Reposting this for emphasis. In our journey towards a richer life, towards financial freedom, we have our God as our companion, as our cheerleader, and ultimately our provider. I hope you believe that too.
For those who cannot view the IG pic and caption, here it is:
Here’s what I learned from TRC: God is overflowing with blessings and love that He wants to send to us. Why not just give it? Well, He has given us everything we have so far if you haven’t noticed! But for some, we have to ask, make lambing like a daddy’s girl does to her father. 😍😍😍 Isn’t it being too greedy? Not in our books. Why not let God be the judge huh? If it’s for the good of our lives and our soul He’ll give it. I believe! And you’re not depriving other people in case you ask and receive. Why? Because they’ve got their own! They just have to ask too. God is unli remember? Besides, you’re called upon to share your blessings, so I’m sharing this with you guys. Ask. Claim your richer life. Work. Invest. Receive. Enjoy Fri-yay! #TrulyRichClub https://goo.gl/7acB95
Everyday I get words of inspiration, faith reminders and the like via God’s Whispers of Bo Sanchez’s Truly Rich Club. I usually just share it in our Facebook and Instagram pages but this one hit a nerve, it hit me harder so this time, I’m sharing it with all of you, hoping to convince just one more Juan out there of what I believe in:
God wants you to prosper, to have an abundant life, and to use such abundant blessings to love your family and others. Overflowing blessings are in store for you, you just have to ask, call the hotline, ask for express delivery. Work hard, work smart, pray harder.
I believe this healthy faithful mindset about money and about riches is crucial if we are to pursue the road to financial freedom. Not just because we want to, not just because we have to, not just because we can, but because we are made to, we are meant to. Because our God wants us to.
I seldom post about basketball so bear with me this time. You know, being on the basketball bench is among my dream jobs but not as what you probably think. Sharing with you my own starting 5 — some insights on business and money from the GSW journey, before the championship hangover dies down.
If you’ve been following the NBA, this off-season is going nuts, probably among the busiest for many teams as they scramble to draft, to trade and to rebuild their teams. Why? Because they want to stay competitive, and have a chance at beating the Warriors. The team’s success trajectory has been rocketing upward the past 5 seasons or so because of their new formula. Before we had Star Players, then Power Duos, then daunted The Big Threes, and now it seems 3 superstars are no longer enough. Or so it seems.
Well GSW has their “death lineup” and probably that’s what other teams are trying to build too. But in reality, GSW’s success is way beyond that. Basketball has always been and will always be a team support. You need 5 on the floor with great chemistry, and 7 more on the bench who are ready anytime their number is called. Plus the coaching staff, trainers, ball boys, etc. Enough of basketball, calling now the first 5:
1. TWEAKING THE SUCCESS FORMULA
GSW franchise has been struggling for so long, having won their last championship in 1975 prior to the one in 2015. 40 years. With the change in ownership, one who is venture capitalist, management induced more math and science in their approach. They found that the shooting percentage of long 2s and 3s are no very far apart, so they thought, instead of shooting long 2s, why not step back a bit more and shoot 3s instead. Almost same chances of going in, but you score 50% more in each converted possession.
And the rest is history. Step back a bit more you say? In comes Steph Curry who has been struggling in his rookie years due to injuries. They built a team around him, adding his Splash brother duo Klay Thompson, and they both mastered the 3 point range, and even way beyond that.
Lesson: Not everything needs a overhaul. Sometimes, a small tweak can do the trick. Like cooking, slowly perfecting the recipe with minute adjustments in ingredients and condiments. Sometimes, Juan only needs to step back to see the bigger picture, especially when we’re so engrossed with the daily minute details of life. Step back, see the bigger picture, know where you’re headed, identify opportunities and areas for improvement.
2. GOING OUT OF THE BOX
Traditional basketball always had 5 positions on the court — Point Guard (PG), Small Guard (SG), Forward (F), Power Forward (PF) and Center (C). When LeBron came to the league, it slowly changed because that monster-of-an-athlete can play all lineups! #Respect.
So does GSW’s “Death Lineup.” Playing small ball, the tallest among the 5 on the floor can also run fastbreaks, bring the ball, set plays and screens, and of course shoot 3s. This has drastically changed the game because other teams who are used to the 5 old positions encounter a serious mismatch when playing against GSW — they tend to be too big, too slow and can’t defend the 3s. Either they try to match the small ball death lineup, or stick to what they have been used to, stick to the plan –with little to no success.
