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I like the third
one because I am a Christian.
I was 20 when I started serving for the Lord.
I became a pastor at Pasay Church, one of the many notorious cities in the Philippines, as they
say.
The experience was fun and pain. It was fun
because I know that all the effort that I am doing was not done in vain for the reason that I am
doing it for the Lord. It was pain because in the pocket,
there was no
monetary satisfaction. The church was giving me
P1,000 per month, that is around $32 during that
time when others are earning $7 a day. This was my training ground and my battlefield.
I struggled.
It was a training ground indeed. I was young
but most of the members of the church was quite a
bit more matured so to say (I don't want to call
them old since I am the one they approached to
when personal problem arises, that makes me feel
much older). I learned how to communicate
effectively with people of different ages and
cultures. Being a pastor requires not only
speaking eloquently and clearly in front of many
members, but also listening. Lots and lots
of it. This was also my battlefield because
each day was a new challenge. There was no
room for mistake because at battle, one mistake
could cost you your life. Luckily, or so to
say gladly, I stayed as a pastor for 4 years (of
course, with the pain by my side, you know what I
mean).
Year 1995 when some of my batch mates shifted
their course in life. Some studied
criminology, wants to be a policeman. Some
married and stayed as a plain housewife or a plain
house-band. Some became farmers but others
stayed on the course pasturing churches. I
admired them.
I opted to become a salesman.
It was a tough decision because I have no
knowledge about how to sell and the first selling
experience I had was selling cook books.
Everyday I will go house to house, office to
office to offer my product. The pain came
back. But it is different now. It is
the pain of rejection.
Once again, I struggled.
My mentor was a Canadian. He was good.
He was very good. He taught me how to
sell. He showed me the difference between buying
something because you need to and not because you want
to. There is an old adage that says, "if
the master is good then the outcome would be a
good student".
Soon enough, I was handling
promotions and sales of books, teaching and
training new recruits, computing consignment
invoices and balancing inventories, assisting in
jeepney and territory organization and motivates
new people in the company.
I still continued selling cook books because I was
earning about P2,500 for just working 4 days in a
week. That is around $25 a day. My
earning was very good but the work was so
draining.
After about a year, I shifted my course in life
again simply because the company closed
down. I became a message handler, an
operator in a telecommunication company. It
is a very challenging work since I do not know how
to type and the job was to get client's message
accurately while he is talking and I am typing.
I began to love challenges.
And began to love my present job. I learned
how to type. I can even finish typing
client's messages before they can finish the
sentence. Also, through this job, I met She.
She was slim.
She was reading most of the time.
She was charming.
She was intelligent.
She enchanted me.
I married her, January 5, 2002 then married her
again, March 22, 2003. Those were the
happiest days of my life.
Before becoming a regular employee in every job in
the Philippines, there is a probationary period of
6 months. If you pass the evaluation period,
then you will be a regular employee. After 3
months of work, they made me a supervisor/trainer
and I accepted the job.
For just about a month of supervising, the company
merges with a much established telecommunication
company and seeing that I am still under the
probationary period, they sent me back as an
operator. I humbly accepted.
When I have done my 6 months in the company, they
promoted me again as a supervisor. I
accepted the job, again. On my 5th year in
the company, they made me a retail shop officer
handling one of the company's retail shops.
I was assigned at Tutuban Centermall I, Divisoria.
Year 2001 when the company offers an early
retirement. This is because pagers are not
selling anymore. Cell phones are now the new
trend. I accepted the offer.
I became a Financial Executive, an insurance agent
assigned
in bank branches and reporting directly to the
Branch Manager.
I deal
mostly with the bank's Valued Clients and High-end
Depositors.
Giving them free Financial Planning Service
to identify, quantify, and prioritize their needs;
study, design and present the tailored-fit
solutions whether it be an insurance product or a
bank product.
On my first year in the company, I received 2
awards. A rookie (for achieving a minimum of
500,000 worth of dollar account and a minimum of
200,000 peso account) and a president's award (for
achieving a minimum of 1,500,000 dollar account
and a minimum of 700,000 peso account).
On writing, I agonize over it—every word, every
sentence, every period, every comma, and every
punctuation. But, when I finally put the
last period, I make sure that it is pleasing to
read and readers can learn something from it.
I like strong words. I like to show
emotions. I like to use short sentences.
On books, I like books. I like to
read. I like books by Charles Swindoll,
Charles Stanley, Stephen Covey, Stephen King,
Scott Turow and many more.
Reading a book, any kind of book, I believe is a
learning process.
The book that I love most is the bible because it
is not just a book but the word of God. It
is the source of all knowledge and learning.
Here are my favorite verses:
"Grass withers and the flowers fall, but the
word of our God stands forever". Isaiah
40:8.
"God's blessings and calling are
irrevocable." Romans 11:29.
Life
now is still fun with my wife and son beside me.
Everyday is a learning process. The
pain? Well, it still comes every now and
then but I always remember what pastor Larry
Arienzano told me, "Reality is different from
the truth. Reality says, we are lacking but
the truth says, God will provide".--END
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