THE UNTOLD STORY OF "THE RABBIT AND THE TURTLE"

SOURCE: YOUTUBE

        When I saw the first part of the video I thought it was just the same old story but I was wrong. I was amazed of the story and I would like to give credit to the owner of the video. I realized that the lessons of the story could help us in reaching our dreams.

  

1^ST RACE “LOSER”

        The turtle won in the first race because the rabbit was overconfident to win while the turtle although very slow was determined to finish the race. The turtle won because he was consistent and focus on his goal, the FINISH line. From the rabbit’s perspective, he knew that he was fast enough to finish the race earlier than the turtle could. He was aware that his speed in running is incomparable with the turtle's speed and so he rested sometime but the problem was he fell asleep. This scenario also happens everywhere because many people tried to relax and neglect before finishing their goal or task. Sometimes we are confident that victory is just one step to reach but the problem is we stop reaching it and let somebody steal that victory. From the turtle’s perspective, he was aware that he could not outran the rabbit but he has a good character and attitude. When he was challenged by the rabbit, he did not hesitate nor complain but accepted it even though he was on the disadvantage because he has the determination to win. Sometimes in our life we need to be determined to achieve our goal in whatever circumstances or situation we have because as the saying goes “quitters never win”. Just focus!

2^nd RACE “WINNER”

        The rabbit won this time because he learned the lesson from the first race. He accepted the fact that being overconfident made him the loser. This time he stood up and showed to the turtle that he was changed. Sometimes in our life we commit mistakes and have failures, but as long we would not realize and accept it, nothing will happen to us. Self-awareness is very important in order to know how to improve ourselves. Failures in life will teach as a lesson. It will make us aware of what we can and cannot do. Once we fail, our life still continue so we need to move forward and learn from our failures. Do not stop, rather make your mistakes and failures be your guide and motivation in reaching for success.

3^rd RACE “AWARENESS”

         This time the turtle won because he already knew the right place for his skill. He realized that whatever he’ll do, he could not win against the rabbit because it was not his field of expertise. In our life we also need to focus on our core competencies. If you don’t have a nice voice don’t force yourself to become a good singer. Every individual has its own gift because we are all unique as the saying goes “for there are always lesser and better than yourself”. If you are good at swimming then improve it. Do not compare yourself to others but rather focus on what field you are going to excel with. We can never be successful in our life if we only focus on our weaknesses than our core of competencies.

LAST RACE “TEAMWORK”

          This time, the rabbit and the turtle both realized that in order to achieve more and go far beyond their limits is to have teamwork. In their last race they did not think of who will be the winner or the loser. This time they are thinking of how they could overcome their weaknesses and limitations. This time they realized that they could do better if they will be together. In our life we could not choose the circumstances and the situation that we are going to face that’s why we need others to help us and carry us to overcome that limitation. “No man is an island”! We cannot stand alone. Value the people around you, your friends, loved ones, and families because they can help when you are down. Remember, the rabbit and the turtle did not stop racing until such time they realized that none of them are fast nor slow. They stop racing because they already reach the sense of real victory with utmost satisfaction.

HENRY SY SUCCESS STORY

“Success is not just good luck. It is a combination of hard work, good credit standing, opportunity, readiness, and timing.” – Henry Sy Sr.

Henry Sy, known as the “Father of Philippine Retail” and the #1 Philippines’ richest man, was born October 25, 1924 in the village of Ankhue, in the Jinjiang county (now city) of Fujian province, south China.

We will look into the business success story of a Filipino entrepreneur, Henry Sy, in this article by Wilson Lee Flores, entrepreneur magazine.

Chinese immigrant Henry Sy survived the loss of his father’s two sari- sari stores at the close of World War II eventually install to himself as Asia’s shopping mall king. He survived other crises as well: the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ declaration of martial law (1972), the chaos following opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr’s assassination (1983), the military coups against the Aquino administration (1987- 89), and the Asian financial crisis (starting 1997). “I don’t give up easily,” Sy, 85, says, “I look for solutions to problems. I want to make things happen.”

