All my life I’ve been searching for a miracle, proof that someone does exist above the clouds watching over us. I’ve been looking for grand events of biblical proportions like the parting of the red sea or bringing the dead back to life. It’s funny that the miracle has been in front of me all this time. Last Saturday, August 7, 2010, I got married to my girlfriend of 9 years, Mich.

Here’s the on-site video

Thanks for all the love and support everyone! Will write a more detailed entry sometime soon.

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There was a young kid who was born into a political family. The patriarch of the family was a great statesman who served various government positions under several Presidents. Growing up, the young kid became insecure because a lot of his cousins and peers were doing well in school while he wasn’t. He was also a bit spoiled so you can only imagine how “bratty” he was from time to time. He had problems in school and had a difficult time making friends because of the pressure that came with being part of his family. However, each time he would doubt himself and each time he would get a failing grade, his mother would go to him and say this:

“When you were still a baby, your grandfather pointed at you and said that you would be successful. That you would become a leader and that you will make a difference.”

She kept on saying that each time the kid would falter even when he was already in High School. When the kid grew into a young man and would face problems, her mom would keep on saying the same line. Even during one time when he was shot and almost dying, her mom told those same lines and it gave him strength to hold on and live.

When he began working, he also had a rough time. He didn’t know himself too well and he didn’t know what he wanted to do. During these times his father would go to him and say a few words that would inspire the young man to move on and find his true north. The father would say this:

“I have always been and will always be proud of you.”

That young kid is now a man who is about to get married 3 weeks from now. Looking back, he realized that he owed a lot of his success and passion because of his parents persistence in saying that he was a leader and that he can make a difference.

Thanks Mom and Dad. I’m sorry for always being a pain in the ass (hehe) but I am eternally grateful that you raised me to be the man that I am today. I love you and I hope the day will come that I can continually bless the both of you for the kindness, generosity, and care that you gave for me all these years.

It’s my turn to say this now to you:

I am proud of you as my parents. You guys are leaders and you have made a huge difference in my life.

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” PROVERBS 22:6

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Right now I probably have more than 10 blogs already. If you’re a reader of one of them you might be wondering why I’m making a new one. Well, the problem with having niche blogs is that you always talk about the “niches” in those blogs. I rarely get to talk about my life and the people around me in a more personal level. I also don’t get to share about my faith and my relationship with God. This blog’s niche is me. My journey in life as a Christian, a husband-to-be, and hopefully a father-to-be. It’s a blog about how I deal with my problems and how I face adversity. It’s a blog about how I find refuge in my wife-to-be, my spiritual family, and God. Hopefully the articles here will be able to help you guys cope with whatever it is you’re facing in life.

To my regular readers, thanks for the constant support with my blogs!

To the new ones, welcome!

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I got this quote from Randy Pausche’s last lecture and I agree with him 100%. Life will always have ups and downs. In fact I’m pretty sure there will be more downs than ups. How we handle failure defines our character and paves the way to a brighter future. There’s this term that I got from some of my friends in business – “paying tuition”. This basically means that they are willing to finance and shell out some money to fund projects and while it would still hurt not to succeed, the worst thing that they can get from this is that they learn new things. It’s like “tuition fees” for school but instead of learning basic courses, you meet new people, get more skills, and have a lot of insights of moving forward with business.

Let me just take this opportunity to encourage all of you to keep on getting up each time you fall. There is so much value in failure and the way you approach it can make a major difference it what you get out of life.

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I’ve probably done hundreds of presentations and speaking engagements already in the past 5 years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the delivery of the message is just as important as the actual content. Deals can easily be closed if you manage to properly connect with your audience – be it a room full of executives or an auditorium of noisy young students. Presenting is literally like an art form; it’s very subjective but the proper preparation and material can boost your chances of success. I’m not sure if it was Steve Jobs who said that you should tell stories instead of giving presentations. That I think is one of the most valuable lessons you will have to take to heart especially if you’re a marketer or a sales person. Here are some tips that I came up with for everyone.

Less is more
Powerpoint presentations are really not meant to be verbose and long unless your boss specifically asks you to do so. Try to avoid walls of text and cramming in like 6 long bullet points in just one slide. Don’t expect your audience to read every single point. There’s a limit to everyone’s span of attention and I can assure you that you won’t have their focus on one slide for more than 5 minutes. It gets boring and when your audience is bored, you lose your connection to them.

Slides should communicate the main message then follow through with verbal explanations. If it’s a chart or a table, make sure that the most important part is highlighted. One of the habits that I’ve developed over the years is that I give a supplementary word document to people that I present to. This has all the details of my talk or presentation that wasn’t included in the powerpoint.

Break the ice
The start of your presentation is very critical. You can’t transfer data if your flash drive isn’t connected in the proper slot in your PC. That applies to presentations as well. You need to connect with your audience. Crack a joke, give a big statement, or show a kick ass video. Point is that you need to grab their attention so that you’re sure that they listen to whatever it is that you’re going to say.

