Like A Pound of Stardust

        

                    You are made of a pound of stardust, so in the Universe you should trust.

                                                  Photo credit - http://fav.me/d6r8mv2

Visiting a planetarium is a must do in this life time. The Universe can make you marvel about its chaotic beauty and building mess. And in your life, you only get to see the veil of the bigger show behind the curtain calls.

So when you feel down and basically lost or aimless, remember that you were made to be a part of something bigger you could not picture yet. Let this bigger picture come to you with least resistance because logic can never substitute for true understanding. When you understand what you were meant to be or to do, you do not need to be logical to know you have become or you have done.

You are a speck out of this life force, a true manifestation of millions of accidents that led to a miracle that is uniquely you. So when people pull you down or life is getting darker for your happiness to shine,  be the sun. Be the center of your universe. Focus on you. Learn about yourself and strive to become a better not bitter version. Block out the noise that tends to bring doubts and confusion. Listen to you.

Be not wary of neverending changes and problems. Problems were made to bring something new - changes. Changes create better worlds because the lessons they bring are true and lasting. Make it a habit to push your comfort zone and be silly or foolish. Being foolish means you are just way ahead of finding a solution that only you can know to a problem that nobody noticed yet. Be mad, be passionate, be obssessed, be open and be not afraid to become un-you.

And always remember, you are made of at least a pound of stardust. Let your sparkle shine through at your darkest and rarest moments. Be noble to know that what you can manifest on your own, was never truly yours but a mere component of the great mystery we call, life.

 

Immersion

Immerse yourself in your curiosities because they lead you to where your soul is happy.
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Begin Again and Again

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Some things are good to begin with but better never ended at all.

Have you ever started something with such enthusiasm you burn out before you reach completion? Yes? Well, you might be guilty of being a fire starter then. Well not the arson tendency type but more of the procrastination type. 

We have always these ideas circling in our minds that gets you when you are just staring in blank space and in that moment, they seem to be great ideas indeed. And then you realize you try to fit these great things into the mundane real life and somehow along the way, you fail to follow through.

And inevitably, these great ideas go to the back burner and you say your temporary inclinations can be left to do in your next five years. But the next five years never said you will be ready to launch your great ideas. Nothing in your life will ever will. 

If a great ideas has been in your plans, then you owe it a try once in a while. Not in a great while, but in a reachable plan. 

Ideas come to you because they are meant to be lived. Meant to have a chance not only to exist in your mind, but to be tested in the ever changing currents of your life. If this one great idea can work in your life, what can stop it from working in someone else's life too?

The ability to turn an idea to reality is so intrinsic in each one of us -- we can dare say we are all creators by nature. Humans have the facilities to control at least some of their environment partially, it is a sad excuse not to use all these resources to generate what we have in our minds.

Blame it on commercialism or social norms or limited expectations that we tend to put off what we really have been thinking to do for a long time. People tend to build bucket lists, goals, vision boards and many other forms of expressions of their dreams - they can all be haunting fragments of what you can actually be capable of doing.

So do not be afraid to be labeled a fire starter. We all are. Successful people often are fire starters on their own - misunderstood, judged, and underestimated often. But never be afraid to begin again and again. There is bravery involving the art of igniting passion for life, and it can never end. If you let it end, you will loose the spark in your own life. You will succumb to the dreams of others. Why do that when you have fabulous dreams and ideas yourselves?

So start the sparklers! They might ignite the hidden passions and ideas you kept too long let them shine even for just fleeting seconds for the world to see. And if that does not do it, begin again. Never let it end you see. 

Wandering In A Different Wonderland

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Today is the first anniversary for my moving abroad! Celebrating it with immortality - by writing! Booyah!

There is always something special connected with firsts. First baby steps. First tooth. First knee bruise. First home. First kiss. First love. First trips. First jobs. First heartbreak. First move. First career. The list goes on. All firsts and usually skips to the lasts. But before we do the bunny hops of lasts, let us look into the firsts. 

For this case, first move abroad. It is like going into the proverbial rabbit hole and becoming Alice in Wonderland personified. Never mind the culture shock or the inevitable realization that heck, you will change. Everything around you is different. 