And happen they did. In its March 17, 2003 issue, the US business magazine Forbes listed Henry Sy among the world’s billionaires, with an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion and exceeding the fortunes of France’s Michellin, clan of tire makers; Citigroup boss Sanford Weill; publishing tycoon William Hearst III; Richard Marriott of the world- famoushotel chain; and television host Oprah Winfrey. In 1999, the Management Association of the Philippines named Henry Sy as “Management Man of the Year.” In 2005, the Philippine Retail Association conferred him the title, “Father of Philippine Retail,” and the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation honored him as one of four Business Greats.

Sy’s success has only increase his fame and clout. In 2002 he astounded most analysts when he tapped Asia’s wealthiest billionaire, Hong Kong’s Li Ka-Shing, to invest in the Philippines through a joint venture between the SM group and Li’s Watson retail chain.

Mall of Asia
His retail and other businesses aside, Sy is the power behind Banco de Oro Universal Bank and the 85-year old China Banking Corp., which his group took over in early 2005. He became a major force in promoting Philippine tourism after taking control of Tagaytay Highlands, a prime property and one of the projects Highlands prime Inc. (the real estate arm of publicly- listed Belle Resources), where Sy and sons Henry Jr. and Hans sit as board members. Tagaytay Highlands is a strategic complement to similar projects in Baguio and Cebu, and that gave the Philippines “a world- class resort community.” When “Mall of Asia,” his dream project, is completed in the Manila Bay reclamation area, it will sit on 90 hectares and is envisioned to be the premiere destination mall in the Asia Pacific region.

Indeed it is in the mall business that Sy has eminently distinguished himself. Sy’s SM Group of Companies, one of the Philippines’ biggest conglomerates, started as a shoe-retailing store on Carriedo Street in Quiapo, Manila. (The holding firm for the group, SM Investments Corp., was incorporated in 1960. SMIC became public in early 2005, raising nearly P25 billion in new money that many believed the Sy family will use to expand its portfolio investments and acquisitions). In 2001, the London- based Euromoney magazine named Sy’s retail chain as Best Retailer in Asia. Shoemart Inc., the Philippines’ largest chain of department stores, is an anchor tenant in all SM malls. Supervalue Inc handles the group’s supermarket businesses, including the Warehouse Clubs. The group’s retail chain include Star Appliance Center as well as stores dealing in hardware products, appliances, toys, home and lifestyle products, health and beauty products, export- overrun clothes and fashion accessories. SM also operates the Philippine’s largest chain of cinemas. Its Makro retail chain is a partnership with the Ayala Group of companies, another Philippine giant.

Group Leader
Henry Sy was born in the village of Ankhue, in the Jinjiang county (now city), of Fujian province, south of China. In 1936, when he was 12, he and his father migrated to Manila and here learned the basics of retailing and good customer service in his father’s sari-sari store. (One of his fondest memories of the pre- war era was joining a crowd of onlookers at the inauguration of Quezon Bridge in Quiapo, Manila, with the guest of honor, the flamboyant President Manuel L. Quezon, wearing his famous safari hat. The boy never imagined that he would get to meet and know all Philippine Presidents in the course of his business career). Desperate to study and learn English, Sy asked permission from his father to go back to school. He was already 12, but he had to start from grade one when he enrolled at the Quiapo Anglo- Chinese High School, where his classmates were younger and smaller. On reaching grade 4, Sy asked his teacher if he could be accelerated, and his teacher agreed provided he attained a minimum grade average of 90 percent. He eventually completed grad school in five years. “I used second- hand books and bought only a few pieces of pad paper at a time,” Sy says. “I did not want to ask more money from my father, who was working so hard. I was happy enough to be studying. I was not first in academics, but I was the group leader.”

