06 Jun
Blog

15 Minutes a Day can Change your Life

The comedian Jerry Seinfeld was earning over a million dollars per episode of his TV show Seinfeld in the ‘90s, but did you know how much the show earned after it went off air and was in syndication? An incredible $2.7 billion! What made him one of the best comedians of all time?

In the book The One Thing: Brad Isaac, a software developer, shared a productivity secret from Jerry Seinfeld. Before Seinfeld was a household name, Isaac ran into him at an open-mic comedy club and asked him for some advice on how to be a better comedian. Seinfeld told him that the key was to write jokes every day. And the way he’d figured out how to make that happen was to hang a huge annual calendar on the wall and then put a big red X across every day he worked his craft. After a few days, you’ll have a chain, Seinfeld said. “Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You’ll like seeing the chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain. Don’t break the chain.”

Jerry Seinfeld writes jokes every day. Lets say he writes his jokes in 10-30 minutes a day; lets average it at 15 minutes, it means that he became an expert at what he does by working 15 minutes, one day at a time. Is 15 minutes a day such a big sacrifice?

Here is a powerful productivity thought: 15 minutes a day can change your life. If you Practice or do something for 15 minutes a day, in 1 month, it will be equivalent to 8 hours or a whole workday. In 1 year, it will be equivalent to 11 extra 8-hour days that you can work your craft.

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

We can make ourselves do anything for a short period of time. What is 15 minutes a day? We usually waste more than 15 minutes a day everyday. You can use that time to practice speaking, singing, writing, a musical instrument, a new language, or anything you want to be good at. If you want to write a book, write at least 15 minutes a day. If you want to be a public speaker, practice at least 15 minutes a day. Losing weight can start 15 minutes a day.

This is how easy it is. If you clean your house 15 minutes a day, you won’t notice the difference in a few days, but in one month you will see a big difference.

We can also use the 15 minutes a day to form new habits. In 21 days, it will become a routine. In 66 days, the habit is yours forever. Smaller accomplishments will lead to bigger accomplishments. So your 15 minutes a day can increase in increments as you focus on your goal.

What if you want to increase your vocabulary and learn 1 new word every day? If you look at the word Onerous in the dictionary, it means Troublesome. Let’s use onerous in a sentence: Writing a book is onerous if you don’t have a plan.

The average person only uses 1,000 words yet the words in the English language are estimated at 250,000 plus. After 3 years of one word a day, you will learn 1,095 new words. Add the 1,000 words you already know plus the new 1,095 words you just learned, then you will know twice as many words as the average person.

In 1 year = You will be Good!

In 2 years = You will be Great!

In 3 years = You will be an Expert!

What can you do with your 15 minutes a day?

07 May
Blog

No Dull Moment

“Jayson Lo? Ha? Seryoso ka ba? Bakit siya yun kukunin mo na speaker?”

Last week, my friend invited me to guest in his podcast.

He confessed that years ago, his wife laughed when she found out that he invited me to speak for their new company.

And this isn’t funny “haha” laughter.

It was the condescending type.

I could just imagine how that went.

Truth be told, I couldn’t blame my friends because they saw first hand how badly I bombed when I was starting out.

To say I was not a good speaker was an understatement. I was awful. And only did it out of necessity.

So the day came…

After my talk, this is the feedback they gave me: “You blew our socks off with that speech!”

Then he said 3 words that stuck with me to this day…

“In that hour, there was NO DULL MOMENT.”

That was 10 years ago.

Here’s the funny thing.

It wasn’t because of talent, voice, or charisma that made it work.

(Though I can’t blame if you thought so lol)

It was because of a simple speaking framework I developed in almost 2 decades of speaking publicly that I fondly call “No Dull Moment – “The 7As Speaking Model.”

I’ve used this to teach and coach companies, well-known speakers, top sales people, financial advisors, networkers, politicians, managers and entrepreneurs.

When I told my wife, Kat, that I will teach the same framework I teach my corporate clients in Zoom for just P750, Siya naman ngayon ang tumawa…”Seryoso ka ba?”

Hmm… I’m seeing a pattern here.

I told her I’m doing this bec of Covid, that it would be a big help to many.

This is happening on May 12 Tuesday 7:30pm.

