Knowledge comes by taking things apart: analysis. But wisdom comes by putting things together.

John A. Morrison

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 9:10

In a few months we will finally say goodbye (hopefully) to the 2nd longest serving President of the Republic. Just how good or bad did GMA perform? Let’s try to look at this on a more objective manner…

The Bad

Corruption has really gone berserk in this administration. While corruption has been ingrained in our society, GMA’s mark for her administration’s record in the area of corruption is, well let me borrow the youth’s language here — ‘Epic Fail’. Her ability to rally the country has always been smeared by allegations of incredible graft and corruption.

The Good

Improvements in the economy. I’m not a GMA fan but we need to give where credit is due.

When GMA took office in 2001, here’s the situation:

Inflation at 7.5 percent; the balance of payments (BOP) was at $2.02billion;the ratio of external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) or how much of the country’s total goods and services annually go into servicing the debt, 72 percent;  unemployment at 20 percent.

As GMA ends her term, here are the marcroeconomic stats:

Inflation at about 3.0% percent; the Balance of Payment stands at $5 billion; external debt to GDP ratio is down to 34 percent; and unemployment level is about 7%.

There are many areas that she still failed in the economics arena such as substantial and sustainable GDP growth; too much dependence on OFW remittances; a fiscal policy that needs to usher real country-side growth, the trickling of economic growth to the masses, etc. But, GMA inherited the country in a really bad shape and the improvement in the economic forefront is definitely a blessing.

GMA would probably come down history as one of the most unpopular Presidents we ever had… but history should be fair to her and us Pinoys should really give credit where credit is due. I am not saying we should forget all the ‘corruption’ attributed to GMA’s administration but we should also remember the good she has done.

I know many people will really disagree with me but I believe that all leaders are anointed and God allowed them to lead to serve His purpose, regardless if they cheated or not or whether they deserve to be in power or not . The Bible is full of stories on how God uses leaders, the good and the bad ones, for His purpose. We just need to see the bigger picture of things, I suppose. Let’s look at Philippine Presidents in this case:

1) Marcos – the country was in chaos, the nation needed to be disciplined. We needed an iron-fist at that time, like a child needed a spanking. Marcos was the perfect guy to do that.

2) Cory – it was time to bring back civil authority to the country and putting an inexperienced widow to thwart a well-entrenched dictator was a strong lesson on humility; further, God honored our being peace-lovers by giving us an unprecedented bloodless revolution.

3) Ramos – the country was already ready to experience growth; we were like a young nation once more and we were ready to spread our wings and try flying again; God put a non-catholic leader in a predominantly catholic nation to tell us that He was God of all and that faith is what is needed, not religion.

4) Erap – with the economic growth came arrogance; the masses were being neglected – people were more concerned about travelling outside the country, condominium units and golf courses. Erap was a big insult to the moneyed elite and the intelligent middle-class; he won by one of history’s biggest margins.

5) GMA – The previous administration left the country in turmoil in a very short period of time; the country needed a hard-working leader who was able to do the tough things that needed to be done and things that men are not willing to do.  With all her faults and criticisms, GMA was probably one of the country’s hardest working leader – her work ethics are unbelievable and her dedication to productivity is something to be admired.

What will the next President’s role be? Not sure, but I know God will use him as He uses all to serve His purpose and according to His will which is good, pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2).

If you are going through some trials at this moment, I hope this blog can be of some help to you.

People will go through trials — I personally look at trials as tests. When you know that the trial you are going through has a purpose, it makes going through it a little easier.

So why does God allow us to go through difficulties? Here are 3 probable reasons:

1) To accomplish His intentions – God has a bigger plan for us, beyond our comprehension and understanding. We only see things from our own perspective and find it difficult to see what’s in store for us. Read Genesis 45:5-8.

2) To develop our character – Here’s something to really think about: Growth is a painful process. The best teacher is experience and painful experiences either mold us or break us. Read Romans 5:3-4.

3) To discipline His children – if we don’t get the message right and we don’t heed the warnings, we need to learn the hard way. Read Hebrews 12:6.

The next time you go through some trials, smile! God has a plan for you and He loves you!

Whenever there is an opportunity, give others a break. Help them get into something that will help them realize their potentials.

I have been blessed that there were a lot of people who believed in me and gave me the breaks. There were bosses who hired me, clients who trusted me, friends who showed opportunities and more.  I will not be where I am if not for them and the Lord and I am sure many of the readers experience the same.

Paying it forward is a great concept – giving others a break is not a dole out and not a favor. It is making us realize that our purpose in life is always bigger than us and it will always involve others.

The Bible is full of stories about people getting breaks – Moses, David, Daniel, Nehemiah, the Apostles and many more. If God believes in us and gives us the break, shouldn’t we be doing the same? I am blessed that the people who I gave breaks to always go back to me to thank me but that isn’t always the situation of others. Despite of some being ungrateful, we should not dampen on our zeal to give others a break.

Why should we give breaks to others? Because God wants us to. The Lord, through others, will give us all the breaks we need in order to have a victorious life. Read the Bible and be encouraged. However, what we do with those breaks is entirely up to us. When you get the breaks, be grateful and always acknowledge the source of those breaks – God.

Here’s a good exercise – think of one or two names and give them a break. Kaya mo yan!