Near the end of the war, one of the elders Sy’s stores was burned down and the other looted in the chaos. “We lost everything,” Sy says. “My father decided to go back to China and asked me to join him, but it was my opportunity to start a business; I decided to stay behind. My father was pained by the hardships, but I never lost hope.”

After the war, goods were in desperate supply, so the young Henry joined the booming buy-and-sell business and saved enough money for future ventures. He returned to school in the early 1950s, enrolling at the Far Eastern University in Manila, in hopes of securing a degree in commerce. He lasted only two years as a result of pressure from his growing business. More than 40 years later, on January 30, 1999, De La Salle University conferred on him an honorary doctorate in business management. It was a toast to half a century of brilliant entrepreneurship. It has become a cliche, but success came to Sy only as a result of hard work, tenacity, frugality, self- discipline, Confucian values, and an undying thirst of learning.

Taken from http://www.pinoybisnes.com/filipino-entrepreneur/henry-sy-father-of-philippine-retail/

RICHES TO RAGS TO RICHES

    

Every entrepreneur should be motivated by the inspiring story of one of the richest men in the Philippines, John Gokongwei Jr.

John Gokongwei Jr. is a Chinese-Filipino entrepreneur with various lines of business like telecommunications, aviation, pertrochemicals, financial services, property development, and live stock farming. He was declared as the third richest businessman in the Philippines in 2010.

John Gokongwei is a brave man who faced tumultuous challenges before he earned his success. He was born on August 11, 1926 in Gulangyu, Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. He was just barely a year old when his parents migrated and settled in Cebu to escape the turmoil in China. At first, he lived an affluent life in Cebu, where his father owned a chain of movie houses. However, his family lost their fortune when his father died instantly. The “riches to rags to riches” story then begins.

Tragically, John was forced to look after himself when his grand uncle could no longer support him. He started buying and selling rice, clothing, and scrap metals. He would sell roasted peanuts when they ran out of money. He was able to open a small stall in the market and would wake up at five o’clock every morning, preparing for the long ride to the market with his basket of goods. Notably, he would profit Php20.00  at the end of the day, enough to feed his siblings and enough to save money for his business.

In 1943, he began trading goods between Cebu and Manila, traveling via small boat. Due to his ambition and determination, he saw an opportunity for trading goods after the World War II ended. Together with his brother Henry, they put up Amasia Trading, which imported onions, flour, old magazines, and fruits from the United States. His businesses then expanded.

Remarkably, John Gokongwei became the chairman of one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines, the JG Summit Holdings. In 1996, Gokongwei acquired Cebu Pacific and claimed the number one spot in the domestic market. Robinsons Saving Bank was put up in 1997 by Gokongwei Group of Companies. In 2003, he opened Sun Cellular to compete against telecommunication giants Smart Communications and Globe Telecom. In 2004, C2, the green tea drink was launched.

John Gokongwei’s biography John L. Gokongwei Jr.: The Path of Entrepreneurship by Marites A. Khanser was launched on August 29, 2007, at the Ateneo de Manila University. It narrated his remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches story. In this book, the Nine Rules of business success that Gokongwei applied were cited. He stressed that entrepreneurship is a way out of poverty.

John Gokongwei led an exemplary life. Every aspiring businessman, who has visions of becoming successful, should follow Gokongwei’s determination and drive.

Taken From: http://www.everythingcebu.com/lifestyle/people/john-gokongwei-jr/

FROM HOMELESS TO MILLIONAIRE

Chris Gardner, the man whose rags-to-riches story inspired the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, explains how he harnessed his passion to turn his life around

It's not every day you get the chance to pick the brain of a man whose real-life rags-to-riches story was turned into a Hollywood movie starring one of America's top actors. But the other day I had the opportunity to spend time with Chris Gardner, subject of the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness, in which Gardner was played by Will Smith.

