 
#

Philippines Copyright 2016

By

EVA H. ARADILLOS

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

# DEDICATION

_**God-**_

_for working miracles every day of my life;_

_I am grateful._

_**My parents Papa Nano & Mama Letty -**_

_for the gift of life; and for waking us up at 4 in the morning_

_so we can study our lessons and rub our teeth to straighten_

_them._

_**My husband, Malony -**_

_for loving all of me and not getting tired_

_of telling me to close my dress cabinets._

_**My kids Paolo and Marco -**_

_the loves of my life for making me complete and_

_whose favorite time during school days are 15 th and 30th of the month._

_**My 5 Siblings -**_

_our childhood jokes keep us together, and even up to now,_

_our pet names still hold a special place in our hearts._

_**My In-laws -**_

_for the lavish support._

_**My Friends -**_

_for making my Facebook account busy_

_as we journey together in the story of our lives._

_**My Editors -**_

_for making my book easy to read._

# TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Part I BUILDING MY CAREER

_Chapter 1_ My Early Years

_Chapter 2_ My Jobs

_Chapter 3_ The Rat Race

Part II BUILDING MY ASSETS

_Chapter 4_ The Cashflow Quadrant

_Chapter 5_ Sad Stories of People Who Build Their Career Only

_Chapter 6_ Where Will You Be 3-5 Years from Now?

STEP 1: JOINING NETWORK MARKETING

_I Said "NO" to Network Marketing_

_Big Break_

_Negative Mindset_

_The Law of Attraction_

_Every Master Was Once a Disaster_

_Life Purpose_

_Helping People and More_

_My Thunderbolts_

STEP 2: MANAGING THE MONEY WELL

_Delayed Gratification_

_MINU Budgeting_

_Financial Literacy_

STEP 3: BUILDING PASSIVE INCOME

_Cash Flow_

_Portfolio Income from Paper Assets_

_Invest While You are Young!_

_Rental_

_The Power of Leverage_

Part III ENJOYING THE FREEDOM

_Chapter_ 7 _Living the Dream_

_Chapter 8_ The Greatest Gift of All

Part IV TAKING ACTION

_Chapter 9_ _Ways to Raise More Investment Money_

_Chapter 10   Choosing Your Investment Class_

On Insurance

On Rental, Paper Assets & Business

On Good Health

Part V GETTING STARTED

_Chapter 11_ The Bottom Line

_Chapter 12_ Your Next Step

# INTRODUCTION

I believe that our story is our message to the world. My story is all about changing my mindset in order to change the results of my life. I thought it was not possible for me anymore to build my passive income. I was broke and didn't have the skills and resources of business people. I already resigned to the fact that I was sentenced to work for 40 years just to pay my bills. But after 11 years of working, I was close to the edge of nervous breakdown. This has forced me to try abnormal things. My defining moment was when I understood the financial tool, which really made a whole world of difference to my financial consciousness. I hope this will be your greatest takeaway. Had I known this tool before, I wouldn't have wasted my 11 years building my career. Instead, I could have started building my assets earlier and earned passive income to enjoy total freedom. Imagine the years of employment you may be saving also. I do not know how to write a book, but my excitement to share did not stop me from writing my story. I know its message will be an inspiration to many. My heart is jumping with joy, knowing that true freedom became real for me. But the real prize is, if it can be duplicated by you. Never again will only the rich people get richer as I have revealed their best kept secret: leveraging. If you are not familiar with the term, do not drop this book until you know and understand what it is. Leveraging unlocks your wealth which you might have thought is not possible. The principles presented here are not complex. If you find it so, read again. The intention of this book is to make the wealth creation process simple, so that it can be copied by any ordinary person. If it cannot be duplicated, the efforts are all in vain. Throughout this book, there is neither technical nor fundamental analysis of investing, only practical concepts which I learned in my journey of asset building. It is important that you copy its blueprint of success, so we can inspire people to build their assets, not someone else's, and never have to work again.

# I. BUILDING MY CAREER

# Chapter 1: My Early Years

Growing up, I was programmed to study hard, get excellent grades in order to land a good job. My mother was a good disciplinarian. She would ask us to wake up at dawn to study. During school vacation, while other kids were playing, she asked me and all my siblings to memorize the dictionary! Yes — as in memorize the dictionary. I remember there were times, my mother would bring with her the Visayan-English dictionary in the restroom and asked me to go with her. While I was outside the restroom, she would practice my English vocabulary. I used to ask myself why in the restroom of all places? Now that I am older, I realize that my mother just wanted a companion! Our restroom was located outside our house at that time and was dark. Since she was afraid of the dark, she brought me to be her companion. She didn't know that I was afraid too—like mother like daughter!

My mother would do anything for our studies. I could still recall when I came home one day from school crying. She asked me why, so I told her I was not at the top of our class. Without hesitation, she went right away to our school, furious, and fought with my adviser! She was demanding for an explanation as to why I was not the brightest (I could be happier if my mom asked my teacher why I was not the prettiest). Since

then, I was always at the top of the class and I am sure you understand why.

My mother was a good orator. During her time, some political candidates would hire her to be the speaker of their political campaigns. Now, you can just imagine how good she was in her message delivery, when she reprimanded any one of us. We were moved and touched with her words every time she scolded us. The tone of her voice was authoritative and she was so articulate, that its substance always strikes the heart. Our mother was a great influence in our lives. I would like to believe that these numerous sermons made us well-disciplined children. Thank you mom!

We also prayed our family rosary every night. Believe it or not, there was never a single time we missed out on this family ritual regardless of how tired we were. There was even a night that we were reciting the rosary and toward the middle somebody asked, "Who is our leader?" We realized that we did not have one. I didn't know how that happened. Everyone was so tired to notice that from the very start. Nevertheless, I am thankful for such family habit because it was where I developed my faith in God.

My mother was strict to us because she got married at 18 years old, which made her parents so angry. My grandfather even placed her clothes in the middle of the road to burn them. Good thing though, he was stopped by a relative. My grandfather wanted my mom to be a lawyer because it was his unfulfilled dream. Some parents are like that. They tend to force their children to achieve something to make up for their own failed dreams. Just like the story of my friend. He became a registered nurse despite his fear of blood since his parents forced him. Understandably, he did not use such profession and instead, he is pursuing his true passion which is stage decorating. Unlike my friend who followed the dream of his parents, my mom objected to my grandfather's wish. To make up, she worked so hard in molding the academic aspect of our lives, wanting to prove to her parents that she could still be successful in some other ways. Over time, her efforts paid off. Most of us graduated with flying colors and became professionals: 3 Certified Public Accountants or CPA (I am one of them), 2 Engineers and a Pharmacist. As you can see, all of our professions have a licensure examination. For my mom thought that it was not a real profession if there was no board exam.

Did you know why we all passed? Thanks to the purple blouse! We noticed that when our eldest wore it, she passed the CPA licensure examination. Likewise, when our second eldest sister wore the same purple blouse, she passed the exam too! Now the challenge came when it was our only brother's turn to take the exam. For obvious reasons, he cannot wear that purple blouse. And yet, he still passed! That was when we realized that the true secret was not the purple blouse. Rather, it was preparation and determination. These are the real secrets of success in any endeavor of life.

# Chapter 2: My Jobs

All of us, siblings, went to work in our respective professions. I had a hard time joining my first employer because I was not ready to work yet after I passed the CPA board exam. Every time I was called for an interview, I was hoping my prospective employer would not hire me. I felt that I am sentenced to work for 40 years mainly to pay the bills, and it wasn't exciting. But my father was mad at me, so I was forced to work.

Finally, I got accepted by the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) as one of their internal auditors. All we did was to repeatedly read the operating manuals. At times, we observed the actual operations when we were deployed to their branches. It was in Manila, far away from my province. I lived in my sister's house and I needed to commute five times to get to my office. Yes, you read it right, five times. First, I had to ride a motorcycle to get out of the subdivision, then a jeepney going to another subdivision where there was another jeepney for the expressway. The 4th ride would be another jeepney to my office building and finally, the fifth ride was inside an elevator. If there is one thing I can remember with my first job, it was all about riding a jeepney. Even before the bank made me a permanent employee, I resigned and went back to Cebu. I was just tired of riding.

My second employer was Sycip Gorres & Velayo or SGV, a very prestigious external auditing firm in the country. I stayed there for four years. In that job, I was exposed to so many financial statements of various companies. I learned that it takes a huge amount of money to get into the right business. My biggest takeaway was this: the rich people get richer because of the concept of leveraging. They can afford to generate big capital since the banks are willing to lend them money or they can issue corporate bonds or shares of stocks. With a big capital, it gives them the ability to generate more businesses and eventually earn more income. The ordinary people cannot enjoy such leveraging in view of the fact that the lenders will only loan their money to those who have the capacity to pay. Thus, it is not hard to imagine why in a capitalist country like ours, only the rich get richer.

My third employer was Camella Homes where my sister was the Assistant Vice President at that time. She helped me get the position of a Finance Manager. Camella Homes, a Villar Company, was very generous with its compensation package. It was always Villar's policy to share the profits to his employees. In return, that made his employees loyal to him. My salary had increased 10 times compared to my previous employment and the bonus was exceedingly big. One time, we were told that our Christmas bonus was already in the ATM, so I was excited to see how much it was. I was expecting a 4-digit bonus but to my surprise, it was a 5-digit bonus! Unbelievable! The company gave me a car and a big discount for my house which I purchased from them. They sold houses of the same models but I was grateful that they allowed me to change its architectural design. Thanks to Camella Homes!

After a while, I became a business development manager where I learned so much about real estate, from buying raw lands to developing and selling them as real estate projects. I was fortunate to join that company for 4 years since it helped me become a licensed real estate broker.

Since I was looking for a company that had two days off in a week, it took me a while before I got another job. I found it in Aboitiz Company working as a Budget Manager. I learned and mastered the financial statements especially cash flows. Just like most companies, they treated cash as a king. Cash provided the liquidity, necessary for its business expansion and all other investment decisions. In all the companies I worked with, I had always rendered overtime and even slept in the office. My husband kept telling me that maybe the company was understaffed. I told him there were enough people in the office, but still, I felt inefficient—feeling unhappy with my work. It was in this company that I was really stressed out. My job was to report the income of the business few days after month-end to my boss. Since the report was always really urgent, I felt harassed at the end of each month. My anxiety worsened every time my boss would come to my cubicle and wait for that report. It looked like my anxiety would give me a nervous breakdown. My work schedule was so extreme. I was so busy during the first and last few days of each month. In between those stressful days, I felt more relaxed, so relaxed that I was often caught sleeping in the bathroom.

I don't want to sound arrogant, but all along, I wondered why it had to be like this. I was working hard, just enough to pay my bills. It could have been exciting if it were for my brand new car or house or travel. One time, I asked my boss if I could go to the shopping mall to buy something. When I got there, I saw people getting a manicure or a haircut, shopping, eating and even watching movies during working hours. I wondered how they could afford such a lifestyle.

My defining moment came one day while I was outside my cubicle. I saw my boss from afar and I told myself: "3–5 years from now, I will be like my boss. I saw my future in my boss." Then I continued, "She was busier than me. Her car was second hand, and she didn't even own a house yet."

I was not inspired by what I saw. I realized that there was no point of working anymore. There was no bright future ahead of me here. And if I didn't pay attention to this, my future would have been penalized and my limited productive years would have been wasted. With that realization and the work stress, I resigned from the job after two years.

America

After my stint at Aboitiz, I asked my sister to join her auditing firm in New York that can grant a work visa. Since there was no vacancy yet in her company, she asked her friends to give me a temporary job. But after three months, I was homesick. I was confused whether to stay or leave New York. Some people said, I should stay because seldom could one find such an opportunity like mine, while others advised me to go back to the Philippines for there is no place like home. I thought about it like a thousand times over. Yes, it was a dream come true but the prospect of not having a helper around troubled me. I was not used to doing most of the household chores. I didn't know how to cook, do the laundry or iron clothes. I remembered one time in college when I washed a pair of heavy pants. I fell asleep right after because I was really tired — that's no exaggeration! I also couldn't stand the cold weather. The job opportunities available at that time were also not that interesting and I was not willing to wait.

But I did not drop it right away since it was a childhood dream to live there. I thought it was finally coming true, but it turned out to be the most confusing time of my life. While I was in the Philippines, I was so excited to go to America. But when I was there, I could not wait to go home. That's when I understood the saying, "it is always greener on the other side." But once you are on that "side," it is not greener after all. You just have to water and mow your "side" and it will go greener. After extensive evaluation, I finally decided to go back to my "side" and make it "greener".

Traditional Businesses

My very first attempt in traditional business was during my elementary years. I made a little store during school vacation. I would say it was like torture. While my siblings were watching TV or playing, I was attending to my little store. One time, I had a good nap and somebody was calling out my name from the store. I was excited to get up for I thought I would be making a sale, but it turned out that all she wanted was a bill change. My sisters were laughing when they heard this story and as a child, I treated it as sarcasm. I closed the little store before I could hear more of their pessimistic remarks.

We had tried a couple of traditional businesses while we were still working. I initiated a contract growing business with Vitarich together with a group of my friends. We reared the chicks and Vitarich harvested the flock and marketed the chickens. They took care of the feeds, chicks, and technical services.

We initially generated income. But eventually, after a few years, we ended up selling the business because the farm was a bit distant from our house and it was difficult to check on it on a regular basis. Absentee management was hurting it.

After a few months, my siblings and I ventured into a pharmacy business with a grocery store. My youngest sister, who was a pharmacist, was tasked to manage it. We were all excited with this new pursuit since most were first-time entrepreneurs. We formulated a lot of marketing strategies but we overlooked making a written agreement that defined our responsibilities. Although the lack of it did not lead to any major disputes, it could have been smoother if everything was clearly laid down. All along, we generated high sales but the profit was less. We managed to keep our selling prices low in order to weaken the competitors. I could not remember receiving any dividend from it but the lessons were priceless. After a few years, however, we had to sell it since my sister was already busy with something else.

# Chapter 3: The Rat Race

Rat race is a circular and pointless pursuit of a rat in the wheel, like that of an employee who stays in his job only because of the bills that have to be paid. The movement is predictable: he gets up, goes to work and pays bills and the cycle never ends. I was stuck in the rat race for 11 years. It looked like I had no option. If I would not continue working, my house and car, among my other belongings, will be foreclosed.

My husband's dream was to become a manager. As a kid, every time he was asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, he was consistent with his answer, "I want to be a manager." That's why when he was offered a managerial position after 8 years of working, he grabbed it right away. He did not realize that he would be handling three manufacturing plants which were very detrimental to his health. My husband had been prone to colds and cough when exposed to dust. He was happy that he got his dream but he was unhappy with the salary. He didn't even have a car as a manager. My mother advised us to borrow money so we could buy one. A manager should have a car, so she thought. I supposed that's why it was called "moneyger" because there was so much money in the job position. But I was wrong.

In my case, I'd been waiting for 11 years but money never came easy. Even with buying an electric fan, we really had to give so much thought about it or our budget would be messed up. There was even a time that it was nearing Christmas and we had no extra money to celebrate. I was so happy that my husband won the bowling championship with a cash prize of Php2,000. One time, I was glad that my husband came home from the U.S. on the day of our anniversary. He was away for several months for a company training. I told him how happy I was that we will spend our special day together and he replied: "I am so excited also. I even had to refuse the offer of $1,000 in exchange of my flight slot." I was shaken by his reply and said "What? Why you did not call me? I am willing to wait for another day or even days with the $1,000?" My mom was right. When I told her I was getting married, she said: "Love is not enough for the couple to last. Money is as important." While we were employees, we really had struggles with money. I still remember when I bought my first cell phone, Nokia 5210, on a three-month installment plan in a cooperative. I didn't know where all my money went but when my eldest son started schooling, I needed to borrow money for his enrollment. When my brother-in-law visited us in a 40-square meter rented house, he pitied our dwelling place. It was summer when he visited, so there were so many flies in the house. It had no screens on windows and doors. Given these insufficiencies, I decided to jump from one company to another, all in the hopes of earning a better salary.

I knew there are also some people who were happy in their corporate life, but I wasn't. I always struggled. I complained why we had to work beyond office hours and were not given any overtime pay. All I had were complaints about work, the pressure, the overtime without pay, why there was not much benefits, etc. I also whined at how it was hard for an ordinary person to become a business owner. Only the rich get richer. Every time I complained, my husband would always explain to me that it was how the system worked and there was nothing we could do. My subconscious mind didn't agree to this idea that we had to work so we could eat. Deep in my heart, I did not believe that we were created to suffer. I know that there was something more.

I had nothing against being an employee. I may have complained of the stress, but I was always grateful for the experience since it helped me with my current business. It could have been even better though if I had started building my assets sooner than 11 years. On second thought, I couldn't be this passionate to tell you my story if not for the struggles I've been through in building my career.

# II. BUILDING MY ASSETS

I was grateful that at a young age, I got financial advice from a person I admired. She said, "Invest in a house while there are no kids yet." She was not a financial advisor or anybody from the world of finance and investment. She was our company doctor but what she said made sense to me for she had so many investments. That was my introduction to practical financial literacy. She added that the house I could buy may not be my dream house yet, but it's a stepping stone towards the dream. "If you find it hard to buy a house today, it would be a lot harder if you buy it in the future due to inflation," she quipped.