Catch the debut of my column “NO NONSENSE” at Money Sense Magazine, Jan-Feb issue.

Please grab a copy of the country’s only Personal Finance magazine, it’s truly worth the investment.

Thank you Lord for another blessing.

“Many of our fears are tissue-paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them.” — Brendan Francis

“Worry a little bit every day and in a lifetime you will lose a couple of years. If something is wrong, fix it if you can. But train yourself not to worry. Worry never fixes anything.” — Mary Hemingway

“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” — Benjamin Franklin

“If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.” — Calvin Coolidge

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? — Matthew 6:25-27

Ever feel like you’re in a rut? Do you feel like you are in a cross-road for so long and at too many times? Ever feel that your future isn’t really looking so bright? If you do, welcome to the real world!

Are you hounded by your past? Do you think that your past is so checkered that there is very little hope for the future? Well, that can be true – sad to say. Many of the things we did in the past affected our life today and will do so our future.

For many people, they quietly hope things will be better but deep down inside them, they’ve accepted that their future is well, bleak. However, there is something you can do to change your future, it’s called a ‘Course Change’.

My dear pastor (Dennis Sy) said “direction determines destination”. It’s simple actually; change the direction of your path and you will change the outcome of your future. Here’s a course change that you can do which will bring you blessings upon blessings: change your path and head towards God.

How do you do that? Well, again it’s simple: drop human wisdom for God’s wisdom. Err what? You might be asking “how the heck do I do that? I’m just human”. Here are some simple steps for you to change your direction towards God by applying godly wisdom.

1)      Pray. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom. Solomon could’ve asked anything from the Lord – power, long life, wealth and yet he asked for wisdom. Because of wisdom, he got more that what he was looking for (too bad he forgot to use godly wisdom a little bit too often).

2)      Read His Word. The bible is really the manual for life. People are often surprised that I use the book as my reference for finance among other things. The bible contains all the wisdom you’ll ever need – finance, business, career, relationships, family, etc. God’s word nourishes you and allows you to grow in wisdom. The more you read the Bible, the more wisdom you get.

3)      Get godly counsel. You can learn a lot from many people. Unfortunately, not everything you can learn will be good for you so seek people who you are sure have Jesus Christ in their lives. Experience isn’t always the best teacher – experience of others can be even more powerful in giving you wisdom. Spend enough time with godly people, fellowship with them and listen to them — see how it will change your views in life.

As you acquire godly wisdom and apply it (Solomon often forgot to use what he knew), you will make better decisions — and that will mean a better future for you. Our best days are ahead of us, we have not fully experience the apex of our joy. As we grow in our faith in the Lord and move towards Him, He will continue to amaze us in ways beyond our imagination.

Make that ‘Course Change’ today; be in faith that your best days are ahead of you.

Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be. – Job 8:7

However, as it is written: ”No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – 1 Corinthian 2:9

We got hired to run a planning seminar for a hotel in Subic. As I listen to my colleague conduct a program on customer service, I got the inspiration to write this blog. You see, not too long ago, my colleague was my assistant — now we are co-equals. Here’s more, the owner of the hotel who hired us once belong to a team I used to manage.

For 2010, here’s a great suggestion for a goal to have – A MENTOR.

Having a mentor or mentors (better) will really change your life for the better. Life is too short for you to learn by personal experience and at many times , it may be perilous. While personal experience is  a good teacher, there’s an alternative to that — experience of other people.  Having a mentor allows you to learn from his/her experience.

Be selective of your choices — not everyone is qualified to be a mentor. In my view, there are 3 things that you need to consider in getting a mentor:

1) Competence – he/she needs to be very good at the thing you need to learn. You can’t learn about cooking from someone who burns every dish he touches or someone who is single does not make a good mentor on marriage.

2) Integrity – there are two ways to accomplish goals, the right and the wrong way. Make sure your mentor will help you chose the right path.

3) Willingness – your mentor must be willing to mentor you right? Good people will only be to happy to mentor you. Francis Kong once told me, “when the student is ready, the teacher appears”.

Much as I mentored many, I too was mentored by a lot of people —  and I continue to have mentors. I am blessed that I have very good mentors all throughout my life. Today, I still search for mentors and learn from their wisdom – not just professionally but also personally. I got mentors in my profession; mentors in the faith; mentors in relationships; etc.

I am going to blog about my mentors soon… but let me recommend the best mentor (and Lord) you can ever have: Jesus Christ.

Dedicate 2010 to the Lord and it will be a great year.

Happy New Year to all!

Randell, Mia and Kids

“It’s important to know how our prepaid customers think. If you’re a telco, how do you convince a farmer to spend his money on prepaid load over food?” – Ernest Cu, President and CEO of Globe Telecoms

From http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/12/19/09/getting-know-sophisticated-prepaid-user

What was that? Globe wants to convince farmers to spend their money on prepaid load over food? Did I read that correctly? Whatever happened to business ethics, corporate social responsibility or just plain decency? I know that profit is the main reason for business, but this is another issue and it’s absolutely, well… wrong!

Poverty is the country’s biggest problem; lack of financial literacy is a leading reason why poverty is very difficult to battle —  then we have corporate giants who even brag about how they want to milk us Pinoys the limited money we have.

This makes me even more passionate about the advocacy to bring financial literacy to Pinoys! Hmmm, maybe I should also change my telecom provider.