Visualize
When making your powerpoint or keynote, make sure to visualize yourself presenting the slide. Each slide should seamlessly connect with the next. Ideas should build on one another until you reach that climactic point where you deliver the big statements that would be deal closers. What I’ve learned to do is to always make outlines first and then try to imagine what it would look and sound like from the perspective of the audience. If you have a mentor or friends that could help out, try to show them your outline and find out what they think.

Practice
Lastly, PRACTICE. It’s just like what our nursery teachers say. Practice makes perfect. Presentations are no exemptions. I’ve actually done shadow/mock presentations in front of the mirror to make sure that my timing and delivery is in sync with the slides. I make sure to memorize the big statements because I know that these are my best weapons. By practicing these you are like sharpening your swords for battle. If they are dull, they won’t cut through the thick armor of your opponents.

And that’s that. I haven’t perfected presenting yet but I’m definitely trying to refine how I do it so that I get better each time. To end this post, let me just thank my former bosses, Level Up Marketing Director Jake San Diego, CEO Jane Walker, and former Sales Director Apol Dionglay for imparting valuable lessons to me on how to properly make and deliver presentations.

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Around a year ago I was looking to get a raise from work at Level Up. However, times weren’t really good then so I sought advice from one of my good friends and mentors, Randell Tiongson. I followed his advice and guess what? I got a raise in just 1 month!

Well technically it wasn’t a raise but I definitely felt more secure with my money and all my bills were being paid on time. That and I enjoyed a “controlled but happy” freedom because there was no more fear and regret when I spent my money. Most of the time you don’t really need to blow cash on the stuff that you regularly buy. By avoiding excessive and useless spending, you are building a brighter future for yourself and your family. This also sets you up towards the millionaire track. Here are the 3 easy steps:

STEP 1: Track all of your expenses in a month
Your tracking system doesn’t have to be sophisticated. It can be a simple notebook or a mobile application for your phone. For BlackBerry, Nokia, and iPhone users there are tons of free personal expense trackers out there for download. Note that it is important that YOU WRITE DOWN ALL EXPENSES regardless if it is just coffee with your friends at Starbucks or you buying C2 from the canteen. After 30 days, set aside 2 hours to review your expenses and move on to step Believe me, you’ll get the shock of your life when you check your expenses for the past month. Sometimes the little “stuff” will add up and become monstrous black holes that will suck all of your hard earned money.

STEP 2: Review the past 30 days and make a MONTHLY BUDGET
At this point you’ve probably discovered how badly you spend your money. This was a huge shocker for me as well because when I checked my expenses after doing this, I found out that I spent a considerable amount of cash on coffee and eating out. Now that you’ve had a reality check, it’s now time to set things right. Work on a MONTHLY BUDGET that you will attempt to stick to for the next month. Write down all the necessities first like your transportation, food, utility bills, rent, etc. Note that this is your budget so you pretty much control it. Put in budget for your dates, gimmicks, and whatnot. Just don’t overdo it.

After doing your budget, repeat step 1 for the month and try to see if you were able to follow through with your original plan. If you didn’t, then make adjustments.

STEP 3: SAVE SAVE SAVE
Remember to always keep on building your savings. This money is the difference between winners and losers in real life. If you’re a fresh graduate, I want you to literally embed the word SAVINGS on your brain and heart so that you will never forget it. Not only am I speaking from personal experience, but I’ve seen so many people literally piss their life away because they let money control them and not the other way around.

If you simplify personal finance and wealth building, it’s pretty simple guys. It’s WORK WORK WORK -> SAVE SAVE SAVE -> INVEST (Risk) -> WORK WORK WORK -> SAVE SAVE SAVE. Rinse and repeat.

When the time comes that you do actually get a promotion and your monthly income is increased, don’t re-do your budget so that the savings amount is the same and your “stuff” budget is higher. Save more. Why? Because every peso spent is an opportunity for a future investment that can make or break your financial life – be it abundance, security, or bankruptcy.

I hope this article made sense to you. If you want to read more about personal finance, I suggest you drop by Randell Tiongson’s blog.

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I got this immortal wisdom nugget from Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture. This reminded me of a lot of people who have already approached me complaining about how they’ve never received “breaks” in their careers, relationships, and business. Here’s something to chew on – how many opportunities have passed you by because you’re not prepared for them? How many promotions have gone the other way when it gone have went to you if you would have worked a little extra?

My Story
I strongly believe in this statement because I experienced it myself. I don’t believe I’ve shared this story with a lot of people but let me do so now so I can illustrate it better. When I started out my marketing career, I was a Community Manager for the online gaming company of ePLDT, netGames. I reported to the Brand Manager (Frances Fernandez) and the Brand Manager reported to our Sales & Marketing Director (Apol Dionglay). During one of my evaluations with Frances and Apol, they asked me what I wanted to become in the next year or so. I honestly told them that I wanted to become a Brand Manager. However I still really didn’t have all the skills needed yet to be one. Apol shared with me some advice on what I can do to improve on and one of his tips have literally fueled me to where I am now in my career and even in my business and in my relationships.