Yes, it's true. That's why it takes courage to buy a house. If you do not have the guts, you will find yourself just renting and accumulating a pile of rental receipts. But when you are amortizing a house, you end up owning it. As we say, be inconvenient today so that tomorrow will be convenient. Hence, the first we did as a couple was to buy a residential lot. It was not our ideal lot but that's the only property we could afford back then. We sold it later on and used the proceeds to build our first house.

Before I narrate my journey of building my passive income, let me share with you one of the most powerful financial tools that I have ever encountered and practiced. I am a CPA by profession but trust me, it is only in this business that I met this tool. I believe that if there is one thing in finance subject that needs mastery, it is this.

I am disheartened that this is not being emphasized in schools, nor introduced in subjects, to say the least. Had I known this tool before, I wouldn't have wasted most of my productive years in employment or squandered my resources to my traditional business ventures. I could have stayed in my jobs for 3 to 5 years only, just enough to hone the virtues of professionalism and discipline. And right after, I could have focused on transferring to the right quadrant to build my passive income. This is the reason why I wrote this book in the hope that this can be your guide to reach your financial goals. This is an important tool to achieve your total freedom. The tool below is the cashflow quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.

# Chapter 4: The Cashflow Quadrant

The Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki

The goal of this book is for us to build assets and earn passive income so we will never have to work again. Let me define first what passive income is: Passive income is an income you earn even when you aren't actively working like rentals, residual income, etc. This is the income while you are sleeping or taking a vacation or even shopping. This is the income of the Business Owner and Investor which you can find on the right side of the quadrant. They don't need to work since they are LEVERAGED with their money, system, and people that are working hard for them. Leveraging means gaining maximum advantage through the use of a tool. Unlike when you are an Employee or Self-employed on the left quadrant, it is YOU who work since you don't have those assets yet. The name of the income that you earn is called active income. It means that if you stop working, the income stops too. Since there are always bills to pay, you will have to work as long as you live.

The main difference between active and passive is the number of times you are paid after your work. It is active if you are only paid once and passive if you are paid many times even after the work is done. You might ask, what is the difference between Business Owner and Self-employed? Both own a business but belong to different quadrants. This is the question that you need to answer to differentiate the two: If you go out of the country, leaving your business for at least 6 months, will it still in good shape when you come back? If yes, you are a Business Owner. If not, you are Self-employed. With the aid of this tool, it is easy to conclude that to achieve passive income, you have to be on the right side of the quadrant. This is how I finally understood why changing companies or even changing countries are not solutions to my money problems. Why? In so doing, I did not change anything. Rather, I was just stuck in the same quadrant where financial freedom was not possible. The ultimate key is to put all your efforts and all your other resources to the other side of the quadrant. But is it possible to transfer? Let us see.

Statistics say that only 5% of the population belongs to the right side. This is so since it requires massive money and business skills to be there. Hence, only few can join. But with the passing of time, the business systems have evolved. Before, there was only the traditional business where the success rate was only 20% due to numerous trial-and-error methods. It takes years and tears to build a successful big corporation. Some of those who succeeded sold their proven and tested system to people who didn't want to experiment. This was the birth of the second business system which is franchising with the likes of Jollibee, McDonalds, etc. Although the percentage of success has increased tremendously, the challenge remains to be its affordability. In this case, we could say that only the rich get richer. However, the third business model defies this common notion.

The third business system caters to the average people who desire to own a business with a proven yet, affordable system. This is Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing (MLM). With this business, you are leveraged like that of a Business Owner. This is your rare chance to transfer to the right side of the quadrant and build your assets. In network marketing, your leverage is not money but PEOPLE AND SYSTEM.

The good news is, you don't hire people and you don't buy the system. These people who are part of your organization are independent business owners from whom you receive bonuses out of their sales production. The system is already part of the business structure of your MLM Company which is available to you for free.

I used MLM business to transfer to the right quadrant and earn passive income. Realistically, I could not afford to buy a franchising business or become an investor. I am grateful to the birth of this industry because it gives ordinary people like me an equal chance to achieve financial freedom. It is indeed a social equalizer, leveling the playing field. Sometimes, network marketing may not be your ideal business but it can provide capital for your desired business. At times, it is hard to jump in right away with traditional business for it requires big capital. You can consider network marketing as a means to generate capitalization.

At this point, I will tell you the ultimate secret to succeed in this industry. Are you ready? It is to acquire the mindset of the Business Owner which is delayed gratification. This is contrary to the common notion that it is a get-rich-quick scheme. Due to that wrong impression, if the new sign ups don't make money in the first few months, they get discouraged and immediately quit (and often bad-mouth the industry!) This is the number one reason people fail. They quit too soon as they have the left quadrant mindset which is making money right away when the work is done. Their focus is in making money rather than jumping to the other side of the quadrant. However, it should not be the case. It takes time to build a network that will later give you residual income. In the same way when business owners are constructing a hotel, it will take a year or two of labor and money before they generate income or profit. As business owners, they understand that they have to go through this process for once it is done, they will be earning their passive income. This should be the same mindset while building our assets. Our asset is the network of Business Owners working under us whose job is to create other Business Owners working under them. The money is equivalent to how many people we helped leaving the left quadrant and succeeding in the right quadrant.

# Chapter 5: Sad Stories of People Who Build Their Career Only

Physical fitness is more common than financial fitness and yet they are equally important. I had several financial subjects which I passed in college, but I could not say that I was financially literate. All I knew since I was a kid is that in order to eat, I should work. It is a popular belief that we need to work until we are 60 or 65 years old. Most of us never knew that there is such a thing called passive income. Due to lack of this knowledge, we neglected the very important thing that we should have done during our productive years, and that is asset building to generate passive income. We should not forget that our productive years are limited so it must be well-spent. I have a friend whose life revolved around his career. He became an engineer and a CPA. He even has a master's and doctorate degrees. True enough, he got to the top positions of the companies he was employed in. Finally, he became the president of the last company he worked for. He was happy. But after a year, that company was acquired and the new board of directors placed him in a ceremonial position. It triggered him to resign. It was the end of his career life and there was no residual income after that. Just like my 11 years of corporate life, I received nothing after that. Clearly, in the corporate life, we are only as good as our last performance. The contributions we have made in the past for the company no longer count.

Another friend has a different story. She worked for only 4 years in her network marketing business. Yet, she continues to receive income even if it's been 7 years after the work is done. She built the business in the Philippines. When she moved to America for good, the monthly income never stopped! Although she had a family to support in the Philippines, she did not need to send money. Her royalty bonus from her business is more than enough to take care of such financial needs. It even helped her husband buy a house in America, much to the husband's surprise who knew that my friend was jobless.

I also have another friend who was a manager in a bank. Every month, she was pressured by the targets given to her. If she could deliver, the bank gives her a bigger target. If she couldn't, her boss became hostile to her and even questioned her salary — insinuating that she is overpaid for her position. She just took in all the stress, pressure and hostility of the job since she had so many bills to pay. Until one day, she left the job and quit. Not too long after, she found herself searching for another job, seeing that she could not afford to retire yet.

Personally, I believe it is okay to build our career, but we must also build our assets on the side. Our assets, not our careers, will take care of us when we get sick, or when we decide to take a vacation the moment we wish to. Case in point: My friend told me that his school principal has just retired after 30 plus years of work. The principal received a couple of millions as her retirement fund, 50% of which was used to pay off her loan, 25% was used for her goiter operation and only 25% was reserved for her remaining years. The question is —would that be enough?

Below are the general estimates of the retirement fund needed for your retirement.

It means that if you have, Php40,000 pesos monthly expenses and you have 20 years to live after your desired retirement, you need a retirement fund of Php6.8M! This is to maintain the lifestyle when you still had your active income. Obviously, the reason you need that fund is because you are not working anymore. You no longer have a monthly income to pay the bills. Instead, you get the monthly expenses of Php40,000 from your fund in the next 20 years. If you cannot raise the fund now, then you cannot afford to retire yet. But if you just have the passive income, you don't need the retirement fund. Unlike the retirement fund which will be exhausted for a time, passive income is generally perpetual. Just imagine for a while that you have read this book five years ago and applied its concepts. What do you think could have happened?

Let's say that during your productive years, you have built your assets. These assets would give you a combined passive income of Php40,000 a month from your rentals, dividends from stocks, fixed income from securities, etc. In this case, you don't need the fund of Php6.8M anymore and you are ready to retire. However, if you say that it is unrealistic for you now to get a rental property or to invest in paper assets, then, you may want to take a look at building your networking business. With it, you just cash out a minimal investment and follow the proven system to operate your business. At an average, your network will give you a passive income of 5–6 digits in a span of 3–5 years of work. Hence, the following are your options for your retirement:

A. Raise the 6.8M fund; or

B. Accumulate your passive income of P40,000 from:

  1. Paper and/or property assets;
  2. MLM business; or
  3. Combination of both

C. Work until you are 60 or 65 years old to get your retirement fund (if it is enough).

This is just a simple concept but the impact to your future is humungous. There are a lot of OFWs I have known, who send all their money to the family without keeping anything for themselves. The intention is good, taking into account that they are doing it for the love of their family. Please remember however, that you will be a burden to your loved ones if you stop working. As soon as that day comes, you have nothing to spend for your food, shelter and clothing.

Even with employment, the inherent danger is you have no clue that you are going to lose it. There are no warnings that maybe tomorrow, you will be asked to go to your boss' office, only to be told that you are being laid off. And if you haven't prepared for such bad news, your financial life would be in trouble. At this moment, you may have all the luxuries and privileges of your job position like car, travels, respect from subordinates, etc., but they could vanish in an instant by just one call from your superior. It is a different story if you have a business. All the signs that your business is not doing well like having low sales, tight competition, dying market are there to prepare you for the worst. Building your career only is risky. I urge you to pay yourself first. This will support you when you get tired, sick, or jobless.

The Story of My Uncle

Not so long ago, my uncle came back to our hometown due to his terminal illness. He was an engineer, but all his life, all he did was create active income. Being the youngest, he was sent to a good school in Manila even though our grandparents were not rich. I could still remember way back when I was a student, he already had his own car. It was uncommon to own a car back in the 80's. In fact, I felt happy and proud to ride his car one time he sent us to our boarding house. When he got sick however, he had no money. He even had to borrow money to ride a taxi that would bring him to our place. His final days were short and sorrowful. If only my uncle learned to become financially literate, he could have prepared more for an uncertain future.

Sometimes, we are majoring on minor things. This means, we make so many plans for our lives like birthdays or travels but seldom financial plans. It is my hope that this book will provide people with practical financial knowledge to prepare others for the future. There is nothing worse than being sick, old and broke.

# Chapter 6: Where Will You Be 3 to 5 Years From Now If You Continue Doing What You Are Currently Doing?

The said question revolutionized my life. It struck me in my gut. I was not happy with my current situation and I could not imagine if my situation will not change for the rest of my life. I had to challenge myself to think differently to have different results. Hence, the question rekindled my bias for unconventional thinking. Even as a child, I had "out of the box" thinking moments.

Mountain Dew Story

I remember one time when I was a kid, my mom ordered me to buy Pepsi, our regular drink. When I arrived home, I was bringing a different soft drink, Mountain Dew, which was just newly launched in the market. She was so angry, believing that I was just wasting her money. As a punishment, she made me drink all of it. Good thing, it was not family size! Looking back, I can't believe that I took the risk of buying a different drink, knowing how terrible my mom was when she got angry.

I also remember that my father got mad at me for blowing my chance to work in America. He did not anticipate my decision of dropping that opportunity. He said most of the Filipinos dream of working there and he cannot comprehend why I chose to abandon that American dream. Frankly speaking, I never regretted that decision of choosing my own country for I was enjoying the home court advantage in wealth-building.

Again, the above question hit me hard. I dared to change my soil and my roots to change fruits. Although I did not encounter this question before, this was exactly what I meant when I quit my job after seeing my future in my boss.

After giving up my work, along with my innovative thinking, I was ready to do beyond-the-normal decisions to change my current situation. I found the question awakening and powerful. It has touched and changed so many lives including mine. It is challenging us to think in an abnormal way, to think outside the box in order to create new results for our lives. Change input to change output. As Albert Einstein said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

It's insane to be thinking that you're going to get rich when the people who do the same things you do are not rich. If not for my "go to school, get good grades and get a job" rigorous programming, I would not have stayed long in employment. Honestly, I felt like a fish out of water every time I go to work. Only then, I forced myself so I could pay the bills. So why didn't I jump right away with MLM which could offer me far better opportunities? Why did I choose to go to America instead, right after this concept was introduced to me? It was because I thought it was all about selling, which was the last thing I wanted to do. It turned out it wasn't. The selling part is only when you ask people if they wanted to build their passive income with a network marketing business, that's it! The emphasis is on the WHY they will be doing it, not on the WHAT and HOW. The big part of the job is when you train them with the system so they will be successful as a Business Owner. The training system is very important in building your residual income since it is only through it that they become independent. With their independence, comes your passive income.

## STEP 1: JOINING NETWORK MARKETING

### I Said "NO" to Network Marketing!

Right after my job in Aboitiz Company, my sister introduced me to network marketing. I said no. Instead, I went to America to work but it was unsuccessful. I came home jobless. After 6 months, I received a letter from the financing company that they would foreclose my house if I could not pay the 3 months delayed amortization plus the penalty and interest. It was the day that changed my life forever. It hit me like a solid rock. Out of desperation, I went back to employment at Dunkin Donuts as a finance manager. In the morning, I reported for work. In the afternoon, I resigned. I was doomed. I had already tried working with various companies for 11 years, ventured in some traditional businesses and worked abroad. All of them turned out to be disasters. While I was evaluating my options of how to pay for my foreclosable house, I realized that it was only network marketing that I haven't ventured in. Although we used and have seen positive results of the products, we didn't join the business. I have not fully grasped the concept of network marketing back then. I had so many misconceptions about the industry. But out of desperation, I reconsidered the opportunity. Little did I know that this was my first step in building my assets, which eventually became the advocacy of my team. Hence, right after my half-day work at a doughnut chain, I was ready to try a new territory. I signed up with network marketing in December 2000. Slowly, I came to understand the business. I got the picture of why there were so many people who got their cars or houses in a relatively shorter period of time. I thought it was a scam. It wasn't. It is because of the concept of leveraging where you are given bonuses from the efforts of the people who are part of your organization. They said big businessmen like Henry Sy and Lucio Tan have an average of 10,000 to 15,000 hours a day. How's that possible? These business tycoons have the money to hire employees to work for them. No wonder they are far richer compared to us who only got 8 hours of work a day. But this is what I found: The only way that an ordinary person can get people to work for him and be leveraged is only through network marketing. I was convinced that this is the business model I was looking for. I was excited. It was one of those few moments that I am sure of what I was doing and where I was going. I became abnormal. Yes, at first, I had hesitations to join for two reasons: 1. I didn't have the money to invest, and 2. I didn't know how to sell. But Theodore Roosevelt said, "Do what you can, with what you have, from where you are."

In other words, do not wait for all the traffic lights to go green. It will only be attracting the enemy of procrastination. Just do it and from there, you will be directed to your resources. It's exactly what I did. I borrowed Phpl0,000 from my sister for my sign-up fee. Afterwards, I asked my sponsor to mentor me. In network marketing, you are neither an agent nor an employee, but a business owner. As such, it requires an investment and there is a proven business system that you need to follow. My mentor told me: "There are only three keys to success: 1. Dream; 2. Work; 3. Teachability."

1. Dream

When I started working, I stopped dreaming. I thought that when I reached the managerial level, I would also reach my dreams. I thought I would have my Phpl0 million dream house by then but I learned this was far from reality. My pay at that time was only Php25,000 a month. As I was computing my income, there was no way that I could afford it even if I decide not to eat, commute or sleep to get that dream house. Since then, I had no more drive to move forward. I felt tired and sleepy most of the time. No more fire in my belly, nothing. Reality hit me. But it all changed when I was asked to write my dreams. When I joined this business, I started to dream again. The MLM business gave new life to my goals and aspirations. I got excited. I was alive again. It's true when they said that a person with a dream is more powerful than a person with all the facts. In any goal achievement process, it's always about these three things: What, Why, and How. For instance, if you want to lose weight, the 'What' is your goal which is weight loss. The 'Why' is because you want to have more self-confidence and to become healthier. The 'How' is the mechanism like going to the gym, eating more fibre-rich diet, and taking supplements. Of the three questions, the most powerful is the 'Why' for it strikes the heart. A person with no dream is already dead waiting to be buried at 30 or 70 years old. If you have the why and it is powerful enough, most of the work is already done.

It is also important that you write your dreams. There is power in writing them for you are activating all parts of the mind, including the unconscious and subconscious mind, to work out for its achievement. It is overwhelming, for these segments of our mind are known to be 30,000 times more powerful than the conscious mind. This is true when my husband wrote his 35 dreams in 2002. After more than 10 years, he was enthralled to see that 21 out of the 35 dreams were checked off which included: a house with a big lawn, cruise, maintain a 150-pound weight, send our kids abroad to get an education, buy a Ford Ranger, rental properties, trip to the great wall of China, and across America and many more. It's amazing ! So, write your dreams and make it happen.

