Leadership is about inspiring the next generation to succeed in life.
Here’s my message to the new Senior High Graduates of my Alma Mater
(RG HECHANOVA MEMORIAL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL) delivered on April 5, 2018.
Theme: MAG AARAL NG K12 : HANDA SA HAMON NG BUHAY
To our beloved Principal, to our committed teachers, to our hard working parents, guests, relatives, friends, and most importantly, to the graduating K-12 Class of 2018, good afternoon!
It is a great honour and privilege to be here with you this afternoon. My family is here with me too. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce them to you. We flew straight from Manila in order to witness this special occasion in your life and to personally share some life’s lessons I have learned along the way in my journey from childhood up to the present.
Your Graduation’s Theme is: Mag-aaral ng K-12: Handa sa Hamon ng Buhay.
Ano nga ba ang mga hamon na ating hinaharap sa buhay at gaano tayo ka handa sa pagsalubong nito?
Kung sa aton pa nga linguahe, ang iban sa aton kung indi maka agwanta sa mga pagtilaw, ang ginahambal nalang naton: patay kung patay ah, total law-ay!
Gusto mo nga mag give up nalang sa mga challenges sa kabuhi? How do we prepare ourselves to persevere and get through the challenges of life?
Ang iban sa aton ginapaagi nalang sa mga joke. Parehos sini oh:
Langga, kandila ka ba?
Bakit? Lumiliwanag ba ang buhay mo dahil sa akin?
Hindi! Gusto na sana kitang hipan para mawala ka na sa buhay ko.
Here’s another one:
Shabu ka ba?
Bakit, honey, nakaka addict ba ako sayo?
Hindi! Panira ka sa buhay ko!
During reunions, you would meet your High School classmates.
Hambalon mo sila: Ano work mo subong?
Ah, Chemist ah!
Ha? Daw wala ka man naka eskwela sa college?
Oo gani, amo na nga Chemist! Ke-Misis umaasa. 🙂
Joking aside, life is full of challenges and the real challenge is: how we choose to fight our daily battle.
The choice is ours.
You know guys? I grew up in the farm right at the back of Iloilo Memorial Park. Life was so simple, filled with green lush of nature. When the rain comes, we play with clear flowing waters in the pond and in the ricefield. Yes, it was a perfect picture of a simple life, with the abundance of nature. Yet, I grew up unsatisfied with what I saw and experienced.
For me, life is more than that. I thought we were poor. To be rich is living in the urban city - same with those that I saw on the television. I had a wrong perspective about life. My parents never educate us about this. What can I expect? They didn't finish Elementary. But guys, believe me, I love them. They were not aware of what I was going through.
So I had this poor-me perspective that I kept inside. I became insecure of others and about my future. On the other hand, this experience became my driving force to strive hard, to educate myself about life and to aspire for excellence in order to succeed. That’s what I believed.
In my travels to Southeast Asia, I once met a Cambodian who said this:
Chinese come over here in Cambodia to do business. Koreans come here to build churches. But, Filipinos come here to build people.
Do you know why? Most Filipinos in Cambodia are Educators 😉
See...education makes a difference. A big round of applause to our teachers here.
Knowing your purpose in life is the most important basis of every decision you make. No matter how hard it is to face those challenges around, having a purpose clears the pathway that would lead you to where you wanted to go.
According to Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook:
“Purpose is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is what creates true happiness.”
So this afternoon, I would like to share with you 5 principles to know your life’s purpose and stay on track with it (your life’s purpose) in order to succeed in life.
Principle #1
Dream Big Dreams
What do you really like to see happen in your life? What do you envision about yourself and family 10 years from now? Don’t settle for less. Most prople who achieve in life are those who have big dreams. Those people who, early on in their lives, started to paint a picture of what they wanted their future to look like, succeeded in reaching for it.
At this moment, maybe dreaming something big is quite impossible for you as you look at your family situation. Maybe you think that you don’t have the resources that you need. Maybe you’re thinking that success in education and later on in career in life is only for those who have the money.
Guys, you may have no money right now but there are lots of good people who surround you, there are lots of connections and ways to achieve your dreams. I have personally witnessed it myself. The past Valedictorians in this school:
* Lany: now a nurse in UK
* Vilma: an accountant in Manila
* Haris: an Engineer
* Hydie: an Accountant
These are just a few of those I got to know in this school. They’re not wealthy, but they dreamed big dreams.
