The year 2020

That's right. It's 2020 already and it has been 4 years since my last post. So, 4 years' worth of stories have unfolded and never posted here, my bad. And that makes it harder since I don't know where to begin. 

Those four years were spent in Qatar for my work and in other places for my leisure. I'd say that my work in Qatar made me realize my dream of visiting other places in the world.

Also, it is there where my love for bowling flourished since where I was staying is just a 10-minute walk from the bowling center. All my days off and some evenings were spent there. Yes, I was addicted to it.

I would say that my love for the sport jibed well with my love for travel. I did not pass up on Filipino bowling tournaments held in Malaysia, London, and Austria. 

I also took part of my vacation to visit Japan, The Netherlands, and Canary Island.

My Qatar journey ended in December 2019 because the project where I worked was finished and handed over. There was no future project in sight so I decided to come home. 

And the pandemic happened. 

New Chapter

And my new chapter started a week ago. I am now in Doha, Qatar working for a different company but for the same boss.

It's quite funny how I ended up here.  It all started with a joke in an email I sent to my equally full-of-humor boss.  I thank God for people like him who are willing to help others.  And it's fun working with him too.  And he also looks after his people.

I really feel thankful for everything that's happened.  I believe God has worked behind the scenes and I will always be grateful to Him.

My stay in the Philippines, though short, was well worth it.  I felt the love of everyone I treasure in my life - my family, my friends, and my dog Garlic.
I miss them everyday.

I just hope and pray that God will continue to guide me, bless me as I go through this journey.  He really is an awesome God!

My God is amazing

I am about to start a new chapter in my life. I hope that all things will work out just fine. My God is really amazing. You really just have to trust Him to do all the work. It's His plan anyways. Whenever you feel you're stuck and have nowhere else to go, turn to God. He will never forsake you.
I will write about my full story a few months from now. I hope to inspire others and let them know that we have an amazing God! :-)

Self-analysis

Recently, I did some self-analysis and came up with the conclusion that I am a "starter" but never a "finisher".  Sad but true.  Actually, didn't need some self-analysis to realize that, I just love using the word.

Here are some of the things I started in the past and never finished:

1.  my cross-stitch project - I bought a set while I am here in UAE to while away my time.  It's around 25% done. That was maybe 4 or 5 years ago.  Not that I was super busy, I just lost interest.

2.  my blog on financial literacy - started it in January 2012. Last post was in May 2012.  Note that my statistic here is twice the points - my blog and my financial literacy.  Not that I was super busy, I just can't walk the talk.

3.  businesses I venture into - there were a lot of other networking businesses I joined in in the past but never followed through.  my excuse - I am just a user of the products. I joined just to enjoy the discounts.  Not that I was super busy, I just gave in easily to rejections.

4.  my attempt at VA work - I even started a blog on this because it is a requirement.  I started doing PowerPoint presentations, uploading them in Scribd, taking Odesk exams, then I just fizzled out.  Not that I was super busy, I just got distracted I think.

5.  my marriage - well, I know there are other factors involved but I want to include this in the list anyway.  The irony is this is the only one on the list which I finished ahead of time.  Not that I was not busy, I just wanted to end it, period.

So far, these are the things I can think of that I have started and never finished to this day.  There are still many I believe I just can't remember them all as I am writing this.

So, what do I conclude in my self-analysis?

I have a short attention span.  Things should give me the "adrenaline rush" and sustain it until completion.  

For starters, I'll think of things that require little time to finish.  So I can start and finish them before I lose interest.

I'll think of things that really arouse my interest.  So that my passion will drive me to finish them.

I'll reward myself when I take on a task, even in stages of completion, so I will have something to look forward to until 

Mask

https://btcstore.eu/guy-fawkes-mask-white

I admit.  I wear masks.  I wear it most of the time when faced with people I just met, or hardly know.

And likewise, I don't know if the person I face each day is for real.

It will take some time to 'unmask' a person and when this happens, he either becomes my close friend, my worst enemy, or just an ordinary friend in between. 

We all have these layers of mask which we remove piece by piece over time. Sometimes, we put them back on depending on the situations or the people we are with.

Alone, I feel I am at my barest,  completely gotten rid of my mask until I look at the mirror and see a masked face staring back.

Right Opportunity

I just got back into the thick of things.

I have had an experience which I will write about maybe years from now.  It was something I never thought I would experience, but due to things out of my control or shall I say, I have let gone out of control, I did.

Yes, I will write about it but not yet.

I will wait to see how it will become a part of the grand scheme of things.

But for now, I'm back in the fold.  I'm picking up where I left off.

My business for sure has suffered due to my absence.  But I am ready to take back the momentum lost. 

I am motivated more because one of my partners is starting marketing online and we started planning and collaborating on our online venture.  She is building her website and I am resuscitating mine.

But then, something came up.

A new opportunity is presented by the same people who took us in.  And it made me feel upset.  I thought if you enter into something, a business opportunity in our case, you have to commit your all.  Even if sometimes you feel discouraged, and take off for a while, the loyalty remains.

But no.  Even if the product is quite different from the first, they made me realize that in business, you have to do away with emotions.  Wherever you feel you will earn more, no one's stopping you.

Although they are saying that we are not totally abandoning the first venture, I was not totally into it.

Until I learned that the top earners, old-time networkers themselves, have joined in already. 

I guess that's the mindset of a typical networker.  They jump from one company to another in the hope of making it bigger.  They wouldn't join if they did not see something better in the next one.  

In the hours that followed, I did not have to think really hard.  I decided to take a chance and joined the others.  Maybe I felt I won't be alone.  At least, I will be among friends.

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net

Which led me again to thinking - Is this the right opportunity I've been waiting for? And come to think of it, I say this to myself every time.

Rationalizing, maybe there is no right opportunity.  

Maybe, you just grab the opportunity and make it right.

Brendon's Gift

I have been waiting for this for so long.  I thought I'm going to receive it by Christmas time.  Did not happen.  It came at a time when I needed it most.  When I am starting to plan out how my 2015 would be my most amazing year yet.

 

Although I am receiving excerpts and video lessons in my email,  I cannot wait to have my hands on the hard-bound book!

 

And now that I finally touched it, first thing I did was smell the pages!

 

Will share some insights later.  Meanwhile, I'll be busy reading and absorbing everything Brendon teaches.  Ciao!