2. Work

For Filipinos, work is not an issue. As a matter of fact, we are one of the most preferred employees abroad since we are hardworking people (and we take a bath too!) But how come only few Filipinos are rich? Unfortunately, it is not enough that you are hardworking. You should also be in the right opportunity. Conversely, there are also many people I know, who are in the right opportunity, but are not rich. Why? They are not working hard at it. Hard work and the right opportunity are sure fire formula to getting rich. The question is, how do you know if it is the right opportunity? My answer is: It has been done by other people and it is duplicable. I asked if there were already people who reached the top of the ladder and the answer is yes. I was filled with excitement. It was the first time in my life that I saw an opportunity that will realize my dreams. I gave my all. I set goals and took massive actions. I read books. I had counseling and attended all the events. I bought CDs and listened to them. I would wake up very early and slept late working. I was on fire! I knew that my efforts will not go in vain because the opportunity is real and I believed that if I just give it my best, I know I will be at the top. In less than three years, I achieved the highest position of the Company and since then, my life changed. I was never the same.

3. Teachability

Let me share with you the three most dangerous words in the English language: I know that! Successful people constantly learn and grow while average people think they already know. So, of the three keys, teachability is the hardest of them all. The business is simple, but why are there only a few people who become successful? It is because only few are teachable. Most are reinventing the system, giving way to a lot of trial and error that result in failures.

How do you achieve the mindset of successful people? Follow everything they do: read books, be decisive, exercise, take risk, have mentorship, make plans, take action, and be the best, among many other things. This would take a lifetime to follow. Luckily, there is a shortcut to it. In order to get their mindset, just do everything they tell you to do. Therefore, teachability is the key. Learn from the successful people even if sometimes their beliefs may be contradicting yours. It is clearly easy to follow an idea, if you agree with it. The challenge is following those which are conflicting to your beliefs and it is IN THOSE MOMENTS that you level up to the same mindset of the successful people. As Mark Twain said, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."

### Big Break!

I believe that each one of us deserves a big break — a life of abounding material possessions, happiness, family, friends, peace and love. But such big break does not exist for people who just sit down and wait for extraordinary opportunities. It is available only to deserving people who are grabbing the ordinary occasions and making them great. It is about creating your own big break. It's like Noah. He did not wait for the ship to come, he built one. So many people told me that I was lucky enough to be the first one to join the MLM business. Trust me, there were some people who came in earlier than me, but they just didn't give it their best shot that made them short of success. If there was one person who was not ready to join, it was me. I was shy. My friends were not many. I had no money and no sales experience. But it didn't stop me because I was all ready to do the abnormal thing to have an abnormal result. I had enough of the normal thinking that is only giving me a normal life. I was disgusted seeing my future to be working for 30 years more to just pay my bills. It's true that I didn't have big breaks in my 11-year employment or in my traditional business ventures or my job abroad. Nonetheless, I didn't stop looking, and trying, and failing, and learning until I met my big break. If people do not know my back story, I cannot blame them for saying it was all about a lucky break. I tell you there was no secret trick. The process is where the magic happens. It was never because of a single action but a series of many actions. The formula for a big break is not what you can do but what you will do. My life's philosophy is "keep on trying." If it works, you get the result you want. If it won't, you gain lessons that would make you smarter the next time around. In other words, it's either you win or you learn. If you don't want trial and error in order to save time, ask someone who has been there before.

Copy Engineering Story

I have a friend who wanted to venture in a real estate business. At this time, my husband was already engaged in this business after working for two years in network marketing. This was made possible from the earnings we generated from our MLM business. Hence, my friend wanted to replicate the business of my husband. Inasmuch as she was still a small entrepreneur with no big capital yet, she wanted to try a business which was already tried before so that the rate of her success would be greater. Consequently, my friend asked me and my husband if we could sit down with her. We agreed to her invitation. When we met, she brought a notebook full of questions about the nitty-gritty of the business. It was a fruitful meeting. Afterwards, she took action and after doing several projects, she made a lot of money out of that enterprise. She was smart enough to ask questions and copy the business success. In so doing, she did not encounter the common problems of a new business that could have hindered its profitability. It's true that it is smart to learn from your own experience, but it's a lot smarter if you learn from OTHER people's experiences because you don't have an eternity to experience everything.

Someday, I Will!

Years ago, my husband wanted to invest in mutual funds. He knew that his tennis mate was in the insurance company that offered the product. He asked his friend to explain such investment to him. He agreed. After the lecture, my husband invested right away. He did not wait for a bull or bear market. He knew that you can never be prepared enough or sophisticated enough before you can start. It is by doing and making mistakes that make you more knowledgeable. My husband was with another friend during the lecture but the latter did not invest and said, "Someday, I will." Years have passed but until now that someday never came. The word "someday" is not in the day of the week, only "Sunday"—"someday" will not happen. But it seems that the latter is the busiest day of the week in terms of working out our goal. This word "someday" is what fuels the procrastination that has been stealing away our dreams.

Procrastination is the thief of opportunity. Successful people are those who have the bias for action. My mom told me a story of her classmate who sponsored their class reunion. She was amazed because that classmate was once a poor performer during their school years. I wasn't surprised though, for I came to understand that these are the people who didn't hold on to so many theories that warn them of the risks. All they know was to take action and learn from it. It's fitting to say that action always beats inaction. Every time you delay it, there is a chance that you will fall into the 'analysis paralysis' trap.

### Negative Mindset

I was very negative before. As a matter of fact, I had a favorite t-shirt way back in college which says, "Life is hard and then you die." I remember one time I wore it in school and my teacher read it aloud and just smiled. He didn't say anything. Now I realize that the t-shirt I was wearing mirrored my pessimistic personality. Being a negative person is normal. Statistics say, that only 4% of people are positive and 96% are negative. Not only that, experiment reveals that negative thoughts stick longer than positive. It's also a lot harder to shift from negative to positive. If the doctor says that the operation is 99% safe, we are still afraid to be operated on because we are looking at the 1% chance of it failing. If we are considering a business opportunity, our eyes are set on the investment cost, not on the potential profit we will get. It's always a question of: "What if I fail?" Seldom have we said: "What if I succeed and I never tried?" One time, my sister was told by the school administrator that the tuition of her son was off by 40%. But my sister's reply was: "I did not get the 40% discount. I am paying the 60% of it."

Recently, I had my tooth taken out. I felt dispirited. I never gave value to that tooth until it was gone. I was looking at what I was losing and never appreciated what was still left of me. Just a few days ago, my mother saw me smiling and she remarked that I have a great set of teeth. Again, I didn't see the worth of what was left until I heard my mom's comment. We tend to take things for granted when they are still with us and appreciate the same when they are gone. Hence, we have lot of unnecessary anxiety and worries in life. Every now and then, it crosses my mind that man should not dread life by reason of death, but rather, appreciate life even more because of it. Every time I attend a funeral, it makes me more grateful about my life, of being alive and breathing. Death, in this sense, is a gift because it is only by death that we learn to cherish and treasure the beauty of every moment.

By default, we have negative bias. We cannot appreciate any talents we may own. We have an inclination to underestimate ourselves and overestimate the value of other people. This is the same picture of the person I know. She is living in Bohol but she hasn't been to the Chocolate Hills! It's one of the "must-see" places in the Philippines. People from all over the country and some parts of the world come to see this wonderful creation. But that person I know never cared to visit the place which is just within her neighborhood. Too often, we have the bias not to admire what is in us, yet, praise anything outside of us.

Even nature has negative prejudice. Look at the garden, if you don't water and plow it, your garden will automatically be filled with bugs and weeds. Nature teaches us a lesson that negativity is the default of life while it takes real effort to achieve anything positive. Just like our thoughts, if you don't guard it, it invites a lot of negativity. But if we manage it well, it is a very powerful tool for success. As Philippians 4:8 said, "An idle mind is the devil's playground."

In this modern day, we do so many things to take care of our body, from choosing the right food and doing the most fitting exercises. It is commendable, but we should not also forget to take care of our minds. We should not engage ourselves in gossip, criticism, watching too much depressing TV programs and hanging out with negative people. Just like the garden, if we don't take of care of our minds, bugs and weeds of ugliness will flourish into our lives. I had encountered a true story that convinced me that our minds are the creators of our lives.

The Story of a Worrier

Nick Sitzman is a strong, young bull-of-a-man who worked on a train crew. It seemed Nick had everything, a strong healthy body, a wife and two children, friends, and an ambition. However, Nick had one fault. He was a notorious worrier. He worried about everything and usually feared the worst.

One midsummer day, the train crew was informed that they could quit an hour early in honor of the foreman's birthday. Accidentally, Nick was locked in a refrigerator boxcar, and the rest of the workmen left the site. Nick panicked.

He banged and shouted until his fists were bloody and his voice was hoarse. No one heard him. "If I can't get out, I'll freeze to death in here," he thought. Wanting to let his wife and family know exactly what had happened to him, Nick found a knife and began to carve words on the wooden floor. He wrote, "It's so cold, my body is getting numb. If I could just go to sleep, these may be my last words."

The next morning the crew slid open the heavy doors of the boxcar and found Nick dead. An autopsy revealed that every physical sign of his body indicated he had frozen to death. And yet the refrigeration unit of the car was INOPERATIVE, and the temperature inside indicated fifty-five degrees (or 13 degrees Celsius). Nick had killed himself by the power of worry.

Nick's story proves how powerful the mind is. In order to change our outside world, we have to change the inside. Changing a country or changing the president or transferring to another company is not of much help, the big help comes when you realize that the change should come from the mind.

I have a friend who said that the world was lively and dynamic back in the 70's, unlike now when the world is gloomy and lifeless. In my mind, it was because in those years, he was still young with all the energy. What he sees in the outside world is indeed a projection of his inside world. I can also relate this notion when you get mad at your friend. Even if your friend is showing you kindness, you will still take it in a bad light. Hence, it is not advisable to talk to that person when you are still angry because your thoughts are full of negativity. While your friend may be expressing good intentions in a confrontation, all you see are the negative and unfavorable thoughts since the world you see is just a mirror of your own thoughts. Needless to say, such meeting will just hurt you even more and may even lose the relationship. Instead, wait when you become emotionally stable and logical before you talk to your friend.

My son kept on complaining about his job and he wanted to transfer to another company. I told him that when you are in another company, you will be surprised to know that you will see the same complaints. He asked me why. I told him, "Because what you see in the real world are just projections of your mind. The world is a mixture of positive and negative. If your mind is full of complaints, you will only see the negative, unmindful of the presence of the positive. There is not much impact with a new environment. The big impact is when you train your mind to be grateful and abundant, and you will begin to see how great your present work is."

With my experience in network marketing, I had a much improved mindset and I could not imagine wearing that T-shirt again. In this business, we are told that this is about positive attitude. To get that kind of attitude, we are trained to read a lot of self-help books, listen to positive CDs, and hang out with positive people only. I was not much of a reader before, I only read the books which were required in school. But now, I have invested in so many books and trainings. I was inspired by the story of a rags-to-riches millionaire from Singapore. He was asked about his ultimate secret to success. He answered, "I just read a lot of motivational and self-help books." If I were asked the same question, my answers would be the same. We need tools to manage our thoughts, and reading books is one of them. Without the aid of these tools, it is like driving a car with the handbrake on. Just like me when I would ride my mountain bike, I would have a hard time going uphill. Whenever my husband invited me to go biking, I had hesitations. Just the thought of going uphill already wore me out until I realized that there were gears that I was not using. Once I used them, the uphill ride became easier and a lot enjoyable.

Most people thought that success is just a piece of luck. It is wrong to think that way. There are tools that successful people use to achieve success. I remember the driver of my sister who saw her plate number and exclaimed, "What a coincidence ma'am! Your plate number is exactly the same as your initials." My sister just smiled. She didn't mind to explain that she had paid for getting the special number herself. Clearly, it wasn't luck or coincidence.

I have a Facebook account. Normally, my post would hit 100 to 200 likes. But if I avail of a tool called Facebook booster, the likes would reach to thousands. If I had not known and used the said tool, I would not be reaching a wider audience and my number of likes would be lesser. Just like the mind, there are tools that one can use.

As a matter of fact, our mind is unlimited. The mind is very powerful but only 10% of its capacity is being utilized. It was a different story of the motorcycle we rented and rode in Siargao. The road there was wide and clear. We wanted to go in a flash like the Fast and Furious movie, but we had limitations with our speed since the motorcycle can only run up to 50kms/hr. But the mind is different, so much of its potentials are still unused. And there are tools that we need to utilize to maximize its power. One of the tools I used which helped me managed my thoughts was The Law of Attraction. I want to share it to you for this is so powerful. If you can master it, it will do great things for you.

### The Law of Attraction

I have read so many books and watched several videos on You Tube about this topic. But I just forgot most of the principles I learned. Until one time, I came across an article about the same topic that introduced an acronym. Such is helpful in remembering the step process of the Law. This is worth sharing since successful people like Oprah Winfrey, Jack Canfield and Jim Carrey are using this tool and they are always ahead of the game. Albert Einstein also said, "This is not philosophy. It's physics."

The 3 steps are: Intention, Action and No Tension or the acronym is IAN.

Intention: the first step is asking what you want.

It seems simple but you can find some stumbling blocks below:

  1. Most of the time, you are focusing on what you don't want instead of what you want. For instance, you like to be on time for an appointment but what you say to yourself is: "I hope I won't be late in the meeting." Please keep in mind that the universe does not understand negative words like won't, no, not, don't, etc. So, in this case, the message you sent across is late. This is the reason why you arrive late since that's what you are attracting. The next time you hear yourself with those negative words, just ask yourself: "So, what do I want?" And you will hear yourself responding: "I want to be on time." By asking that powerful question, you are stating clearly what you want. And by the Law of Attraction, that's what you get. You will just be amazed that the traffic is smooth and you get an available parking slot right away.
  2. Every so often, you lack clarity with what you want. Take for example you want more sales this month. After defining your goal, you tend to be negative. You will begin to hear yourself saying, "This will be hard, the economy is slow, so much competition in the market, and the promos are not attractive." We call these counter intentions. Every counter intention weakens the attraction since it will diminish the focus that gives power to the attraction. The counter intentions or negative thinking came from our childhood. These are negative since most people around us like our parents and neighbors told us negative things as we were growing up. There are some methods you can do to delete and alter your negatively-programmed childhood. The most practical tool I use is, Ho'oponopono (which means to make it right). It is an ancient Hawaiian practice of mental cleansing from negative programming. It's all about reciting the mantra: "I'm sorry. Please forgive. I thank you. I love you." It is all about forgiving and loving yourself in order to heal, and as you heal yourself, you heal the world around you. I have many personal testimonials about it. I love it because it is so handy. I have included here my recent encounter with this tool.

It's Not Here!

My sister wanted to rent my real estate license. Thus, I went to Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) to claim it after 6 months of waiting. At the entrance, I was told that I could not get inside since I was not wearing the proper dress code. I remember I wore a dress without sleeves. I was arguing with the guard to at least reconsider but to no avail. So, I went back home to change my outfit. I had already negative vibes. When I finally went inside the office, I handed my claim slip. The clerk in charge could not find my license on their file. I kept on reciting the mantra while she continued searching for it. In retrospect, since the day I filed for its application, I was already in doubt if I could actually claim it. The time period for my license application had already lapsed and I just applied for reconsideration. I was already expecting some problems with my claim. Nevertheless, I kept on repeating the mantra. I was blown away when the clerk told me if I could wait for a while for the printing of my license card.

A year ago we went to Geneva, Switzerland to attend the graduation of my son. We checked in at a nearby hotel. It was our first time in the city and we were excited to see the place. Without my knowledge, two of my friends went out in the night to see the city lights. It was late in the evening and the surroundings were already quiet. When they were ready to get back to the hotel, they could not open the door! They needed a PIN code and they forgot to get it from the front desk. They tried to call my sister and me but we couldn't be contacted for we were sound asleep. It was so cold and they were frightened that they will freeze to death. They panicked until they remembered the mantra and they began to recite it: "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I thank you. I love you." After five minutes, lo and behold, there was a man who opened the door. He was also a guest of the same hotel. It was that fast!

What I love with this mantra is that, it's very handy and you can use it anytime when there is negativity in the form of worry, disappointment and stress. If you research on this topic, there are several stories of people who got help from using this tool. There was even a car dealer who had hard time making a sale until he learned about this mantra. Every time a customer started to say negative things about buying a car, he did not pay attention to it. Instead, he silently recited the mantra. After a while, his sales performance improved and he became one of the top salesmen of their region! This incident and many more convinced me that this concept really works. You can research more of this tool and you will be amazed at the things you will discover. It's been helpful for me and to many people.

Action: the second step is taking action.