Lesson: Uber, Grab, AirBnB, Spotify, Amazon,Tesla,Facebook and many more. These are all disruptive technologies, out of the box businesses, led by visionary founders. Before, we were skeptic and used to ask: who in his right mind would pay for that?!! And yet, they changed the dynamics of the industries they entered. Still nurturing that silly counter intuitive business idea? Why not? It doesn’t have to be as big as world changing technology. It can be as simple as an out-of-the-box promo, campaign or product variant. Like Chooks-to-Go, lechon manok na walang sauce?!! At this day and age, out-of-the-box can win you championships and leave competition struggling to catch up.
3. KEEP FAITH, KEEP FOCUSED
As Steph’s career and fame was rising, he reportedly got a shoe contract offer from the leading global brand with a swoosh. Chance of a lifetime?!? Being a devout Christian, SC30 wanted a biblical quote in the shoe: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phi. 4:13). Suffice to say, the negotiations did not push through. Eventually, an upcoming brand UA took on the Curry’s demands, and that has catapulted the brand to global status ever since.
Lesson: Offers and opportunities will come and go, but Juan should not compromise his faith, his deepest beliefs, his integrity just for momentary monetary gain. Have faith, keep faith. God wants you to be rich, but it doesn’t mean you grab all the offers that come your way. Weigh them in your conscience — is this aligned with what you believe in? Just keep shooting, just keep on investing. Harvest is coming.
Speaking of harvest time, Steph Curry got ~$44M in his last 4 years of playing, making him the 81st highest paid player during that time. 81st?!?! Yup, when he plays and contributes more compared to probably 3/4 of the first 80 players who get paid more. 81st despite being arguably among the top 10 players in terms of positive contribution to the team. 81st despite helping the team reach the NBA Finals in 3 out of those 4 years, and win the NBA championship in 2 out of those 4 years.
You might say but $11M annually is already a lot?!? For us mere mortals it is more than enough, but for NBA Superstars, it is very small. It is the salary of role players, not team stars. When asked about this, he said:
It’s what you got and how you take care of it. Feeling underpaid? There’s no harm in looking for greener pastures. We all want that. But take note that most of us also feel underpaid but don’t have the business results to show that we actually deserve more.
Lesson: Focus on your own money journey. Focus on growing your own net worth. Don’t be intimated by those who post their stock portfolio gains on Facebook, focus on growing your own portfolio, on improving your trade. Most of you are probably richer than me and I don’t mind. I’m focused with growing my wealth (which I’ve grown 600x in the past 10 years), on reaching my fullest potential, on claiming all the abundance that my God has in store for me. Don’t wait to have more money before you start managing it. Manage and take care of what you have right now, and soon you’ll have more.
4. BRING OTHERS WITH YOU
Steph is harvesting what he planted years ago, about to get $40M again, but this time annually for the next 5 years, not total in 4 years. Kevin Durant meanwhile is getting himself a pay cut this coming season to enable the team to give more income to other players without exceeding the salary cap that NBA mandates to each team. LeBron does not sign long term contracts and he’s usually the last to finalize his contract, to give leeway to management to offer higher salaries to teammates.
These stars very well know that they earn more than enough (I hope they’re investing too), and they also know that they will need reliable and happy teammates if they want to keep on winning championships. As such, they know how to share their blessings.
Lesson: Give cheerfully and you shall receive it back sevenfold. The journey to wealth need not be a greedy journey. In life we don’t have salary caps: you getting wealthy doesn’t mean someone is getting poorer. That’s a wrong mindset. In fact, all of us can become wealthy together, as long as we know how to create value. You create value, you create wealth. If you know of a way to have a richer life, go for it! Then,
5. ROLL WITH MINE
If you heard Moana’s song, there’s a line which goes “I know everybody on this island has role on this island / So maybe I can roll with mine.” Yes the Death Lineup is crucial to GSW success but they can only do so much. The role players, the super subs need to pull their own weights too. The system of GSW of sharing the ball, constant movement, multiple screens and selfless basketball is very conducive for role players to also contribute. But without the system, without the sharing mindset, without the team mindset, championships will be hard to come by. Ask The Beard, LBJ and Russ.
The likes of McGee, Clark, McAdoo, West, Livingston, they contribute quality minutes because of the mindset and discipline of the team. Sometimes, when the stars are having off-nights, the role players never cease to provide the energy, the defense to give the team better chances of winning. Getting to NBA is no easy feat so it follows that all of them are world class athletes in their own right. But it takes a good consistent system, a team mindset, selfless basketball to bring out these overflowing talents through open shots, scoring opportunities, confidence-boosters eventually leading to wins. (Side note: This is also what I like with Pop and the SA Spurs).
And don’t forget the crowd, the “Roaracle” (where many are also Pinoys), who provide the juice, the atmosphere, the homecrowd which has an intangible invaluable impact to the games. As their hashtag goes, #StrengthInNumbers.
