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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Five Commandments of Credit Cards




I just read a book titled - I will teach you how to be rich by Ramit Sethi.
In his book he have Six Commandments of Credit Cards but
I modified it and came up with only five for Filipinos, I also added comments with my personal experience with credit cards.

The Five Commandments of Credit Cards
1. Pay off your credit card regularly.
I know everybody heard of this many many times but this should be an established rule so you will not be bound in debt.
The bank charges so much in late fees and finance fees. I think they are charging about 6% of your debt.

2. Get all fees waived on your card.
I was able to do this in my credit cards (I have two of them). I asked them to waive my annual card fees (P1,200).
Surprisingly a friend of mine who has 4 credit cards paid his for the past 3-4 years.:)
When I told him about it he was very very surpised had he known that this was possible
he would have save about P19,000!!!!
So when you get a fee from your bank you need to call them and ask for them to remove it.

3. Automate your credit card payment.
This is a new concept that I got from the book "I will teach you to be rich". This is not part of Ramit's Six Commandments but
I added it here since I found it very helpful.
I asked some of my officemates and some of them pay online.
This will save me the hassle of going to the bank.
This removes the risk of moving the money from one place to another.
If you want to save 10-20% of you income, you can use automation to do that.
All you need to do is to open a bank account where you intend to put your savings to and then automate Fund Transfer from
your ATM to you that bank account.

4. Keep your cards for a long time and keep them active.
For me this just say don't switch from one card to another.

5. Use your rewards!
Also please take note on when your bonus points will expire.
I think you need to call your bank to ask how to use the rewards.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real



Last Wednesday in the Cutting Edge Fellowship, Pastor Noel talked about fear and how it affects our confidence level.

I would like to share to you an acronym of the word FEAR that best describes it:

FEAR = False Evidence Appearing Real

Most of our fears possesses some kind of evidence in our mind and from these evidences we consider them as real.
But in a closer inspection we will soon realize that most of them (if not all) are unfounded.
Say for example, a person who is afraid to speak in public (I picked this since according to Reader's Digest, public speaking is America's number one fear) ,
may have the following evidences in his/her mind :
  • He/she is afraid because of previous speaking experience that went south - this is an evidence based on the past
  • He/she is afraid because of another fear - called fear of rejection or fear of failure.
  • He/she is afraid because of self-limitation - "I can't do it" evidence
  • He/she is afraid because he/she has not tried speaking in public before. - I call this the "lack of experience" evidence.
Basing on these we can see that such fear is unfounded. Let me quickly run down each item and refute them:

Previous experience that went south.
This is a common source of fear. This happens when we had a very bad experience in the past that our mind just associate pain to that experience.
We tend to get avoid experiences that will associate us with the pain we experienced in the past. But we all know that the past will not determine our future so regardless of our past experience we should try again. If we failed in speaking in public in the past we need to try again. If we failed in a business venture in the past we should try again. If you failed in getting the girl in the past, then you should try again.

Fear off rejection and failure,
Fear of rejection and failure are probably the most common of fears. We know that while we are still alive in this world we will experience rejection and failure. Why not use rejection and failure to our advantage? How? When we get rejected, we learn from it and consider our approach and presentation. When we fail, we fail forward. Let me share to you a quote from John Maxwell in his book Failing Forward - "the difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure."

Self-limitation
Self-limitations usually roots from childhood. It a result when those who we are with growing up (or mother,father,yaya,aunts, lolo,lola,uncles,older sis and brothers) did not expressed their confidence in us. I have the priviledge of watching my niece and nephew grow up and I can tell you the difference between a kid who is raised with express confindence and those who are not. I have a newphew is is raised in our "traditional Filipino way" of raising kids and another nephew who is raised in what I call "after-listening-to-a-parenting-seminar" way and I can tell you the big difference between how they speak in confidence. As a family we recognized that we always verbalize our confidence with the kids at home. Because we now know that there is a big difference in how kids turn out when you speak postively to them and when you don't.

