned out great! Looking forward to sealing the deals.

Then there is tomorrow. After finishing up a few things on work, im gonna cook up a batch of oatmeal cookies for choir practice and once all of those are passed, night life time! See you at the club! :)

Manila at Peace (Fasting Day 1)

2009-09-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

No wonder the officeboys take a bath at noon. No wonder the apartment guards hang out at the airconditioned lobby more often now. No wonder the motorcyclists drive so fast. They cant stand the humidity and the heat. But despite all that, they are so... patient and happy.

Finished my day 1 successfuly, and wow, was I thirsty and hot the whole day.

Can you imagine an average blue-collar worker in Makati fighting the traffic along edsa with an empty stomach at 6pm? I wouldnt dare compare him to a carpenter fasting and on his motorcycle stuck in a high-noon Jakarta highway (Jakarta is known for the worst traffic jams). It would be comparing a wild bear to a saint.

Imagine if Filipinos could somehow emulate this phenomenon of Fasting Season. That would be one month of peace. That would be one sight to behold...

on to Day 2

Biggest Mistake on Motivation Today

2009-09-01T02:38:00.000-07:00

Are you using incentives to motivate your people?
Guess what, you are WRONG!

Let Dan Pink Explain here.

Night before the Fast

2009-08-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

I am going to fast, the Islam Way.

I will wake up at 4am in the morning, have breakfast and last the day until 6pm without any food and water. I will do this for 15 days.

Ive always been fascinated with Islam's fasting. Catholic's fasting is just sticks and stones compared to theirs. Fasting is not just about food intake. Its all about emotional control. I am not allowed to have negative feelings toward anything or anyone. I cannot feel lust, greed, or anything of that matter. Let the hunger remind me. ^.^

Goodnight! :)

Carrots and Sticks

2009-08-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Pixar on Leadership and Motivation

Have you given deserving people their carrots?

Twitter Experiment

2009-08-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

After listening to Gary Vaynerchuk on Duct Tape Marketing and Get-It-Done-Guy's Podcast on Twitter, im now going to try an experiment.

Just a brief background, both of these guys have one thing in common. They get their ideas spread, and their ideas are their passion. Much like Seth Godin and marketing. Gary is a wine fanatic, and GIDG is an effeciency advocate.

Anyway, the thing that struck me most was when Gary asked.. "what is your passion"? What is my passion? After allowing it to sink in my subconscious for a few days, ive realized that my passion is Leadership.

I dont know if I can pull it off though. The world is still used to leaders with age. Im 23. Lets see...

Fasting Month

2009-08-22T20:43:00.001-07:00

Fasting Month has just started yesterday for the Muslim Community. Just a brief background on the subject matter, the muslims fast once a year, for more or less 30 Days. They are not allowed to eat, drink, or take any substances into their body while the sun is up. By practice, a friend of mine doesnt eat from 4am to 6pm approximately.

No, I am not a muslim. However, Id like to express my sincerest admiration for their practices. For about a month, they test themseleves to the limit. Waking up before 4am to take their morning meal and to say their morning prayer. They go about their daily work with a promise that they will not host any negative feeling inside them. That they will let the hunger remind them of their proper place in Life. They will pray at least 4 times more and it reapeats all over again, for 30 days. Trully fascinating.. and inspiring.

Although I was raised in the Catholic's teachings, Ive always admired other religions such as Buddhism and Islam. It saddens me how in our country, the Muslims are stereotyped because of all the war happening in the southern parts. Fact of the matter is, I find muslims to be more peace loving than catholics. Well, it might be assuming of me to blame it on the religion. For all i know, it could be just the culture. But im no historian, i have no PhD in culture or anything even close to that. What i have are just little slices of experience and a handfull of observations. I would have to say...

Changing Web Address

2009-08-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

Changing blogs is quite different with changing your home address. Changing home address is very, very tough. You gotta pack your stuff, carry heavy things, rent a truck, hire some help.. ugh. Then you gotta let your friends know, your business contacts, bills, etc...

Changing home web address, aint really that difficult. I dont really need to explain about this.

Anyway, Im changing my web address. Off to wordpress for my work related blabber. My blogger account will now focus on my personal life. Believe it or not, im still new to this blogging thing and Im doing my best to make it a regular one. Good luck to me (oh, and you if ever you are in a similar predicament).

