Secret No. 3 ACTION

Nothing happens unless something moves. Says one very famous scientist. And it is true. Like Juan Tamad who just waits for the guava to fall into his mouth by just lying under the guava tree, no one will be able to gain or achieve something without doing anything at all. Belief and faith requires action. Act, act, act! No matter how you feel, act and do something. After all, you won't really know what you might get unless you say something to someone and do something to get results. ACT, ACT, ACT!

Secret No. 2: PURPOSE

When I was a kid, there are so many things I wanted to be when I grow up. I wanted to become a doctor, an astronaut, a lawyer, a scientist, a cosmonaut, a professional, a millionaire, a super hero, a secret agent, an angel, a fairy, a philanthropist. Of course, I wanted all these things because I watched them on TV, no necessarily because I know what each of these is. Like what is the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut? Professional what? And philanthropist? I don't even know the meaning of the word.I just watched an old Filipino movie, where an old man was introduced as "Eto po si Don...(hindi ko na matandaan and pangalan ng Don). Tutulungan nya tayo dito sa bahay-ampunan. Isa siyang pilantropo."("This is Don...(I cannot remember the name anymore). He will help us in this orphanage. He is a philanthropist.") From that day on, I will always say I wanted to become a philanthropist when I grow up. And my Dad would just smile at me. Now that I am grown up, and knows the meaning of this word, the more I am convinced that I really would want to be a philanthropist in the truest meaning of the word. My purpose is to be rich, to be ultimately rich, and to help lots of people. But in addition,I just don't want to help them by giving them money. I want to give them the fishing rod. And one day, I will.I am a philanthropist.

Secret No. 1: GENEROSITY

Money, as the old cliche goes, makes the world go round. How being rich and being poor has been romanticized over many years and through many different mediums particularly in movies and soap operas and short stories. The poorer you are, the kinder you are, thus, the blessed you are! Woe to that old belief that is so untrue! Money, if not used properly can really make one evil. I remember that I always had a fear, no, not fear, always felt uncomfortable in the presence of rich people. It is not that our family was poor. We were not. Although, yes, we are not "that" rich. Middle class maybe. But what I can be proud of is that we were raised "socializing" with not-so-rich people. We were taught to be generous and to share what we have. My father is the best example of true generous person I have ever known. During Christmas eve, when all of us sibling shave one whole chicken each ( we're eight), he will knock into neighbor's houses to give away lechon manok to them because they have nothing on their table. Almost all fathers in the neighborhood he helped to go abroad to Saudi Arabia, the time when Saudi was the most popular foreign country that most Filipinos go to to earn dollars. He will rent a jeep to get these men to Manila My mom will prepare cooked rice and chicken adobo for their packed lunch. My parents will literally finance all of them just to get to Saudi without asking for anything in return. They will be so happy just seeing the families of these men prosper. And this is what I learned, to be rich, FIRST AND FOREMOST, ONE NEEDS TO HAVE A GENEROUS HEART.