You will be skinned alive and apart by a new set of judgement and perception. You will be shaken right down to the core of your established persona and end up with a stranger looking back at you in the mirror. You cannot trust yourself at this point of the journey as you are starting to feel you wandered too far off yourself to find you. People you expect to understand you - would really won't and your personal relationships might suffer due to double standards and unmet expectations. This would be one of those ugliest moments when you realize - who you are is being questioned and it would take a lot of faith and effort to remain true to yourself while trying to embrace who you have to become.

You will suffer a great quiet loss of your old life and old ways as you try to adapt to the foreign routines and way of life in your new location. There will come a point in time when you ask yourself if all the changes you must do are all worth the pain and loss of the process. Doubts will grow their sad heads in between who you can be and what you can only do (for now). You will be forced to some things that you never thought you would. These things are not usually criminal, but morally tugging at your heart. You will learn the Big Jungle of Life living abroad. Live and let live. 

You will start to stumble into things you never thought you can see, hear, taste, touch and feel. The movies you have seen will never be as great as the actual scenes you are actively being a part of. Even the books you read would never find the words to encapsulate the things in your mind when you experience something not usual before. You will feel ignorant and silly, but you know it is necessary to be aware of the mundane and acceptable knowledge and behavior around you. You have the lame excuse to be a "newbie" to embarrass yourself in more ways than one.

People will all seem unkind. No one can understand you or actually know how you are feeling adjusting to this new environment. You will have no support group to cry your hearts out when you feel lost, alone, lonely, and just regretful. You begin to be socially withdrawn and unassuming thinking this would make you stronger. But bit by bit, you find yourself being tired of your own drama and decide to tread on different waters. You try to associate with groups that you think can help you enjoy your quiet misery. And with some trial and error, you manage to snag a good friend or two who still cannot understand you but is genuinely concern about you. And that opens the rest of the windows and doors you locked and along the way you meet people who are lesser unkind. Even in one point, you will be able to pay the same understanding to someone who is a new kid in the block too.

You can never be thankful enough for true friends and moral support you managed to keep with the help of technology (thanks Skype, e-mails, Facebook, Twitter, among other Apps!). They will remind you who you really are no matter where you are deep inside. And in the end of this getting lost by wandering off to different shores, you become more better albeit a more stronger you. The you they know is still within you but you know you are becoming a different person too. The proof that these are your truest supporters is how they remain in your life even if you changed - or per se your location just changed. The ones that slipped out of your fast changing life events, either cannot accept the real new you or decided your paths has reached its end together. Never be sorry for finding out who these people are. They are the ones who deserve to be called true and also are to be listed to your private victory parties or success picnics.

You will find a routine far far different from what you have perceived when you decided to go abroad.  Forgive yourself and your naivete. Plans and expectations have their ways of creeping up on you but do not listen to them. Pay more attention to what you can do and be more open to the things that you must do. At this point, never say never at all. The great thing about this new place is that no one knows you and do not care if you make mistakes along the way as long as you find a way of your own. And it is with greatest hopes that when you find your own path in this new world, it is usually something more meaningful and successful in time. 

But ease your heart and fears. What you might go through might be entirely different from what you have been reading. So decide seriously this time if your first move abroad would either make or break you. Either answer can still be productive as long as you are the kind of person who wanders for the experience and not for the end results. Do not be tied with helpless goals like earning more money or being treated any differently when you have been to where you are right now. Make your own first move abroad when you are ready for a constant overhaul of who you are and you do not mind labels. When you learn to be with yourself no matter where you are. And a little curiosity of pushing your mettle never grow old.

So we might reach the topic of lasts at this point, but really, does the journey end? I do not think so. Even if you have changed your demographics, you will feel this won't be the last move you will make in your life. Pun very much intended, thank you!

So go on, Alice. Curiosity got you this far...down the rabbit hole a new world exists. You are the protagonist of this story. Wander about the places you can be and the person you can become!

Learning How to Unlearn and Re-Learn about Your Finances

(Two not-so-broke girls after a 3-day Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar, Disclaimers apply.)

Another path in the future

"A book can never change your life unless you start within."

It was a no-brainer to attend a seminar about financial education and real estate investment (duh!). You had some time off and you got to have a close pal along with you to learn new stuffs. Cool. Doing one (or three days for this case) about money and real estate is not scary enough for 30-somethings with no financial background whatsoever. This is not a form of review and is purely written out of the gratitude we felt in learning about finance management.