Most people think that The Law of Attraction is just about affirmations and visualizations. Yes, they are important process but there are two types of action: the obvious action and the inspired action. Obvious actions are your activities in the physical world. For instance, if you want more sales, you should be calling prospects on the phone or visiting them or making presentations. The inspired actions are all about your work in your thoughts and feelings like affirmations and visualizations. Research revealed that 1 hour of inspired action is worth 7 hours of obvious actions. It's the inspired actions that make your work quicker with less effort. Why is action important? It is so important to become the vibrational match to your intention. Sometimes, you notice that there a lot of hardworking people but they have a hard time achieving their goals. It is because obvious action is not enough. You need inspired actions to get in harmony with your goal by feeling positive all the time even during a bad day. This makes The Law of Attraction difficult because it requires an extraordinary person to be happy even when things are unfavorable to him.

The ultimate secret is being happy FIRST and you will attract happy things. Being happy is an inspired action that creates a vibrational match with your goal. Do not wait for great things to happen first before you become happy. It's the other way around. Resolve yourself to begin your day in high spirit and by the power of the law, you will have a day full of blessings. This is hard but there is a way to achieve it by practicing gratitude. By being grateful, you begin to focus on the things that are working well in your life and you begin to attract more of what you want. As a way to increase the level of my gratitude, I think of 5 positive things that happened to me during the day before I go to sleep. It's not necessarily the big things, but as simple as a phone call from my mother or my gas tank still registering full when I check my car, or I look good in my selfie shot. You can try it and you will begin to see the miracles in your life.

No tension: the third and last step is trust. Let go and be unattached to the results.

This is the most challenging step because most of the people who take action are people who are results-oriented, thus, attached to the results. Meanwhile, those people who are unaffected of the outcome are usually carefree and are perceived to be inconsistent with their actions. Seemingly, this is a difficult step, noting that taking action and being carefree are contradictory in essence and yet, you need them both to be a magnet for your goal. It's a skill to balance the two, it can be learned, and it takes proper practice. Instead of being impatient and desperate with the results, do something for your mind, body, and soul every day. Continue the inspired actions while waiting for the results. Read, solve a puzzle, or learn another language. Get some air. Walk. Run. Dance. Stretch. Meditate. Listen to soothing music and laugh with friends. Remember that your job is the WHAT, not the HOW. The how is already taken care of by the universe.

To sum it up, you must set a clear intention then become a vibrational match with it by taking action. Finally, trust that it will be given to you. It is also important to note that The Law of Attraction is all about energy. For you to attract your goal, you need 100% of your energy. So, be careful how you use it. Don't waste it on anger, frustration and all other negativity. To understand this better, let's say for instance, you are given Php100 energy as soon as you wake up. But Php10 was deducted from it when you got angry because your daughter was late for school. Another Phpl0 because your friend did not reply to your text message. This is again, reduced by Php30 when you were outraged at the heavy traffic going to the office. Imagine, it was not even half of the day and yet, you are only left with Php50 energy. No wonder, it is hard for you to attract your goal. Choose your battles and fight for what actually matters. Don't sweat the small stuff. Conserve your energy so that you have more of it to magnetize your intention.

While God Is "Cooking," I Am Enjoying!

I had an actual experience on how this law worked for me. One time, I prayed to God: "Lord, I already worked for 11 years and nothing had happened. All I have are stress and debts. Please give me a job that is different from those that I had —something worthwhile, a task with no more pressure and yet, the income is big." After that prayer, I could still remember saying to myself, "I think I am asking too much." But I just forgot about it. I didn't know until not long ago that what I did was the first step in the attraction process-setting an intention. As I said, after my 11 years of local employment, I went to America to work but it appeared that the road ahead was not easy. After giving it a lot of thought, I went back home. I was jobless again. While I was unemployed, I was learning to play tennis, taking videos or taking pictures of my sons while they were playing, singing and dancing. I was even playing basketball with them. I also enrolled in cooking class. Most of the time, I was watching TV. My husband did not force me to work although we had so many bills to pay. There was no coercing nor convincing to get back to work. It was all about submission and yielding. I never thought until just recently again that I was doing the "inspired actions," which is the second step, and even the third step which is "no tension." I was enjoying while God was cooking my order up there. Later, an unfortunate news came when I received a notice of house foreclosure. That was the time when I was left with no choice but get a job. I joined a food chain company as one of their managers. And for the 6th time, employment didn't work out for me. All along, I forgot that I had that prayer. Finally, network marketing was introduced to me. The opportunity breathed life to my dreams, making me more excited each day. I worked so hard day in and day out (this is obvious action which is the second step). The next thing I knew, I started to check off the dreams in my list which I thought were not possible before. It had exceeded my wildest expectations. I was ecstatic. Amazingly, it was exactly my prayers! Network marketing was the answer to my prayers. I thought it was America for it was my childhood dream or becoming a manager since I worked hard for it. I was all wrong. Had I insisted on my agenda, going against the flow like forcing myself in America, I couldn't be in this place which I could call total freedom! I could not think of any other lifestyle better than what I have now. Rarely can you find a business which is all about helping, growing, giving, sharing, being healthy and beautiful, travelling, learning, praying, and so much more.

Such story was my best testimony that Law of Attraction does work. It's as simple as setting your intention, taking action, and letting go.

### Every Master Was Once a Disaster

My Greatest Rejection

I went to our hometown which was about 33 kilometers from where I lived to sell my products to my parents. To save money, I just took a jeepney going there and a heavy downpour made it more inconvenient. When I arrived at the house, my parents were there and mom was having a fever. Funny, I think that was the only time I was glad that she wasn't feeling well as that gave me a chance to sell my products to her. She asked me why I took the long trip home in the rain. I told her that I have just ventured into a business which helps people become healthy and wealthy. My mom's reaction was not encouraging. She was appalled to see that her CPA daughter has become a sales agent. She did buy the product but it was more out of pity. Personally, that was my first and big rejection.

The Networker Did Not Buy From Me

One of the first few presentations I will never forget was the one with my neighbor who was a networker. I said to myself, this is a network marketing business (by the way, this is my first time in network marketing), so I should sponsor a networker. I asked my husband to join me who also had zero experience in selling or any networking business. We didn't even know how to bring the product to the presentation. Should we right away show it or hide it in a bag? We arrived at her house and I was glad our prospective buyer was there. I immediately made the presentation. I didn't know what happened but it all ended up that I brought home my product and her product (squid delicacy). Our neighbor was into selling a handful of things. I was frustrated with how things happened. After some time, I went back to that networker again. The same thing happened! I was still bringing my product plus her own product — bath soap this time. I was never at peace with what took place. I went back for the third time to that same prospect and out of frustration I just left my products with her which until now, she didn't pay me yet.

There were so many challenges in my first few presentations. There was even a time that my batch mates had a reunion. They never invited me, thinking that I might be selling my products to them. In a way, I felt insulted and humiliated, being a former external auditor of a prestigious firm. In that previous job, we were pampered by our clients. They would normally pick us up from the office with a car and serve us with snacks and meals. They had high regard for us, even inviting us to serve as judges in a game competition or in beauty pageants. Yes, the position is prestigious but the pocket is humbling. Conversely, network marketing is a very humbling business but the wallet is boastful. I know some of you might think you don't want this kind of business because it feels like you can't take all the humiliation. Yes, it takes a bold decision to do the abnormal and earn abnormal income. You will find out that your biggest enemy in your journey towards success is your pride and ego. The definition of pride and ego is I, Me and Myself. You think that you are always in competition of others. The bigger your pride and ego, the lesser chances you achieve progress. The language of this business is helping OTHER people succeed so you will succeed. This is an opportunity to wash out your pride and ego that hinder you from going out all the way for your dreams. What holds you back from talking to people about your business? Or what stops you from asking your boss for a raise? Or even saying sorry to a friend? It's always pride and ego. The process is all about flushing out your self-centered tendencies so that when you have all the wealth, you are still humble and grounded. God made sure that the wealth entrusted to you is used for the best purpose. It could be possible, that you have not been given the promotion yet in your business because pride and ego are still there. Once they are taken out of the picture, you will be surprised that most of your troubles and struggles, the byproducts of pride and ego, are gone. When you achieve that level, you feel liberated and free.

My mentor told me: "In building your network, you must accept the temporary loss of social esteem from your normal friends. But those normal friends will be replaced with abnormal friends earning abnormal income." According to Eric Worre, there are 3 kinds of prospects:

1. Posers: Treat the business like a lottery ticket. The prospect says: "if only this person will join me, I will be millionaire and if not, I will quit". About 80 percent have posers' mentality.

2. Amateurs: They are just excited but they don't learn the skills, that's why their organization doesn't grow. If people under them become leaders, it's just a fluke and when these leaders quit, they'll have a hard time rebuilding it since it is not based on skills but pure excitement.

3. Professionals: They are experts on skills. Marry passion with skills and you are unstoppable. If you build it professionally, you will have a professional income.

In addition, Eric Worre also mentioned that there are 3 fundamental rules in network building:

1. Exposure is everything.

Talking to people is the key to success. I was shy when I joined, but nothing can stop my excitement of sharing my business, because I know it will change lives. Hence, pick up a business which you believe can help a lot of people.

2. Follow- up is the fortune.

Eighty percent of sales is the result of 4–6 follow ups after the first meeting. Most of us give up after the initial follow up. If you master this skill, your business will surely explode.

3. Work with the willing.

Team up only with those who are ready to build the business. This way, you will save yourself a lot of time and spare you from frustration. If they are not willing yet, just say 'next' and go to the next person.

Obviously, this is not an easy business. But this is the only business model I see that can bring me to the right quadrant. I am grateful that I was at least given the chance to fight for my total freedom. I felt that in employment, I was already sentenced to work for 40 years without a fight. I can remember one scene in the movie, Titanic. When the ship was about to sink, the mother asked her daughter to lie down so she could sing her child a lullaby to bring her to sleep. As the boat sank deeper, the louder the lullaby the mother sang. This was in the hope of not going through the pain of death. While the mother was singing, the rest of the passengers in the upper deck were fighting for their lives. They were wrestling for the lifeboats and life jackets. Unlike these passengers, the mother had already admitted defeat without a fight. It was a very sad scene.

Just like most of the passengers in Titanic, I was fighting for my total freedom. I did not give up. And I am here to tell you that it's all worth the fight. Apparently, I am forever indebted to this industry. Yes, challenges are given in this business just like in any other businesses, but the prize is overwhelming. Every time I was down and discouraged, I just read a lot of positive books and prayed. I also revisited my list of dreams. As Henry Ford said, "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

It is important that we have a goal because we are goal-seeking beings. If we don't have a goal of our own, we will be lost and end up doing the goal of other people like our boss. This is the reason why there are so many celebrities who have the fame and money, yet, they are depressed since they don't have goals anymore. Focusing on our goals is equally important as well so that all the energy is zeroed in. Through the Law of Attraction, the focus gives more power to draw on the things needed for the achievement of our goal. I can still recall when my siblings and I went for a bingo social. We had plenty of bingo cards which were given to us by our company sponsors. Being new to this game and with lot of cards, we had a hard time keeping track of all our cards while the numbers were called out. Since we could not focus on any cards, we missed out acknowledging our winner card and we lost the prize. As they say, you cannot catch any chicken if you chase them at the same time. Focus is an important ingredient to reach our goal.

When I zoomed in on my goals, I became optimistic again. I moved forward and trusted. I went back to the reasons why I signed up. I knew that the opportunity was real for there were people who succeeded. The only variable of my success was my attitude. If I failed, it was not the company's fault but mine. If I'm not promoted, it was not because of the product or the marketing plan or the industry. Why? It's because those who reached the top of the ladder had the same business with me. But why am I not successful yet? Plainly because it is not enough that we are in the right business, it is equally important that we have the right attitude. Maybe we lack persistency or patience to wait for the right people to come in our organization. Maybe we lack the guts to talk to the right people and many more. So, I was determined to work on my attitude. I believed that I was an introvert and this was something I needed to improve on.

I can still recall that I had a fight with my husband due to my shyness. It was at their Christmas party. During that party, he called my name by surprise to introduce our family. I was so angry why he didn't tell me in advance. He told me, "It is our family that you introduce. I don't think that needs practice. So, don't be upset." I am also afraid of public speaking. Every time I talk in public, I think I am going to die. This is common considering that according to statistics, the number one fear is public speaking. As Jerry Seinfeld said, "This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy." I think my fear is due to my experiences in my elementary years.

My Stage Fright

It was part of the school program to hold a regular oratory contest. I was always the contestant of our class. A lot of people expected me to win so I always felt the big pressure not to make any mistake, not even one word or a pause. Every word on the script should be delivered at 100% perfection including the facial expression, body language, the tone of voice etc. This was where I developed my stage fright. The experience could either make or break you. The most terrifying incident was when I was in grade six. As usual, I was the class representative. My two younger sisters were the participants for grade one and grade four. I was the eldest of the three and as you guessed it, I was expected to win. That was the scariest contest I ever had, but I doubted if real victory was possible for me. Why? It was because if I won, there was no merit. In the first place, everyone expected me to win. If I lost, I would be ridiculed. Of course you know who won, otherwise, I would not be writing this story. I think I was a victim of too many expectations. I became too tight with my system, serious with anything I do and always seek perfection not only in myself but also in others. All of it contributed to my stage fright. This is what happened to the recently concluded 2016 Australian Tennis Open.

Serena Williams Story

The No.l seeded Serena Williams was expected to win in that grand slam. This was to tie with Steffi Graf's record of 22 major titles. But she did not make it. She said in an interview: "Every time I walk in this room, everyone expects me to win every single match, every single day of my life. As much as I would like to be a robot, I'm not." It was easy for her to win that title and eventually achieve the world's tennis record having an "underdog" opponent. It turned out, however, that too many expectations affected her. This has led to her startling defeat.

While I was still a brand new distributor, my sponsor asked me to make a testimony about my business. I told her: "If you put me as one of the speakers, I will go home." She did not take what I said seriously and even called out my name. Of course, I was not there when she did that. I had already gone home. Nonetheless, thanks to this business. After years of training and mentoring, I became confident on stage. When our company had an international gala attended by distributors from so many countries, they chose me to be the speaker with over 2,000 people attending! I was even featured in a national TV program, Swak na Swak! Indeed, "every master was once a disaster."

### Life Purpose

I am so grateful with this business for it helped me find my purpose. They said there are two important days in our lives. The first is the day we are born and the second is the day we know why. I was very terrible with so many things. I didn't know how to cook, although I tried. While I was jobless, I graduated from TESDA's 200 plus hours of cooking lesson. During our graduation, we were required to prepare and submit a food project. Instead of preparing the food myself, I just bought it from the mall. It felt like cooking was a waste of time. If you would ask me what is the opposite of leveraging, I would say, it's cooking. There is so much time needed to prepare it and once it's done, the food when served, is gone in an instant. One time, I tried cooking since we were expecting visitors, but the house almost got burned when I put Sprite soda into the frying fan. I was fortunate enough that my husband's wish was to marry a no-good cook, saying he did not want to eat a lot and get fat.

There was one time on New Year's Eve when our helper went back to her hometown for the holidays. We were left alone. My husband said, "Okay, we will cook. I will boil some eggs." I replied, "No worries, I will boil the water." My son got worried with what he saw. He insisted calling up our helper to prepare food for us on New Year's Eve.

Aside from not knowing how to cook, I also don't know how to sing. I can still recall when our cat had labor pains, my mother called my name because she thought I was singing. And trust me, my mother is not a joker. I know how to dance, I believe. I was part of a dance group in high school and my last dance presentation was at our national gala. It was a contest by region, but we didn't win. I didn't know what happened in that presentation. The song was already over, but we still had some few dance steps to perform.

On top of my terrible culinary skills, I was also terrible at Home Economics like crochet projects. Thank God, my teacher assigned me as the attendance checker so I did not have to submit any project. As a Girl Scout, I didn't know how to tie ropes. I am not also good in English grammar and sentence construction so I have asked editors to help me out in writing this book. I don't know most of the household chores but thank God, I do not have a daughter to teach any of those to. I don't also know how to draw. I remember that time when my art teacher gave me a grade of 76. It sounded terrible but there was one point in my life that I asked myself: "Do I have a talent to contribute?" Well, I think I am good at sports. During high school, our basketball team would only win if I played (Preet!!! Fowl!!!). But, do I really have a gift to make a difference in this world?

Ever since I was in high school, I was confused with my life's direction. I didn't know what course to take in college. Out of so many advices given by my parents and sisters, I ended up taking a course in Civil Engineering. But I just stayed for one semester because I found out that even with a ruler, I could not make a straight line. So, I shifted to a course in Political Science for it sounded like it was for smart people. Although I earned my degree, I did not proceed to taking up Bachelor of Laws. Instead, I took two second courses in Accountancy and in Business Administration. I earned my second degree in Accountancy and only lacked a semester in Business Administration which I did not pursue since I was afraid that I would be overqualified for a job in the future. I was so lost in my career path for I did not know what I really wanted at that time. It's hard to describe what's inside my heart but I was searching for some sense of meaning. I have a strong faith that there is something more. I am desperate to achieve something. I just don't know what. I cannot accept that this was nothing but a constant rat race. And I don't know where these cravings were coming from. But after a while, I believe that it must be from God. He put those longings in each of our hearts so we can find our purpose, our divine destiny.

