Because God Wants Me To Share My Success Story

I got this interesting email from Jomar the other week called "Our Success Itemized" and decided to hit reply. After all, what do I have to lose. As I was writing this, I realized how much I've grown as a person and as a Christian. This is awesome!

Here's the deal: We have to share details about our life, who we are, what we do, our past successes and failures, how we got to where we are, our goals ... okay I'm adding some stuff into this. Please bear with me. Anyway, the end result is you discover who you were, who you have become and who you want to be in the future.

This is my story. Hope you enjoy it! :)

I'm a 34 year old writer and I've been writing virtually my whole life. For some reason though, I have this horrible fear of speaking in public and talking in front of a crowd. In College, I conquered my fears of public speaking by joining our university’s oratorical speaking contest where I spoke using my own writing, froze midway and did not place at all.

The next year my teacher convinced me to give it another shot, this time as an extemporaneous speaker (goosebumps now, remembering the trepidation). The question? What's your stand on death penalty? I had just researched and written an article about it for our student paper and felt strongly against it so expressing my opinion backed by data got me first place. That was probably the highlight of my college life (aside from the EIC gig) cuz activist that I am, I didn’t join graduation. So the trophy was smaller than the declamation contest winner but the feeling was both humbling and empowering. Praise God!

I joined our student paper freshman year and became an EIC on my third year in college. Then I became an activist. J

I applied and got a student correspondent gig at a local daily (Sun Star) where I learned from the best in editorial and news writing. Being a student writer rocks! So glad I decided not to ditch our student paper to join the dance troupe. Seriously!

After college I joined an NGO and worked with grassroots women, educating them and doing research at the same time. I miss that experience so much!

After a couple of odd jobs, I joined an American publishing company as a junior editor then took an exam, became a senior editor then became managing editor. That was an awesome learning experience all on its own. Learned much about myself as a person and as a writer-editor.

I applied for another American company, a manufacturing company at MEPZ 2, as a Technical Writer. It was both the best and worst time I’ve ever had. The nerves, the endless round of exams and interviews, it was enough to bring me to tears in our local church. Thankfully, I got called first (I still can’t believe it til now cuz there was a veteran journalist from CDN during the interview) and got in!

I joined countless journalism seminars, educational discussions, leadership trainings, Jomar Hilario's VA seminar and Internet Marketing Workshop – it was a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world! Thank God!

I also joined several online learning groups, most of them run by Bo Sanchez like the Truly Rich Club, and then a few international online trainings like the Challenge, Stephen Pierce and other mentors that offered their services for little or no fee.

I’ve read so many books – those that come to mind are books and eBooks written by Bo Sanchez (in order, from memory: 1. Thank God He’s Boss 2. How to Make Your Life Beautiful 3. Your Past Does Not Define Your Future 4. How to Turn Thoughts Into Things 5. How to Know If Your Dreams Are God’s Dreams, etc.

I also read the Purpose Driven Life, which was both eye opening and mind boggling. Seriously, it helped turn my life around. Now I’m constantly seeking my purpose and each day is a revelation for which I am grateful.

I read the first and last part of the autobiography of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and it was very enlightening. For some reason, I have this tendency to be impatient when reading. I either count pages til I get to the end or scan and choose the best parts. At times I skip to the end just to know how it all wraps up. I know. Cheating! lol. That's what makes reading fun for me. The variety. No one tells me how to read my books and I love that!

I also love fantasy books so I’ve read all of the Chronicles of Narnia books, Harry Potter books (except the last one, for some reason I no longer wanted to). I’m also a fan of Terry Brooks (thanks to a close friend, who got me hooked, in a good way) so I’ve read most of his books. Now I’ve got the Genesis of Shannara series waiting for me to pick them up again. Yes, I was reviewing Armageddon’s Children.

I’ve also read some books from the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series (back when I was in debt after my mama died and money was tight), some books about getting out of credit card debt, etc.

Obviously, I failed at controlling my spending habits which meant at one time I had 5 credit cards all at once (3 from one bank). Kind of traumatic. Thank God for my Lola and Papa who were lifesavers. And having Social Security and PAG-IBIG also helped. Of course, a stable source of income helped too. But without my family, I would've been totally lost. They're a BIG part of my secret to success.

Another failure, I couldn’t settle my Mama’s hospital debt, which meant I had to wait many years before my Papa and Lola could bail me out of that one. I’m talking threats of lawsuits, etc. It was awful!

Minor failure back in college, I wanted to run for Student Council president in my 4^th year in college, became the party’s chairperson instead.

Major setback, I turned my back (literally and figuratively) on fulfilling my dreams of becoming a lawyer because I got disillusioned with the justice system, which it seems can be bought. Tsk tsk tsk. I’m not one to judge but being a student activist does have its advantages. It opened my eyes to reality, thank God!

In a way, it was probably God's way of telling me I was never meant to be a lawyer. I love being a writer and I intend to be one all my life. J

I succeeded at being a student leader, journalist, writer, editor, copyeditor, copywriter … been writing since grade school and I so enjoy it!

Thank God I also succeeded at my online writing career. There have been ups and downs, been through a scam (or 2 or 3!) but lesson learned, I’ve moved on and I believe I’m doing what I’m meant to do.

I have a feeling that God is guiding me right where He wants me to be. Writer for life. My life’s dreams, which I am confident are also God’s dreams. I want spiritual maturity first and foremost. That road is kind of hard but I promised myself I would stop complaining and always be grateful no matter what.

I've been praying for financial abundance (and maturity) so that I can share my blessings with my family and loved ones and hopefully my community. Glaucoma is now my number one enemy. Both my father and grandma have it and they need surgery, I guess. This is on my wishlist this year that can't be written on Amazon. I've been praying for a miracle but I guess God has a reason for saying "Wait!"

I want to travel – visit my Papa in Italy and meet our relatives, especially my nephew, who is now 7 years old! I want to pursue and keep writing as my hobby and source of income, which is exactly where I am right now. I also want to learn more new things, visit other places, maybe migrate somewhere (Australia, I hope). J

Right now, I’m happy where I belong. I want to learn more about Internet Marketing and how to earn from it, become better at managing my tasks and others in the future, still to aid my other goals actually.

In one sentence, my personal goal is to find my place in this world, just as God has intended – no doubts, no confusion – servant of God all the way.

My biggest investment? I think my computer. I had to take out two loans just to buy it. Lol. Looking back now, it was foolish at the time but I am grateful cuz today it’s my instrument – both for work and for fun! Writing has become so much fun since I got this mini pc. It’s a bit worn out now but it still lets me do my work so I can’t complain (not all the time). Who knows? Maybe someday I can publish my very own book. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

And yes, I’m still eyeing that iMac. J

Wow! This truly is eye-opening. I learned so much and now my path is clear. I am both a writer and a servant of God. God's writer-servant.