I did something new today and last Sunday. I am a public speaker and trainer but I was given a new challenge – instead of being the trainer or speaker, I became a host and a moderator.

When I was offered a job to be such, I wasn’t too sure if I was the right person for the job and really gave the offer a lot of thinking. I was used to being introduced and being guided by moderators but being on the other side of the fence made me think twice. Why? I was not sure if I was the right person for the job. I accepted the job because it was difficult to say no to my friend who organized the program (Tom Gotuaco) and I will be moderating for three of my most respected colleagues (Efren Cruz, Suzan Bigay and Melvin Esteban).

It was a good thing that I took the challenge because I really enjoyed the ‘new’ challenge. It is a great feeling making other people look good, redirecting attention away from you and towards others. I am not sure if I did a good job but I definitely enjoyed it.

Some take-away lessons for me:

1)      I may think that I am good at what I do but in reality, there are people who are really much better and they deserve the spotlight, or the stage;

2)      Just like in life, everyone has an important role;

3)      Making other people look good is not only a humbling experience, there must be sincerity in it; and

4)      Challenges are meant to be met, not feared.

This activity is also a good reminder about our purpose in life. Your purpose is never about you and will always be bigger than yourself; and whenever there is an opportunity, redirect whatever glory there is away from you and towards God – He is the only  one who is worthy of any glory.

If ever I will be offered a job as a moderator and host, I will not think twice anymore.

5 men of diverse age and backgrounds were discussing many things in my living room hours ago. After downing dozens of home-made Tacos (as in literally); these men discussed things in a very bold manner — tough questions were asked and tough answers were given.

There were a couple of questions that was fired during the round table discussions. Not only were they candid, the discussions were raw and honest.

Here are the questions discussed:

1) Do you read your bible? When? How often?

2) Do you pray? In what manner? What do you pray for?

3) Do you engage in pornography?

4) How do you manage your finances? Do you tithe? Do you practice extreme generosity? Do you save? Are you becoming debt free? Do you invest? How do you spend your money?

5) Do you make disciples?

For some, these questions are simple — or are they? Real men will answer the questions in a straightforward manner. No beating around the bush and certainly no justifications. Tough men don’t need to massage their egos — they admit their short comings and they commit to improving themselves.

Here’s more — tough men know that they need other men too! They need to be held accountable with each other if they are to walk in  righteousness as commanded by the Lord.

Are you accountable to anyone? Are you part of an accountability group? It’s about time you think and act on the concept of accountability — Tough Men are big on accountability!

Oh, tough men are also tough with their appetites!

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. – Hebrews 10:25, NIV

Tough Men: Insurance Executive, Radio DJ, Printing Business CEO, Post-Grad Student, and me.

Here’s a new website by my consultant and good friend Carlo Ople.

http://www.juanlife.com/

It’s a blog site that talks about corporate life, success and entrepreneurship. Check it out!

I had a meeting with the CEO of Fern-C earlier. Amazing success story for the CEO and the company but that’s not what I’m writing about.

The CEO mentioned that he loves really nice expensive cars but he also understands that buying those nice cars cost you a lot of money, especially at the rate they depreciate. Solution? He started trading those expensive cars — buying them, using them and selling them at a profit. Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?

Hobbies can be expensive and really hurt the budget. Having a hobby is great but what if your hobby affects your budget already? Instead of enjoying your hobby, it starts becoming stressful. If there’s some way you can make money out of your hobby,  that would really be a great idea! I have met so many successful entrepreneurs who made a business out of their hobbies. Even if your business will not rake in millions for you, the mere fact that the cost of your hobby is reduced because of the said business, that’s good enough for me.

Allow me to share with you my hobby. Ever since I was about 8 or 9 years old, I love keeping aquariums. My passion are Salt Water (Marine) Aquariums because its really challenging yet fulfilling. Running a marine aquarium can be financially challenging especially if you are not doing it right. In 2007, my hobby friends and I toyed with the idea of making a business out of a hobby that’s becoming to be financially challenging. By January 2008, our idea (also our childhood dream) of having a very reputable Marine Aquarium hobby shop was born — Marine Hub.

Two years after, Marine Hub has become one of the most respected Marine Aquarium hobby shop in the country with a solid following. Our clients ranges from students, professionals, businessmen, showbiz personnel. We have moved from just trading equipment to distributorship, livestock importation and custom built systems. We have outfitted beautiful systems for homes, offices and even a hospital. Earlier, I was speaking to a group of Architects and they invited me to exhibit in their annual convention. Admittedly, we were not sure if this crazy idea of ours will turn out into something and there were many times when we thought of closing shop. While there are still a lot of issues we need to fix in Marine Hub, we can say that this business will stay on for quite some time.

Opportunities are there for those who are open-minded and willing to take some calculated risks. Another lesson I learned in this venutre is the value of partnerships – in Marine Hub, we are 5 owners. While it is way easier to run a business without partners, I believe in the value of leveraging — 5 heads are definitely better than 1, and not just financially. There are some times that we don’t agree in our business directions but we all have deep respect for each other to agree on a consensus.

Well, next time your hobby is hurting your wallet — think about making a way to earn from it.

Here’s a sample of what we can do at Marine Hub (located at the back parking area of Metrowalk).