While attending an unpaid internship program at Dean Witter Reynolds in 1981, Gardner spent a year on the streets with his two-year-old son. They took refuge at night in a church shelter or the bathroom of a BART subway station in Oakland, Calif. Nobody at work knew. Gardner eventually won a position as a stockbroker at Dean Witter. Two years later he left for Bear Stearns (BSC), where he became a top earner. In 1987, he founded his own brokerage firm, Gardner Rich,in Chicago. Today, Gardner is a multimillionaire, a motivational speaker, a philanthropist, and an international businessman who is about to launch a private equity fund that will invest solely in South Africa. His partner in the fund? Nelson Mandela. Not bad for a guy who, six years before founding his own brokerage firm, was "fighting, scratching, and crawling my way out of the gutter with a baby on my back."

"Passion is Everything"

Gardner is a magnificent speaker and has an engaging personality—qualities all business professionals would crave. But what's behind his success? What is the one thing—the one secret—that helped him change his life? "It's passion," he told me. "Passion is everything. In fact, you've got to be borderline fanatical about what you do." Gardner says he was fortunate to find something he truly loved, something where he couldn't wait for the sun to rise so he could do it again. His advice to entrepreneurs and those seeking a career change? "Be bold enough to find the one thing that you are passionate about. It might not be what you were trained to do. But be bold enough to do the one thing. Nobody needs to dig it but you."

Gardner wanted to be "world-class at something." For him, that something was being a stockbroker. For you, finding something you are passionate about will make the difference in how engaging you become as a communicator and as a leader. If you love what you do, you'll eagerly share the story behind it with boundless enthusiasm.

Passion is not teachable. As a communications coach, I can help clients craft and deliver a powerful story, but I can't create passion. But it's passion that separates the electrifying presenters from the average ones. I'm absolutely convinced of it. As a former television journalist, I've interviewed thousands of spokespeople and personally coached hundreds of others in my current profession. Donald Trump once said: "Without passion, you have no energy—and without energy, you have nothing." Your listeners want to be in the presence of someone with energy, a person who greets people with a smile and an abundance of enthusiasm. Passion is not something you necessarily verbalize, but it shows. When Gardner walked into Dean Witter after having slept in a subway station the night before, he only wanted to leave one impression on his co-workers. "All they needed to know is that I would light it up day after day. Passion is not something you have to talk about. People feel it. They see it just as clearly as the color of your eyes, baby."

Coffee and Commitment

I have spent the last several years interviewing inspiring leaders, and I can say without hesitation that passion is the No. 1 quality that sets them apart. In many ways, my talk with Gardner reminds me of a conversation I once had with Starbucks (SBUX) Chairman Howard Schultz. Like Gardner, Schultz used the word "passion" throughout our entire conversation. But remarkably, the word "coffee" was rarely spoken. You see, for Schultz, coffee is not his passion. Instead, Schultz says, he is passionate about creating a workplace that "treats people with dignity and respect;" a workplace environment that his father never had the opportunity to experience. The coffee product offers the means to help Schultz fulfill his passion. In much the same way, stock trading and commissions offered Gardner the means to fulfill his passion, which was to give his son something he never had—a father.

Passion is the foundation of effective communication. Dig deep to discover your core purpose, your true passion. Once you connect to it, use it as fuel to build a rapport with your audience—recruiters, managers, employees, etc. Your presentations, pitches, speeches, and all forms of business communication will be more engaging than ever. Nearly everyone has room to increase what I call the "passion quotient"—the level of passion you exhibit as a speaker. The higher your passion quotient, the more likely you are to connect with people. Chris Gardner's passion fueled his determination in the face of overwhelming odds and obstacles. Take the time to imagine where harnessing your passion can take you.

Taken From http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-07-23/from-homeless-to-multimillionairebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

FROM GANGSTER TO MULTIMILLIONAIRE ENTREPRENEUR

Two decades ago, Ryan Blair was the product of a broken family.