Crisis = More Opportunities

2009-06-05T01:26:00.000-07:00

Really now... every time I hear its crisis, all i think about is which of the more opportunities rushing in by the tons to pick from. Its all about versatility really, and an open mind (and a pair of eyes and ears with it).

#1 Its summer already and sadly our sales will definitely drop in the schools.
So... we put it where the people are during summer! Ancol and Tamini, here we come~ (These are recreation spots here in Jakarta that boasts to up to 15,000 visitors a day from all around Indonesia).

#2 People here in Indo are so addicted to this special type of yogurt served by a poplar chain named SourSally. Unfortunately its too expensive for the middle class... Lucky, our soft serve ice cream business can also produce this healthy healthy product.

#3 Ive also been experimenting with forex (foreign exchange) trading. I am using JC lyons eToro practice account trading on current market figures. So far, i have earned a few hundred dollars out of day trading. Because in forex, if one value is losing, its pair is definitely winning.

Just keep your eyes open, and your mind digesting everything. You'll eventually find something worth investing and worth your time. Just dont be afraid to dive in alright?

First Month Earnings

2009-05-28T04:37:00.000-07:00

Despite the fact the some of the students are on holidays, the Soft Ice Cream Business earned more or less RP 4,488,000 NETT for its debut month (April to May). In my local currency that is roughly PhP 20,400 or basically 431 USD. Not bad considering this is NET PROFIT! =)

My Business Website

2009-05-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Starting your own website? Having website optimization problems? Try these out!

Been playing around with these 2 cool tools I found hosted by google, Analytics and Webmaster Tools. Both aims at helping you on analyzing and optimizing your website presented in a very user-friendly manner.

I just started my own business website trying to learn as much as I can as fast as i can. Hope these tools can really help. So far, I get bad returns on key word searches. Still, I wont stop till i get there.

www.eskimo-indo.com

Birthdays

2009-05-18T19:48:00.001-07:00

It was my Birthday a few days ago. Practically, it was also the Birthday of my International Assignment, and the Birthday of my Special Project.

Allow me to post a Blog I posted almost a year ago..

***

Its been quite a 2008. Things have happened so fast. MarkProf... Thesis... Graduation... Board Review and Exam... My Work at Naturale Labs... and all of it under hailstorms, typhoons, and tsunamis of my personal life. They said in Chinese numerology, the number 4 is somewhat related to death, while 8, being a number that signifies prosperity, is somewhat connected to a "start".

Markprof, where I made it under Batch 4 (four), did somehow signify the beginning of an end. A BIG END. And on the 4th month of year 2008,... IT finally died. Whatever it is, I cannot say. But it was a big part of me. And it died an artificial death.

Birthdays, days of birth, are celebrated almost in every

corner of the entire living earth. Luckily for me, it wasn't just a celebration of my birthday. In fact, it was indeed a Birth Day. Or should I be more specific: a "Re-Birth Day". To add to this, it was all about my Job. :P

April 30, 2008, 9:45 P.M.

I set foot in a plane of flight 5J759. Less than 3 hours away. Plenty of time. Ticket says i arrive 11:40.

April 30, 2008, 11:45 P.M.,

why are we still thousands of feet above sea level not even lowering our altitude one inch.

May 1, 2008, 12:01 P.M.

I walked to the back of the plane, near the rest room and asked the Flight attendant why we were still flying in the middle of nowhere.

Cripes... flight was in fact 3:45 hours. We arrive 11:40, Jakarta time.

Well well, would you look at that. Lucky Me. A flying Birthday Boy.

April 30, 2008, 11:45 P.M., we arrived.

May 01, 2008, 12:01 A.M. we were walking towards Immigration.

Well well, would you look at that. Lucky Me. A second eve.

A barrage of thoughts kept crashing in to and out of my head. Why did I do this again? Of all things, why this? Well, I think I had my reasons working on my Birthday. Cool...

But ultimately, I think the answer is also a question in itself.

Why NOT?

Lets get to work... ^.^

***

May 2, 2008 - Our first outlet with Cycles Mild Laundry Detergent For babies at Ocha's Collection. Although we were already selling Cycles in Indonesia way before that, this was the pioneering door of our renewed efforts in our battle to bring break-through products to Mommies all around South-East Asia.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYCLES-INDONESIA!

