YIELD by Chris Santos
After years of enjoying writing for the Jeepney Press centerfolds, sa wakas I’m back sa original column ko. Tadaima ! Ang sarap ng feeling to have a literary homecoming. So sana po JP readers that from now on, you can join me sa pasada ko dito sa YIELD. Ang layunin po ng column na ito ay bigyan kayo ng relevant tidbits tungkol sa mga aspekto ng makabagong pamumuhay. Be it finance editorials, motivational viewpoints, or current events. Headlines po na base sa makabuluhang balita ang bahagi na ito ng Jeepney Press. So, tara na, byahe 2011 na po tayo.
On motivation:
Syempre kapag bagong taon, hindi po maiiwasan ang usapan tungkol sa New Year’s resolutions. Pero karamihan sa atin hindi na nagbago ang paulit-ulit na resolution. Bakit nga ba minsan ang hirap tuparin ang mga pinangako sa sarili ? Well, for one, kasi sa sarili mo ginawa ang pangako mo so you can easily negotiate yourself out of it. Pero according to some time and goal management experts, isa sa pinakamabisang paraan to achieve a set goal is to make the actions required for it as a habit. Para hindi maging mahirap ang isang bagay kailangan nakasanayan mo na itong gawin. Once you establish the pattern, it's an automatic process na. Try to imagine if lahat ng habits mo are positive character building ones. Sa loob lang ng isang taon, you will definitely be a different person. A better one.
On investments:
Ang personal rule ko when it comes to investments these days is this: If you can't touch it, you don't own it. Kaya yang stock market na yan, with all the recent ponzi schemes and now the fiat currencies, ay iniiwasan ko. Sa ganang akin lang naman po. Pero kapag inisip mo, kahit nung makalumang panahon pa, dalawa lang naman talaga ang basehan ng personal wealth: real estate at precious metals. I think in the end, it all comes back to the basics kasi. Kapag binasa mo ang financial news recently, nagkakagulo sa ginto. Pero alam nyo ba na mas malaki ang opportunities for silver. Una, kasi it's undervalued pa. Panagalawa, it's both an industrial and precious metal. Pangatlo, alam niyo ba na mas kaunti ang silver na namimina compared sa ginto? Pero mas stable ang ginto kasi it's the most fundamental form of currency. Pero kahit na anong investment pa, ingat lang po lagi at dapat pinag-iisipan mabuti. Lalo na po ngayon, exit strategies are just as important as investment timing.
On life choices:
You are what you are through your choice alone. Kasi kapag inisip natin, ang buhay naman is just a collection of years, which is just sets of 12 months broken down to days, hours, minutes. So everytime na meron tayong gawin, nagdedesisyon tayo. If you spend an hour watching TV, ang ibig sabihin nagdesisyon ka na mas importante ang TV compared sa magbasa ka ng libro. If you spend an hour sa Facebook, you decided to that it's better to invest that time online than doing a creative hobby. Ganun lang yon. It all boils down to what we decide to do. And what we do, not what we think nor feel, dictates the results we produce in our lives. Hindi ko sinasabi na every second umarangkada tayo since we are just human and being so, kailangan din natin ng downtimes and decompression periods. Balance is key. Ang sa opinyon ko lang, dapat lang aware tayo that it's our choice how to live our days which will eventually be part of a more significant sum total called life!
Happy 2011 JP readers !!! Until our next byahe.
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K
by Amelia Iriarte Kohno
Thank you Lord, another New Year has come! For most of us, this is a time for celebration. I call mine a new leaf in my "tree of life."
Family and friends who know me often wonder why I can still smile, have the strength to face each day with a happy expression or simply accept things as they are in spite of my deteriorating health condition. True, I've been fighting cancer for almost eleven years and recent medical prognosis predicts three years, as my breast cancer has advanced to my bone marrow, other parts of my lymph nodes, even my liver, that at times I cannot help pouring out some fears and anxiety. But I have no regrets or resentments... instead I learned that everything that happens is for a reason. And why I have my blessings to cherish.
Right now, my great joy is seeing the heart-warming innocence of my grandchild, who will be three years old on February 16. Angie gives me the courage and the reason to believe that each day will be better. When doctors up-date me on my bad health, I just have to remember her playfully touching my bald head, calling me "Lola, I love you," whispers when asking for food after her parents say she had enough, or the quiet happiness I get when she lovingly hugs me. At her young age we already have secrets to share, mostly on her favorite things she knows I would gladly give her. When I am with her every moment counts. For me, one does not measure "life" on how many happy or sad times one had. All we have to do is value the joyful days when we are able to make others happy and in how much we work to make our lives better, or make us a better person. "God creates beautiful things in His time!"
I am sure I've had abundance in my life and I can only thank our dear God for all these. The simple pleasures of frolicking on a sandy beach, watching the sunrise, sunset, being able to smell the flowers, gaze at moonlit skies or starry nights, exchanging pleasantries with loved ones, or witnessing in wonder a new born lovingly cuddled by a mother, are some of the joyful moments.
Yes, it is in thanksgiving that I can see a new leaf, or a new day and continue doing what I love to do.... in believing that a great Creator has made all these beautiful things for us to enjoy. And I do face this new year believing all these truths. Let us welcome 2011 with fervent hope, inspired determination and true devotion to do good and make our world a better place to live!
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