Happy Father’s Day–a special song to you Dad!
It’s been more than 3 years since I came here. Being a father working and leaving away from the family is tough emotionally. Last year was great since I was able to spend it with them and at the same time celebrate my son, Justin Daniel’s 7th birthday last June 18. Oh, I want to greet my son a very happy birthday. I’m very proud of what you are and what you will become in the future. I love you Jed. I’m hoping and praying that I can bring them along here soon in Singapore. It’s been more than 2 years since my wife; Helen submitted her birth certificate to Manila City Hall for correction of her misspelled name as Hellen instead of just single L. We’ve been persistent to the point of not giving in to any form of extortion. I hope and pray that this culture of corruption will be minimized significantly, if not eradicated by the new administration of Philippines President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
Since I can’t celebrate both Father’s Day and my son’s 8th Birthday, I have to find some creative ways to celebrate. Bold and crazy as it may seem I decided to sing a special song from one of my favorite performers, “The King” Elvis Presley with the song Can’t Help Falling in Love. I shared this video just for my circle of friends in Facebook. Now, I’m sharing here in my blog. I remember singing this song way back in college during my stay at University of the Philippines Narra Residence Hall. Bold and crazy at that time, yes we are, we used to serenade (in our term “harana”) the ladies’ dormitories at Kamia and Sampaguita Residence Hall.
So to all fellow fathers (even mothers) who are away from home, never give up. There are countless of ways to keep you moving. It is ok once in a while to spend most of your time at work, but no too much, as stress can be fatal in your health in the long term. There are great things that you can’t find within the four corners of your office. Depending on your preference, you can join your school’s alumni organization, a sports club, or photography enthusiasts, or a religious or spiritual community, personal development group, and thousands of groups. In my part, I would like to thank my circle of friends from (CFC-SvFL) Servants for Family and Life (also CFC FFLers lah), from my Personal Excellence and Growth Meetup group, from internet marketing circle of Fabian Lim’s friends, fellow UPAAS (University of the Philippines Alumni Association Singapore), fellow PEN friends (Pinoy Entrepreneurs Night), and of course my fellow social media friends in Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin.
Personal Development Leadership – a Leader Without a Title
Myth – I can’t be a leader if I’m not at the top or a title is needed like CEO, president, manager, supervisor, team leader. This is definitely a fallacy. Anyone can definitely become a leader without a title needed. The most important thing you need to do before you can lead other people is to lead yourself first. To become a great leader, one must first become a great person. To attract other people you need to be attractive first.
Personal development leadership is challenging yourself to become someone more than mediocre. Here are some fundamental ideas that I can share with you to develop your personal leadership.
Continuous Learning – to quote the great Jim Rohn, “Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” So make it a habit to read books or in my case listen to audio books. I make sure that I visit the library as often as I can or when I have finished the books that I listened. Read books that will inspire you, strengthen your character and get to know and model the life story of the greatest leaders of our world.
Positive Affirmations – another habit that you can practice (though it may look weird) is to get in front of the mirror and talk to yourself with positive statements. In my case, I say to myself “I’m the best; I like myself “over and over again. It is best if you reinforce the statement with intense emotions. Gratitude is the best affirmation you can give to yourself. Everyday I make it habit to thank God for the day he had given me like when I finished working.
Book Journal – this is a must have. This is your book of life. Write down your insights, feelings, dreams, and goals, ideas from a seminar, mission, or purpose.
Visualize – close your eyes and envision yourself achieving your goals or the person you want to be by playing at your very best. The mind works best with pictures of yourself in the future.
Goal Setting – Goals make you move forward. It generates hope and positive energy. Definitely you need to write down your goals because it works. Believe that you can achieve and exercise concentration and focus. Begin with the end in mind.
Exercise – you need to sweat it out. Doing something physical each day boosts brain function and fuels high energy levels. Everyday I walk a kilometer long from office to the MRT train station. I do also a 2-3 kilometer jog just along our home vicinity and some occasional aerobics at my room.
Nutrition – your performance depends on the food you eat. Be organic as much as possible, eat green in moderate amounts. Just like an automobile you need to feed it with premium oil and gasoline to maintain its peak performance. Take nutritional supplements as necessary.
Here’s an experience that I want to share with you during one of my son, Justin Daniel, swimming lessons when he was still 5 years young. At that time his coach was teaching older batches of teenagers on how to jump on a 10 ft diving platform. The coach took him a lot of time convincing or motivating the student to jump. This is part of their training to conquer their fears. His coach noticed my son where we are on the other side of the pool to come over the platform and to show how a very young kid can jump over the platform. Without hesitation, Justin Daniel climbed up and jump down the board. This scene inspired the student to finally dive down the pool. My point is anyone can become a personal leader. You just have to start to conquer yourself first before you can influence others.
Here’s how Justin Daniel dived down the 10 ft deep swimming pool.
Do You Have What It Takes To Be Number One?
These past few days I was very inspired and blessed for the great results that I achieved. The kind of results that was once a dream. I’m referring to ranking way up to the top of Google search result page rank for selected keywords in just over three days. It is a skill that can be learned and developed through search engine optimization.
But what really inspired me the most and made me a very proud father was my son, Justin Daniel Castaneda‘s 3 medal awards. He received medals during their recognition day held at Guadalupe Seminary. For the second time, he was the first honor for Kidzone Learning School of Maysilo Plainview, Mandaluyong City.
It was also by accident that I managed to borrow audiobooks, What It Takes to Be #1 : Vince Lombardi on Leadership and Rich Like Them: My Door-To-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America’s Richest Neighborhoods from the National Library Singapore.
So what it really takes to be number 1?
First, above all things else are my humble praises, worship and prayers to Almighty God for all the blessings that I have presently. I always make sure to give thanks for the blessings and the future.
Second, looking back about how I managed to get on top of Google rankings, I spend my time with mentors or coaches who are themselves number one in their respective fields of expertise. I must say that hanging around with winners is a very big factor in achieving whatever you want to be in life.
Third, I must say that my hungry pursuit in personal development played an important key to become number 1. You see, if I improve myself ten times more imagine how much improvement will it give to my family and friends. It is the character that will make a difference as I communicate and interact with different people. I have to be very careful with the words that I share with my friends, it can either break me or inspire them to become better. Attitude is indeed everything. I am still very consistent to say ” I Love You” to my wife and my son.