Lesson: There’s no “I” in “TEAM”. So if you have a team, aside from bringing them to richer lives as well, you bring out the best in them. Successful entrepreneurs did not make it on their own. They delegated certain roles, outsourced processes that are not their core expertise, trusted teammates and suppliers. Juan can’t do it all, he has to have reliable teammates and support systems. Don’t forget your inner circle, your family. Value them. take care of them.
Constantly tweak and improve your formula for success, dare to go out of the box, keep your faith and your focus to your goal, bring others with you, value the various roles in your business and in life. Congrats Dubs! #StrengthInNumbers
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I usually get the question: “What’s a good business nowadays?”
Then my usual reply is: “What are you good at?”
There are many businesses out there, everyday a new business idea is born. Juan may franchise left and right, start his own food business, render services, person-to-person selling, networking, digital marketing, online selling, buy and sell, distributorship, crowdfunding, build an app etc. But at the end of the day, not every Juan is honed and raised to be a businessman or entrepreneur. And not all businesses are suitable for any Juan. So back to the question,
What are you good at? I ask myself this question every day, looking for new business ideas to try. To add to my passive income streams.
I recently shared below image with our various social media. This is an excerpt from Bo Sanchez’s Truly Rich Club invitation:
What’s a good business idea? You might want to ask yourself, what are you good at? What’s your gift? What’s your passion?
What is it that you want to do right now, something you will not get bored doing, an alternative reality compared to being employed and stuck in the office 8am-5pm (plus dreading Mondays)? What’s your gift that you can share with the world? Don’t say you don’t have a talent or gift because we all do. You just have to be more observant and attuned with yourself.
Side comment: I’m still holding on to my ideal day of visiting my resto / shop / farm while trading in the stock market.
YOUR PASSION, YOUR GIFT
Yes, the money to start a business is part of the equation, part of the 3Ps to start a business (puhunan) but so is your passion, your gift (a.k.a your product). It is important that you enter a business you’re passionate about because being in business is not easy. Therefore you’ll need the stick-to-it-tiveness and perseverance. If you don’t like what you’re doing, then what are the chances that you’ll work doubly hard to make the business succeed? And if something is your passion, chances are you have an above average knowledge about it, or you are very much open and excited to learn new things about it. Possibly you spent 10,000 hours or more with it therefore making you an expert and outlier in that specific field.
In the banking industry (or maybe in others too), after employees resign / retire from their companies, they put up businesses related to what they have been doing as employees. They put up agencies, service providers, consultancy etc. and sometimes they even end up as business partners (no longer an employee) to their former employers. That’s passion, gift and know-how turned into a business. Francis Kong and Bo Sanchez love to talk and share wisdom and that’s mainly their line of business.
WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS
After soul searching what your passion and gift is, connect it with what the world needs. How can people benefit from what you have to offer? How can people derive value from your gifts and skills? Then you monetize your gift, skill or passion as you deliver it to the people who will find it valuable. Sometimes it’s a matter of finding your niche. You don’t have to serve the totality of humanity, you just have to find a sustainable segment to offer your business to.
I like how a cellphone brand is penetrating its niche, focused on being a “selfie expert.”. It’s not locking horns and colliding head on with the giants Apple and Samsung, it’s focused on its niche. It doesn’t boast of processors, cool features etc, just that a selfie expert camera and I hear it has a very good camera indeed (perfect for selfies). They’re focused on targeting those who are fond of taking selfies. Focus on what you do best, highlight it as your value proposition, as your differentiating factor.
PEOPLE HAVE MONEY
Make no mistake. People have money, even here in the Philippines. As long as they find your product or service worth the price, they will buy it. Steve Jobs used to say that people don’t know what they want until you show it to them. We are now at the age of Facebook, Uber, Spotify, NetFlix, Amazon, AirBnB, etc. Before people were skeptic, unconvinced if there is a market for car-owners who would want to share their vehicles or their private homes with total strangers. Or whether there are people who were willing to pay for music and video streaming on demand. Before we used to just watch them on TV, play on our music players (or download them illegally) but now, people are actually paying for such services. Convenience. On the go. Service on demand. People look for value, for benefit, and are willing to pay for it. If you truly believe in your concept, go for it. Improve it, nurture it, offer it to the world.
Look within you, ask yourself what you have to offer, find a way to monetize it, create a value proposition, offer it to the world. Be a social enterprise — do good while doing well. Rinse and repeat. Goodluck!
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Truly Rich Club is Bo Sanchez’s way of sharing his gifts to the people, doing good while doing well. Who knows, you might find inspiration in his business model? PhilCrowd is another up and coming business model, a social enterprise, a crowdfunding platform. Check them out here.