Begin with the end in mind

2009-05-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Somehow out of all the 7 items of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this is the one i remember the most. Maybe because out of all the 7, this is the one I keep failing to do.

Begin with the End in Mind. And stay focused!
Temptations will come along the way, and we for the most part [being human], are weak.

Just for reference, let us remember the 7 habits that we should try to reflect on once in a while:

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Habit 3: Put First Things First

Habit 4: Think Win/Win

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Our Minds Are Slaves...

2009-03-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

I was at a Gentleman's Club last night. Again, my friend invited me to join him experience the life of his clients. They [His clients] runs and controls a lot of businesses in this city (Chinese are really well known for this) and they celebrate once in a while in clubs like the one I went to last night.

Its all the same. They drink, they gamble, they rent the services of ladies, they take in whatever they can to alight their consciousness to a temporary state of euphoria. All that money spent just to satisfy their carnal desires for roughly 8 hours.

Are men just really slaves of hormones?

I can only assume their POV. Im only 22. I might even eat my words when time comes. But i hope not. I pray to God i will not turn to one of them. I'm glad my friend isn't. He just goes there because its his job to maintain good relationship. He is a darn good father and an exellent husband. I pray that he will never turn into one of them. Please, pray for me too. I just want to do my job, get out of this race, and live a peaceful and serene life with my future loving wife and child.

It wants you to QUIT

2009-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

Its funny how the first week of running the business had a theme each day. We would term it, "challenge of the day". These would range from logistical shortcomings to area and machine incompatibilities. Each day, tension would rise and frustration would pile up. This kept on until we decided to change the location.

However, it wasn't all that bad. Almost 1Million Rupiah gross sales in practically 3 full days of selling, each following day had a growth of more or less 50%. I guess this business is really feasible here in Indonesia as well. We have tested the machine and the system, all we need now is a new location. "yare yare..."

Dirty Hands

2009-03-07T03:10:00.000-08:00

Sometime this noon, I was with the woman we will be hiring to sell our ice cream. We asked her to come so that we could train her. While I was dismantling the front end of the Machine and cleaning it piece by piece she asks me why I did not hire someone to clean it for me.

With my limited Bahasa Indonesia, I simply told her that because I OWN IT.

I did not really know how to explain it fully but basically I wanted to tell her that I need to get my hands dirty. This is my business and its personal (as my boss would say). I want to experience first hand every aspect of it no matter how tedious or trivial at least once. May it be removing grease from the feed piston to marketing the brand, I have to be completely immersed in it. The last thing I would want to be is an ignorant business owner (especially when this business grows to extreme heights).

Don't be afraid or lazy to get your hands dirty.

Happy Paper Anniversary, Jay

2009-03-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

Yes, id like to greet myself on this momentous occasion. It was,
March 03, 2008 : My first day on a full time Job, payed a full time salary.

Earning really feels good. Its quite addictive especially if you lived your whole life with a tight budget everyday. Makes you wana splurge it all in your first few months (some even extend to years). Im glad I was able to resist this, to some extent at least. One of the most important lessons the "Rich Dad" of Robert Kiyosaki (author of best seller "Rich Dad Poor Dad") taught to him was never get addicted to receiving money through a job. This is because you work for the money. The aim is to make the money work for you, right?

As of now, i have had saved 57% of my 1 year worth of salary. Of the 57%, i have only invested 23%. That leaves me 32% still to invest somewhere. I already have my eyes set on something. If everything goes well, ill have it invested sometime mid year.

If that is the case, then id be able to cross off objective number 2 on my 2009 goals list.
How are you on your list? Doing better I suppose. Keep it up! ^.^

Cheers~

Siftables: Digitial Cookies as Toys

2009-03-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Challenging Your Own Success

2009-03-02T02:28:00.000-08:00

I was told before that grabbing the Top Spot wasnt the hardest thing. It was keeping it. This is an interview with Gary Kasparov (Chess Legend) about Making Mistakes, and he's technique on staying as the World's Number 1 Chess player for about 2 decades.

(Thanks YouTube!)

She is Finally Here

2009-02-26T05:33:00.000-08:00

I shall call her Aerith. Aerith is the name of my favorite female character from my most loved game ever: Final Fantasy which, as you may not know, is quite a Legend in the RPG Gaming World. In a few days, Aerith shall help me and a colleague of mine embark on a new adventure here in the bustling city of Jakarta.

