11 Sep
Be Younique Blog

Slap together your To Do’s

I’ll show you a list…Eggs, butter, cereal, cheese…

Here’s another one…Hammer, screwdriver, pliers, saw…

Chances are, if I asked you to continue the list, you would have added this on the first one – coffee, milk, bread, vegetables, etc. Your mind immediately associated the items to a grocery list. 

On the second list, you might have added these…nails, wrench, measuring tape, drill, etc. You associated the items to a tools list.

You created a pattern.

That’s the problem when we make To Do lists. We make a pattern so we tend to create a list from one order of priority and not the other. Let’s say my top priorities today are: prepare for my baby’s birthday, prepare an inspirational speech for a company, and go to the bank for deposits. How should I do my list? You slap them together. In other words, you assemble them in different sections.

Example:

To Do List – September 20, 2012

1) Go to the bank.

1.1 Set the time to deposit the money. 9:30-10:00am

2) Daughter’s birthday.

2.1 Order birthday cake

2.2 Order/Cook food

·      Spaghetti, Kare-kare, Puto, Dinuguan, Adobong Manok

2.3 Send Invitation

2.4 Buy Baloons

2.5 Buy Alexa a birthday dress.

3) Prepare for an inspirational talk.

3.1 Get the TNA (Training Needs Analysis) of the company.

3.2 Prepare Outline and content.

3.3 Finalize presentation

3.4 Make PowerPoint.

3.5 Send my personal biography and the PowerPoint to the company.

I learned more about being productive by reading the book of my friend Yeng Remulla: Productive Pinoy! Grab a copy of his book if you want practical tips on being productive.

Here’s a link to his site. 

http://www.productivepinoy.com/

10 Sep
Be Younique Blog

Do a To Do list

Its funny how we do To Do lists without action words.

A To Do list should be written like this.

Example:

To Do

Appointment with client

Errands

Date Day with Wife

What is your point of action?

Are you going to Call/Text/Email the client?

What are part of your errands

Where will you go on your date day

Instead put

To Do

Call client to set an appointment

Pay my phone bill, electric bill and water bill in Robinsons Mall.

Date Day with my wife to Luneta.

The Formula is…

To Do = Item + Action

23 Aug
Be Younique Blog, Books

Write a Book & Get Published

Note: This article is not about how to write a book but about how to publish one.

To get your book published, you can either find a major publisher/bookstore who will carry your title or self-publish. There are pros and cons, advantages and disadvantages to both. I won’t tell you which one is better because that depends on many factors, but in my case, I self-published my book.

Here’s my simplified “to do” list:

1) WRITE WRITE WRITE!!! Finish the book first.

2) Get a chief editor to edit the book.

  •  Find a second editor for re-editing and proof reading
  • I have 2 editors; some have 3 or more.

3) Get an animator if you have pictures or characters.

  • I have animal characters that involves a lot of drawing illustrations.

4) Do cover studies. Look for at least 3 artists for more options.

  • Choose the best cover designs that fits the concept of your book.
  • Show your choices to friends and with different groups of people to get their feedback. You might love a cover that people dislike and vice versa.

5) Get a layout artist.

  • Sometimes you can get 1 person to do multiple tasks. A book cover artist can also serve as your layout artist. Or an editor can be an artist as well.

6) Ask for blurbs from people you respect and admire.

  • A blurb is a promotional description, as found in the jacket of books.
  • These should be people who are known in an industry you want to reach out to as they will help you promote your book.

7) Find a good printing company.

  • Self-publishing a book has its advantages but may not be for everyone because it entails more capital. 
  • The printing company can also help you with copyright procedures.

8) Do a mock up of the book to see first what it would look like.

9) Get the necessary requirements.

  • The National Library
  • IPO (Intellectual Property Office)
  • Others

10) Print.

  • You must discern how many books you should print at the onset.
  • The more books you print, the less the cost. 1,000 copies might be a safe bet. (I printed 3,000 copies initially; I’ll have my second print this month at 5,000 copies)

11) Look for a distribution company who carry titles from self-published authors.

  • You will need to get approved by them first. My distributor brought my book to all major bookstores nationwide.

12) Pray that you become a Best-Selling Author.

  •  Aside from bookstores, the most effective marketing tools to sell books are online and thru speaking engagements.