Apol told me to read books.

And boy did I read. I blew my next salary on marketing and management books. I was never really a fan of reading but I suddenly found myself literally chugging down all the knowledge that I could get into my brain. It became really strange though when I’d be reading Kotler (marketing textbooks in college) when I was taking a crap in the bathroom, hahaha!

I was also blessed to have a good mentor in Frances. At first I was a bit annoyed on why she kept on passing work to me that I though wasn’t under the Job Description of a Community Manager. But looking back at everything, I finally understand why she did what she did. All the extra work that she was giving me did make life harder, but it was valuable experience and training that I won’t be able to get anywhere else. These were the days where I’d come home from work really late and I’d spent nights sometimes trying to come up with better ways to improve the games that we were handling. Yes – there were times when my girlfriend and I would fight because I’d be thinking about work during our dates, hehe.

Another mentor was our CEO – Jane Walker. She taught me how to really be strategic when it comes to brand planning and how to work smart. That’s the beauty with start-ups, you get to work with the giants even though you’re still an ant.

After months of preparation, an opportunity finally came. An opening was up for Brand Manager. I got the job based on all the hard work and training I put in and that was officially my first “break”.

(Apol Dionglay, Frances Fernandez, and Jane Walker)

It’s been one roller coaster ride after that. Level Up got merged with netGames and I handled different games and eventually got new mentors which refined me even more. The most important thing that was consistent though was that I worked hard everyday because I was passionate about the industry I was in and I knew that if I kept on going the extra mile, I’d get to the finish line faster.

To Apol, Frances, Jane, and the rest of my former colleagues in netGames, all the best to you guys and thank you for all the memories!

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To all the women out there – ever wondered why you never understand your boyfriends or husbands? Especially when it comes to their hobbies and annoying habits? I’m sure there are times that you find their “non-reaction” to stuff frustrating, and sometimes maybe even insulting. Well then, let me share a video that will give you an amazing eureka moment. If you’re in a relationship, then this video is simply a must-watch. Believe me, you will miss half your life if you don’t watch this!

THE NOTHING BOX BY MARK GUNGOR

And there you go Another mystery of life shared to humanity – THE NOTHING BOX.

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This video was shared by my schoolmate, Ryan Tan, on Facebook. To tell you guys the truth, I felt a little guilty after watching this because I was for a time heavily addicted to gaming. It took me a few years and some  rude awakenings to finally snap out of the lull that I was put into. To those who are avid gamers like me, you have to strike a balance between pleasure, business, and relationships. Don’t say the infamous gamer line “you don’t understand!” Yeah right. As if your raid was more important than tucking your kids into bed or spending time with your wife. Or maybe doing homework or making sure you deliver a good presentation at the office the following day.

If you’re like the guy in the video (i.e. no work, not helping in paying bills, and you rely on charity to live), then I pray to God that your girlfriend trashes whatever it is that keeps you busy – be it your PS3, PC, or whatever. You have to own up to life guys. Stop being a kid because it reaches a point when being too young at a certain age becomes unhealthy.

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This year my wife and I were surprised with the sudden influx of singles and young couples under our mentorship group. At first I was in a quandary about the issues that singles and young professionals face today. I’m in my mid-thirties now and I wasn’t sure if we have the same issues back then. Most of my coaching, counseling or consultations involve family, relationships and finance. Most yuppies are in the dilemma of juggling the three. If only they know that it is not a juggling act rather a balancing act.

Life now is so fast paced that today’s generation can become disoriented and seemingly lost. There is no shortage of resource or information out there because of books, Internet and podcasts all catering to solving the needs of today’s generation. But still a big number of today’s youth are lost.

In balancing the three, there is always something that you should prioritize. Most issues they face are disgruntled relationship within their families, maintaining a relationship or looking for a relationship and how to achieve financial stability. Most youth today are so driven but lack direction. It is no longer the issue of having earned a degree or not. But it’s having a set goal and a right mindset in achieving your goal. Having the right mentor to guide you can also play a factor. Another factor is your willingness to learn. I remember that a mentor of mine told me that learning from experience is not the best teacher but rather learning from somebody’s experience is the best teacher. Ask, be humble enough to consult someone; learn from people’s experiences and set out a direction on how you can achieve your goal.

But all of these will come to naught if it is not aligned with God’s plan for you. I often challenge those I mentor to seek divine intervention. We can plot out every aspect of our lives but if it is not in anyway aligned to our Creators plan for us then it will not materialize.

This article was contributed by Larry Uy. He currently serves as a full-time Pastor for Victory Greenhills. Prior to full time ministry, he was a businessman in the garments industry. He’s married to Yet and has two energetic and fun boys – Gelo and Monty. Read more about his  thoughts on  family, spirituality, and relationships at www.larryuy.com.

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