2009 was a challenging year to me and yet I have so much to be thankful to the Lord for.

What about you? What are you thankful about? Let’s hear them!

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save  his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:18

Merry Christmas to all!

The real reason for Christmas is Jesus Christ. By his birth and death, we are saved from our sins and united with God. The best gift you can ever give yourself is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior and establish a lasting personal relationship with Him.

God bless all of you!

Randell, Mia and family

A very good article from a great writer/speaker… Merry Christmas folks!

Randell

I Believe in Christmas by Zig Ziglar

It’s the first Christmas I can remember. It arrived just seven weeks after the deaths of my father and baby sister. To make matters worse, it was in the heart of the Great Depression. Things were tough. All of us children who were older made what income contributions we could, but the truth was my mother had eight of her eleven remaining children still living at home, and six were too young to work. Understandably, the Ziglar kids were concerned about what kind of Christmas it would be!

The good news is that though our grief was fresh, we still celebrated Christmas. We received no toys that year, but much to my delight in my gift box I found three English walnuts and something I had never tasted before—raisins! They were absolutely delicious. Mama prepared her wonderful molasses candy, and we had a small cedar tree. And my mother read the Christmas story, like she always did.

My sixth Christmas will always have great meaning to me. We celebrated the birth of Christ even in hard times because we believed in Christmas.

A Change in Celebrating the Season

Unfortunately, over the years things have changed. The cheerful “Merry Christmas” of yesteryear has been replaced by the politically correct “Happy Holidays!” In the minds of many people, we celebrate “holidays.” Not only is Christ not at the center of the celebration, he isn’t even considered to be a reason for the season!

If I seem upset about the changes that I see taking place in regard to Christmas, it is because I am! It’s not because an old tradition is being changed. No, I’m upset that the event that made it possible for me to have a life I could never have imagined is being hidden from view with decorations, wrapping paper, parties, and political correctness!

Christmas! A Reason to Celebrate

You see, I believe it’s worth celebrating that Jesus came to earth—his birth signaled hope for all mankind. I believe that as he lived a perfect life before God and mankind, he showed that he truly was God’s Son. And I believe that by giving his life up on a cross, he completely paid the penalty that my sins—and yours—deserve before a holy God. And it was made possible because of that first Christmas.

How could I not believe in Christmas? Because Christ was born as a baby in a manger, that’s more than enough reason to celebrate Christmas for what it is—a joyful occasion. I’ve experienced forgiveness of my sins, and have the assurance of eternity in heaven!

If you don’t know Jesus Christ, let me say that he tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” How do you do that? First, understand that I’m talking about a relationship, not a religion. All the world’s major religions emphasize that you qualify for heaven by your good works—the things that you do. Such “religion” is spelled “d-o.” Christianity is spelled “d-o-n-e.” Christ already paid for our sins when he died on the cross. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). And he rose from the grave proving that the punishment for our sins was fully paid.

Nothing we could ever “do” could qualify us for God’s forgiveness and reserve our place in heaven. That’s why Christ himself said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).

Celebrate Like Never Before!

God forgives us, saves us from our sins, and gives us eternal life based on our belief in what Jesus did for us. Why? Because God is gracious beyond measure! The Bible says that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Though “the wages of sin is death” (eternal separation from God), the greatest Christmas gift we could ever have is “the free gift of God … eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

With gift-giving like that from God, I don’t want to lose the significance of Christmas. I believe in Christmas!

I urge you to accept the greatest “Christmas gift” you’ll ever receive: If you’re convinced that God’s way is the only way to meaningful life now and eternal life in heaven, you can tell him in words like these:

Dear God, I do believe Jesus died for me and took the punishment my sins deserved. I want to receive your free gift of salvation and eternal life. Thank you for making this possible!

Then join me this year in celebrating Christmas like you’ve never celebrated it before!

Merry Christmas!
~Zig

People enter politics for many reasons… many of them run just because they can. Celebrities and those with political lineage feel that being in public office is their God-given right.

Running for office, even if you have the best chances of winning or you are very competent would not necessarily be good enough reasons to run for elective position. One should not only have the competence, one should really check his heart.

I am proud of my friend Carlo Ople — he has political royal blood and definitely competent and yet he decided not to be in the political arena at this point because he knows his priorities.

To read about Carlo’s decision, read his blog.

At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. – Daniel 6:4, NIV

I’m proud to be part of this advocacy!

Do you sometimes wonder if what you do really makes a difference?

I’ve been an advocate of financial planning for almost a decade now and there are times that I ask myself if I’m really making a difference in this advocacy. From establishing a yahoogroup to the Registered Financial Planner Institute, from www.income-tacts.com to this blog … from one speaking engagement to another… and and articles, columns and blogs — I sometimes ask if I’m making some dent at all.

.. then you get encouraging messages from people, making things all worth it and inspires you to continue. Here’s a nice Facebook message I got recently, I couldn’t remember the guy but I’m sure our paths have crossed before:

greetings mr Tiongson

i’m friends with Mervin back during my days with AXA

i’ve read much about you and you inspired me to explore a career in Financial planning when i moved to Canada

just wanna drop in a note to tell you that

keep up what you’re doing for the Philippine society

it’s a good country sans the government. you’re definitely doing your part to make it a great place to live.