This is more of a reflection and pep talk really than educational but I hope we still gain an insight or two about it. I read T. Harv Eker’s The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind and I’ve been meaning to (1) write a good read article about it; and (2) reread the ebook. But for now…
Among the principles Eker shared in the book is that those who have a poor and poverty mindset always feel like victims while those who have a millionaire mind take charge, they know they can do something about it. And they act, they don’t just whine and rant forever.
What triggered this pep talk and challenge of mine are two things: (1) cab drivers picketing and protesting since Uber and Grab are allegedly taking away their livelihood; and (2) the Kadamay group taking-over unoccupied housing units and claiming it as theirs from now on.
Disclaimer first, I’m pro-poor, we used to be poor but I’m not pro-forever-poor. Especially in mindset. I’d rather fight than play the helpless choice-less victim (as if).
At many points in our lives we have become victims. But there are some of us who have overcome such victimized situations. Some choose to stay with it, romanticize it, as if being a victim and being poor are good things and as if they can play such card for the rest of their lives.
VICTIM OF TECHNOLOGY?
What do I mean by playing the victim? Cab drivers protest unfair competition or that ride-sharing apps have significantly lessened their income. We must realize that technology is here to disrupt the status quo, it will always challenge the what-is, and if we don’t cope, sooner or later it will take over our jobs. Accept it. Ride sharing apps, driverless cars, automation, online transactions, A.I.. Soon technology will replace us in our jobs. What to do? Cry foul? Folks, the world is still and will always be survival of the fittest.
Ride sharing apps offer competitive pricing, newer cars, convenience, and drivers who are respectful and careful (in general) because they don’t want to get a low rating from passengers or penalties from the apps. They don’t bargain or contract with customers on pricing (again in general), they don’t choose where to go, and they don’t complain whether it’s traffic or what not. They’re neither choosy nor isnabero. They just drive. People pay a premium for quality service. Sadly that’s not the prevailing perception about cab drivers. So don’t be surprised if suddenly they are losing market share.
By all means the government should ensure fair competition and balance the interests of the riding public with the drivers. But commuters themselves have made the choice: they prefer technologically-driven apps (pun intended) that provide relatively safer, convenient and premium service.
So don’t complain as if technology or the government made it unfair for you. These are free market forces and this country is a democracy (at least the last time I checked). Instead, up your game. Improve your service, your vehicle, your attitude. We’re all affected but not all of us stay affected. Don’t play the victim, take charge. If you’re a cab, enroll your vehicle in GrabTaxi. If you’re an operator, why not allot a new vehicle or two for Uber. I’m sure many entrepreneurial taxi operators have done this. Let’s lessen the rants and protests and take action. Technology and modernization are here to stay. If you don’t evolve you die. If you keep on playing the victim, you die poor.
And oh don’t get me started on modernizing our iconic yet should-be-retired public jeepneys. Grrr. Shaking my head.
VICTIM OF GOVERNMENT INACTION
Not really sure what some people expect from the government. Seriously. Jobs served in a platter? Free housing? Boundless opportunities knocking on your door? etc. There are those who blame the government for their lack of houses. Or blame the government if they get evicted in a land that’s not theirs to begin with, given that they’ve been occupying such land for decades. Just a reminder folks, length of stay in a place you don’t own doesn’t make such place your own.
They got tired of waiting for their turn on mass housing units so they took over the unoccupied ones. By all means the government is to blame for the slow action (or inaction?) in providing mass housing to those who deserve it. But storming the otherwise peaceful communities, claiming unoccupied houses as their own is not the best course of action either. They got tired of playing the victim so they acted, but they acted in victimizing other people and communities. Great. Pressure the government all you want but don’t invade territories. Unless you’re from another country fond of invading territories?
Smash and crush that poverty mentality!!!
And if you hear some interviews, they sounded like victims, those who got the shorter straw, as if the whole world conspired to keep them poor and homeless. I’m not mad at them personally, I don’t know their circumstances and how they ended up where they are. But I don’t agree with what they did. 100%.
By all means demand for a good break, a fresh start from the government, a decent job, a decent housing. Sure. But don’t do something illegal. Trespassing. Anarchy. And while waiting for the slow government, take charge. Do something. Fight the good fight, look for a job, stop having sex when bored and don’t make lots of babies you can’t feed. Stop blaming the government for lack of dole outs. Save. Get by. Don’t stop schooling if you can. Don’t start a family without stable income. Go home to your provinces. Stop waiting for the government to rescue you, especially the Philippine government.