I know deep down that God does not waste time to create a "nobody". We are all "somebody" and each one of us got something to contribute if one digs deep inside one's heart. But because of poor choices, we ignore the calling. My life question was never answered until I joined this business. I realized that there was one thing I know and that is, I know how to inspire people with my story. The life purpose is very important for it gives you the energy and excitement to persevere. Each one should have a compelling future. Otherwise, there is no reason to withstand our daily struggles.

Every year, our family holds a Christmas party. It's always part of the program to ask everyone to tell something about the party. The oldies are one in saying that they look forward to every Christmas party in the family. It inspires and excites them to continue living. One of them said, "I wanted to tell everyone that our anticipation to the party every year has extended our lives." This situation also reminds me of the movie, Castaway, starring Tom Hanks who played the role of a FedEx employee named Chuck Noland.

Castaway Movie

The plane crashed in the South Pacific. Chuck Noland, the sole survivor of the flight, was stranded in an uninhabited island with a package that needed to be delivered. He put the deliveries in a place where he could see it more often, so he would be reminded of his unfinished task. This has provided him the needed courage and fresh energy to survive through the adversities in the island. He persevered in that condition for years until he was spotted and rescued. At the end of the story, he finally delivered that parcel on which he wrote a note, that it had saved his life for it gave him the reason to live.

How about you? Are you feeling tired with your life? Do you lack enthusiasm and excitement? If your answer to these questions is yes, it's because you haven't discovered your purpose yet. They say that the greatest tragedy is living a life without a purpose. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "If a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live!"

Hence, if you do not know your purpose yet, here are five simple questions that you can answer to find your purpose in less than 5 minutes (I also included my answers as your guide).

1. Who are you?

Answer: (your name)

2. What do you do?

Answer: I inspire people to build their assets, not someone else's, and never have to work again.

3. Who do you do it for?

Answer: Everyone who seeks financial freedom.

4. What do they want or need?

Answer: A business opportunity that will build their assets.

5. How have they changed as a result?

Answer: They are financially free and capable of teaching other people to do the same.

Thus, my life purpose is to inspire people to build their assets with the aid of the MLM business. With their assets, they can earn passive income so they will never have to work again. I am here to teach these people to do the same for others, so that more and more individuals will achieve financial freedom.

### Helping People and More

My friend told me that she can't do the business since she doesn't know how to sell. I told her that it is more of sharing your advocacy which is helping people build their assets, not someone else's, so they never have to work again. It's either they will take this opportunity or they will work until 60 or 65 years old. Either way, they work.

The Misconception

One of the misconceptions of network marketing is that the product becomes more expensive when it is channeled through this system. It is actually the exact opposite. Let me explain. At an average, the manufacturing costs, including the profit, represent 40% of the total price of the product. It means to say, that if the product is priced at Phpl00, the cost to manufacture including the profit is only Php40 and the cost to distribute is Php60. In order to benefit the consumers, instead of channeling it through traditional middlemen like wholesalers and retailers who get the 60%, they channel the distribution system through customers. In effect, the customers will get the 60% in the form of discounts and bonuses for recommending the products.

Where Is My Bonus?

I remember a friend who visited my husband at home. While they were having dinner, my friend convinced my husband to buy a Bose sound system. He was really excited sharing his amazing experience of this product. He further mentioned, that he also shared this to his other friend who never regretted buying it. He was so passionate that triggered my husband to go to the mall to buy it. But that sound system was already sold out. Maybe, my friend was really good in endorsing it. But guess what, my friend didn't receive anything from that recommendation. If only he was into network marketing, he would have received some royalty bonus from that endorsement.

Network Marketing is about:

1. Living a Rich and Rewarding Life

One of the biggest benefits with a network marketing business is the personal development. To become successful, you have to help other people become successful. It's very rewarding to watch others grow and become better people. While helping other people, you can earn a 6-digit income for working only 2–4 hours a day which gives you all the time and money to enjoy life.

2. Building Your Fortune, Not Someone Else's

Here is the big question: At your current place of work, who is making a living and who is getting rich? It is whoever owns the assets. By working as an "Employee," you are spending your 8-hour a day building someone else's wealth. You are earning a living, and the owner is building a fortune.

3. Want To Double Your Income Each Year?

It is very difficult to double your income with a job. In fact, the current pay rise is currently around 7%. This is small, especially that inflation is closer to 4%. However, with a business, it is a lot easier to get twice as many "customers" next year than the last, which in turn doubles your income. The smart people are now building their network marketing business on a part-time basis.

4. True Financial Freedom

One of the top reasons for owning your own business is that it leads to financial freedom, which means being able to earn lots of money without you needing to be there. The problem with a job is that you are "Selling time for money." This explains why you can never stop working since your income will also have to stop. With a business, you have hundreds of customers that are generating the income. Hence, you can go on a holiday for a month and be making more money when you come back than when you left.

5. What Job Security?

For over 100 years, the reason people cling to jobs was because of security. Today, with more and more people becoming redundant in a shrinking market, job security no longer exists. People are now looking for a more secure way to earn a living. What is more secure? Having one income stream with a job or an income coming from a hundred places which you can get with having a customer base? Today, jobs are now the risky option.

6. Want To Work for The Next 40 Years?

People now have a clear choice. They can then either get a job, retire in 40 years with little pension funds, or they can build a business and have the opportunity to retire after only 3–5 years. Those who realize the latter will be the ones who will benefit massively.

7. Want More Recognition and Appreciation?

How would you like to work for a company where your hard work gets regular recognition and appreciation? You can now become part of a strong community of people who all want you to succeed as it directly benefits everyone. This is very rare to find in a job.

8. The 8–5 Job Is Broken!

In an 8–5 job, there is only one winner and that is the boss. The reason you only get 7%-pay increase is because it comes directly out of the boss' pocket. The more money you make, the less money he makes. In an MLM business, the more money you earn, the more money your business partners gets. It is a true win-win situation.

9. Surround Yourself with Likeminded, Fun, Ambitious People

Are you lucky enough to be surrounded by fun, ambitious, likeminded people? Most people are not. Network marketing attracts the very best people, which is very beneficial to you because you then surround yourself in a new culture that supports you and helps you become successful. Remember this: You will earn what the 5 closest people around you earn.

10. Get Free Holidays and Drive a Luxury Car

The top multi-level marketing companies offer their distributors great incentives for their work. These include free luxury cars, all-paid-for holidays to paradise islands, and free weekend getaways. Why save up for your holidays and car when your work place will pay them all for you? Does your current employer offer you this?

Lastly, what do Donald Trump, Richard Brandson, Robert Kiyosaki, Stephen Covey, Jim Rohn and T Harv Eker have in common? They are some of the biggest business people all around the world who are either involved or recommend network marketing. (Inspired by Nathan Sloan - Author, The Ultimate Guide to Network Marketing)

### My Thunderbolts

Anything worthwhile that you do attracts problems. They are the thunderbolts that get in the way of where you are going. These obstacles are part of your journey. When you have thunderbolts, it is either you choke or you have a breakthrough. During those rough times, it looked like the things we learned from all the trainings and books flew out of the window. It seemed like they only make sense if things are okay but when things are in trouble, we tend to forget all of them.

We Had A Fight!

I had an experience one time when my husband and I were invited to a 3-day marriage seminar. I told my friend who invited us that we didn't have any major marital problems. So, we didn't think that we ever needed it. He answered, "You still need this seminar for it will rekindle your marriage." We finally agreed. But believe it or not, right after that seminar, we had a fight. I wanted to apply the principles we just learned, to use the l-message if you want to correct the person. For instance, if your husband walked out the door, you say: "I felt bad and I felt unimportant." But the 'I-message' was never applied since both of us were angry and instead of the 'I -message,' our fights were full of 'You-messages' such as, "Your fault!" "You started it!" "You don't understand!" I realized that when we are angry, it's hitting the emotions and forgetting the logic, making us unreasonable.

She Was Miserable

Nobody is invincible when emotions are involved. Even Ronda Rousey, a Former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion, is not exempted. When she lost to Holly Holm, she was frustrated and down casted. She was miserable. She hardly ate and could not sleep. Nevertheless, she chose to stand up again and fight. I thought she will be unaffected of such defeat, knowing that she is a champion. But then again, just like me and Ronda Rousey, we all become illogical when our emotions are being attacked.

Emotions are a lot stronger than logic. This is the reason why we forget all the things we learned at the height of hatred or even love. Life and the world we live in could have been even better if all of us can manage our emotions like anger, frustration, envy, etc. Because if we can, we are more reasonable and practical, leading us to a more peaceful world. And it can be achieved if we pass a series of tests that life would throw us. Every test is an opportunity for us to grow on our emotions and remain sane even when things are insane. And once we learn how to master it, then and only then that we are free!

Our organization also faced a series of thunderbolts that are normal in any team. In this business, I learned so much about relationship. My golden rule is: You cannot end hatred with hatred but with LOVE. Yes, sometimes this is also thrown

out the window especially when you are personally involved. I am already celebrating my 15 active years in this industry with the same company, and yet, there are so many things that I need to learn. In the U.S. immigration, a 10-year working experience is already considered having a master's degree. I can say that my 15 years' experience in network marketing is already equivalent to having a doctorate. I am already a doctor in network marketing!

One of the main challenges in our team is my tendency to innovate and delegate tasks. I have an ambitious vision to change the face of network marketing industry since this is one of the most misunderstood businesses. I made a franchising system, a success system formula for the newcomers in the industry just like me 15 years ago. The goal was to simplify the business. All you have to do is just follow the system. With the system in place, the business doesn't need any degree anymore, or age requirement, or experience. Anybody can do it!

I Can't Do It!

We went to Siargao for a short vacation. We were excited to go there after having heard so many beautiful stories about it. Of course, I could not allow myself to leave the place without trying their main attraction there: surfing. So, we hired an instructor. Before going out to the water, we were given instructions on what to do to enjoy the water sport. The instructions were simple and I told myself that I could do it. But when I was out on the water already and my instructor instructed me to stand up on the surf board, I could no longer do it. I was afraid of the rocks on the shore waiting for me. My instructor was frustrated and said, "You should have started when you were 7 years old, it's too late for you now."

But in network marketing, you can start anytime. I can relate to my sister-in-law's story. She had a friend who asked help for a job in an airline company. Incidentally, he was asked for a diploma. He was not a degree holder. All he could give was a karate lesson certificate. Of course, he was not accepted. In network marketing, even an ex-convict is welcome as long as he has a teachable heart to follow the system. This is a turnkey business. As a matter of fact, it is sometimes even disadvantageous for you if you have wide professional experience as it is harder to unlearn than learn. You cannot put any more water in a filled cup. The key is emptying the cup and embracing the system. For instance, my husband's friend works as a cook in Chowking. Ironically, he doesn't know how to cook, or at least not a good cook. When you ask him how he does it, he says he only follows a system, a recipe.

Just like that cook, you don't need to be a salesperson to build your network marketing business. All you need is just to follow the system, then apply perfect duplication to your organization and residual income will follow. There is a misconception that this is all about selling. It is the usual comment of our prospects that they cannot do this business because they don't know how to sell. Selling is just a way to find people who want to be business owners and earn residual income. Essentially, the business is all about training people so you can be leveraged by the efforts of that person, and in so doing, you are building your assets. For this reason, I believe that coming up with the best system is the key to give people the best passive income.

With the system, the new sign up is being equipped with the tools and trainings so they will know what to do from day one of the business until the end. With it, they become independent of you, but their output is linked to your name in the Company's records, which in turn is sending you checks. And here's the challenge, as I was creating that system, there were so many changes and task delegations involved in the process that some of my leaders were not happy anymore. I was unmindful of this because I believed they would be happy later on for coming up with the best system. I was so determined with my goal that there were some things that we agreed upon during our meeting which I did not follow during the implementation. As a result, our team synergy got distorted. Then, a major promotion happened that ran in conflict with my personal principles. Thunderbolts! I was not visible in the business anymore. During my absence, I started to write this book, learned some skills and attended seminars to strengthen my financial literacy. After a few months, I came back to the team with an open heart and mind. With network marketing, I was able to flush out my ego and pride in a very short time and was able to embrace each other's differences.

My Best Friend and I

I had an unpleasant experience in my elementary years when we had a class meeting. We discussed about what costume to wear for our dance number in our Christmas party. I cannot clearly remember the details anymore. But I can still remember that I was hurt. It's right when people say, "The heart still remembers, what the mind forgets." All I can recall though, is that my best friend shouted at me during the meeting. That made me feel so insulted and disrespected. She was supposed to be my friend. I expected her to be considerate and kind to me at all times. Alas, expectation is the formula for depression. Other than being relatives, I treated her as a good friend. Her father trusted me, believing that I could be a good influence to her daughter. Whenever we had school affairs in the evening, my friend could only go out of the house if it were me who asked permission. At times, my friend made me an alibi to some of her own happenings. She was the only one in our school who could drive a car so it was easy for her to go anywhere. We went out almost every weekend. And because the seating arrangement in school was based on our family names, we were seatmates and that got us even closer. Angered that she yelled at me, I didn't talk to her for four years. I was hurt.

Overtime, I realized that my pride and ego deprived me and my friend the gift of friendship. In my MLM business, I thought what happened in my team was worse. I was happy that I didn't allow pride and ego to win this time. When I got back to my team, I listened more. I cared more. Without a doubt, with a TEAM: Together, Everyone Achieve More!

## STEP 2: MANAGING THE MONEY WELL

The basic rule of personal finance is spend less than you earn, so you can invest the difference and earn more. If you can do that, it's a fast track for you to financial freedom. Once you have the assets that will give you passive income, such income will finance the kind of lifestyle that you have dreamt of. The key is delayed gratification. Before we had built our assets, we lived way below our means. We are convinced that the temporary inconvenience today is a convenience tomorrow.

### Delayed Gratification

My husband got a secondhand car even though our income had already improved. Onetime, he had a meeting with a supplier. When they got out, he felt awkward when he saw that the supplier had nicer car than his. I also had a second hand car and it felt like my heart would explode every time I maneuvered the steering wheel. It was manual transmission. But when I realized that I didn't have any car amortization, my heart still exploded, but with joy this time knowing that I saved a lot! We also lived in a small rented house in a densely populated community. My sister even asked me how we found that place because she had to take so many left and right turns before she could reach our place. Worse, the people in our neighborhood converted the roads into their own extended "living rooms." Our customers also complained since they often had hard time in going to our place.

I can still recall when the Company leaders had a meeting in Subic. After that meeting, it was agreed that we stop by at Duty Free for shopping. We were given about two hours to shop. I think it was one of the longest two hours in my life. I got so bored because I did not plan to buy anything in the first place. I was just roaming around with nothing on my hands while my colleagues were bringing baskets and some were even using push carts. Then, the next thing I saw, all of them lined up at the cashier to pay for the things they got. I wondered how I was the only one not buying. It was awkward not to pick up anything, so I got a Lacoste hat. Normally, I don't buy imported stuff but during that time I was forced to buy one due to peer pressure, seeing them busy with their shopped items.

The Marshmallow Experiment

The experiment began by bringing each child into a private room and placing a marshmallow on the table in front of them. The researcher told the child that he was going to leave the room and if the child did not eat the marshmallow while he was away, he would then be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if the child decided to eat the first one before the researcher came back, then he would not get a second marshmallow. The results: some of the children ate the marshmallows right away while a few of the children did manage to wait the entire time and got their second marshmallows.

This study became popular, but it wasn't the treat that made it famous. The interesting part came years later. The researchers followed each child for more than 40 years. It turned out that the group who waited patiently for the second marshmallow was more successful in almost all aspects. In other words, this series of experiments proved that the ability to delay gratification was critical for success.

My father is frugal. I would know if my father is at home from a distance. Why? Because the house is dark even during the night. He put most of the lights off to save electricity. One time, I was surprised when I saw him cleaning his face. Not only that, it was with a cotton ball! It was unlikely for my father to do any skin care routine and more so with cotton. I couldn't help but ask him and to which he replied, "I saw your mom's used cotton. It has still cleansing lotion on it. I can't stand looking that she is throwing it away. It's better if I just use it." No wonder their faces look the same now (I hope my mother will not read this part).

Just recently, my brother told me that my father was having a hard time hearing. He needed a hearing aid and he was looking for my grandfather's old pair! And we thought he was joking but he was serious. Of course, we can't find it anymore since our grandfather died more than 30 years ago! But the frugality of my father helped him send his six children to reputable universities without a promissory note or any delay in our tuition fee payments and all other related expenses. I am so proud of my parents. I am forever grateful to them. They were not rich — just ordinary employees, but they prioritized our education and they taught us the value of money.

Saving money doesn't have to equate to misery, it just means that you cut down on the unnecessary. Below is a budgeting concept that can help you save. Statistically, 20% of our total expenses are nice and useless stuff which can be cut off, saved and invested.

MINU Budgeting

In our team, we teach our people the cash flow priorities of our income which are found below, these must be in order:

  1. Business expenses
  2. Create 3-6 months emergency fund in your savings account
  3. Pay all liabilities starting those with high interest rates like credit card
  4. Invest in assets and let them work hard for you

Before we set up the cash flow priority above, our distributors were lost with their financial planning and decided to quit the business since their income went down the drain. It's not that they are not earning. It is due to poor personal finance. Most of them are employees or housewives who used to spend all the money they received, or in the case of the housewives, the husbands' allotment. When they joined the business, they had so much to learn about how to become true entrepreneurs.