If you are interested to know how to use the 7A Speaking Model that works for public speaking, presentations, sales pitches, writing articles, and for Zoom webinars today…

Please sign up to this Link: https://forms.gle/aaf1G1yxRcSFBmA98

Limited Slots Only. First Come, First Served. Cheers!

24 Apr
Blog

Life Under Covid

Life Under Covid-19 bring blue skies and clean air. Flattening the curve is healing the earth. We can do the same for ourselves.

The minimalist premise is to tidy up your outside to find peace on the inside, but it should be the other way around – from the inside-out.

If you declutter the pollution inside you- in your heart, mind and emotions – the clutter and pollution on the outside will be taken care of.

What is the biggest clutter that needs healing in your heart today?

#YouniqueThoughts

22 Apr
Blog

Conquer Your First Step!

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, the old world has gone – the new normal has come. How to conquer the first step to a new normal:

BE LIKE A BABY TAKING A FIRST STEP!

1. Conquer the first step.

The first step is always the scariest. We get depressed and paralyzed when we are afraid. Be friend your emotions and search deep within, “Why am I scared?” Move from being afraid to being aware. 

2. Baby Steps

Take it one day at a time. A baby wobbles, falls down, trip, or get a little hurt. It is simply part of the process of walking. Every step is a new adventure and an enormous milestone for babies. 

A baby needs to develop muscles to gain strength. What muscles do you need to develop now in this new normal? What is the most important thing you need to learn in this season?

3. Enter the New Normal

Years ago, Facebook wasn’t normal. Twitter wasn’t normal. Youtube wasn’t normal. Even texting wasn’t normal. The new normal is coming. Will you adapt quickly or get left behind?

4. Crisis is an opportunity to either advance, or stay where you are.

No more blaming, no more excuses, no more feeling down – enter the new normal with the mind of a baby… willing to learn. Be excited for each step is going to be an adventure of a lifetime.

#YOUniqueThoughts

27 Jun
Blog

3 Ways to Effectively Capture Your Audience’s Attention

How do you effectively capture an audience’s attention when public speaking?

  1. Start strong and surprise the audience
  2. Tell an interesting story
  3. Keep it short and sweet

Whether you are a professional leadership speaker in the Philippines or a student reciting a presentation, public speaking is not an easy task. Every public speaker aims to have their audiences leave their talks inspired, convinced, more informed, or more. In order to successfully achieve the goal of your speech or presentation, the first step is to grab your audience’s attention. Here are some tips to help you effectively capture and hold the attention of your audience during your next big speech.

Start strong and surprise the audience

Because of the generally short attention span of most people, it is crucial to spark the interest of your audience from the very beginning. One way to get their attention is to open with a striking and unexpected line or anecdote. Be as creative or entertaining as possible when creating the introduction of your speech, but also make sure that it relates to the main message. By the first few minutes of your speech, you want your audience to be on the edge of their seats with interest, ready to jump into the topic of discussion.

Tell an interesting story

After starting off with a bang, the next challenge is to hold the audience’s attention for the duration of your speech. A common mistake made by public speakers is to rely on facts and statistics when giving a speech. While these are important, a speech comprised entirely out of mind-numbing facts makes it incredibly dull.

To avoid this, incorporate captivating stories that can be connected to your presentation. Stories are far more effective in proving a point and convincing others than a recitation of statistics. Another strategy you could use to keep your grip on your audience’s attention is to share a personal story or experience that you know they can relate too. If you are a leadership speaker in the Philippines presenting to younger audiences, this strategy could be incredibly handy to use in your talks to keep them inspired and engaged.

Keep it short and sweet

Nobody likes a speech that goes on for hours. Keep your speech short while getting all of your points and messages across. However, it can sometimes be difficult to keep it short when there is so much to share and only one chance to do it. One tip to avoid having too long of a presentation is to state your main point or message early in the speech. Getting straight to the point lessens the chances of having audience members zoning out at any point of the speech.

Key Takeaway

Captivating your audience and holding their interest from beginning to end is easier said than done. The rule of thumb to keep in mind when giving a speech is to find a balance between getting straight to the point and making it interesting or entertaining for the audience at the same time.