When I was in grade school, I remember going with my father to the farm. I didn’t like working in the farm but I had no choice but to help my father. It was a good training ground for me to value hardwork and perseverance. Through those times with my father in the farm, I learned priceless lessons from him. I remembered he once said, “If you don’t like to do what I’m doing, you better study hard and get a degree so you can pursue whatever you want in life, unlike us, we have no choice but to keep doing this coz we didn't finish education.” Friends, I am not saying that to become a farmer is of less value than being an Engineer or whatever profession. My point here is, education is the key for us to pursue our dreams in life. You can still be a farmer but imagine the competency you would have, for example, if you finished agriculture or any course related to farming.
So when I was studying here in our beloved Alma Mater, I did my best to pursue excellence coz I really wanted to excel in my studies and in life.
In order to help both ends meet, I learned to sell some candies and vegetable ulam in the canteen. I would leave my paninda at the canteen and the end of the day I would get some income. So, I would have extra budget for my next items to sell. I felt good about it. I felt fulfilled. There were times that I helped my father sell vegetable in Iloilo Supermarket in the evening on weekends. On one occasion, I was so sleepy I lied down under the table on the sidewalk. But, it rained during that time while I was sleeping and I got soaked!. To warm myself, I sat down beside a charcoal stove. Oh, It’s still fresh in my memory up to this time. I pitied myself and my situation but looking back on that experience now, it somehow helped me to understand that life is not easy, it’s full of challenges. But the question is, how do we cope with these challenges?
Having the right perspective in life is crucial. Having the right perspective would help us respond properly to our situation.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can help change the world. “- Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa & Political Activist
Im thankful to God that I got what I dreamed of. I graduated with flying colors, not because I’m the best among my batch but for me, I reaped what I sow. I planted sacrifice and hardwork plus perseverance, I reaped the rewards of my effort. It cultivated in me the heart for learning and to keep dreaming and figuring out what my future would possibly be. I dreamed to have a bright future, have my own family and provide for all their needs. I learned later on in life that success is not about earning a lot of money but enjoying life as it should be, having good health, happy family and a real joy of helping others succeed in life too.
So these are very important to succeed in life:
* work hard
* Save more
* Have fun
* Give more
There’s a purpose why you are blessed with lots of resources. Now, the question is, how are you going to invest it? Invest it on something that will help educate the next generation. Look around you, look at the situation of our neighbours, of our society? Are you content with what you are seeing? How can you help improve lives of the members of our family, of our society? Foremost, of ourselves?
Principle #2
Learn to Prioritize
There are many opportunities out there as you pursue your dreams in life. What is it that you really love to do that would contribute to our society. Something you want to do that will help uplift your family and people around you.
Don’t be a jack of all trade. Know your strengths and focus on it. In High School, the love for learning especially in Mathematics and Science was developed in me and so I had a glimpse of what my future would be. When I graduated, I decided to take up Engineering because of the following reasons:
* I think I can thrive with it since I’m good at Math and Science
* I can be a businessman Engineer
* I could build my own company to employ more people thus I could help uplift the economy of our nation by helping provide a job for the unemployed
So I took up Computer Engineering because of the demand of this course during those days. Well, true enough, I excelled and enjoyed this course. But along the way, I found myself on the crossroads. This is the season in my life where I really searched for significance, purpose and meaning in my life.
I was contemplating.
Then, there’s this group of committed Engineering student leaders on campus who approached me and shared something that had a great impact in their lives. For me, I know I’m good enough. Im a good student and as long as I continue to study hard, I will get what I wanted in life. But you know what, guys, my perspective started to change as they shared this wonderful message that changed my view in life. I learned that in order to succeed in life, i need to personally put my faith in Jesus. Not religiously, but having a real personal relationship with him. So, on that very moment, I asked Jesus to enter my life, be the seated on the drivers seat of my life and be the one to lead me to the right direction. From that time on, God gave me wisdom to set my priorities right.
That my order of priorities in life as a student is:
* God
* Family
* Studies
* Hanging out with friends
So how does it look like now that I am a family man? Here’s the order of my priorities:
* God
* Family
* Job
I make sure that in everything I do, I put God first as I am reminded of Prov 4:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”
The third principle helps explain about it.