Then last night I watched MMK about 7 siblings (played by Bugoy Drilon etc) who were abandoned by their parents (who succumbed to playing victims) yet the siblings managed to turn their lives around, one day at a time. Together. Without doing anything illegal, without anarchy. They’re all successful now, working locally and abroad because though they were financially poor, they didn’t remain victims of circumstance, they fought the good fight, and they had a millionaire mindset. More than most of us do.
It’s not your fault to be born poor but it’s your fault if you die poor. Not the technology, not the slow government. Instead of being angry or whining, this should light a flame in you, a desire to be successful, a desire for a richer life, an all consuming drive to get yourself out of poverty. No matter what life throws at you. Sorry I’m not sorry. It’s okay to feel sorry for yourself from time to time but not your whole life. Stop playing the victim. Take charge of your life. Adapt, cope, do something, legally.
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To say that Japan was #JaFun is a gross understatement, plus it’s cliché. Been to very few countries really such as Philippines, Singapore (2x), Malaysia (KL and Legoland), Hong Kong then Japan. Japan is by far our favorite country, my charitable Ilocana and I.
I know you might say, of course, with the short roster of countries I’ve been, Japan is definitely the richest and most developed. I know, I know, but still, for us, Japan is very far in terms of beauty, development, culture and atmosphere possibly even versus countries I’ve never been. I’m imagining and expecting I will like it more than Europe or US (perhaps). Or maybe I’m just still on a high.
Japan is beautiful, efficient, elegant, clean, cool, hi-tech, very advanced, thoughtful, intelligent, culturally-rich, organized. The Japanese are very polite, respectful, helpful, law-abiding, beautiful. We only saw a few Filipinos in Japan maybe that’s why there were very few pasaway, if any. Sad to say, Pinoys are among the pasaways in some countries, jaywalking, littering, noisy, blocking the way in escalators etc. (together with some other Asian countries).
Random restaurant.
We were mesmerized by the beautiful and clean surroundings, the efficient mass transport, the timely shinkansen and other trains (if there are few delays, they are still accurate on how long the delay will be). The snow, the mix of both urban and rural, beautiful buildings, timeless temples, people obeying traffic signs, people lining up in train stations, remote controlled lights, orderly road constructions, warm toilet seats, various bidet options, microwaves with no rotating plates, the one press washing machine that adds its own water, the rosy cheeks of kawaii (cute) kids, the various winter apparel, the lack of traffic jams, cute school girls wearing skirts in the freezing weather (not as short as Sailor Moon’s though), the many vending machines, and of course the yummy food. Ramen, sushi, rice, katsu, bento boxes, seafood, KOBE BEEF! OMG KOBE BEEF. Melts in your mouth. Not overrated. Plus the relatively weird ones too (from a Pinoy perspective) like octopus, eels, scallops, and JPY1,000 slice of melon.
Baby octopus with a surprise. It’s yummy!
Anyway…
Let me share some travel tips and pics for those who also want to see the Land of the Rising Sun! Note that I will also be providing a summary of our itinerary but since this is Japan, there are countless destinations to choose from and countless resources from Google.
Takoyaki. Octopus balls. No apostrophe after octopus.
ESSENTIAL 1: JAPAN RAIL PASS
We really wanted to try the bullet trains (shinkansen) in Japan, and since our flights are to and from Osaka (Kansai airport via Cebu Pacific), we built our itinerary around using the trains and the shinkansen. We also wanted to make a brief stop in Tokyo, and possibly Kyoto, Nara and Kobe.
Enter Japan Rail (JR) Pass, and we got the 7-day pass since most travel sites suggest this for those who will go to Tokyo from Osaka and vice versa. It is only meant for tourists traveling to Japan, and Juan can only buy it outside of Japan (that’s why we’re having second thoughts migrating to Japan since there is no JR Pass for locals). As if. The catch is you can only use it for JR Lines and not for private train lines or bus etc. Still, we decided to avail, knowing that the JR lines are extensive enough for our needs.
One of the many shinkansen.
We got ours through Flytpack (they have an office in BGC) for PHP12,567 per person. Yes, it’s quite expensive, but as you’ll see later on, we were able to maximize it and save a lot of money in the process, and besides this is Japan so almost everything is expensive relative to the Philippines. JTB Philippines is another option for you, and there are other accredited agencies who sell locally but we find Flytpack cheaper. Buy the voucher here locally (you need actual voucher, not something you print on your own online), and exchange it in select JR stations all over Japan.
Todaiji. The house of the Daibutsu.This picture does’t give justice to how big the Buddha really is.