So with as much as smart business casual outfit we can put together, we went to brave the 3-day seminar mentored by Mike “Pip” Stehlik who pretty looked like an awesome (but crazy, he told us himself) American about Canadian real estate and a bit of facts about money. Awkward small talks happened between complete strangers and at 9 am all of the lectures, discussions, and sarcastic humor went on. We had a class of about 17-20 people in a big Scotiabank Convention Center function room and it felt close-knitted enough to be able to know most of the class’ names. It was also a good thing that we had to switch sitting arrangements more (terrifying) than it was. Snicker right here. And yes, we did appreciate the (attempts on) stand-up comedy, Pip. Not to mention the Cash Flow game is an awesome tool to learn about good and bad investments.

And besides those points and the obvious repertoire between mentor and each student, we had actually been mind-blown about the “stuffs” we learned. These are only tips of the icebergs ladies and gentlemen but we are hoping it can inspire you to be curious enough to find out more (just like we were) and in a way paying it forward to somebody out there who might need options. 

You have to feel comfortable about being in debt.
We were taught to avoid death like a plague. But being in good debt that earns you positive cash flow can be a good thing. You have to learn to borrow money to invest in real estate, business, or even paper money. If you do not learn creative financing then you have no jumping point in launching you way to financial freedom.

Do not pay off your house mortgages and (sigh) get as many credit cards as you can.
Most financial planners and acquired financial common sense (that I found out are usually in the Industrial Revolution and no longer in the Information Age) would say pay off your house mortgages and do not think about your home equity line credit (HELC). Also, pay off your credit card billing statement and do not attempt to up your credit limit by any chance. Rethink and ponder. If you pay off your mortgages, your house becomes a liability and you cannot take out your HELC to use it to acquire other investment. Same goes with your credit cards too – they are the cheapest form of money you can afford and can use to dabble in say real estate.

 Being rich will cost you – a lot.
If you earn big money, you have to lose some big money and time. And if that is further advanced education on finance management and courses, personally we would not mind (financially, well it is a different stories for now). If you can work with mentors to guide you with your next steps to earn your first significant deals, what is there to fear? And if a mentor, like Pip, would help you in any way he can (he is a great guy) I’d say the price is worth paying for to be around people who can teach you to earn and keep money. And this is no rich quick scheme. The method of actually executing what you learn and building your wealth will take time and effort on your part. Everything is simple but not all of it will be easy.

Real estate is not an alien word to the average Joes and Janes – you can actually be part of it!
We often think of real estate only for people who can in the first place, afford one piece of property in the least. This is a common notion and we were fooled by it before. The five basic necessities to any human being are food, water, oxygen, clothing, and shelter. I repeat shelter. So at the end of the day, we all have someplace to rest and we call it usually a home – and home is real estate whether owned, rented, or leased. So no matter how much or so little you know about real estate – you are already involved as a real estate investor in a way.

But after hearing the possible ways you can creatively finance your way to have leverage in the industry, you can actually do it! And believe it or not, scam or not, you can actually do this by using other people’s money or with no money no credit on the line. Sounds crazy? Well, we were taught by one crazy American but we know some legit stuff now that years in schooling would not – being street smart about having, using, and keeping money.

Find solutions and the money will come.
People who are involved in real estate are judged to be unscrupulous individuals who are out to get money out of other people. But if you work your way in real estate with integrity and all legal means, you can actually help other people in their real estate problems in the long run. You will be the solutions provider and you will creatively find a solution to their real estate dilemmas so you can have a win-win situation for everybody involved. Your actual goal is to make everyone happy in the end. And always ask "how" instead of "I can't" is where it all boils down into.

How the big boys play the money game.
Corporations are there thriving in the finance industry and now we know why. The rich are there because they think differently about how to use money and fair laws in acquiring, managing, operating, and securing their companies. And so, if the rich people can actually thrive using the three-tiers of business, why can’t your future enterprise? Before we did not know how the corporate world functions and why the billionaires we know operate their empires – but with the pointers we were given, we can say we got it big boys and these girls have been given some nice wisdom nuggets.

 Always know your big WHY.

