Last week I
visited the blog of a well-known inspirational speaker, Francis Kong. He had a post entitled From the
Past to the Future. He is, to some extent, challenging his readers to write
his future. It is not easy to forget our past because we are fond of
continuously pressing the rewind button in our head. Doing this is effortless,
isn’t it? Why don’t we take the harder challenge...to look into the future.
In his post,
there are six questions that must be answered.
What do you
want to earn?
Where do you
want to live?
What do you
want to weigh?
What do you
want to do for a living?
What do you
want to do in your leisure time?
How much do
you want to retire on?
Here’s
mine...
What do you
want to earn? I don’t intend to work all my life or depend on my (future)
children to support my needs when my hair turns salt and pepper. I want to
retire rich and generous. Therefore I am very certain that SSS pension will not
be sufficient. With the rising inflation each year and the difficulty to
withstand worldly pressures and resist temptation, to save up
for the future is sure to test my real character. However, I have no plan to
work just for the future (I mean when I turn 60’s and up) alone. I am also
dreaming of driving my own car; travel with my family at my own expense; hang
out with friends more often; donate to a number of non-profitable
organizations; and run a family resto/bar in the next 2-5 years of my life.
Because of this, I ought to save up for my needs, wants and retirement. Call me
sceptical, I honestly don’t see myself having seven digits in my bank account
if I will forever be an employee. Thus, I must explore all avenues to make
things possible – a well compensated job, businesses and other passive income
streams.
Where do you
want to live? I am very blessed that at a very young age, my parents were
able to build a house for the whole family. I love this house. This has been my
home in years and if given an opportunity to stay here as long as I live I
swear to give 100% devotion. For now, it is also my desire to spruce up
and add some new pieces to our home; to turn a seemingly mini-forest into a
beautiful garden cosy for long chitchats, family reunion or small gatherings;
and of course to give our house facade a modern exterior with two cars in the
garage as huge accessories.
What do you
want to weigh? Literally, I want a weight that is just right for my age
and height. I think it is a positive indication that I am able to live a
healthy lifestyle because I have the resources to do so. Kidding aside, for me
a balanced life is imperative. Yes, I wish to be materially comfortable and
experience all of life but I do not wish to box everything and be overweight. I
want to enjoy life to the fullest and at the same time I wish I could share
more and be an instrument in fulfilling other’s dream/s for their life. That
for me is an absolute balanced life.
What do you
want to do for a living? It has been a huge challenge for me to settle into one
area, to cultivate my abilities sufficiently, to earn a living and
succeed. For a person who wandered for almost a decade, got
discouraged and became doubtful, I was not an alien to emotional roller
coaster. But my exposure to a variety of tasks, to fast paced environments and
to people from all walks of life turned out to be valuable elements in the
realization of my dreams and how I would want to achieve it. These are
blessings in disguise. As a person who always likes to be on the go, I find a
housekeeping position suitable for my personality. To work in a foreign land
surrounded with a diverse of ethnicity, values and culture and a peaceful
working environment, it would be very beneficial to my growth and development.
And lastly, at my age, a larger income is now very significant. Yes, after two
years of waiting, my hope to work in Canada as Housekeeping Room Attendant has
resurrected. If given an opportunity, two to five year contract is already
ample.
In 2-5 years
time, I am planning to have a resto-bar. When I first saw Mustiola (a classy
carinderia in Quezon Province) on tv, I was swept away by the owner’s business
concept. I thought it was brilliant. Few days after, I was able to visit
Mustiola personally. True enough, everything that is in there is adhering. It
wowed me. And from then on, Mustiola has become my business model. Aside from
my fondness to food, I wish to have this type of business primarily because of
manpower demand. One of my ultimate goals is to create jobs. And as the
business grows, I wish to see the lives of my employees grow too. I would like
to give them opportunities to learn skills other than what they already possess
supplemented with financial literacy education and most importantly spiritual
formation.
Ever since I
was a child, I am grateful to have natural affection to numbers. That is
probably the reason why it didn’t take me too long to fall in love with stock
market and other forms of investments. I believe that a passive income is vital
in preparation for the future which include my retirement and the realization
of my other goals in life.
What do you
want to do in your leisure time? I love reading books. I love
watching movies, I love eating out with family and friends. I love travelling.
I love adventures. I love to do many things. I believe I will be able to do
everything without having to worry about other finances in due time. Have fun
and be worry-free. Isn’t that everyone’s ultimate wish?
How much do
you want to retire on? I want to retire with wealth that can sustain my
needs, my leisure activities and my advocacy to help people or
organizations that I already have in mind (e.g. a religious organization, a
sports commission, an orphanage for the abandoned senior citizens, and a tv
network’s charitable foundation). I'm glad passive income streams were
invented. I can say it's possible to succeed on this.
************************
Oh my...The
power of imagination is unbelievable. In fact, as I was doing this I also found
myself googling modern houses in Google Images. Wow. It’s working, I swear. I’m
elated to see my future, to see our house renovated with a touch of vintage and
modernity. Thus, I simplify Mr. Francis J. Kong’s message as: IMAGINE AND
WORK ON IT.
Photo credit: idlehearts.com
