Focus on Now

There were many times in my life that I felt that I was getting nowhere. I felt depressed thinking about all the could have beens and the countless missed opportunities. It's really tough when you hit the hard times.

There are also many days that I wasted so much time imagining and planning the future. It's a good mental exercise but the more time you spend on it, the further it'll become a reality.

In the end, I am stuck in between the past and the future whether I like it or not.  Great plans are nothing without execution. To rise about mediocrity, one has to focus on the "now". To turn my dreams into reality, I have start doing things now. The key word is doing. I will label this kind of psychology as the #Pwes method. Pwes in the Filipino language means then or therefore. It's a call to action. Many people now get paralyzed by overanalysis. I want to instill that action is key to success and productivity. Here are some things that I thought could people become more productive:

1. If you have a good idea #Pwes write  it down. If it stays only in our mind, chances are we forget about it just like dreams. In a world that is full of distractions, it is so easy to forget things.
2. Never let anyone stop positive momentum including yourself. When people get a small amount of success, they usually stop the good things happening in their lives by shooting themselves at the foot. Many cannot handle success. Majority start to fight over minor details derailing and delaying further progress. It's petty but almost everyone is guilty of this.

3. Make the most of the available resources you have. Many buy things and not use its full capability. I see a lot of people buying an iPhone just to play candy crush, not knowing that they can actually check their emails or make presentations using their gadgets. There is a lot of underutilization in the world right now yet almost everyone complain that they do not have enough.

4. If you are not using something anymore #Pwes give it to someone who can use it. Almost every week, a new phone model come out and most gadgets get replaced within a year. Where does these old models go? Millions of it are not used anymore and are just lying around in the house. Help someone be more productive by giving it away.

5. Make the most out of your own skills. Skills are an important resources as well. Many are afraid to fully develop their skills because of fear and because if opinions of others. A lot of could have the greatest were nipped in the bud by negative opinion. Only very few are resilient enough to explore their full potential and in the end attain an extraordinary amount of success.

6. Complain a lot but make actions to solve the problem. Lazy complainers are the worst of its kind. You have to be a part of the solution of your problems.

7. Limit your interests. The nternet has become one of the major sources of unproductivity. Information is so easy nowadays that people get stuck reading so many useful information that they end up spending hours of doing nothing. With limited interest, you can be able to get the best of both worlds.

Now is the perfect time for change. Now is a good time for #Pwes. Now is a good time to stop reading and start doing. ;)

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March 5, 2013: Prepare for Battle!

A lot of us are thinking that life will just be practically the same until we grow old. It is not! Eventually, we will be in a battle.  The battle could be against some health or psychological problem or it could be battles against people. Many of us end up losing because we did not prepare enough. Today, my resolution is about being battle-ready....always.

As we grow older, we cannot take it easy anymore. We do not have the luxury of time. Even the young ones should learn to be "laging handa" or "always ready".  We have to be boy scouts sort of but more of scout rangers.  In our jobs, we have to always open our eyes to opportunities and be swift in exploiting it. In health, we always have to be wary against sickness and be watchful on the food that we take and the things that we do. In life, we have to prepare against enemies seen and unseen.  We even to constantly fight against complacency and the lack of discipline. In a way life is a war and we have to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually-fit to win. It is like the game of survivor, we have to always outwit, outplay, and outlast our opposition.

Beginning today, I will make a conscious effort of being always prepared for battle. ;)

Links:

If I were blank... Sabah Edition

03-04-2013: Create!

It has been a while since I last cooked my own food. Today, I decided to cook pork roast for dinner. I bought this somewhat small-size pork roast around a kilo and a half in S n R yesterday. I felt that today is a good day to cook as I home early and I had time to thaw the meat properly. After putting some olive oil and spice run, I cooked it in our turbo broiler.  It turned fine and it was well cooked. I really enjoyed my dinner.  Stephie loved it too. I am happy that I did it.  I am planning to make some sandwiches for breakfast with the leftover roast. 

I realized that to be able to have a good diet for losing weight, you have to prepare your food most of the time.  It is hard to rely on fastfoods and the portion sizes are not suitable for someone who wants to lose some weight. I have to be more creative so that I can truly make the big changes in my life. I am hoping that I can develop my own system in working out, diet, as well as in my business. With the help of this online journal, I know I will be able to track my progress and see how far I can go.  I really want to make a difference and I want create something great. I know, I can. ;)


"If you build it, he will come!!! " 

3-1-2013: The New Month

The end of February was sort of the end of many things.  The Catholic Church now does not have pope.  The Sabah stand-off has ended. In the personal front, a difficult month has just ended. The new month could mean a new start.  It all depends though on how we view things.  When facing a tough situation, it is either a man succumbs to it or fight it off. The challenge is on how to gain enough strength to fight. 

Fighting a tough opponent requires a lot of skills, guile, strategy and in some ways luck. While fortune could smile to risk-takers, it is never a guarantee.  This month is a crucial month to many people.  If I do  excellently this month, I am sure it will propel me to greater heights in the upcoming months. It is important that in this we give extreme focus on the things that we value most. I cannot have so many interests this month.  I have to let go off some of my curiosities. Today, I will try to lay down the things that I would like focus on in my life.

