Last Saturday, I was emotionally affected after reading the paper. There was a photo of a father holding the hand of his 12-year-old daughter. She was stabbed to death by an ex-con who was convicted of rape and robbery. He stepped out of prison three years ago because he won presidential clemency. Other than the 12-year-old girl, he also killed a teacher and a grandfather who tried to shield his granddaughter.
Two weeks ago, the mother of a friend, Arsenic Laurel, passed away while dancing during her Velada. A couple of months back, the wife of one of the architects I work with passed away with their unborn baby daughter. Talking to him the other day made me realize that life is short and that sometimes we take our blessings for granted.
A material world confuses us to the point that we don’t see our real blessing in life. Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, the quest to succeed can be at the expense of so many things in life.
I see many marriages of successful people crumble due to temptation. Some are even good friends of mine. Even though some people justify that mistakes do happen, one mistake can lead to the destruction of a marriage and a family. This has been a very frequent discussion among my friends. Over dinner, couples discuss as to what extent one will forgive if he makes that mistake. Of course, the men expect the wives to forgive. It’s a never ending debate.
When you see the life of people close to you end, it does pull you back. You tend to examine and rate yourself, taking into consideration many things that should be part of life’s success. You tend to ask yourself – Am I an 80 percent work, 20 percent family, and zero percent on spirituality and health? We may be on top and wealthy with all the material possessions, but at the expense of losing our family, our spiritual life and even our health. “Do the people I love, love me as well?” – quoting one of the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet.
Every day, we are challenged to balance our life, but we have to find ways to do it. Many of us who are blessed with a family and who do not need to work overseas just to survive are fortunate. And yet, there are those who take it for granted. They lose their families.
In last week’s column, I saluted Mr. Mang Inasal for his success. The column drew a lot of praises. Three billion pesos for a young man like Injap in seven years is remarkable. We saw him grow. From the first time we awarded him in Iloilo, he is still that same person today. A very young man with all that money can easily fall into temptation. But, he is still a very humble and simple person who flies back weekly to Iloilo to be with his family. Many say that “ang suwerte niya”. But, with great wealth, great responsibility comes with it.
Last month, Bo Sanchez gave a talk in our Youth Entrepreneurship summit. He and his companion, Alvin Barcelona, corrected the notion that being rich is bad. They delivered the important message that it is not bad to be wealthy and we must strive to do our best and become successful, so that we may be able to help others. Bo’s message basically punctuates what we have been saying in this column.
Go Negosyo inspires people to become successful as entrepreneurs or as individuals. We show and tell stories of people who face challenges and who win against all odds. We mount Caravans and Negosems (Negosyo Seminars) and we also produce a TV show. Thousands have attended and learned from our programs. But, in the midst of all the success, we wish that each one does not forget to love your spouse, to love your children, and to love your God.
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Today, PLDT SME Nation and Go Negosyo will be re-cognizing the MVP Bossings for 2010. They are the second batch of Bossings, who serve as entrepreneur role models to micro, young and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Congratulations to the category winners – Cecilio Pedro of Lamoiyan, Henry Lim Bon Liong of SL Agritech, Corazon Dayro Ong of CDO Foodsphere, Federico Moreno & Vina Morales of Ystilo Salon, Nelson & Siu Ping Par of PR Gaz Haus, Steve Benitez of Bo’s Coffee, Ray and Anais Lapid of R. Lapid’s Chicharon and BBQ, Jose Magsaysay Jr. of Potato Corner, Johnlu Koa of The French Baker, Sarabeth Salcedo of Baliwag, Jojo Claudio Jr. & Roberto Claudio of Toby’s Sports, Bam Aquino & Mark Ruiz for Hapinoy, and Annabella Wisniewski for Raintree Group.
We would also like to congratulate the winners of the special awards – Gov. Lray Villafuerte of CamSur Water Sports Complex, Jay Angala of Beer Below Zero, Dylan Wilk & Anna Meloto-Wilk of Gandang Kalikasan, Joey Qua & Rhet Eala of Collezione, Quark Henares of Blow Up Babies, Sennin Javellana of Crave Burger, and Johnny Que of Coffee Break.
Of course, we are also proud to congratulate the Go Negosyo Special Bossing awardees – Dean Pax Lapid of the Entrepreneurs School of Asia and Usec. Merly Cruz of the Department of Trade and Industry. They are the Go Negosyo enablers who have been helping Go Negosyo empower and educate more and more Filipinos to become the best that they could be, even in business. They are the Bossings who have devoted time, energy and expertise in reaching out to the Filipinos who are dedicated to Go Negosyo.
Congratulations to PLDT SME Nation, especially to the hardworking team of Eric Alberto headed by Kat Luna-Abelarde and Gabby Cui, for another remarkable batch of Bossings. We are indeed partners in pushing for a stronger Philippines through entrepreneurship.
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Contact me: feedback@gonegosyo.net or Joey Concepcion Facebook account. Visit www.gonegosyo.net. Watch the top rating entrep show GO NEGOSYO: Kaya Mo! in QTV, Saturday and Sunday 8-8:30 a.m., with replays in NBN every Tuesday 9:15-10:15 p.m. Get daily Go Negosyo Text Tips in your mobile phone by sending GONEGO to 2910.