Based on my computation, our total fare expense (excluding airfare) amounted to JPY57,260 per person! Of which, JPY55,640 was covered by our JR Pass (equivalent to PHP24,482). So we saved PHP11,915 per person (detailed in PDF file below).Sulit! Plus, you no longer have to line up and buy tickets every time. Juan can also avail of other day passes in various train loops (Tokyo Day Pass or in Osaka), or their ICOCA card, but for me, the JR Pass is something worth considering (especially if you have long distance travels like Tokyo to Osaka and v.v.
ESSENTIAL 2: MOBILE INTERNET
Juan will get lost somehow somewhere in Japan. The Japanese are very helpful and polite, but they love their own language that much that they prefer to use it more than English. Sure they can understand English, and the train signage / directions are translated in English from time to time, but most of time, Juan will have to deal with text written in Japanese. Your key when you get lost is mobile internet. Google maps, Google search, Hyperdia.com for train schedules and fares, etc, and of course, for your real time Facebook and Instagram posts and videos. There are many pocket WiFi for rent when you get to the airport, some AirBnB hosts also offer pocket WiFi, but since we bought our JR pass in Flytpack, we availed of their pocket Wi-Fi / powerbank as well. It’s PHP280 per day but we got 2 days free since we availed of the JR Pass from them so we only paid for 5 extra days. Connection is fast and very reliable, even in subways underground or in mountains filled with snow. No regrets.
Another benefit of mobile internet in hindsight, aside from navigation, is entertainment so that you don’t get bored or inip especially if you’re lining up in theme parks for entrance tickets or for rides.
Snow!!! Gala Yuzawa Snow Ski Resort. They have discounts for JP Rail Pass holders.
ESSENTIAL 3: TIMEZONE, LANGUAGE, PRICING AND WEATHER
Japan is ahead of the Philippine time by 1 hour, so people are already rushing (through trains or biking) by 6am in Japan while in the Philippines, it’s only 5am (but yeah we’re rushing too because of our lousy transport system, sorry for the negativity). There’s very few people on the streets (especially in Okubo, Tokyo and Shin-Osaka by 7pm whereas people are still out, commuting in the Philippines at the equivalent 6pm).
Learning a bit of Nihongo will help but not a must. Japan is so thoughtful and efficient that you can understand where you are, where you are going, and what they mean even if you don’t speak their language. But it will be an advantage and less stressful on your part. I had a chance for a 3-unit course in Nihongo while still in the best blue college so arigatou gozaimasu, ohayou gozaimasu, sumimasen, wakarimasen, shinkansen, konbanwa, konichiwa, moshi moshi, gohan, asagohan, itadikimasu, irasshaimase and ganbatte kudasai are all a bit familiar.
Oh so pretty Tokyo Tower. Yes, the Eiffel Tower is its inspiration.
Items in Japan are generally more expensive than in the Philippines. The sooner you get that straight the better. But in terms of food, the serving is much bigger. A typical meal in Japan will cost you JPY700 to JPY1000 but you get a bigger serving than possibly a PHP440 meal here in PH. The price is higher because the quality and serving is better. Besides, aside from tourist attractions, Juan goes to Japan for their food, so might as well enjoy their local food while you’re there right? #Takoyaki, #Okonimiyaki #KobeBeef #FTW
Kobe beef. Try it and you’ll forget your name.Katsu with unli sides.Okonimiyaki. The Japanese pizza according to Wikipedia.
Went there during winter so we wore layers and layers of clothers. Temperatures dropped to 1 degrees in Osaka and Tokyo, especially at night. Better if you can wear jackets with hoods, and you might want to wear facemasks too to prevent windburn.
ESSENTIAL 4: WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER and TOKYO DISNEY SEA
Chances are you want to go to WWHP too right? You decide whether you want the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) Express Pass or if you are willing to wait. One can enter WWHP if you have a USJ day pass (JPY7,600) but during peak times, one will need a timed entry ticket for WWHP since it is only small but there are many people even during rainy winter days (such as when we were there). The trick is once you enter USJ, go straight to WWHP either to get a timed entry ticket or to enjoy the area outright. We got there around 10am on a rainy winter morning and there were no timed entry needed yet but the line to Forbidden Journey was so long already, waiting time was said to be 3 hours (for a 5-minute 4D ride). Try to smuggle some candies or rice balls if you can so you don’t get hungry. Besides food inside the theme parks is expectedly more expensive. WWHP only has 2 rides, the Flight of the Hippogriff being the other. Aside from that, the place is for sightseeing already, for wands, butterbeer, the train etc.
WWHP on a gloomy rainy winter day.
If you have extra cash on top of the USJ entrance ticket, and you like rides, and you have very limited time, consider getting an Express Pass for an extra cost. This also entitles you to 2 to 3 rides in the other USJ attractions.