### Financial Literacy

As part of the benefits of my husband's company, they can pursue post-graduate studies after work hours. He took up Masters in Business Administration (MBA). However, he did not finish it when he got frustrated that the business projects were piggery, soap making and even a barbecue business. The teacher did not even own a business. One time, before my MLM business, I had a meeting with my officemates who were also CPAs. The meeting was all about identifying what kind of business we were going to open. My husband was very excited with the meeting, only to find out that we concluded to have again, a piggery business! He realized that financial literacy is not common even to his colleagues.

I was glad that we joined network marketing for we were not trained to become employees or agents but as business owners. One time, I attended Robert Kiyosaki's wealth seminar, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, held in Manila. His wife, Kim Kiyosaki, was a graduate of a business course and she told us in a video showed during the seminar, that she learned more about business in her network marketing rather than in her business course. Likewise, I became more financially literate in this business, than I was with my profession as a CPA. Due to the business teachings and trainings, my kids have also become more financially literate than their friends. One time my son, Marco, was with a friend who told him he was planning to buy a gadget. Instead of agreeing, my son suggested that he use the money to buy stocks. It sounded like my son was talking Greek. On average, only less than 5% of our population invests in stocks. My son got interested in stocks and began investing when he was 18 years old. His interest started when we played cashflow board game of Robert Kiyosaki. He was the first one to get out of the rat race out of his fascination with stocks. As a result, he always has second thoughts when buying gadgets. He often requests for cash as gifts during Christmas and on his birthdays so he can invest it in stocks which he does online. Not long ago, my son was able to sell his stock with a profit. He was happy knowing that he did not work hard at it and yet his gain was almost the same with his one month salary in his summer job at a 7-Eleven convenience store. I am glad that financial literacy is present in our family. It always pays off to educate our kids about money while they are still young. This will provide them good money habits which will set them up for more success.

## STEP 3: BUILDING PASSIVE INCOME

When I made this book, I asked my son, Paolo, to design the layout of my cover page. At that time, he was not happy with his job. While doing my layout, the title of the book intrigued him and he asked himself, "Is building asset really possible for people like me who are still working?" Consequently, he asked me about it. I advised him not to leave his daytime job yet since he still needed the salary to start a business. In fact, job salary can be used as a capital to start a business.

My son is a typical millennial or Generation Y (birth years ranging from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s). General observation of most employers is that, they are less patient and less focused on their job. Hence, the more it is important for them to learn and build their assets as soon as they can. And if you take a look at the stages of the financial life as described by Robert Kiyosaki, these millennials have a point. Mr. Kiyosaki said, "Financial life is divided in four quarters: 25 to 35 years old (first quarter), 35 to 45 years old (second quarter), 45 to 55 years old (third quarter), and 55 to 65 years old (fourth quarter)." He added, "If you follow the standard advice of hard work, save money and invest on your retirement plan, you will just be old by the time you can retire, if you can actually do it. Our goal therefore, should be to conquer life in the first two quarters so you can still have time to enjoy and rest on your last 2 quarters." The key is building your assets, not your career, so you will have passive income that will work harder and harder for you in the later years. Here are the types of passive income:

  1. Residual Income – income from work which will continue to pay you even after that work is done. This includes royalties from MLM business, books, movies, or from business investments where you don't actually have to be present to earn it.
  2. Portfolio Income – is derived from various types of paper assets, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and annuities. This includes interest, dividends, and capital gains.
  3. Rental Income – income from the use of real estate properties.

### Cash Flow

In building your assets, managing your cash flow is also an important skill. Cash flow is defined as the inflow and outflow of money. While taking classes from the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants or IARFC, to obtain a license as a financial consultant, I learned about "timing" in loan payments. The timing is determined by the type of loan. For instance, if you have a car loan, fully pay it towards the end of the term. Why? This is so since the interest is the same during the entire term of the loan. Say, if you have a car loan of Php700,000 at an interest of 35% for 5 years, the annual interest is Php49,000. In your 4th year, the bank loan balance is reduced to say, Phpl00,000 but brace yourself, the interest is still based on your original loan of Php700,000 not on the Phpl00,000! Another way of good money management is paying your car on a cash basis if you have enough cash. Enjoy its cash discount and have it loaned afterwards. In the case of a housing loan, it is completely the opposite. Let's take the same example above, but just imagine it's a house you are buying. For a housing loan, the typical method used is diminishing balance since the interest computation is based on the reduced loan balance. Using the same example above, in your 4th year, the bank loan balance is Phpl00,000. The interest computation is based on the current balance which in this example is Php100,000. So, there is no need to hurry to pay for the principal. As a matter of fact, towards the end of the term, your monthly amortization goes mostly to your principal. To summarize, please see the illustration below:

Imagine the money you can save and eventually invest should you have enough skill in cash flow management.

I had a neighbor who, out of his retirement, bought a house and lot in an area where so many people wanted to rent. The house was purchased at Php5 million and the rent was Php30,000 per month. If you compute the cash to cash ROI, it's 7%. Not bad for an investment compared to fixed income securities where you can get only a 3-4% return. Although with real estate, you are not liquid. There are always pros and cons in any investment. In order to get the most returns, the key is diversification of your asset portfolio that fits your needs.

The Coaching Program

I find it important to have a coach. It is in our nature to procrastinate and eventually sabotage our own success. I want someone who monitors the progress of my goals through feedback system and someone who inspires me to maximize my full potentials. The coaches are not necessarily better than us for we already know what to do, but they are there to hold our feet to the fire to make sure we do what we say we do. So, I enrolled in a Star Shooter goal program. If affordability is still an issue to you and you want someone to report your progress to, you can ask a friend to keep you accountable or form your own accountability group called a mastermind group. It is a group composed of small number of like-minded people who get together regularly to discuss business ideas, share business goals, offer advice and hold each other accountable. If you are in network marketing, this is not a problem because you will have your own personal coaches for free.

Reach For the Stars and You Touch the Sky

Hence, as part of the requirements of the goal program, I laid down my goals to my coach. Initially, my goal was to expand my network marketing business, but my coach asked me for another goal. She said, "You already reached the top position of your MLM business, expanding it is not anymore a breakthrough for you. Reach for the stars and you touch the sky! Remember, this is Star Shooter program. There is no room for mediocre people here. With unrealistic goal, you work much harder, risk more and achieve much more."

My coach was right. I remember in my college P.E. class I was asked to take either swimming or table tennis. Without hesitation, I chose table tennis since I was already good at it. While for swimming, I still had to learn it. I had no coach at that time to tell me to do the uncomfortable to learn something. Thus, I took table tennis and got a good grade but I didn't learn a new skill which could have been swimming. So when my coach told me to change my goal, I went back right away to my drawing board. I did a lot of brainstorming, researching and self-reflection as to what goals I should set that will unleash my fullest potentials. That time, I always went out of town because of my business. While I was on a boat or plane, I observed that there were so many people coming in and out of Cebu. I wondered where these people are staying. It was in that moment that I got the idea that there is a market for budget hotels. After some time, I finally said to my coach, "Okay, I will build a budget hotel. I know this is a very ambitious goal but I will do it." My coach replied, "if the intention is clear, the mechanism will appear since the universe will conspire to help you achieve it." The program was a series of goal-setting, mentoring, and lectures, etc. Considering that my goal entailed such a big amount, I could not afford it all alone. I asked my siblings to invest with me. To save on the construction cost, we did not hire a contractor. Instead, I asked my husband, who is an Engineer that we do it ourselves. Even during construction, we opened the floors which were completed and accepted guests. Whenever there were complaints of the noise, we offered them some discounts so they would not have to transfer to another hotel.

Indeed, my coach was right. All the people, circumstances and opportunity conspired for the fulfillment of my dream.

What a Coincidence!

My husband went to a hardware store to purchase some construction materials. He saw his friend and they talked. During the course of their conversation, his friend shared about the Star Shooter program. He retold a story of an enrollee who built a budget hotel. He was very excited sharing the news and trying to convince my husband to enroll also. My husband interrupted his excitement and asked who the student was. His friend mentioned my name. My husband laughed and said, "What a coincidence, she is my wife!"

I really could not believe that I had done it. It was truly a milestone to my entire family. It was indeed a breakthrough for me. It was also because of the entrepreneurial skills I got from building my network that helped me through it. Looking back, when we were still employees, I could still recall that our ultimate dream was just to pay for the loan we got on our house. But since we got involved in this industry, the ordinary employee is now the hotelier!

### Portfolio Income from Paper Assets

The things I like in paper assets are the liquidity and its affordability. If you talk of paper assets, it means your bonds and stocks. Although real estate beats paper assets in most cases in terms of advantages, you also need paper assets for asset diversification and "parking purposes." For instance, if you are saving up for down payment of your property, you can temporarily "park" it in paper assets. For this purpose, pick the low-risk investments like deposit certificates, money market funds and government bonds. Why? Although these kind of investments will only offer very low returns or even less than that of inflation rate, the goal is to protect the principal value. It's just a transitory position to accumulate your capital for your real estate investment. In other words, if the goal is short-term like that of saving up for your down payment, the first concern is capital preservation which can be achieved through bond instruments. If the goal is long-term like a retirement fund, the priority is higher returns, which is stock investment. With a long-term time horizon, you can afford the risk like that of stock investing since you still have more than enough time to recover for your losses. Investing is different for everyone for it is greatly influenced by your objectives, time horizon, risk appetite and personal financial condition. Never ever borrow money to invest in a stock market. It's always your extra money.

My First Stock Investment

I had my first acquaintance with stocks in 1998. The company where I worked had an IPO (Initial Public Offering). As part of the company's benefit, we were allowed to buy the stocks at initial price on an installment basis. Before we finished paying for it, the stock price went way down. I was able to sell it before it dropped giving me a profit. But my officemates who held on to their stocks, lost money.

To formally start with my stock investing, I enrolled with Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Club. In terms of my stock investing decision, I apply the 15% profit method. This means, if my stock already posted a 15% profit, I sell them and use the proceeds as standby fund. Such fund will be used to buy stocks which I think are sold lower at their market value. I am also a believer of buying during bear market (stock prices are falling) and selling on bull market (stock prices are rising). What I love in stock investing is whenever stocks are down and I do not sell them, it is just a paper loss. As long as these are giant companies and I have the patience to wait, it is unlikely that I lose money. Most of my stocks are with blue chip companies and ETF (Exchange Traded Fund). My projection is, ETF will be the wave of the future because of its diversification. ETF is a fund like a mutual fund but traded like stocks, not just one company but the top 30 companies which are being tracked by the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). Bo Sanchez recommends peso cost averaging method and a long term horizon like 20 years. Peso cost averaging means making a regular monthly investment. He recommended long term because studies show that as we lengthen our investment horizon, the average annual rate of return over that timeline becomes less variable. I also agreed with his recommendation to invest only in giant companies to increase your asset portfolio. Although, while he endorses to hold on to your stocks for a long term, I made a tweak using the 15% profit method which I described above. With this strategy, I am already assured of my 15% profit for that stock. If it goes down, I just wait for it to go up. I have faith in my stocks, for these are giant companies which are mostly the drivers of our economy.

Every time I mentioned the word portfolio, I smile. I remember back then when someone mentions that word, I automatically look up to that person because it sounded very sophisticated. I did not know anything about investments before. All we knew back then was time deposit. When we started earning from our MLM business, we put our extra money in a time deposit account. All I can remember is, we kept track of its maturity date so we will not be charged with any pre termination fees. But not long ago, when I attended a 3-day internet marketing seminar in Manila, my seatmate asked me what could be the right business nowadays. So, I gave my inputs including my plan to write this book which would talk about passive income, residual income, etc. And she commented: "Whoa, that's a lot of technical terms!" Deep inside, I felt blessed with her comment since it was one of my life goals to be financially literate. I was also happy that we were building and teaching it to our kids. I encourage them to invest while they are young so they can maximize the benefits of compound interest.

Invest While You Are Young!  
The power of compound interest will make you rich @ 8% annual return

The table shows the huge difference if you have started investing earlier. As the Chinese proverb says, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

When I understood the power of compounding, I made a pact with myself that my sons should invest as early as possible so they could maximize its benefits.

My eldest son is not a saver. He is a great spender. He loves to buy nice and useless things in the MINU plan. For years, I educated him on how to spend his money wisely but sometimes we ended up arguing. When he got his first job, I told him to pay himself first so that when he is tired of working, like in 10 years, he has already an asset that will work hard for him. I was surprised he readily said yes. Since he needed help in controlling his money, I had his payroll ATM and I set aside a certain amount. We set up an account and we called it a "freedom account" where we placed his monthly allocation. He is happy with his investment now. I am also happy. If his regular investing continues, he will be a multi-millionaire in 10 years computed at a conservative rate of return. Amazingly, he turned out to be a saver as a result of his regular investing. I could not believe that the only way to control his money habits was through regular investment. This is because he is inspired to see his money growing and he wants to keep it that way. He said that his colleagues, who have the same age, situation, and salary aren't able to save anything. This means, savings is not all about the amount of money you earn but a habit. The best gift that you can give to your children is teaching them to save and invest, to enjoy the power of compounding. The younger they start, the more returns they can get as you can see in the foregoing table. This is something that you cannot afford to procrastinate, for as you age, the power of compounding will work less and less for you. It was even quoted by Albert Einstein as the eighth wonder of the world. Whenever I think of paying oneself first, I cannot help but mention my good friend.

My Friend's Dilemma

My friend has relocated to Manila due to the work assignment of his wife. Naturally, all the members of the family followed. While in Manila, he found himself in a dilemma whether to work or not to. He wanted to focus on his son's basketball training so the latter would be part of the school's varsity. When we met him recently at a party, he said he didn't work anymore and chose to train his son instead. He further said, that he already had two rental properties which was enough to provide for the family's needs. He is happy that he is already enjoying the benefits of the assets he built during his active working years.

### Rental

In my experience, rentals are the most stable passive income. People will always look for a place to live. The better the location, the more stable the income is. Location! Location! Location! I do not hesitate to pay extra money for the location. I know my money grows faster with its appreciation. Don't buy a property because it is cheap, buy a property because someone wants to rent it. How will you know if it's rentable? Ask yourself, "If I were looking a house to rent, will I rent this property?" If the answer is yes, most likely it can be easily rented out. In addition, if you build a house for rent, the design must be of least maintenance, otherwise, you will be receiving numerous calls for repairs. As Stephen Covey, author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said, "Begin with an end in mind." In the case of building a rental property, it denotes that you have to know FIRST its purpose before you begin the house construction.

Let's Sell It!

We constructed a house before which we intended to sell. But after its completion, we changed our minds to keep it instead seeing that it's beautiful. We had it rented out and true enough, the tenant had so many requests for the house. It was unfortunate for us that the tenant bought groceries in the same store where we went to. I would hide behind my husband every time I saw her. I avoided this tenant not only due to her demands on house repairs but also her Australian accent. The demands were the result of the house's design which was not intended for rental. There was no problem finding a tenant. It's the numerous calls that bothered us. After a couple of years, we sold the house as it turned out to be tasking on our part.

From the beginning, it was our dream as a couple to have a rental property in the future. We were inspired by the landlord of the first apartment we rented. While we were going to our jobs, we saw him just hanging around the neighborhood, looking very relaxed. In my mind, it was like we were working for him so he could have the lifestyle he chose to live. It was at that point when my dream of earning a passive income began like that of my landlord.

### The Power of Leverage

While real estate ownership requires a lot of money, the good thing about it is you can be leveraged. In other words, you can buy a property by paying the down payment only. The only major hurdle in this investment is the equity or down payment. The lending institution does not allow the buyers anymore to buy it without a down payment. It is the parameter of the banks and other lending institutions, that if the buyers can afford the equity, then they can afford the property. Under normal circumstances, it is not advisable to borrow for your down payment because you will be burdened from paying two amortizations: the down payment and the principal balance. Most likely, this results to the foreclosure of the property. The down payment must be saved up from your multiple income stream which you can place in low-risk investment. Once you can already afford the equity, you are now ready to buy your first rental property. But don't be too excited yet. There is still one thing that you should make sure of. Are you ready? It is positive cash flow. What does it mean? The loan monthly amortization is more or less equal to the rental. Take for example, if your bank amortization is Phpl5,000, the rental must be more or less the same. If you can find it in the market, it's a good deal, grab it. You can also take into consideration the property appreciation and the inflation which can give rise to rentals. You have peace of mind all the more if your bank rate is fixed for a longer duration. That way, it is easy to project your cash flow. After all those steps, you can repeat the process. If you have 5 houses free from loan in 5-10 years, then the rentals become your passive income. If you want to expand your rental business, you can sell any of your houses and use the proceeds as a down payment to buy more and more houses. What I so love in real estate is it appreciates in value. In addition, it is tangible and you are in control. Above all, it can be leveraged.

Note: Between two investments, only the one-bedroom house is leveraged. It means you bought a PhplM house with just Php100k down payment or 10% only. Unlike when you purchase stocks, you pay 100% of it. This is huge when appreciation (price increase) happens. Appreciation does not only apply in your down payment but to the total value of the property. This has resulted to a 100 % ROI as against 10% ROI with your stocks.