Aerith is basically a soft ice cream producing machine. This comming hot summer, she will be providing temporary escape from the heat to many, many Indonesians. It is already a tried and tested business in the Philippines thanks to Tita Lea and my Mom. My tita sells both the ice cream and the machines in and around Luzon (Paranaque City as her base) while my Mom takes care of Mindanao (Davao City). You may visit her site at www.judeaenterprises.com

Call me crazy but I plan to dominate the local soft ice cream industry here in Indonesia. If you are interested in any way or just plain curious, please feel free to email me.

ITS A HOT, HOT, (PANAS BANGAT) SUMMER ...YEAH!

Road Blocks

2009-02-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

Probably most people know this word thanks to the Amazing Race. But unlike what is depicted in that reality TV show, in real life, roadblocks that are arguably the hardest to pull through are those spawned by emotions.

In order for me to attain my goals within its critically important timeline, I have decided to strictly not fall in love or commit to anything that comes close to that. As stupid and unrealistic and immature as it may sound, its only logical. Falling in-love can lead to unnecessary expenses both for time and money. Both of which are very limited resource that I have to tactically and continuously reinvest on assets that will keep generating positive cash flow.

Keep your eyes on the ball no matter what happens.

Simple Formula to Know if you are Rich

2009-02-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

Originally from this site.

"Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide it by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be"

If you are just an average 22 year old fresh grad like me, it would probably look something like this:

Ideal net worth = (22 x yearly salary) / 10
Current net worth* = Savings
*Assuming you haven't bought any stocks, business, house, car, taken out any loans, etc...

If your current is more than the ideal, then hey, congratulations!
Unfortunately, I'm not even halfway my ideal net worth yet. Expect me to get back at this post in 5 years.

The Burden of Choice

2009-02-04T23:53:00.001-08:00

I always thought that freedom had something to do with having many options, or choices. In fact, i think most people do, don't you? The more options laid before you, the more FREE you feel. Yes, i believed so until my boss led me to this 20min mind opener in TED. Its a quick explanation by Barry Schwartz on "The Paradox of Choice".

He presents the concept of choice being actually bad for person. That the more choices placed before us, the less action we tend to dive into. He called this "Analysis Paralysis".

Added to this, the existence of multiple options lead to the increase of expectation and the higher probability of dissatisfaction when a certain choice is made (the grass is always greener on the other side). Unfortunately, its human to compare. Insert, one of my Boss' favorite word: COMMITMENT.

Once he made a choice, he would LOVE it, and stick by it despite the overwhelming temptation of looking at the opportunity cost unfolding right beside. He would consume his choice, never looking behind or at the side. Just simply straight ahead.

COMMITMENT.

A Simple Sacrifice

2009-01-13T22:58:00.000-08:00

Ever since I came across this organization in college, Ive always wanted to be part of it. Its very simple actually, with just about PhP 600.00 a month, you get help send one child to school.

I actually made a video about it for my religion class when i was in Junior year explaining to my classmates that with just 25 Pesos a day, you can help change 1 life. During that time, it cost just as much as a popular cold tea drink almost everybody drank at least once a day.

Sadly though, I wasn't good enough to even convince myself, let alone 30 others. However, just 2 months ago, I finally did it. :)

Her name is Angelica, she's 8 and turning 9 this July. She lives in an impoverished town in Cavite. God willing nothing happens to WorldVision and me, In more or less 12 years, I will be celebrating her university graduation.

For those who wants more info about it,
www.worldvision.org (international)
www.worldvision.org.ph (Philippines)

End of 2009

2009-01-11T00:49:00.001-08:00

Highlights of 2008:

Graduated College
Passed the Board Exam (Electronics)
Got my first Job

Not bad. Not good enough though. But its a start.

These are my goals for 2009:

Start a new business (the one i have been planning and saving up for the past few months)
Acquire at least PhP 200,000 worth of income generating Assets
Maintain my monthly personal expenses (no doodads for me this year)
Generate at least PhP 300,000 pesos of Net Income by Dec 1, 2009

Ill share more about my new business at some other time. Id want it to be up and running first before I blog anything about it. But like i said, Ive been planning and saving up for this one for almost half a year. Its not a get-quick-rich type of business. Its actually just the usual steady, legal type of business. However, the twist is: I'm putting it up in another country.