At the age of 13, he was already heavily "involved in stuff" after his father succumbed to drug addiction, he tells us.

Without anyone to turn to for his Attention Deficit Disorder and dyslexia, Blair dropped out of school in the 9th grade and quickly turned to the close-knit "familia" gang life.

In his book "Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain," Blair writes:

"I quickly saw how the system worked, how the street lords kept themselves in power through influence and manipulation. I observed how the older people used bribery and fear to get the younger kids to do their crimes, and I saw how the young people willingly went along with it because it seemed like the only power structure that had any kind of respect in the neighborhood." 

His story was meant for a tragic end, but Blair is no longer even a shadow of his former self — except for the tattoos you see when he wears short-sleeved shirts. 

At 21, Blair started his first company and today, is a serial entrepreneur who also happens to be a multimillionaire. 

He writes:

"Long before I became a millionaire entrepreneur, I was a kid with a criminal record, street gang experience, and a lot of emotional scarring from years of abuse from my father. My teenage years were hardly the typical starting point for a normal, productive life, let alone a successful business career. Turns out, that didn't matter."

While dabbling in the criminal lifestyle, Blair was arrested close to a dozen times. He was 16 years old the last time he was arrested and facing a four-year jail sentence.

Luckily, at the age of 18, Blair's mother "sobered up" and "started dating a guy in real estate," which, he says, allowed him to "see how the legal people do it."

When he realized legal business tactics weren't so different from "street smarts," Blair decided to apply the survival blueprints he learned from his former life into the corporate world.

"There's a hierarchy in gangs, a hierarchy of positions and power," he says. "A gang is an economic system, and there's a lot of similarities between gangs and some legal companies."

"I know that it's not always the most powerful organization that's going to make it, it's the one that's most adaptable with the changing times, the one that understands how to manage their politics."

Three years later, the former problem child launched his first company — 24/7 Tech — and his spotty past has made him the business man he is now.

Today, he's the CEO of ViSalus and won the DSN Global Turn Around Award in 2010 when he actually turned the company around from a $6 million debt in early 2008 to $150 million in revenue 16 months later.

“I learned my business skills living in poverty and having had a family that was heavily involved in illegal businesses."

In the beginning, Blair tells us he was nervous about "taking his skeletons out of his closet," because people are always "looking for a reason to see why they are better than you. People look at people who don't have pedigree upbringings differently."

But "if you avoid it, or hide it, others might feel as though there's a dishonesty there, and hiding something is a very expensive emotional thing for you."

It was something Blair decided he didn't want weighing him down, and tells us he applies this same belief when hiring his own employees. 

"I am 100 percent open to [hiring someone with a criminal record], but only if the person is honest about it."

The entrepreneur is also a contributor for Forbes.com and the Financial Times.

Taken from: http://www.businessinsider.com/ryan-blair-is-a-former-gang-member-turned-multimillionaire-entrepreneur-2012-8

FIRST STEP

      

        Every goal to be achieved requires first step in order to reach it. Before reaching the top of the mountain you need to climb first from the foot of the mountain. Before finishing the race you need to go first from the starting line. If you want to have an educational attainment you need to take elementary level first before getting your desired profession. The first step requires decision for it is a choice whether or not to do it. If you have a dream what will you do in order to reach it? You need to take the first step in reaching your dreams before having it. Many people were very frustrated for not reaching their dreams but the question is did they take the first step of achieving their dreams? 

        Our first step in achieving our ambitions is only the beginning of our journey to success but it does not guarantee you to reach to the end because along the way there are so many hindrances and challenges. Many people are afraid to take even  the first step because they're afraid of the outcome, afraid that they might fail, afraid the circumstances they could not take for themselves. How could you could you know the taste of success if you would do nothing to reach it?

         You will never learn to walk if you would not take the first step. Do not be afraid of failing because success is within your grasp. Success is just one step away from you and if you would not take that step you can never have it.