10 Apr
Blog

Important Traits of the Objective Leadership Speaker in the Philippines

What are the important traits of the objective leadership speaker?

  1. Detail-oriented
  2. Self-awareness
  3. Good people-reader

A good leadership speaker in the Philippines needs to be objective in their approach to people. While they may seem to base their speeches on emotion and drive, it is also based on their observations of the human natures of their participants, of themselves, and their studying throughout the years.

When you decide to attend a leadership speaker’s talk, these are the important traits that will tell you he or she is objective.

Detail-oriented

Leadership speakers understand that objectivity requires credibility, and a big part of it is making sure all the details of their talks are completely correct.

Since speakers want to make sure they are truly correct, they will spend a lot of time researching the facts they plan to cite in their speeches. Second, they ask themselves critical questions about their work. They usually ask themselves if the stories and lessons they will discuss will lead to the results they desire.

You know a leadership speaker is detail-oriented when they sound sure of what they are saying.

Self-awareness

Objective leadership speakers, like life coaches in the Philippines, know their flaws because they fundamentally understand that everyone is born imperfect. Thus, it is important that everyone strives to become better by learning and practicing. They have a deep self-awareness of the strengths and weakness

You know a leadership speaker in the Philippines has an objective view of themselves when they openly talk about their mistakes. Unlike most people, they are not embarrassed to talk about it because it taught them important lessons worth sharing and it shows you how to avoid making the same mistake.

Since leadership speakers basically double as life coaches in the Philippines, they always aim to reform the characters of their audience and inspire them to let go of bad habits which are getting in the way of growth. People, including you, usually go their talks because you want to change in some way. To inspire people to become better, many objective leadership speakers have learned how to perfect their people-reading skills.

They understand that their participants are too scared to tell the whole truth of themselves. Others just give bits and pieces. Thus, speakers have learned to read what they showing instead of saying. Usually, they judge your personality based on these physical signs because they are clues of your emotional energy.

They understand that their participants are too scared to tell the whole truth of themselves. Others just give bits and pieces. Thus, speakers have learned to read what they showing instead of saying. Usually, they judge your personality based on these physical signs because they are clues of your emotional energy.

  • How they stand
  • If they hide their hands or not
  • Facial expression
  • Eyes

Once they have a good idea of who you are, they usually know how to appeal to you in a way that is transformative.

Key Takeaway

Good leadership speakers understand that you can only motivate someone when you see that person’s true self. To talk to their participants in a better manner, they explore different areas in relation to them and themselves. These traits will tell you if a leadership speaker is objective enough to do his or her job well.

03 Jan
Blog

Personality Development Philippines: Theories on How We Become Who We Are

What personality development theories can help us understand how we become who we are?

  1. Humanistic Theory
  2. Social cognitive theory
  3. “OCEAN” theory

As human beings, one of the biggest questions we consistently ask our individual selves is the question “Who am I?”.  When we are asked this question by people, such as leadership speakers in the Philippines, we usually go back and try to remember how our personalities are like. It has almost become a reflex, and for good reason.

Personality can be described as your individual’s consistent behaviors in terms of thinking and feeling. It’s what makes you “you”. Additionally, what makes it exciting and special is that your character can change. Who you are is constantly developing because of your social, emotional, and environmental experiences. No wonder, so many psychologists decided to dedicate their lives to studying how people tick.

In this article, you will see how the personality theories, developed by these researches, explains how you become who you are now.

Humanistic Theory

Humanistic psychologists have to be one of the most positive people around because their realm of study places a high faith on free will. Since humans are supposed to have free will, you can always change for the better and become the person you want to be.

If you feel like you can’t accomplish anything good now in adulthood, it is most like because your past made you feel that you have no control over your life. Maybe people bullied you with hurtful words. Maybe constantly failing subjects in college made you realize you are too dumb for your aspirations.

Since this theory is not very technical and focuses more on the individuality of a person, it is easy to apply in different situations. For example, most leadership speakers in the Philippines apply the humanistic perspective to their talks, even if they don’t know it. It is because becoming a better team leader means having to believe you can be one despite uncertainties.