David Jay Gomez

2008-12-13T06:10:00.001-08:00

Google.. what a powerful word.

A few months back, I was in a meeting with our Distributor here in Indonesia, PT Sari Ayu Indonesia who distributes Cycles (Mild Laundry Detergent for Babies) and Beach Hut (Clear Spray Sunblock). I was having a discussion with Ibu Pauline Djasmin, a BIG fan of google (she Googles almost everything she is curious about) when she popped out a question that slapped me back to the stone age.

"Ever tried to Google your name before?"

I was shocked. After all these years of surfing, I have never, not even once, tried to Google my name. And you bet I did, the moment i got home and I wasn't a wee bit surprised by the search results. There are just too much David's, Jay's, and Gomez's all around the world. I had to use the quote-unquote ("") characters to get results that matched me.

"David Jay Gomez"

And there I was. At least 6 of the 9 links showed by Google were definitely me.

Similar to what my Boss Dennis posted in his "I am not unique" blog, from now on I have decided to be David Jay Gomez. At least with this I have a Friendster result of only 1 (so far).

Half the Battle: Knowing What You Want

2008-12-13T05:19:00.000-08:00

Was talking to a friend of mine earlier today. Sort of asking advice in life.
Through the talk we have had in the past, plus his current concerns, I noticed that he was just sort of... lost. So I asked him

"What is it you want"
"I want to be Happy"
"Seriously, be more specific"

After a few moments...
"I want to drive a BMW by age of 25"

Funny because today I just started reading a book entitled: "GOALS! " (Courtesy of our Company's War Room) The author, Brian Tracy, points out the difference between a GOAL and a WISH or DREAM. Ask most of what they want they would usually say "Be Happy" or "Make a lot of money" or "Have a nice family life". According to Brian, these are not goals at all. They are merely fantasies common to everyone. A goal is "clear, written, and specific. It can be quickly and easily described to another person."

Resetting his goal from "Be Happy" to "Drive a BMW by age of 25" allows him to find out that if a BMW costs around PhP 600,000 he would definitely not get it with his current job where his maximum savings accumulated for 3 years (He is 22) is just a little over half of that.

On another note, Ben in the movie "Cash Back", says at one point that Half of the Battle [in life] is knowing exactly what you want. Most of the people spend their whole lives not knowing what they want.

Do you know exactly what you want?

On your Mark...

2008-12-10T05:21:00.000-08:00

These are the big 3 for me. 3 Major paths, 3 Major lessons in life that shaped me.

Ateneo De Davao University
Philippine Science Mindanao
De La Salle University Manila

Grade School [1]

Here I learned that life is cruel, but it can be easy with the right state of mind. Society will always try to impose you its rules, its control, its sad form of reality. However, rules (as my boss Denis always say), as much as possible should be made by you. Many people will look down on you, will try to step on you. You just have to fight back.. and WIN.

High School [2]

Here I learned that NO ONE IS INVINCIBLE. We fall. But as taught to me by my first year science teacher Ms. Pinky, its not the falling that counts, its getting up. Fall, get up. Fall, GET UP! No damn reason to stay down for the count.
Another lesson I learned here is there will always be people smarter, faster, stronger than you. But they are not unbeatable. You just have to think outside of the Box, and be yourself.

College [3]

Here I learned that life is unfair. On one side you have the haves and on the other, the have-nots. Haves can almost get what they want instantly - easily, while the have-nots have to work twice as much or way much more. However, it is possible to somehow level the playing field. You just have to be more observant... be more resourceful. Also, here I learned that you can be whoever you want to be, you just have to have the heart.

You can pretty much say I have a mixed blood. But I have always believed in getting the best of both worlds, in this case, three :)

The Starting Line

2008-12-10T04:25:00.000-08:00

It took me along time to think about the name of my blog. It has to measure me. It has to speak of me. It has to be ME. What am I? What do I do? WHO AM I?

Then it hit me.

I'm not unique.
I'm nowhere genius or special.
I'm not born from a rich, popular, political family or anything even close to that.
No, unlike them I don't get to have a head start in this Race. Nevertheless, I aim to win.

Im 22, I just recently graduated, I just landed my first Job a few months back. Although i still consider it pretty late, I officially declare this as the start of my Race with Age.

The finish line? Well, I leave it up to you. You just have to imagine... and imagine HARD!