# III. ENJOYING THE FREEDOM

This is not about having a lot of money. Rather, this is the day when we can retire from work and begin doing anything we want and living life with no regrets. This is the time when we have multiple assets that are giving us passive income. When this time comes, we'll have the money, time and energy to dine in the famous restaurants without looking at the price, wake up in the best resorts because we are done sleeping and visit the world's most splendid sites with overflowing energy.

# Chapter 7: Living the Dream

"There is only one success and that is to be able to spend life in your own way." – Anonymous

As I was writing this part, I was in a boat for an island hopping in Siargao. While enjoying the scenery of the blue waters, wearing a blue striped dress with blue sunglasses (yes, my favorite color is blue), I received a text that our room occupancy is at 103%. That's passive income! In most businesses, you don't own the business, the business owns you. Even if you achieve the highest position in your company or own the largest grocery store or become the best dentist in town, its ultimate success is money freedom only. They may have the money but they don't have the time to enjoy it. The moment they stop working, the income stops too. My son told me that his friend comes from a well-off family but every time they have a vacation, they could not do it together as a family since the father has to take care of their business. I remember a joke which is related to this topic.

The Story of a Dying Man

There was a rich businessman lying in his deathbed. The ambience in the room was sad. He was surrounded by his family, all were crying and so much grief was seen on their faces. Even if he was very weak, he managed to make a roll call of every name of the family member. Everyone he called was in the room. Surprisingly, his face seemed anxious. Suddenly, his voice became strong and loud. He shouted, "My goodness! You are all here? Who takes care of the store?"

Funny but there is truth to it. In the traditional world of business, the more money one has, the lesser time he has for himself. It is even worse to some, those who have no personal time and penniless. I can very well relate to this because this was me when I was still working.

Who Is Great?

One of the greatest gains when you have a home-based business is the time freedom. I can still recall when I had a job interview with the owner. I went to the office at 8 in the morning but the owner arrived at 10:00, very fresh and well-rested. I envied the owner and I wondered if I could have the same time luxury in the future. But when I joined this business, it was not 10:00am that I started to work but it is usually way beyond, like after lunch. I am blessed! I cannot trade time freedom with anything else, especially the time I spend with my kids during their growing years. It is sad to note that some parents do not have the time to do parenting of their kids due to their work. They have no choice but allow the helpers to do that parental responsibility to their kids. It happened to me when I was still working. After staying late at the office, I came home bringing some paperwork. When I arrived home, my kids were already sleeping. In the morning, when I left for work, they were still sleeping. One time, I saw my kids from afar. I told myself, "Gosh! I didn't take notice that my kids are already growing up. Where was I?" But when I joined this business, I had so much time for them.

My eldest son was 7 years old and my youngest son was 4 years old back then. It was so precious to me when we slept together at night, although sometimes, I would fall asleep first. I made it a practice that before they went to sleep, I asked them this one powerful question: "Who is great?" The answer was always, "me." Then my follow up instructions was like this, "Give me ten reasons why you are great." And the answers were a variety of positive traits. "Because I am smart. I am friendly. I am handsome (Oh yes!), I am confident, etc." I made sure that they gave me at least 10 answers. My intention for this exercise was to build their confidence.

I have heard it from Francis Kong's seminar that building the self-confidence of your children is one of the best gifts that you can give them. I thank God forgiving me the privilege of spending ample time with my kids during their formative years. This is rare nowadays because of technology also. Electronics like cell phone, laptop or MP3 player are eating up the time of the children, depriving them of quality moments with the parents. I am afraid that more and more people will become electronic addicts. Even the names of the babies are now named after a gadget like the funny story that follows.

The Baby with a High-Tech Name

The priest who was about to baptize the babies was informed that the babies' names were combined names of the couple. And so the priest asked the name of the first baby to which the mother answered, "My name is Charito and my husband is Roger so the name of our child is Charger." The priest answered, "Okay, how about the other baby?" The next mother responded, "Since my name is Celsa and my husband is Alfonso, the name of our child is Celfon."

Funny! If you can combine names, you can also manage to juggle the many activities of saving, keeping your daytime job, making more money and investing. Sure, the process is challenging but it is all compensating. It's not a walk in the park in the same way as you build your career. Either way, you work. The only question is, "Are you working for your passive income or active income?"

My Allowance Was Gone!

Initially, my goal was to visit the 7 continents of the world. But I changed it when I found out that it includes Antarctica, where 98% of the continent is covered with ice. My goal now is to tour the world. In the year 2015 alone, I visited 11 countries, mostly in Europe and Asia. It's exciting to be visiting several countries. I remember the first time I got on an airplane was after college graduation. I was so naive then that I put all my allowance in my checked-in bag. Yes, you guessed it right, I could not find it anymore when I reached my destination.

Of all the countries I visited, my most unforgettable landmark is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. For me, it is the icon of all Europe landmarks. To see it with my own eyes was really amazing. We went all the way to the top using the stairs. The view was just spectacular! The most daring is Bali, Indonesia. It was my first time to surf and it was incredible to be able to stand up on the surf board in the water. In the same year, we climbed Mt. Pulag, the 3rd highest mountain in the Philippines. Most climbers were in their 20s and 30s and it took 5 hours to climb to reach the summit. It was worth the climb. It was indeed an adventure above the clouds. We started at 12 midnight and ended at 5 a.m. It was so cold at about 12 degrees centigrade. One of our companions had hypothermia. We were neither in our 20s nor 30s but we made it. Thanks to our healthy lifestyle. Then a few months after that, we travelled to Hanoi, Vietnam and experienced the beautiful culture of our Asian neighbor. We were impressed by the hospitality of the people. The food was great and also the tea. The Vietnamese are fond of tea rather than sugary drinks. When I saw their place, I finally understood why they are the lightest people. Rarely can you find a fast food restaurant. I saw one but there were no people lining up. They are also blessed with natural resources and their landscape is amazing. The world heritage Halong Bay is a thing of beauty. The boat ride which circumnavigated more than three thousand islets formation is awesome. On top of that, a sumptuous lunch was served while cruising. Towards the end of the same year, we flew to United Arab Emirates and relished the Arabian style and culture as well as the nice weather they have in December. We tried the adrenaline-pumping desert safari rides and conquered the tallest building in the world, the mighty Burj Khalifa. We also explored the man-made Palm Island and Atlantis and many more beautiful attractions. In 2014, we headed to Tokyo, Japan. The tour was so pleasant seeing that the Japanese were so kind. I think they are one of the kindest people on earth. We appreciated their carefully tended gardens, awed by the imposing grandeur of their holy Mt. Fuji and loved the beauty of cherry blossoms. The Japanese usually compare life to cherry blossoms — beautiful but short. Cherry blossoms last only for two weeks.

On the same year, we went to Beijing, China. China is also beautiful in some aspect yet mysterious. The Great Wall is a good place to visit as it is part of China's great history and one of the 7 wonders of the world. My husband had known it from the books since he was a kid and seeing it before his eyes was a revelation. In between 2011 and 2013, we explored mostly the beauty of our native land. From the mountains of Banaue where the famous world heritage Rice Terraces can be found to the splendid El Nido beach in Palawan and Enchanting Batanes in the northernmost part of the Philippines and many more tourist attractions. In 2010, we watched the Hong Kong Open Tennis Invitational in Victoria Park. The event was highlighted by famous players like Venus Williams, a tennis legend and Caroline Wozniacki, a former world's No.l in WTA (World Tennis Association), and many more. It was really amazing especially that we were seated just a few feet behind the players' changeover area. It was surreal when we found ourselves so close to our favorite players. We also had our own version of the Great American Tour in 2009. We travelled to different states and enjoyed the western brand of tourism. We were mesmerized by the glitters of neon lights in Las Vegas, thrilled in Disneyland rides in California, electrified big time in Disneyworld rides in Orlando, exhilarated by the gushing of water in Niagara Falls in New York and many more.

I feel blessed every time we travel. It is a real privilege because it needs energy, time and money. Rarely can you find all these three elements in one person. People who have the money, have no time. And people with time, have no money. Those who have both money and time like those retired people, have no energy.

When your thinking is conventional and follows the traditional work pattern, you will be deprived from enjoying life. Time is changing. We don't use the encyclopedia anymore, we use Google to learn something. There are so many opportunities out there where you can earn, save, invest and eventually build your assets so you'll never have to work again. I was amused by the comment of my friend when we visited her in Paris. When she knew our itinerary, she said, "Oh my goodness! Are you in the Amazing Race? Seven countries in 20 days?" My friend is a doctor in England, but she doesn't enjoy the same freedom like we do.

We love travels. Inside our house, you see a lot of picture frames hanging on our walls filled with pictures of our trips. You can also see a number of fridge magnet souvenirs and other memorabilia of the places we have visited. We cherished those travels as we build memories upon memories. We tried to build a tradition of family vacations, trips and outings to bond us together. This is our priority as a family so that our kids will get closer to us and they will do anything to make us proud. I was touched by the movie I watched several years ago, which until now is still vivid in my mind inasmuch as it served as my inspiration.

The Richie Rich Movie

It was about the story of a very rich family. One day, there were burglars planning to open the rich family's vault upon hearing rumors that they placed their greatest treasures inside. After so much planning and brainstorming, the burglars finally opened the vault but were disappointed with what they saw. The vault did not contain any money, gold and jewelry, far from what they had expected. Instead, what was inside were pictures of the rich family's children when they were still kids, their baby toys and all other memorabilia.

Just like those rich family in the movie, all I wanted is to build memories. For at the end of the day, the only thing that ultimately matters is the memories of you in the minds of your family and the people important to you.

Stop Transferring Houses or Else...

We transferred houses eight times before we built a house of our own. The first house we rented was only about 50 square meters shared with another family. We had a common bathroom, common kitchen and common living room but not common husband. On our 8th move, my trusted helper complained to me that she was already tired of transferring from one place to another. She told me that if we relocate again, she would have to leave us. This made me worry because she was doing all the household chores which I avoided. But in my 3rd year in the MLM business, I was able to build my own house. You might think that I am extraordinary for getting a house in a short period of time. Actually, it's not me but the industry that I am with. The business offered the concept of leveraging. Yes, I took massive actions to achieve my goals but the ultimate secret is the industry. Now that I understand the power of leveraging, I will never ever consider a business which doesn't offer these benefits. With this, you can retire younger and richer. I never thought it's possible that I can be financially free all my life. But it became real to me with this remarkable concept. Financial freedom is not about accumulating so much money although some people define it as such. As for me, it means my passive income is more than my expenses. It's about never have to work again so you have the freedom to style your life the way you want it to be.

# Chapter 8: The Greatest Gift of All

Indeed, the best things in life aren't things. It is not about myself. It is about growing and contributing together as a team. It is about helping and sharing. The beauty of this business is helping other people succeed so you will succeed. The money just represents how many lives that you have touched. There is no room for egoistic people in this industry. We have to flush out our ego and pride. The faster we do it, the faster we go up in the success ladder. The "other people" is our top agenda. Everything else is secondary. Like even if I had a stage fright, I had to set aside my fear and speak on stage so that other people will be inspired by my story. If I only think of myself, of my fear, I will surely not do it. In the process, I realized that I had the greatest gain since it was through teaching that I learned more. You get what you give. Just like the story of my aunt who took care of my uncle. She was very sick and yet when she helped my dying uncle, she was amazed to tell us that she felt healthier. Without a doubt, it is only through giving that you receive more. Indeed, the hand that gives, gathers.

During the journey, there were so many obstacles. Nothing that's worthwhile was ever easy. There were so many times that I thought of quitting but I always told myself that it was in those defining moments which separate winners from the ordinary. The winners will do whatever it takes to achieve those dreams. No ifs, no buts and no excuses. To be is to act. This has built my character and spirit which to me, is priceless. As Henry David Thoreau said, "When you achieve your dreams, it's not so much what you get as who you have become in achieving them".

The more you grow yourself, the more you grow your business. We never get tired of making a difference, teaching people how to build their assets and sharing our mission of helping people live better every day. Sometimes, it's

marvelous to know that people only care about what you know when they know that you care. The business strengthens my psychological and emotional stamina that made me braver and optimistic. I never forget to give. My husband and I have created a special account called, SBFG, which is intended for our scholarships, financial assistance etc. The ability to give is one of my motivations in life. It is part of my visualization that I can give more. I believe that nature abhors vacuum so that when you give, you have just created a vacuum and the bigger the vacuum, the stronger the magnet that can attract to your goals.

I feel happy when I give. I want to design my life to live simply but give extravagantly. I am also happy that I was able to write a book and share my story. I have recently learned a quote which struck me. It says, "[Every man should] plant a tree, have a child or write a book." These all live on after us, insuring a measure of immortality - attributed to the Talmud and Jose Marti, Cuban revolutionary and poet.

I am afraid of dying but knowing that my story will not die is my ultimate peace. With this book, I am glad that I will be able to even outlive my life for I will be leaving a legacy of inspiring people to build their assets, not someone else's, and never have to work again!

# IV. TAKING ACTION

Don't wait for things to be ready before you do something. The principle of inertia states that once you start doing something, it's easier to continue doing it. The challenge to most of us is getting started. Here's a tip: Follow the 2-minute rule. Want to exercise? Just put your rubber shoes on and plug the treadmill. This will take you 2 minutes, and with inertia, you'll find yourself running and sweating and burning so much calories! It's like writing this book. I had nothing to write at first, I felt tired just thinking about it. So I began to write anything I can think of. I wrote them in my cellphone or notebook or in my desktop (2 minute rule). Then I organized all these thoughts I wrote, taking only those that are essential. After that, I became unstoppable! I was writing even on Christmas time and was already motivated to finish this book. So, don't wait for the motivation to come first before you start. Act first and motivation follows.

In order to build your assets, there are two elements that you need to achieve this goal. These are: 1. Raise more investment money and 2. Choose the investment type. It is also useful that you play Cashflow 101 board game of Robert Kiyosasaki. For me, this is a life-changing game because it will teach you how to build your wealth by sharpening your skills in cash flow management. This game helps us get out of the rat race faster, learn leveraging and investing, among other concepts.

# Chapter 9: Ways To Raise More Investment Money

1. Budget \- Check your expenses-what are Nice and Useless in the MINU budgeting. Cut off these expenses and put them in your investment account.

2. Increase your earning \- the following are some ideas:

  1. Join network marketing with minimal investment (This is how I started.)
  2. Be a real estate agent
  3. Become a financial advisor
  4. Request for salary increase
  5. Freelance services like photography, hosting etc.
  6. Tutorial
  7. Internet marketing: sell RTW clothes, shoes, bags etc.

# Chapter 10: Choosing Your Investment Class

In what asset class would you want to invest? It is your personal choice as it depends on your financial status, time horizon, investment goals and objectives.

Below is just a presentation of concepts and does not represent a professional advice. For your investment, please consult a professional advisor.

### On Insurance

Don't invest in life insurance if you are single with no dependents and limited assets. But if you have people who are dependent on your income, you must buy life insurance. It is important so that when you die, the proceeds from the insurance company, the death benefit, will take care of the expenses of your living dependents. You may ask, "What kind of insurance?" Buy term life insurance only. Term insurance gives you the basic coverage you need and it is inexpensive. Don't be confused with a lot of insurance products in the market today. Remember the endorsement of financial gurus like Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman: BUY TERM AND INVEST THE DIFFERENCE.

I didn't understand their endorsement at first until I became a financial advisor myself of an insurance company. I have insurance products already but I didn't understand them. I just bought them since they were recommended in the finance books I read. But I realized that I was violating the basic rule of investing, which is, "Do not invest in anything you don't understand." Thus, I took the effort to learn these things so I will be more financially literate and become more valuable to other people. So, the gurus' recommendation says that if you have Php5,000 monthly budget for your insurance premium, you can get term insurance (basic protection only, no investment) for say, Php1,000 monthly. Then invest the difference of Php4,000 elsewhere where you can get better returns. I believe a combination of term insurance for your protection and mutual funds to grow your money is a great combination, or better yet, go for stock investment instead of mutual funds if you want to manage it yourself. In economics, if it changes hands, the cost will increase, since each "hand" will add up profit. Your money grows more if you manage it yourself considering that you can get rid of relatively high management fees and other costs of 2-3%. And you say, "But they are the experts." These experts invest in the same market like we do. Stock investment is made simple now by people like Bo Sanchez in his Truly Rich Club. That's how I started. With the power of the internet, there is so much information on how to multiply your money. But if you're the type of person who doesn't know how to manage your finances, then insurance with investment products is a good way to invest your money where both protection and investment are provided for you.

### On Rental, Paper Assets & Business

With enough money in your investment account, you can start diversifying your asset class by paying the down payment of your rental properties. Just make sure that it can easily be rented out and self-liquidating (meaning, the rentals and its monthly amortization are at least equal). Learn how to spot the best deal and grab it. It's a learnable skill. By the time you fully pay the house, the rentals will become your passive income. Another option is to buy a franchising business that will give you a residual income. Always do your due diligence first before buying it. My formula to compute its feasibility is to be lavish in the computation of your expenses and be conservative with the profit. This means that if the total expenses in your feasibility report is Php100, maybe you can increase it by 25-50% more, making it Phpl25-150. If the profit you come up is Php50, divide it by 1.25-1.50, reducing it to 33-40. If the result is still positive, then go for it. This way, you can come up with a very conservative bottom-line which is providing you a safety net. Due to excitement to get into the business, we do the exact opposite of the formula and a lot of people lose. Set aside your emotions when doing your feasibility study.