Social cognitive theory

According to social cognitive theory, our personalities developed because we learned what is appropriate by observing the actions of other people first. Psychologists believe that our brains gather information from our social environment. Afterward, the learnings get stored and it starts influencing the way to interact with our peers. Overall, how we are now, is influenced by the people we hung around with while growing up.

When you apply social cognition to real life, it can be easy to see how influential your younger years can have on your adult character. For example, a person could have been a very happy kid but is now a depressed adult after facing so much criticism by his parents. Now, he wants to get better. So he decides to stop talking to his parents first, and focus his energy instead on meeting more positive people like a life coach in the Philippines.

“OCEAN” theory

According to this theory, your personality composes of a spectrum of 5 major characteristics

  • Openness to experience – A person’s willingness to explore new experiences and tendency towards out of the box thinking.
  • Conscientiousness – How you control your impulses and social behavior for the sake of goal fulfillment.
  • Extroversion – Extroverts recharge from social situations, while introverts recharge from alone time.
  • Agreeableness – How well you get along with others.
  • Neuroticism – Describes your emotional instability and tendency towards anxiety. This is a negative trait unlike the other four.

All of these together form the OCEAN spectrum. Each person, like you, naturally displayed one OCEAN trait more than others during early childhood. Just go to school, and you see how different kids can be. Some are overachievers because they have a high degree of conscientiousness, while some are hated by teachers over their classmates because they are very rowdy due to their high agreeableness. This theory can show both personal strengths and weaknesses. And as we grow up, we are pushed by society to develop our weaknesses.

Maybe you were a nervous kid back then, as you scored high in neuroticism. Now that you are an adult with many responsibilities, you can see that it is a bad trait to have, and so you decide to go to a confidence coach in the Philippines for help. Thanks to that person, you are a lot more confident and don’t crumble under pressure like before.

Key Takeaway

Our personalities are forever developing as we grow up. Because who we are can always change at any given time, it is important to know what factors in our lives are in charge of that. With these personality development theories, we start to see how one, having a low self-belief on our free will can stop us from pursuing positive things. Second, we see how the actions of our loved ones influence the way we act. Third, knowing what our personal weaknesses need to be developed can help us grow.

22 Dec
Speaking Engagements

Some of my talks in Multinational Companies

Linde Philippines 

A manufacturer and distributer of industrial, medical and specialty gases and provide a range of related services including the installation of on-site plants, gas equipment, pipelines and associated engineering services.

Topic: Day 1 “Evolve to Win. Lead the Change.” Day 2 “YOUnique” workshop

Note: I love how competitive Linde is. Their mantra is excellence and competition. I closed the meeting by sharing the secret to success according to the leadership book “The Leadership Challenge” – Stay in Love.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

A global healthcare company that is committed to helping people to do more, feel better and live longer.

Topic: “The 3 C’s of Leadership” for Managers

Note: The participants were branch managers of GSK. For added input, I did a survey with my doctor friends on what they look for in choosing the brand of medicine they will recommend. I shared my findings to them. The results were quite unexpected. Doctors’ relationships with medreps is far more important than the quality and price of the products they sell.

San Miguel Brewery 

A subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation, is the largest beer producer in the Philippines, with a market share of over 95%.

Topic: “YOUnique” workshop – to the sales team and the managers.

Note: San Miguel captured 96% of the beer market and according to their marketing team, they only rank second in logistics to the Military. The company is excellent to the highest degree, but the heads said that what they want to build more than the excellence of their people are their values. The right Values are what is missing in the marketplace today.

San Miguel Yamamura

Provides total packaging solutions across the globe. It’s a combination of the competencies of two recognized Asian brands – one of Southeast Asia’s biggest conglomerates, San Miguel Corporation, and Japan’s Nihon Yamamura Glass Company, Ltd.

Topic: All in for 2013!

Note: This conference was attended by 250 people from 10 countries. Each country’s CEO/Country Manager or representative was present. Needless to say, they were a tough crowd. That’s what practice does, if you practice your talk several times, it will be easier to deliver it. I shared about culture and the Mindset, the skillset, and the heartset of a leader. I’m happy that they were “All In” with my talk. We had a great 2 hours together.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) 

The oldest and 3rd largest bank in the Philippines.

Topic: Spoke to BPI’s preferred clients on “Personal Finance.”

