World View Statement

1. How do I describe the world I see around me? Troubled, peaceful, frightening, exciting?

I see a beautiful world around me, full of vibrant and positive things within it. The world has a lot of opportunities to offer only if we intentionally choose to see these opportunities. I travel a lot, and in my travels I don’t usually make a detailed itinerary of the places to visit. Most often, when I travel with friends, I follow the itinerary that they have created and find beauty in every place that we go to.  When I travel alone, I choose to see the vastness of the beauty surrounding me. I usually say a little prayer thanking God for the blessing that I have received from Him to be able to travel to a faraway land and see the beauty of his creations and marvel at the miracle which He has so greatly prepared for me for that day. There is so much to see and to be thankful for.

2. Do I believe that most people, say more than 80-90%, of the people know the difference between right or wrong? Explain.

I believe that most people know the difference between right or wrong, theoretically.  When you ask them of hypothetical situations, they would give you the right answers. But when they are forced into an actual situation where they have to chose between right and wrong, sometimes they would still choose to do the wrong action. Why? For some, it may probably be – the end justifies the means; for others, it maybe because at that point and at that very moment when they have to choose between right and wrong, they choose the wrong act because they feel it would make them happy. For them, all that counts at that point is the here and now.

3. In what ways, and to what extent, do I believe I ought to engage with the world I see around me? What meaning do I, as an individual, offer to the world?

Ohhh. In 2004, when I was just 26 years old, I questioned my purpose and existence and found my answer. I believe that my purpose in life is to always add value to the people that I meet. At that time, I didn’t fully know and understand what it means, but I have always held on to that statement – add value to each and every person that I meet. Big words. Until in 2012, when I resigned from Unilever, when I finally grasped what it meant to me. Adding-value means I want to have an impact in other people’s lives. This is what I wanted to do. But I question myself, how do I make a big impact? Being a Finance person, I wanted to add value to people by helping them manage their personal finances. In the Philippines, only 1% of the population has a bank account and that probably, the only thing they know about how to use their money is to spend it. I believe that there is a big opprtunity for me to help in this area. I wanted to add value to people by influencing them to change their mindset on how they view money which will in turn help them to be financially independent in the long run.