If you get your book published and this article was helpful, I’ll appreciate it if you write me how it helped. Cheers!!!

21 Aug
Be Younique Blog, Blog, Business, Debt-Free

The Most Important Financial Principle

Contentment is the most important financial principle; if you don’t have it, you’ll never have true prosperity.

I had a turning point — an Aha moment last January when I watched a movie with my wife Kat and our two baby daughters, Gabbie and Alexa, 3 and 1 years old at that time. We watched the greatest movie ever produced, no movie has given me this kind of viewing experience…Alvin and the Chipmunks 3—Chipwrecked.

This is the third movie that I brought my babies to. My babies don’t last 30 minutes before they start running around. Some parents advised me to stock on unlimited popcorn or snacks to keep them in their seats. To my children, it never works. But during this particular moment, they sat throughout the whole movie. 

Gabbie: Daddy, they are so funny!

Me: Yes they are. Gabbie, I love you!

Gabbie: I love you too daddy.

Me: Can I have some popcorn?

Gabbie: No!!!

When the credits were shown and the movie concluded, I can’t help but start getting teary-eyed…not because of the movie, but because I felt so blessed. My teary eyes started sweating a lot. (They say real men don’t cry, their eyes just sweats, so my eyes were profusely sweating) I covered my face so that Kat won’t see me. She definitely won’t understand why I’m crying after watching Chipmunks and I’m not in the mood to explain.

The previous year, in 2010, we paid all our business debts. 2011 was recovery time for us. 2012 was different—how will I resurrect my dead dreams and start again afresh. In the movie house, I cried because I realized I was trying so hard to accomplish so much in the last decade of my life. I thought I would only be “content” and happy if I achieve my dreams, but little did I know that before you reach for your dreams, you need to have contentment first. I was sitting there and discovered that all I ever want in life is with me in the theatre…my wonderful family. What more could I ask for.

Contentment is the state of being happy regardless of your circumstances, whether you have much or little. A contented person sees the real issues that are worth fighting for. It frees you to enjoy life regardless of what you have, what you achieved, or what you have accumulated. You don’t keep up the appearance that you are rich when you’re not. You will be surprised that what you find valuable before don’t just matter anymore.

The flipside is that when you are contented, you will have all the reason to reach for your dreams, because a contented person dream dreams to benefit other people. It gave me a reason again to have grand dreams as a result of wanting to reach the top of the mountain together with my family.

Contentment is the most important, the most powerful financial principle. With it, you are already prosperous even before possessing prosperity; without it, you are in poverty even with all the financial prosperity that you possess.

One last thing, real contentment is found in a spiritual life, in our faith in God, that no matter what happens, he will guide our paths.

I can’t wait to watch Chipmunks 4; I’ll make sure to bring a truckload of tissue.

20 Aug
Be Younique Blog, Business

Give it your Best!

I heard this quote from a wise church leader, “We only have two things in this world…our best and 24 hours. So give your best every single day! If you can’t give it your best, then don’t do it. Never make a half-hearted commitment on any task in front of you.”

Andrew Carnegie says, “The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and will stand on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”

Are you still giving your best at work? Are you still giving your best in your business? Is your profession a necessary drudgery or is it an inspiring motivator?

No matter how small or insignificant you may think your work is: GIVE IT YOUR BEST!  It’s the one thing you can give that cannot be taken away from you.

Giving your best certainly pays off and will give you opportunities that weren’t there before. By using this principle, it places you at the top 10% where the road is never crowded.

14 Aug
Be Younique Blog, Business

San Juan Relief Goods Efforts

We should help in any way we can to those who are less fortunate than us. I am blessed to be part of a church who does just that. Victory Greenhills joined the San Juan relief efforts when the typhoon hit.

With Congressman JV Ejercito

With Mayor Guia Gomez of San Juan

San Juan Arena, drop-off point for the relief goods

-The immature guy who put horns on me is Bojo Bonifacio, our youth ministry head. But he can be mature sometimes. Lol! He does a great job grooming the next generation.

Commander in Chief of the relief goods operation at Victory Greenhills, Businessman turned Pastor Larry Uy

Stop Littering!!!

San Juan Flood

Naging Ukay-Ukay. Volunteers packing the goods to be distributed.

Victory Greenhills Volunteers

Victory Greenhills lead by Pastor Dennis Sy