Note: I spoke to the preferred clients of BPI… old and young people alike. One thing is for sure, whether you are young or old, rich or poor, money principles are the same for everyone. But the rules could be changed by the initiated if he/she is financially literate.

TV5

A major Filipino commercial television network

Topic: “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” for better communication and conflict management.

Note: This was an all out team alignment workshop that lasted until past 10:00pm. Trust is the most important quality of a team. For this seminar, we defined trust as “Being Naked” (not literally). It means you are willing to be vulnerable to your team. 

Abbott Laboratories

An American global pharmaceuticals & health care products operating in 130 countries.

Topic: “Leading a Sales Team”

Note: Abbott people are nice and they are open to new ideas. I shared how they can be more effective as an individual and as a team. By the way, the road going to Baguio (the venue) was all flooded that day because of a strong storm. It was very cold in Baguio Country Club, but when we started the session, the place heated up.

Universal Robina Corp (URC)

The leading branded convenience food and beverage company in the Philippines, and a major player in the Southeast Asian region and greater China.

Topic: a) “YOUnique” workshop to the top level management. b) “Training the Trainers” workshop to the trainers.

Note: My audience was the top level management of URC. Most of the bosses were there. I was careful not to offend anyone, so I started by saying that everything we would be doing in the session will be done in the spirit of fun. Next thing I know, we were making fun of each other. I had a great time with URC. URC is also notorious for being frugal, as the company is headed by the legendary John Gokongwei. i was teasing them that they are a 40 billion company, yet we are using a Karaoke. That speaks a lot about stewardship. It is not how we make money that will make us successful; it is how we make money and manage our resources that will make us and keep us successful.

Red Ribbon Bakeshop

A popular fast-food chain and bakery in the Philippines and the United States, offering a wide range of cakes and pastries.

Topic: “Think Big” – Bold Innovatate Gung-Ho

Note: Their theme was the X-Factor’s BIG3. I spoke several times to Red Ribbon to their commissary staff, then to their assistant managers, and lastly to their managers. Aside from the topic of thinking BIG, all throughout my talk, we were having FUN! Oh, I was also shocked at how may cakes they sell during Christmas.

Puregold

A giant retail chain of supermarkets in the Philippines with more than 200 stores nationwide.

Topic: Spoke several sessions to Puregold’s micro entrepreneurs on “Kilalanin any Sarili.”

Note: I enjoyed speaking to the micro entrepreneur clients of Puregold. In this event, I saw Puregold’s heart to serve. If you serve your customers and clients right, your business will never fail.

Unilab’s Innovitelle

The skincare line of Unilab, the global pharmaceutical entity with over P4 billion annual sales.

Topic: Entreleadership

Note: Wow! I thought I was in school teaching students. The staff of Innovitelle are very young. But this group of upstarts built this company to a 4 billion business. Young is now ‘In.’

Ascendas

Asia’s leading provider of business space solutions serving a global clientele of over 2,400 customers in 25 cities across 10 countries including Singapore, China, India, South Korea and Australia.

Topic: YOUnique “Understanding Others by Understanding YOU”

Note: One day of laughter, fun, and learning. A seminar needs to be fun. If it’s not fun, people won’t learn. At first, they were a bit serious. When the ice broke, I saw their wild side. A part of me wants to get back to being serious after seeing it.

29 Nov
Blog

Inspired Talks: Why You Should Practice Your Creativity

Why you should practice your creativity?

  1. You will become smarter
  2. You reach your goals faster
  3. You live with purpose

Creativity, as stated by many inspired talks and important figures will say, is not a moment. Rather, it is a process to be practiced. People who want to be creative will read literature and just think quietly about life every day.

Yet, a lot of people find these burdensome to do. They rather just stick to how they usually think, even if it is not helping them anymore. If you are one of these people, then these are the reasons why you should practice your creativity:

You will become smarter

Literature includes poetry, books, and short stories. Unlike the content you see online, these pieces of literature force you to read seemingly unconnected words and form important connections out of them. You are literally forced to think differently from the usual. Getting into this type of thinking is essential if you want to be creative.

Besides changing the way that you think, reading books outside your expertise increases your load of knowledge. The facts you read today may not help for present concerns at work or school. But in the future, you will remember and it will help you solve a difficult problem quicker than your peers. You will be thankful that you bothered to explore outside what you knew.