The ‘why’ part of you being financially educated is a big factor in keeping you in the path to your own financial freedom. It is your motivation to push yourself out of your ego and engage in the possibilities of improving your financial life.

Pip said with the contrarian methods that RDPD presents to the world, it can encourage people to discourage you to not try this at all or have cold feet in the commitment to putting this into practice. And sadly, the people that can discourage you are the people who tell you they love and support you. But be reminded that it is in human nature that people who love you can rob you in pursuing your dreams unknowingly because they are afraid of you being better than them and the changes that might happen if you actually not fail. So be ready to have negativity around your efforts. This is the road less traveled and you have to keep your sight on the bigger picture and keep your own positivity even if your cheering squad is not helping at all. 

So yeah, it was 3 days well spent from our part amidst the snow storms and social awkwardness. We have actually inspired ourselves to find a way to put the stuffs we learn here into practice and get the further education in our long term goals. Who knows where we will be sitting next? And before we left, unable to commit to the costly educational program as of now, we left Pip (and great team Tammy & Baz) telling him we will seek him out when we reach the top at the time when we make it BIG!

And yes, we have got a lot of side books from RDPD to read and adapt. It is a gradual unlearning and re-learning but we have to start somewhere. This is going to be a team consistent effort and we are hoping we can make it work in the next couple of years. So booyah for the initial step! Now, where do we put our purple library? (wink)

I Am Here ...Now What Do I Do?

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Never forget your curiosity to try something new.

It was a dream you wanted to come true or maybe a goal you wanted to accomplished. And now, the dream has become your reality and the goal has been achieved - now what do you do?

Ever wondered what most protagonist do after their happily ever afters and winners have won their trophies? Well, for the record, aside from those book twos or trilogy movies - most of the happy endings do not really state what you do with the happy. 

So what do people who are already winners do? They strive to dream bigger and be happier. It is not instiable ambition to get ahead of what you have already succeeded in doing. Look at athletes who become champions in their sports each year - they only compete with themselves in the end having no one else to beat or displace.

Well, it is like that in life apparently. You can never say, I have done this and that now I must stop. Even at the threshold of your success or failure, you can never stop struggling in beating yourself. You cannot be too hard on yourself either. The essential yin-yang is to be observed to remain sane and non self-critical. 

You will not remain the same - that can be assured as you reach different levels of experience in what you decide to do. Dare to say, you can never limit yourself in what you can possibly do, have or become. Life throws a curveball most of the time and choices define who you can be. It was never a question of antagonists but a question on whether you are willing to put yourself out there. Meaning, to be strong enough to be your own potential no matter where life takes you. 

People fear both sides of the coin flip - failure and success - because both outcomes mean changes. And changes, being creatures of habit - is not a favorite term of human beings who thrive on security and constancy. But believe that was meant for you will always be for you and what is not will not be given to you no matter the circumstance. If you are a believer in making your own destiny then you cannot deny fate as well. You run your life, you run your show, but it does not discredit life to run you.

So when you get there - no matter where your life path takes you, remember the milestones in your life. Think how far you have come this far and never regret what you did or did not do. Leave your baggage as you trudge along your road. Imminent failure or success will still chase you anyway regardless if you choose or not. Be nice. Be happy. Be positive and chances are, you will never run out of something to do. You may be in some jump off point in your life right now, but remember that you have led yourself at that spot and you only need to plunge and believe what you have is enough for the path you intend to take. 

And when you do doubt yourself, remember that your life is not defined by a single moment or chance. Your life will be defined how far you have failed or succeeded in what you were destined to do. And no one can make a mistake of knowing what is it you are supposed to do - but yourself. So as always said, stay true to yourself and success or failure will not faze you. 

Choosing Happiness

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I choose happiness no matter which side I am in.

Have you ever wondered what lies behind the reflection you have the mirror. Do you look at it so closely, you loose sight of the imperfections that dwells in your eyes?

Yes, the eyes. You can see the soul inside the eyes, they say. Eyes can give you away, and eyes can hide something to tell about. But the same eyes can expose you to the truth at hand. Perhaps that is why the mirror and both its sides can hardly look at each other hard. They never meet eyes. This is how most psychologists would describe the image of the id and the ego. Self-perception is not an easy subject to tackle. 