Principle #3
Pursue a balanced Life
Have the right priorities means having a balanced life.
Having a balance life means:
* study your lessons well, engage with classmates who can help you with the most challenging topics/lesson for you to learn
* Have fun, take time to have a break, watch movie or help your parents in the farm, house cleaning; or play some sports
* Join in any organizations/clubs with a community development-focused purpose
On one occasion, my classmates in this school and I agreed to go to the beach and skip classes. I know, this is not a good example. But, we had good memories and bonding beyond our academic life. Don’t copy it. Please get the principle: Have fun with friends while pursuing excellence in your studies.
The next principle will tell you more about this.
Principle #4
Be part of a Support Group
In college, I had three organization which helped developed my character and leadership skills.
These are:
1. ACES - Association of Computer Engineering Students. This is where I had much interaction with students in our department that value our academic program.
2. The Guild- the Official Student Publication of WIT. This is where we had good memories of staying late with co-staffers at night doing the lay-outing and proofreading of the articles for our School Paper (Like the Trailblazer)
4. CCC -where I learned to know more and follow Jesus and His direction for my life. This is where I learned about Time Management, Leadership Styles, How To Get Better Grades and Have More Fun, and to travel to different places to learn about life and how to help inspire those who seem to have no hope for their future. This is where I appreciated much about having an impact in the lives of others— to be other-centered.
This one I got from Citibank:
When you graduate in college:
* leverage on your alumni networks to find jobs, get mentored, and make new professional connections. This will create a support group that will surely help you on your new journey.
Principle #5
Utilize Your Road Map
Road Map contains landmarks, major signs & directions, including the details. Having a roadmap will help you go to the place you wanted to go.
Having a roadmap in life, will help you reach your destination.
In Manila, because I am not familiar of the area, I would always look at the google map. But now, we use an App called Waze. It’s very convenient for me to use it by just typing in the destination. It would lead me to that destination as fast as possible, avoiding the traffic. I need to pay attention to each instruction along the way whether I will make a u-turn, right turn or stay on the left. Once I miss it, it will redirect me to another route so I can still arrive to my destination, as fast as possible.
This is the importance of having a roadmap.
So, what is your roadmap?
In this life, there are lots of troubles, challenges, trials. No one is exempted. But we need a roadmap - The Bible. It contains God’s instructions on how to succeed in life.
Joshua 1:8 New International Version (NIV), says, “
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
See, God is reminding us to meditate His word, to obey it in order for us to succeed. And to understand His word, we need His wisdom to know, understand and apply it in order for us to succeed in life. God wants us to be successful. God loves us and He has a wonderful plan for our life. He wants us to experience abundant life — a life that is full and meaningful. We can only experience that through Jesus Christ. Last week, we commemorated Holy Week. We are reminded of what Jesus did on the cross for us. He died for you and me. So that we can have salvation from our sins through Him. We are supposed to suffer eternal damnation because of our sins, but because of God’s great love for us, He sent Jesus to die on the cross for you and me, my friend. It is not enough to know that He died on the cross for our sins. We need to accept His gift of forgiveness for you and me so we can have a personal relationship with God. We need to open our hearts to Him and ask Him to come into our life to be the one to lead us and guide us, to be the Lord of our lives. To be our road map.
You can pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you for forgiving my sins and for giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen!
If you prayed this prayer sincerely, you can be sure that He is now in your life. He is the Lord & Savior of your life, you have just started a personal relationship with Him. You can come to Him every moment, share your heart, your dreams, your aspirations. He Has a wonderful plan for your life, my friend.
It was October 2, 1996 when I surrendered my life, my plans, my dreams and my ambitions to God. I never thought that God will bring me this far. An insecure boy who grew in the farm, now a secure family man boldly proclaiming God’s inspiring messages among the college students across Southeast Asia.
When I was a boy, I was curious how do the other parts of the world look like. Now, I experience and witness with my very eyes, how beautiful indeed God’s wonderful creation is as I travel to different places and continents.
Education is the key. Pursue it. Don’t give up!
May you have the courage and the vision to pursue education as the key to succeed in life.
* Know your purpose
* Dream big dreams
* Learn to prioritize
* Be part of a Support Group
* Pursue a balanced life
* Utilize your Roadmap
Let your dreams set sail!
Mabuhay!