The great thing about this tip if you are not limited to any book genre. You can choose to go with fiction, self-improvement books made by life coaches in the Philippines, and more. It doesn’t matter. You are sure to find something new in each genre you choose to read for 30 minutes a day.

You reach your goals faster

If you think about it, the main reason why you want to be more creative is that you have a goal to reach. It doesn’t even have to be an artistic one. Maybe your goal is to find a new product to market in your company or if you’re a scientist, it could be what unique topic of research is viable to do.

Sometimes, we fall into a stump. We keep asking help from experts. We keep reading sources for useful information, such as inspired talks, but nothing creative comes into our mind. Maybe, it’s time to just be quiet and have a thinking session about your goal so far

To make your thinking session worthwhile, you can follow these tips:

  • Write down your stream of consciousness for 3 straight pages
  • Ask these questions in you hear:
    • What is the quickest step for progress towards my goal?
    • At what point of the creative process, am I currently?
    • What is scaring me from moving forward?

You live with purpose

Life coaches in the Philippines will keep reminding their clients that having purpose is one of the most important components to living a good life. Now, most people will find it hard to see the connection between creativity and purpose. Yet without a purpose, why would you bother thinking outside the box? If you start just thinking of a purpose to do something every day for one aspect of your life, like work, it soon becomes a habit. You find new creative perspectives in life every day.

Key Takeaway

Many people find it bothersome to practice your creativity. Yet, there will be times when our old way of thinking is not helpful anymore in different aspects of life such as work. When you actually take time to practice your creativity, you will be awarded with the benefits stated in this list.

16 Nov
Blog

How to Think Like a Leadership Speaker

How can you think like a leadership speaker?

  1. Prioritize serving others
  2. Show your integrity
  3. Always focus on what is important

Leadership speakers in the Philippines stand out because they have traits that people can’t help but notice. They have great self-confidence, speak clearly, and know how to make people take them seriously. They seem to have it all. A lot of people want to be like them because they know that those characteristics will help them be in different areas of life, such as school and work.

Sadly, a lot of us can’t seem to have those great traits no matter how hard we try. To become like them, you should also know how to think like a leadership speaker. To think like one, these are things you should do:

Prioritize serving others

Leadership speakers in the Philippines are one of the most selfless people around because they always prioritize serving their audience. They can use a seminar as a way to show off their achievements but they don’t. Each seminar is meant to help solve a common life problem, whether that would be personal finance, dealing with disorganization, etc. Speakers make sure their lessons will help solve the problems their listeners are facing.

A lot of people, most likely including you, prioritize your ego and interests, over other people.  Being egotistic as a leader will be your downfall. No one will listen to or follow anyone who just cares about his needs and will never listen to the opinion of his teammates. Thus, you should choose to be a servant just like leadership speakers for the ones under your care. You should know how to listen to them, be humble, and admit to your mistakes.

Show your integrity

Integrity refers to how strongly you stick with your morals and how honest you are. It is a trait that can be shown differently, depending on the situation. For example, a person with integrity at work will never take a coworker’s output and pretend that she did it. A coach in the Philippines should never take advantage of his clients

Leadership speakers need to show their integrity or authenticity at all times because their advice will never be taken seriously. They need to walk their talk. They show their authenticity by answering the questions and doubts of their audience as clearly and true as possible.

You can also do the same thing in real life. When your team members doubt your integrity and ask voice it to you, answer it and do not back down.

Always focus on what is important

Speakers and coaches in the Philippines succeed because they know what is worth focusing on when they talk. If they just keep rambling about things not related to the seminar they are hosting, audience members will start to see them badly. They speak clearly with focus because they already do with different matters in life.

If you are born scatter-brained, then focusing on what is important may take some practice. To prioritize better, practice getting into the habit of taking a step back and meditating whenever you see yourself getting distracted by different things like social media. Meditating daily has been proven to remove distracting thoughts from your brain.

Key Takeaway

Leadership speakers are admired by a lot of people because of the traits they have. They have self-confidence, speak clearly, and know to make people take them seriously. If you want to be like them so you can be better in different areas of life, then you should know how to think like them.