Work:

My focus would be on reminding my agents about the importance of results in any job.  I will be more results-oriented when it comes to my sales people.  I do not care much on their method for now, all I need is the results.  There might be a right way but polishing methods can be postponed to other months. I will also have improve my online marketing strategies to enable us to exploit new channels of sales. I will focus on updating my sites and launching some ad campaigns.

Blogging:

I will make sure that I will write at least 5 articles in my various blogs daily. It can even be short. I just to make it a habit to keep on writing new content.  I will try to improve the synergy and interconnection of my blogs.

Personal:

I will be given special focus to weight loss this month. I want to lose weight because I want to be healthy in 30's.  I also want to look and feel younger. I have more specific details on this on my other blog.

Family:

If we can afford it, I want to spend more time with my wife especially on weekends.  I want her to start exercising again and I want her to relax a bit. 

This month is expected to be quite challenging but the rewards for success will be great. March will reward the focused.  It is time to put my game face on and rule the month. ;)

02-27-2013: Humility

James 4:9-10

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

⁹ Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

We cannot win every time. Only very few can say they are undefeated. The month was tough work-wise and I admit that i am truly humbled with the experience.  It is painful but it is reminder that there is a big chance of redemption. I cannot afford to have a joyful disposition.  I submit to the Lord.  

Today, I realize that indeed there is a time to mourn and weep.  We cannot just laugh and be positive about everything.  The worst times are the best times to reflect and make changes.  It is usually the time that people are most creative, prayerful, and change-oriented.  By reaching the bottom, you can either quit or propel yourself back up. It is a critical time. A serious time.

It is time for me to rise from the ashes and start redeeming myself.  I want my team to also learn from the experience and truly become better than ever.  It is time to be serious and I will reserve all my joy and laughter when I reach the goals that I have set upon myself. 

I turn to God that He may bless me with all the wisdom, knowledge, skills, breaks, and opportunities to attain my goals. I recommit myself to my goals and I will do whatever it takes to achieve. I resolve that I will not celebrate the small victories or be happy be small gains as I will focus my eye on the prize and do this quest as my offering to God. May he be with us! Amen.

02-26-2013 Entry: Change is looming

I am writing again and I even have my own fitness journal in my other blog: http://fitbysummer.blogspot.com/. This journal will be different this will focus more on what is going in my life in general and what goes through my mind. Well today, it was all about work.  

I set up a meeting with my broker Florezil Agujetas II and we were brainstorming on how to improve the performance of our sales group. After a somewhat stellar January, the agents are crahing back to earth and it seems that our sales agents are ultra-underperforming. I was wondering we spoiled them or something. One thing is for sure is that change has to come. We cannot succeed if we stagnate and just do the same things all over again. I felt that the agents were over reliant on queueing and they are not maximizing our exhibits.  Flo and I realized that it was time to crack whip and handle the agents differently. It is a tough pill to swallow but it is necessary.  I am going to admit that my management style has flaws and I have to adopt some changes to lead a consistent and high performing team.  Things must be run differently from now on.  Here are some of the proposed changes that Flo and I thought:

1. Change in exhibit manning procedures - I have told Analane Yap that I am letting go off our Robinsons Cybergate manning. It seems to me that the Rainmakers do not perform well when they get stuck with too many exhibit manning schedules. I need the agents to explore other sales channels.  I am also reducing the number of agents that are going to be present in each exhibit.  Having too many agents at one time is very inefficient as there are only few mall clients every day. 
2. Reporting - Every agent is required to report all sales activities and results.  We will closely monitor all prospects and check if agents need to be assisted or pushed.  The time of just giving them total freedom with their clients is suspended and as much possible the managers will get involved in the transactions. I think we somehow overestimated their abilities and it is just proper that we make adjustments to improve their performance.
3. Tripping - We will now join agents in their trippings in March to see if we can still fine tune their presentation and closing styles. We have to improve their closing rate. 
4. Change in attitude and habits - We noticed that some agents are developing bad habits and we will make steps correct it. We want to run our operations differently and we would like to kill some of the bad practices of our agents. We will now control how they will act and look during work.  We even what to somehow control how they think.
5. Focus on bottom lines - In the end, it is all about sales. A dismal month should be taken lightly by the leaders and the members. We have to send a clear message that the February performance is unacceptable. We need to show them our disappointment and we even need to scold them. We won't fire them but we want them fired up. We have to make them fear and hate being zero.  It is all about accountability.  We have to turn things around and finish the quarter with a flurry. 

I will be meeting the team on Thursday evening and we will set "fire to the rain". The tone of the meeting will start with disappointment then anger then self-evaluation then proposing changes then laying of ground rules that is acceptable to all then hope and motivation. "We will keep on fighting till the end cause we are the champions, we are the champions ...." ;)

First Post

What will this blog be all about? Well, I am Carlo Andrew Olano and I am starting this blog to serve as my online journal and as a venue to express my views in life and with the events that could affect my life. This blog could contain entries about work, philosophy, travel, reviews, sports, and politics.  It is practically based on personal opinion and how I see things.

My views could be different from some of you and I am willing to read and respond to comments made on an entry in this blog. I am using this blog to reflect on life and also gain some kind of perspective on where my life would be going.  By starting this journal, I could practically look back in the future and see how I lived my life and be mesmerized how my ideas, beliefs, and looks evolved.  I am looking forward to even showing this to my future children or grandchildren.  I am practically starting my autobiography today with this blog.