If you have problem with self-limitation because of how you are raised, I think the best thing to do now is to know that the LORD is confident on you and He trust you.
So you don't have to live like a chicken, you need to live like an eagle. :)You have a choice not to be limited. You can choose to be more and not less.
And as Philippians 4:13 says,"I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME THE STRENGTH".

Lack of experience.
We often curl up when we don't have experience on a particular subject but the truth is, all of us started with no experience.
Those that belong in the top 10 percent today (in any industry) started in the buttom 10 percent. So if we allow lack of experience to stop us then we will never be able to move forward. And we will always be stagnated wondering how life would be if we tried.

Fear is a paralyzing entity that can stop us from becoming what God intends us to do. But knowing exactly what you fear and why you fear them will help you understand that
these fears are simply False Evidence Appearing Real. Good afternoon.

Joseph


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Monday, March 23, 2009
Why I read books?

Why I read books?

One of the problems that I know right now concerning the area of personal development is the lack of interest in reading books. Many people I know ask where I get all the ideas I share to them in conversations, lectures, presentations, and speeches. I don’t know what answer are they expecting from me but my answer will always contain reading books. It is said that there is no substitute in reading books and I found this to be very much true in my life. Reading books has transformed my life in my ways. I can account many of the things I learned and share from reading and trying what I’ve read. Many of the techniques that I apply in my team and many of the strategies that I used in my work came from what I’ve read. And some people will come up to me and ask me how I thought of it. I simply answered that I got them from a book I’ve read. Some people will respond by telling me that they are not readers and it’s good that I already have an appetite in reading. In short, they are saying it works for you because you are a “born-reader” but it will not work for me because unlike you I do not have those desires.

I did not started as a reader of books. I remembered that I love listening than reading the lessons in class. I figured that listening works for me and reading works for others. But there was this teacher who introduced me to the work of reading. In her class I’ve read four novels and submitted a review to her. This is something I’ve never done before. I started enjoying reading but later stopped the habit after graduation. I figured that I should not read any books anymore since there will be no teacher to check for it. I lamely allowed the tides of life to carry me. Until I realized that I felt so unsatisfied being carried by the waters of circumstances and decided to map my course. It was timing that my pastor talked about reading and upgrading your knowledge. I was challenged and was so enthused to read books.

I drop by a bookstore and got myself a book. To my surprise it did not go as well as I thought it should be. It took me awhile to enjoy the book. But I still carried on and carried on until I finished the book. Finishing gave me a new spirit and I desire to finish another one. I gained a new fervor of finishing what I am reading. Its amazing how one leads to another and another until I’ve read a few more books that interests me. I begun to read books about personal development and found that many, if not all, of the authors’ supports reading books even those who do not publish books. So I continued to read books and something wonderful happened, my language changed my, I have more ideas than before, and as I share the ideas that I’ve learned to my colleagues it impresses them. This drove me to read more books and share what I’ve learned. Until I got opportunities that I’ve never thought would be open for me (this soon). The years of reading books and learning opened big opportunities for me. Reading changed me.

Let me share to a quote from Charles “Tremendous” Jones, “Five years from now you will be pretty much the same as you are today except for two things: the books you read and the people you get close to.”
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Book Review: My Sheep Hear My Voice

Title: My Sheep Hear My Voice…
Author: J. C. Hedgecock


I picked up this book in the second week of January of 2009. An evangelist by the name of Dr. Keith Jenkins came to one of our meetings in Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship and shared to us about hearing from God. I was amazed of the concept and decided to ask God to speak to me. I know God speaks through thought and I had previous experience in the past where God really is leading me and speaking to me. But I was not 100% sure it’s all from God. So when Dr. Keith expounded on his experience in this matter it got me excited and remembered my experience with the LORD. So I took the book and read it on my way home. I turned the pages and for some reason I don’t like the book. :) My head is just filled of doubts whether it will work or not.

