Role call

A lot of people come up to me and say, "Rod, you’re always so positive. Do you ever get depressed?"

I normally give a polite smile but deep down, I am tempted to respond, "You gotta be kidding, right? Do I ever get depressed? Absolutely! Probably more than you do."

And it’s not like it lasts for a couple of hours or a day. Sometimes, I get into this down-in-the-dumps mode for weeks. When this happens, I normally switch to auto-pilot. I go through my days like a robot – I wake up, say a prayer, get out of bed, take a shower, dress up, eat breakfast, get in my car, turn on the radio, drive to the office, get to my desk, turn on the computer, answer e-mails, have a meeting with my staff, call people, sell TV spots, media values, and youth marketing solutions to clients, pass by a client’s cocktail or launch, go home by around 8 p.m., kiss my wife, eat dinner, play with our dog Bacon, go up to the room, surf the Net, watch TV, say a prayer, do a little reading and then sleep. The next day, it would be the same banana all over again. And you know, it’s difficult to do things while in a morose state of mind, even if the activities are routine.

But when the blues hit me, I have no choice. The world doesn’t stop for mopers. I just have to go through it. What does it all mean? Is this it? Will my life be defined by being a supplier of media values?

When this happens, I have a tendency to touch base with friends whom I feel have gotten their act together. In my most recent slump, I called on an old friend, fashion model and model entrepreneur Illac Diaz.

Most people know Illac as a true-to-life Zoolander hunk. He doesn’t need a Blue Steel or Magnum signature look, though. He looks good, period. And that’s how I knew him around five years ago – a good-looking guy who didn’t take himself seriously. As I got to know him, my perception of him changed a bit.

Illac genuinely believes in the dignity and capability of every person to be self-sufficient and an asset to society. And he is a true believer of that urban myth that social values can be mixed with business success. Recently, Illac has been in the papers being honored by various organizations for his visionary leadership and highly commendable work of combining business profitability and social responsibility. First, he established a dormitory for seamen who found themselves stuck in the not-so-pleasant Manila docks while in between transit or while waiting for their ships to sail. Before, these seamen would sleep just about anywhere and their living conditions were horrible. He built the dorm to provide the seamen decent and humane facilities (beds, TV, clean lavatories) while they were at port. He charges only a token fee but since there are a lot of seamen going in and out, his business is brisk. So he was able to combine the two – a socially relevant service to mankind while earning his keep.

Now, Illac is providing an inexpensive but viable alternative of building decent homes for the financially-challenged. He is introducing a new technology in the country that will allow people to have solid houses made out of indigenous materials, specifically, rice sacks and soil. With the technology that Illac is introducing, he can produce a house for the same amount of money that businessmen spend during a karaoke night-out.

During a breakfast meeting with him, Illac told me, "Rod, you don’t have to be down. You’re just in a slump and everyone goes through it. You’ve an important role in society. You write for a popular paper where you can be heard. Plus, you work for MTV, one of the most influential media brands in the world. Young people trust you guys. So the idea is just to use that influence and try to promote causes that will make this world a better place."

I told Illac that not everyone can think positively on a consistent basis. I know I don’t. And it gets frustrating because sometimes there’s nothing really major that’s bumming me.

He told me that the problem arises when people get too stuck in where they are and get too immersed in the details of their conditions, especially their financial condition. House mortgage, car loans, tuition fee – these are legitimate concerns indeed. He said, "If you get stuck with worrying about that, you’ll always end up depressed. What gifts do you have that you can offer to society? Everyone has gifts – it’s just that some people discover their gifts faster than others. There’s so much about our humanity that makes me so enthusiastic about life."

For Illac, people will be less depressed if they realize three important things: 1. the inherent beauty of the world and the multitude of things they can learn from it; 2. that they are capable of contributing something significantly positive to humanity, no matter how small it may seem to be; and 3. the ability to dream and take risks to achieve that dream.

"There’s more to life than having a job. You lose your job? Move on. The world is there for the picking. And the world is there to be improved. We’ve all been trained well in the Management 101 principle of ‘maximizing profit, minimizing cost’ to the point that this is all that matters. And if the money is not good, or we can’t buy what we want, we feel the whole world has crashed. But the liberating truth is this – profit ain’t everything, man! It’s good. It’s helpful. But it’s not the end. I know it sounds cliched but it cannot be repeated too often because it’s the truth."

I felt a lot lighter after that exchange. I realized that even if each day seemed to be the same banana, I didn’t just have a routine. I have an important role to play. And that role defines my life.

Life is like being in a theatrical play. We are given roles and we play these roles repeatedly. But each day is a different day, with different challenges. Lea Salonga played Miss Saigon for years. But I bet she wouldn’t call her Miss Saigon days routine even if she said the same lines over and over again, or did the same blocking day in and day out. Every day was a unique performance and every day she affected different people. In life, no two days are exactly the same no matter how similar they may be.

The world is changing every day. People are growing up, getting older. And yes, people are dying. You are growing old too and every second that passes is a moment closer to your death. Your role is a unique privilege. You can always earn back lost money. But you can never recover lost time.

Moral of the story? Find your role in life, perform it well, and love it. You’ll never know if it’s going to be your last performance.

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Thanks for your letters! You may e-mail me at rodnepo@yahoo.com.