Tokyo Disney Sea (TDS) is the only Disney Sea in the world so do consider going there too. By the way, the rides and dialogues in WHHP, USJ and TDS are all in Japanese so you might feel a bit O-P from time to time.
Tokyo Disney Sea.Itadakimasu!Akihabara at dusk.
ITINERARY
Again, we wanted to see Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara and Kobe. We went there first week of Feb so it was still winter. The weather was friendly to us though. Yes it was cold but generally bright and sunny. It only rained once. Plus we got to experience our first snow, first in Gala Yuzawa Snow Ski Resort, and second, a milder snowfall while temple hopping in Kyoto. So aside from seeing many places at cheaper fares, we also accomplished our mission to experience snow. Below link will lead you to a summary of what we did for the 7D7N tour, the fares and the trains stations were we boarded / alighted to get to various destinations:
There are many places to see and go in Japan, and you can Google many resources to help you out. Our itinerary was built on the JR train system, plus the places we wanted to see.
We did not want to see all places or temples, just select ones, and we did not want to ride all the rides in the amusement parks either. My charitable Ilocana only wanted to see snow, Harry Potter and Hachiko. Mine was food trip, the Golden Temple (Kinakakuji), Gundam (before it gets removed by March), snow, and Harry Potter, plus experience the culture. It was a DIY trip for us, did not avail of any tours etc.
Our itinerary might not be friendly for those with babies or toddlers as it involved a lot of station exchanges (which means train fare) plus a lot of walking (like 21k steps daily average). At the office, they call it the Amazing Race trip, not the one where you rest and relax and sleep for long hours. But for us it was well worth it, we were able to maximize our time and our limited budget.
Kimono CosplayThe food displays make you hungry, but makes ordering easier. Just turo-turo.Shibuya crossing.Sake offerings at Meiji ShrineKinkakuji (Golden Pavilion). My dream rest house found an inspiration.Went to see Gundam before it gets removed.Pagoda near Kyoto TempleSushi suhiFushimi-Inari Temple
I hope you found my long post about Japan useful. We hope to go back there, maybe in another season (spring perhaps?) but there might be more people. Winter ain’t so bad though. Arigatou gozaimasu!
We just finished year 3 of our coin bank exercise. For this year, the charitable Ilocana joined me in saving in our coin banks, the usual 10s, 5s now even 1s. It’s literally and figuratively every peso saved is a peso earned.
For 2016, despite the higher expenses of married life, and while we have regular investments with banks, VUL, our individual savings, and from time to time through bonds, crowdfunding and farms, I’m happy that the coin bank averages rebounded from a low 2015 though still lower than the year 1 exercise (when I was still single LOL!).
But what’s important really is the discipline of saving. Early this year, we saw various posts on 52-week ipon challenges with increasing amounts as the weeks go by and people seemed pretty much interested. Good! I guess we just need to package saving as sexy, as challenging, as cool, as exciting? Well if you can, go ahead!
I’m not participating though since I already have my own monthly savings scheme set-up for me. Just keep in mind it begins in saving but it doesn’t end in saving. After 52-weeks and you have a big amount, what do you do next? The answer is you invest. Read here for our Newbie Guide in Investing.
So if you really have a discipline in saving and investing, if you have programmed your brain that you need to invest regularly whether via EIP, subscriptions in bonds, then saving in your coinbank or doing the 52-week challenge is just an add-on, a hobby, a good force of habit. But for those still struggling to save, start with the discipline, with the habit. They say it only takes 21 days to develop a habit. Buy that coinbank, and put small amounts regularly. The trick is to save an amount, without you feeling the pinch in your budget. Or if you do feel the pinch in your budget, ensure that you can still live with it.
I also realized that with this habit of saving in a coin bank, you begin to appreciate and value every peso, that every peso is important, that you need 1-peso to build 1-million-pesos, that every peso is a step higher towards your target net worth.
Develop a saving and investing mindset, instead of a spending mindset.
Many people have the notion that they will start managing their money when they have more, so with the little they have, they just spend it all, since it is small. And they do this with every little salary increase they get, waiting for the big payday before they start managing their money. They never get to start. Wrong approach.
The right approach is this: manage your money now, no matter how small you have, and you’ll be surprised that with the right money management, you’ll have more pretty soon. Saving small amounts is a good start in managing your money. It’s never too late to put small amounts in that coin bank, harvest in 1 year, then invest in various investment options.
May you have a richer life!
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Found this book intriguing as I wanted to improve my creativity and brainstorming skills, I wanted to enhance and practice the way I generate “good ideas”. This is not your usual book pointing you to various directions on where to look for your next investment or business idea, or giving you a listing of the hottest business ideas for 2017. Instead, it discusses the process (usually slow process) on how a good idea is born, hibernates, and what kinds of environments such ideas thrive from and mutate.