I went to India and decided to bring it with me. I re-read the introductory part of the book and again I didn’t like the book. When I came back to the Philippines I tried reading again and I was in agony while reading it and the funny part is, I don’t know why. It was then when I continued reading it that I realized that satan does not want me to read the book. My head could not take the idea that I will have to deny myself the lordship of my life and give it to Jesus Christ to be able to hear from God. On top of that, I have my doubts whether it could work. Or whether I will still hear myself or hear God. I was there pulled up and down and side to side. I was very confused, my flesh wants me to stop (for self-preservation), satan is feeding my mind with doubts and God’s WORD is piercing my heart to the point that I can surely say I want to give God everything. The concepts shared in the book were simple but it’s hard to swallow. Many times we just want to live in denial with ourselves and allow truth to pass by. I realized that I am living in sin by lording over my live. I have lived my life very wrongly and the devil does not want me to realize it. I pursed reading it even though it hurts. I prayed many times and ask forgiveness as the LORD revealed to me the things that are stopping me to become what He desires me to be.

I started doing as the book says, surrendering my lordship to Christ because of love and begun to walk in the Spirit. I understand that this will take me awhile to get used to. I love myself too much to let God have the driver seat but I love the Lord and He needs and wants me to give the keys to my life to Him. So I made up my mind to walk in the Spirit and continue doing things that will mortify my flesh. There are times that I forgot who’s driving and I automatically grab the steering wheel (like just few seconds ago) and then I could almost hear God telling me, “let me driver Joseph”. The thing about walking in the Spirit is to decide that God will decide all the decisions that you should make to you need to ask Him. This goes for the “small” and “big” things so this covers all. Proverbs 3:5-6 says,” Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he shall direct your path. The keyword for this verse is the word ALL. So whether we consider the task big or small it does not really matter. :)

Also it entails being constantly thinking what you are thinking. You need to be aware what you are thinking about because everything starts with a thought and so we need to examine every thought that’s going to our head. We need to sort it if it’s from satan or self or God and make the appropriate actions to every source of input. This entails a lot of mental work than just allowing your head to absorb everything.

This is one of honest and straight-forward books that I’ve read. The author obviously is not selling something and all the important aspect is being repeated all throughout the book so the reader will not miss it. We will end-up committing it to memory. I will definitely re-read this book.

I’m sure that if you are reading this you will ask me if I’ve heard from God now. I believe I am. God bless you.
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The 17 Indisputable LAWS OF TEAMWORK

Title: The 17 Indisputable LAWS OF TEAMWORK

Author: John C Maxwell

Believe-it-or-not I started reading this book three or four years ago and I just finished it last night. Why? Because back then when I started reading it I found the ideas presented to be OK. By OK, I mean that the ideas are good but it is something I could not use as of the moment. And there are just times that you don’t want to read an OK book you want to read a more than OK book (my term for an idea that I can use NOW). So after finishing the first and second law of teamwork I put the book down and shelved it. Back then I was not handling a team so I felt that could not relate to The Law of Significance and the Law of The Big Picture. Back then my foresight was still very limited and I did not think that reading about before-hand will come in handy later. I was dead wrong.

When I was assigned a team in the office I already forgot that I had a book on teamwork. It was later when I felt that my team was stagnated and there were issues in my team I could no longer address. I was in dire need of insight when I remembered this book. I read and read and found a lot of team issues that I was experiencing. It prompted me to read some more and try some ideas that was suggested in the book such as in the Law of the Chain and the Law of the Catalyst. Some of them worked immediately and some of them took time. Some ideas like “The Law of the Bad Apple” gave me a new perspective on the role of a leader in a team. Some of the ideas I’ve read I’ve shared it to my officemate – a fellow leader who likes the idea so much. Now the book became an easy reading and the ideas I found in the book gave me a better picture of my role as a leader and as a team member. I have to admit I am still working on some mental and attitude changes that is required of me to be a better leader but the information that I gain is very beneficial for me and for my team. I think this book should be a handbook for every team leader or team member who wants to empower his team. I certainly will review this book and refer to it as many times as I can as I grow and study teamwork and leadership. Let me quote John Maxwell to end this article, “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, embrace them and empower your team.”