No, Thank You!

We were once offered to buy a top food franchising business. The first thing we always do in any business proposal is to compute the break-even point. In other words, the minimum sales we need to generate to absorb the expenses. For instance, if the total expenses is Php100, the sales must be at least equal to Php100 in order to break even. Anything below that number is a deficit and anything above is a profit.

The result of our feasibility study of that franchising business was not promising. We were honored and excited when it was offered to us, but we had to decline the offer. It is important to make an economic study first before any business venture. This is to eliminate any surprises that may result from our excitement and eagerness to do a business.

Can I Just Borrow Your Money?

My good friend came to me for some business advice. He was very excited for his gasoline station business. He asked me to study his financial plan. After reviewing it, I found out that the returns were not feasible. I told him the results of my study. I suggested to lend his capital to me instead and I will pay it with interest. He said no. After four years, that business was closed and he lost so much money. One time, we talked about that gasoline station and he told me, "I could have loaned you that money and enjoyed LOR instead (Living on Interest)." But his excitement blinded his business sense.

It is good that you also have a business so you can have a diversified asset portfolio and earn all types of passive income including residual income. However, it doesn't mean that you have to lose money just for the sake of diversification. One example is my friend from our hometown. His child invested Phpl5M in a restaurant business in Manila. After two years in operations, the business closed. Remember, the fatality rate of a traditional business is 80% within the first 5 years of operations. This is to say, that for every 5 businesses that opened, 4 of them will close within five years. That's tough! Such is the reason why franchising business came to the market. However, this is not available to ordinary people for it needs millions. I had a friend in Luzon who worked as a manager of a Php30 million top franchise fast food chain. It was owned by a corporation of 5 people putting up Php6 million each. The monthly return was ranging at an average of Php60,000 for each incorporator or ROI of 12%. For me, it's still not attractive considering that it was one of the most profitable branches. If it loses, nothing is left to the owners unlike in real estate wherein you still have your property. This is true in the case of my friend who invested in a restaurant. When it closed after four years of operations, what was left to him was 15 kilos of pork (maybe it was an exaggeration) but you get the point. Thus, the best way to build a residual income is from your MLM business. If you have this business going, you can put more money for the expansion and growth of your distribution channel, rather than investing a lot of money in a very risky business. This is the only business I know that at a very least capital, the returns are unlimited. I am quite apprehensive with traditional businesses because there is always the option to buy stocks. If the hard work in these businesses is not compensated large enough, we can always buy stocks of Jollibee, or BPI or SM, etc. That way, we are part owners of these companies without the hassles of applying for a business permit, hiring people, and managing the business.

### On Good Health

While building your assets, do not forget your health. No matter how good you may be at work, or in investing, it will not amount to very much if your health fails. We must be generous in our health investments by feeding our body with good nutrition, supplements, and exercise. Personally, my favorite exercise is playing badminton and tennis. What I love about these sports is the scoring system. Because while playing it, I am so engrossed with the score that I forget that I am running, serving and hitting the ball most of the time. Being competitive myself, I love any sports with a score. I have this fighting spirit in me even way back in high school when we had a dance contest. It was such a funny experience I'd like to share with you.

Thank God for the Brown-out!

During my high school days, I was a member of a dance group named, Dynamic Dancers. We were the most popular during our time, until there was one new group that wanted to seize our popularity. Then finally, we had a contest. This was going to be the battle of champions. The other group had extensively practiced. We were also practicing day in and day out. They hired a professional choreographer while we simply had too much trust in our own talent (Ugh!). They even invested in costumes, while we just borrowed dance attire because we thought our physical beauty would just compensate for it (ahem!). Despite our competitive spirit, we felt that this would be the end of our happy days. The day of the contest came. Everyone was excited while we were so tense. We had our presentation first and it was our best performance ever! Then, it was their turn. Everyone was eager to watch the most well-practiced and most well-spent dance number. When their name was called and they were ready to perform ... boom! There was a brown - out. We didn't have a generator in our province. The day ended without our opponent getting a chance to perform. We remained champions. Thanks to the brownout!

Even up to now, my fighting spirit is still with me when playing tennis and badminton. However, I cannot regularly play such sports since these require a complete set of players. That's why, I shifted to mountain biking. I am blessed to live in an area where mountains are just within the neighborhood. If you were to ask me how to get a flatter tummy, I can only think of two things: more biking and less rice, not the other way around. I really love biking for I love the outdoors. One time, I went out biking. I had much delight watching the trees, the plants, the flowers and the butterflies in the surroundings. I took joy listening to the sounds of the river and the birds chirping until ... arghhhh!!! I fell down from my bike! I felt that my bone somewhere on the left side of my hips snapped and my chin bled. The accident happened when I was getting my sunglasses while going downhill, leaving only my right hand clasping the handlebar. It was then that I learned that it was a huge no-no to use only one hand while going downhill. It must be both hands. Such incident has limited me from doing this regularly. As a result, I bought a stationary bike to prevent me from falling down again! But I can say that my best investment for so many years now is my treadmill. I love it because I can do it without other players, it's an all-weather exercise since it's indoor and without falling down! It also saves me time because I can watch inspirational videos at the same time, especially TED talks on my iPad. For my health diet, my general rule is: the more I eat, the shorter I live. This is due to body pollution we get mainly from food. It's a real bonus if your business is into health. Some people are losing health for they are busy accumulating their wealth. But once their health is gone, they are willing to give away their wealth, just to get their good health back. But if you are in the health business, your good health is your business. At first, people buy from you because of you. The second time they buy is because the product really works. Hence, you make sure your lifestyle is healthy and you are healthy. If not, people will not do business with you.

# V. GETTING STARTED

# Chapter 11: The Bottom Line

It is my dream that this book can be your potent seed to revolutionize your life. It is heartbreaking to know about the story of my friend. She is a retired top ranking government employee who is still working even after her retirement so she can eat. If you want to be financially free, you must do a lot of "first time" in your life. In other words, do abnormal things to get abnormal results. By being abnormal means ab(ove) normal. This is the mindset that allows uncertainty and unpredictability in a constantly changing and evolving world. While being normal is living within the box of societal conditioning. A person with a normal mindset sees himself working for 40 years, anything below that, like 4 years, is unbelievable. The programming of the normal goes like this: one has to work in order to eat, making the concept of passive income impossible for him. If one has no college degree, no influence and no money, that person has no future according to these people. But life is a choice. It is either you accept the situation as it is and become normal OR accept the responsibility in order to CHANGE the situation and become abnormal. Be normal or abnormal? It is your choice. The ability to change or the power of choice is the gift that makes human beings so powerful than the rest of the living species on the planet Earth. Although human beings have no fins to swim like the fish, or wings to fly like the eagles, or the legs that run like cheetahs, we are the most powerful ones. Why? Because of our ability to change. This gives us power to transform our lives from rags to riches, from being shy to being confident, from being fearful to being courageous and from ordinary employee to a hotelier. Whatever your situation is right now, it does not matter. It is the decision not the condition that will change your destiny.

The Jun Igot Story

Jun was a tricycle driver from Mindanao. He was presented with a business opportunity. The easiest thing he could do is say no for he had no money, no sales background and no college diploma. But it didn't stop him from joining. He went and borrowed money from his friends, a total of 46 people to produce the required investment. He was able to raise the money and finally, enrolled as a distributor. When his products arrived, he went to the same people who lent him money and said, "If you do not buy my products, there is no way I can pay you." Most of them bought. In 3 days, his products were sold out. To cut the long story short, he achieved the highest position in less than a year. He is the fastest record holder to reach the highest rank in the Company. Had he rejected the opportunity because he lacked the resources, he would have remained as tricycle driver even up to now. But with the power of choice, the tricycle driver is now a multi-millionaire.

I am troubled to see nowadays, that more and more people can afford to buy motorcycle and work as motorcycle drivers. They do not realize that these motorcycles are their dream stealers. It stops their imagination from becoming great. For instance, just because they see their father driving a motorcycle or a jeepney, the children have already resigned to the fact that they will end up as drivers too. It was sad to see people struggling financially like some janitors, waiters and sales ladies. It's okay if they are content. But if they are in trouble and want change, they have to know that their struggles are just by-products of their own choice. They do not know that they can change the situation by changing their decision. It is on this plane of thoughts that inspired me to write this book - to awaken people that they can earn more if only they open their minds to endless opportunities. The story of Jun Igot is a proof that any ordinary person can earn extraordinary income.

Don't be deprived of the gift of transformation. With it, you can witness the remarkable things that are bound to happen in your life. Between now and then, your world is full of possibilities and exciting potentials if you could only learn how to start living your life beyond the ordinary. Your past is not equal to your future. If you did not earn millions before, it doesn't mean you will not earn it in the future. If your parents were poor, you can still be rich. If your personal history was all a failure and full of debts, you can still be successful and financially free in your next venture. Stop sabotaging your own success. Break free! Smash all the boundaries of the box so you can release the magic and miracles of your life. I was afraid of network marketing before. I feared that my friends might ridicule me. I did not have the courage at first to live beyond my fears, but it finally dawned on me that I could not be forever a hostage of my friends' opinion about me. I have to stop being normal, living a boring and predictable life. I have to warn you that when you become abnormal, normal people will ignore you, laugh at you and even fight with you. But when you win, they follow you. Therefore, it is my challenge to you to do the 'above normal' starting today. If you are afraid of network marketing because you don't know anything about selling and training, the more you do it, you can learn the entrepreneurial skills that would make you closer to total freedom. If you are apprehensive with investing, ask an expert to help you. If you don't ask for a salary raise, the answer is always no. In other words, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take. There are a thousand ways to solve a problem. If you cannot find one, you are not just thinking hard enough. Everything is hard before it is easy. Stop all the "should be" in your life and welcome all the uncertainties that come your way.

The Ice Cream Story

There was a patient who came to the clinic to see a doctor. After waiting many hours, he was finally entertained by his doctor.

Patient: Doc, I want to live until 90 years old. What should I do?

Doctor: Do you eat ice cream?

Patient: No, Doc. It might raise my blood sugar.

Doctor: Do you go to a rock concert?

Patient: No, I can't stand the noise.

Doctor: How about hiking or biking?

Patient: No, Doc. That's dangerous.

Doctor: So, why the heck would you like to live longer when you have a boring life?

As Les Brown said, "No one gets out of the game of life alive. You either die in the bleachers, or on the field. So, you might as well play on the field, and have a good time!"

Life is too short to be locked up inside the box. With the power of choice, you can live an extraordinary life that is full of love and miracles!

# Chapter 12: Your Next Step

Once you are done reading this book, the critical element to your success is the next step you do. Knowledge is dead and powerless unless it is put to action. I have attended several trainings and seminars about investing and financing. Most of the speakers and trainers have the mastery of the subject matter. I envied them for their knowledge, but knowing that most of them are not wealthy yet, made me wonder why. Now I realized, it's because knowledge is not enough to become rich. It is knowledge bonded with action that matters. These are the undisputable formula for one to achieve total freedom. Hence, the initial step that you can do is create a financial plan towards your goals. Again, the presentations are guides only and should not be treated as a financial advice. For a more comprehensive and professional service, please see a financial planner. See below for the financial planning process. Most of the concepts are derived from Sun Life Financial.

A. Set A Goal

It will give you a direction. Short-term goal is less than 5 years. Medium-term is 5-10 years. Long-term is over 10 years. Examples of your goals include saving for an equity of your rental property or trip to Singapore or setting aside educational funds for the kids.

B. Check Your Resources

Have an inventory of your assets to come up with your investable fund. This is divided into the following:

  1. Your existing savings account, time deposits, mutual funds and stocks investment etc; and
  2. The excess of your monthly income against your monthly expenses.

To compute:

  1. Include the annual expenses like insurance etc. and annual income like Christmas bonus etc.
  2. Use the MINU plan to check if there are nice and useless expenses which you can add in your investable funds.
  3. Set aside 3-6 months of expenses for an emergency fund. Place it in a savings account. This should be deducted from investable fund.

C. Start Investing

To jump start your investment, increase your earning as discussed on p. 114

Here are some rules in investing:

1. Don't invest in anything you don't understand.

In every investment options, consider the following:

  1. Minimum investment amount
  2. Potential return or earning
  3. Safety
  4. Liquidity or the ability to get your cash anytime

2. The greater the risk, the greater the return. The lower the risk, the lower the return.

Playing too safe is also risky since the inflation rate is about 4%. This is to say, that if your time deposit has only 1% yield as against the 4% inflation, you are losing money. It is not about avoiding risk but understanding them.

3. Match the investment product with your time horizon.

  1. If your goal is short term, choose an investment which is not risky or highly speculative like time deposits, T-bills etc. so that it is readily available when you need the fund.
  2. For medium to long term goals, you could take some risks for you still have time to make up for possible losses. You can go for stocks and growth mutual fund since the objective is to maximize the return rather than minimizing the risk.
  3. Over time, gradually shift from "high return-high risk" investment to "medium risk-medium return" investment such as ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) stocks and balanced mutual funds. Then, when it is nearing the date of your goal, transfer your fund to more conservative investments. The objective is to preserve it rather than growing it.
  4. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. The best way to maximize return and manage risk on your asset portfolio is diversification. Stocks help your portfolio grow while bonds bring in income. Unlike stocks and bonds which are readily convertible to cash, real estate properties are not liquid but these are giving you more stable income in the form of rentals and hedge against inflation. There are as many benefits as there are many investment options, so it is therefore important to spread your funds.

D. Implement And Evaluate Your Goal Plan

Evaluation is an important process. There may be some changes in your life that require adjustments in your financial plan. For instance, giving birth to another child or when your son gets a scholarship, etc. As people and circumstances change, your priorities will also change. Maybe a family vacation is not anymore important or maybe you need bigger goals because you got inspired with a business or by the person who mentored you. It is important to check and evaluate your goals to see what's working or not and make the necessary adjustment.

E. Continue Your Learning To Increase Your Financial Wellness

This book is only an introduction to your financial literacy. This is not your ultimate guide. The study must be continuous and never-ending. It does not happen overnight. It involves reading a lot of books like Money: Master The Game by Tony Robbins, newspapers and magazines like Business Insider, watching videos like Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey Show, become a member of an investment club like The Truly Rich Club by Bo Sanchez, visiting websites like Investopedia and many more. It will increase your knowledge about investing, saving, how credit card works, estate planning, insurance, etc. It would be even better if you can get a license and certification in the field of finance and real estate to raise your financial wellness. You can increase your wealth with financial literacy, for no one cares about your money more than you do.

Now It's Your Turn

The ball is in your court now. You already have the blue print to achieve your financial goals. Let go of the limiting beliefs. You have no limits as to what you can do. It's the stories that you tell to yourselves that's holding you back. Reboot your life. Start with a clean slate. Each one of us deserves a second chance, a third, a fourth. The fact that you are still breathing, God does not give up on you unless you give up on yourself. Finding this book is not a coincidence. It is meant for you. So don't give up! You have the stepping stones in your power now, so you too like those rich people can "walk on water," similar to the following story:

A Priest, a Minister, and a Rabbi are on a fishing trip. The Rabbi says he wants a drink, so he leaves the boat, and walks across the water, and grabs the drink. A few minutes later, the Minister wants a drink too, and also walks across the water. The priest thinks to himself, "If God lets them walk on water, He'll let me too." And he leaves the boat. The priest sinks like a stone into the lake. The Rabbi turns to the Minister and asks, "Do you think we should tell him where the stepping stones are?"

If your life sank with failure after failure before, it's because you didn't know where the stepping stones were. Finding this book will give you power in creating your wealth and never will you have this kind of miserable life again. You are meant to be a millionaire. You can do it. You should do it. But the most important of all is: YOU WILL DO IT! As long as you take action, it's either you win or you learn. Make a pact with yourself this instant not to be defined by your past. Get up! Get up! Get up! Your life 3 to 5 years from now depends on what you do today. Be crazy. Take chances. Be rejected. And do the ABNORMAL and earn abnormal income. It's all worth it. Enjoy the journey! Be free!!!

# ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eva H. Aradillos graduated Cum Laude from the University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines with degrees in Bachelor of Science, major in Accountancy and Bachelor of Arts, major in Political Science. She is a Certified Public Accountant who worked in several companies for 11 years including a very prestigious external auditing firm. She is a registered financial consultant (IARFC), a certified investment solicitor and a financial advisor. She is also a licensed real estate broker.

She has been an active independent distributor of Lifestyles products for more than 15 years and has achieved the highest position in the Company in less than 3 years. She is a recipient of several awards given by Lifestyles Global Network based in Canada.

Currently, she is teaching people how to build their assets and earn passive income with the concept of leveraging. She is also a national motivational speaker.

She is a wife to Malony and a mother to Paolo Vittorio and Marco Gabriel. They are based in Cebu City.

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