In the book, Johnson argues that we often think of ideas as breakthroughs, as if it’s always a eureka moment, much like how we think geniuses in Malcolm’s Outliers as inborn gifted children instead of a product of 10,000 hours of dedicated work. The truth is, most of the time, ideas are adaptations of previous ideas, a new application of an existing device, a product of serendipity, a useful error, and sometimes, ideas can be ahead of its time.
His book touches on 7 major chapters, as follows:
THE ADJACENT POSSIBLE
How we adopt ideas from what we know to the next possible application, how we expand our boundaries via transitioning from what we know to how what we know can apply to new territories. One at a time.
I recall in our Strategic Thinking workshop an anecdote on how Henry Sy Sr. supposedly built his group of companies. Official or not, accurate or not, I believe this gives us a better picture of Johnson’s adjacent possible. Henry Sy Sr. presumably liked people watching, so he started via observing Filipinos, realizing that Pinoys like to stroll and walk, we are fond of pamamasyal, hence he thought of selling shoes — ShoeMart was born.
But then he noticed that after buying their footwear, it will take months for them to go back to him and buy again, so repeat customers were low and repeat purchases took time. So he thought of a faster product to consume – groceries so his supermarket chains started. Then, why not sell more products aside from grocery items? How about a department store? Here Juan’s malling experience is starting to expand.
Eventually, food courts were added, then cinemas to complete the shopping experience. Afterwards, why not build residential areas where there are commercial spaces at the ground floors? We’re not even talking about the flow of money in these entities where the banking businesses will come in. Pictured above, our Strategic Thinking trainor illustrated the progression of the Sy businesses via hexagons (like in beehives), to better illustrate how the next adjacent possibilities fit in.
LIQUID NETWORKS
Where ideas can best thrive, in a sharing environment rather than in silos. The constant divide between trying to protect one’s ideas (due to monetary potential), copyrights, patents etc. versus sharing it openly for debate and discussion, to further enhance and perfect such idea.
I won’t spoil of enjoying the full contents of the book so let me just leave here the other chapters:
The Slow Hunch: it takes time! And sometimes, it’s not yet time.
Serendipity: “the power of accidental connection”
Error
Exaptation
Platforms
Below are some quotable quotes. Another major learning I got from the book was to take notes of every little idea or concept I come across with, who know’s it might come in handy in the future. Read, write notes, then read some more. For note taking, I use the Evernote app.
All quotes below are obviously from the book:
What the adjacent possible tells us is that at any moment the world is capable of extraordinary change, but only certain changes can happen.
The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore those boundaries. Each new combination ushers new combinations into the adjacent possible.
Technological (and scientific) advances rarely break out of the adjacent possible; the history of cultural progress is, almost without exception, a story of one door leading to another door, exploring the palace one room at a time.
Without noise, evolution would stagnate, an endless series of perfect copies, incapable of change. But because DNA is susceptible to error—whether mutations in the code itself or transcription mistakes during replication—natural selection has a constant source of new possibilities to test.
Innovative environments thrive on useful mistakes, and suffer when the demands of quality control overwhelm them.
An important part of Gutenberg’s genius, then, lay not in conceiving an entirely new technology from scratch, but instead from borrowing a mature technology from an entirely different field, and putting it to work to solve an unrelated problem.
Legendary innovators like Franklin, Snow, and Darwin all possess some common intellectual qualities—a certain quickness of mind, unbounded curiosity—but they also share one other defining attribute. They have a lot of hobbies.
It is not so much a question of thinking outside the box, as it is allowing the mind to move through multiple boxes. That movement from box to box forces the mind to approach intellectual roadblocks from new angles, or to borrow tools from one discipline to solve problems in another.
Ideas, Jefferson argues, have an almost gravitational attraction toward the fourth quadrant. The natural state of ideas is flow and spillover and connection. It is society that keeps them in chains.
If you really want to get into a debate about which system is more “natural,” then the free flow of ideas is always going to trump the artificial scarcity of patents. Ideas are intrinsically copyable in the way that food and fuel are not. You have to build dams to keep ideas from flowing.
Go for a walk; cultivate hunches; write everything down, but keep your folders messy; embrace serendipity; make generative mistakes; take on multiple hobbies; frequent coffeehouses and other liquid networks; follow the links; let others build on your ideas; borrow, recycle, reinvent.
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So if you really have a discipline in saving and investing, if you have programmed your brain that you need to invest regularly whether via 
Investment Juan-01 