That is because both sides of the mirror are usually at odds with each other, the other side reflects while the other side is shunned in the dark. But remember, it depends on which side of the mirror you prefer and what your eyes would like to see. Most wise men have reached a level of marriage between these two sides, the side you think you are and the side that you actually are. Maybe that is why they ooze with such profoundness - all sides agree on something at one point.

If you ever tagged yourself as neutral or trying to balance objectivity and subjectivity, at some point in your life, you get to a certain dilemma where something bad can give something good and something good can only make matter worse. You harbor the Pollyana personality that everyone that is a bit jaded or cycnical can only make it out as being a fake. But deep inside, you know you are not. You know it is the only choice to be happy of being who you are - choosing to be happy with what you are. 

Rules of engagement defines how to achieve the balance of being the surface between two sides. But you become stoic, sometimes even toxic dwelling on the middle. You tend to be on halt, be indecisive, and in the end get lost. Life is never black or white but dwelling on the gray also does not define who you can become. 

Maybe it is the universal law that says you got to choose as you are the master of your ship and no one else can make the decisions in your life but you. So choose to be happy. Why choose gray, black, white? There is always the rainbow. 

You Got to Get Ruined

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A jump might ruin your balance but it sure makes you alive! (A note to self)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

6 am and the workaholic got up to face a brand new day. Stressful mornings and Mondays are not ideal for embracing the start of the week, but heck, got to do the motions to earn the daily wage. Got into work a bit late, tired, spent, and wishing its already weekend. 

Familiar? Yes, this is the usual day for a yuppie. A tired yuppie. Does not matter how much pay you take home, but looking at these people make you go want to ask them, "So where is the rest of your life?"

Answers can range from: None. Nada. Not happening. Not until that filed leave. Still got work to finish...work has literally became the excuse not to live life! Better take a look in the mirror and someone older might look back at you!

So before you hit the panic button, knowing this might be you, hold on a sec. Assess yourself, are you falling into the drudgery of your own life? Has your routine have you wishing it was all weekend on weekdays? Then wake up and smell the coffee ~ all yuppies tend to do that. Not because they have to - just because they have not yet figured out what makes them complete and utterly contented. If you find yourself in this kind of rat race, then step back. Do you really want to work like this and miss the rest of your life?

Ideal as it may sound, you got to get your life back. You got to get ruined. You got to hit the rock bottom so you can hit your noggin into something solid to shake you back into real life. Repeat that, real life! Haven't you notice you become philosophical whenever you face failure? Aside from justification purposes, really, you get a lesson or two. All up to you if you manage to learn from them of course. 

Being vulnerable teaches you to be humble. It teaches you to draw your strength not from what you have accomplished or have but rather on the person that you have become. Accepting failure takes a lot more courage than gaining over the adversity you might be facing. Getting ruined means giving yourself a chance to piece yourself together again. 

So if you are hitting a rough patch, breaking up, lost your wallet, or really just being ruined, accept it. Just think of the ancient ruins in Greece - they are there to remind us how a great civilization can crumble without reprieve. Life is a bitch, I heard someone shout out today, but you can bitch back too no matter how ruined you feel. 

Life do not allow you to just do the motions to be alive. Life is uncertain to keep you guessing what happens next in your real life. No matter how much you hide yourself in work loads or some excuses, life will still bitch at you. He is like that prefect that keeps a constant eye on you when you become too routinary. 

So when you are at your ruins, keep that head up. Still search for the everyday magic that drudgery can take away in your daily life. Keep looking for the magic instead of the obstacles before you. If you cannot find luck, then create your own opportunity. Do not just cringe (well, at the start its a natural reaction) when life gets you. Life fetches you every now and then to keep you grounded. Just to keep you real. 

My Regular Miracle

written 4.46.2009, my room
photo taken by me St. Francis' Church, Maa, Davao City

Like a pill, an antidote

The One I cherish most

I ran away, far

He follows me and find my scars

With His words I tremble in fear

His touch bring me to tears

And then I feel with His will

I slowly lift my eyes and heal.

He points my puzzle to solve

Patiently, He creates the broken mold

Of my true self that age in pieces

He picks the parts and gently seizes

The love that can give the broken

And returns what has been stolen.

Everyday, He walks beside me

No matter the road I chose to be

He allows my freedom to roam

Never made me lost my way back home.