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Friday, March 13, 2009
Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar



Last week and part of this week is "overtime week". All week we need to go overtime... some issues just jumps on you and you have no choice but to deal with them beyond the usual work hours or else you will miss the deadline. I had a chance to speak with a colleague about what is happening and he answered something like, "we don't have that. we can't have overtime". "I bring my work home", he added with pride in his voice. This is something I do not buy into. I think work should be done in the office once you leave the office you should leave work there. Unless of course if you work at home.:) This is one of the boundaries I set on myself. It's what I think is right, why go home and be with your family if your head is still in your work? I believe that when you are at work then be at work. When you are at home then be at home. Also, I believe that in doing that you will be doing your family a great favor. Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar, give to your family (and to yourself) what is due to your family. When I get married and have a family of my own I want to be able to remember this - in the end, no one in his deathbed will ever say to himself (and to others), " I wish I had spent more time in the office."
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Thursday, March 05, 2009
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The week is a bit heavy... regular issues.. changes.. new issues.. training.. moving forward.. moving back.. girlfriend.. to do list... mandatory overtime..novel..book.. study..thinking of business (again).. dates with friends..new church assignment..training..exam..community service..un-updated iPod..newly repaired laptop..sleep-less night..groggy morning..new deadlines..old deadlines..blah blah blah..:)

The wonderful thing in all of these is that I realized that:
  • It's a miracle that I have not broke down despite with all of the pressures I am into.
  • I am sad because I have stopped praying for the past few days.:(
  • The interesting part is that there are so many new things.
  • The good part is that I feel I have grown as a person.
  • The best part in all that happened I know I still love my girlfriend.:-*

She leaves me breathless every time I look at her.:D
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Tuesday, March 03, 2009
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Prevent virus from launching from USB to your PC

I wrote small batch file that will prevent viruses from getting launched from your USB drive to your PC.
What it does is that it modifies the file attributes and then delete autorun.inf

How to use:
1. open Notepad application. (Go to start-> run then type notepad)
2. Copy paste these text:
attrib -r -a -s -h
dir
del autorun.inf

save it to clean.bat .
3. Save it inside your flash drive (USB drive)

From now on, instead of opening directly your USB drive, you need to use the command line first and launch the batch file from there.
So from now on you need to:
1. Insert your flash drive
2. Cancel all attempt by the OS to open you flash drive.
3. Go to command line (Go to start then run then type cmd). This should launch
a black window.
4. Find the drive letter that is assigned to your USB drive (say H:)
5. In the command line, type H: then hit enter. This will change the director to where your USB drive is located.
6. type clean or clean.bat. This should execute all the lines above and delete the autorun file.

You can also type dir and see if there are other files that looks suspicious. They are suspicious because you don't know how those file got there.

I know this looks complicated but this is safer than just opening the USB drive without checking.
Of course you can just go ahead and scan you USB drive with and anti-virus.:)
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Monday, March 02, 2009
Just finished reading...


It's been awhile since I've read any novel. I think the last novel I've read is from Frank Peretti titled, "The Prophet" and I have not finished it. So it's a bit odd for me to pick up Ted Dekker's book, Adam, in Fully Booked bookstore (free advertisement:-)). I am a fan of Ted Dekker in fact I've read three of his books: Thr3e, Blink, and Obssessed. I think Thr3e is one of the best novels I read so far. It's a fast paced novel full of action, adrenalin rush, and mind-bogling twist towards the end of the story. It's the type that keeps you wanting for more and wondering how the story will end. Adam is such a novel.

From beginning to ending, I was caught in the mystery of trying to figure out how the story will turn. The story revolves around an FBI behavioral psychologist named DanielClark who is chasing a serial killer named Eve. Things went a little more intereting when he died and later was brought back to life by her partner Lori Ames (a pathologist). I will not tell more of ths story other than the part that really got me. It's when the story turned from pschological thriller to "something else". It was wonderfully done. In my mind, I was left asking is there such thing as evil? Or is it just a figment of our imagination?

This is another wondeful work from Ted Dekker.
Vote: **** (4 star)
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