Want to Know How to Survive and Thrive Growing Up?

Curious to know how to survive the hard times in life and still succeed?

So I got invited to give a talk on how to survive and thrive growing up. Thought I share this with you as well…

Just a little back story…

A little over 8 years ago, I used to work as a nurse in a private hospital.

At the time, I have already incurred a total of 3 years working in Medical Ward and ICU (Intensive Care Unit) combined.

If you’re a nurse working in the Philippines, I know you’ll understand that having at least 3 years of experience will make you a good candidate for a good fortune abroad! (hmmn, at least a chance)

It was then when a friend told me…

“Hey March, why don’t you apply as a cruise ship nurse??”

Since I’ve been working for 3 years, perhaps, this is just the break I’ve been waiting for(*wink *wink)–or so I thought!

With high hopes, I did not think twice. Right there and then, I made a decision.

I tendered my resignation!

Wooohooo! This is really it!

“I will travel the world for free. And I’ll be earning dollars at the same time!”

From the province, I went all the way to Manila.

I finished all the necessary training. From completing SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) to getting my seaman’s book.

“You’re almost there, March!”, I would always tell myself then.

Then reality hit me!

I waited for a month. After another. After another.

I was waiting in vain.

I was already waiting for 3 months then but nothing seemed to happen. I started to feel like a bum.

You know what’s even worse? Every time I check my Facebook feed, I would see my colleagues enjoying their fortunes abroad. I felt bitterness to the highest level!

I was staying in my sister’s condo then. It was at that time when I had to look for a job to finance my stay in Manila. Oh yeah, and be able to contribute to the expenses at home.

I worked as a call center agent.

I thought at least I was making ends meet.

It was when I felt a little lax and comfortable that life hit me again!

After 6 months of working, they had to lay off some agents.

You guessed it right. I was one of them!

At age 26, I remember lining up in a different call center company just to apply. There were 19 years old and fresh grads. While there I was, I was starting from scratch.

Oh boy, it didn’t feel right. I was at the brink of giving up!

“How to survive life???”

But that was also the wake-up call for me. I remember having to utter these words…

“I will change my life for the better.”

Good thing my sister Sha asked me to attend this seminar on how to work from home as a Virtual Assistant. I wasn’t sure what hit me then. All I could remember was that I was already frustrated and I needed to know how to survive.

After the whole day seminar, I would remember waking up at 6 AM and would sleep at 12 midnight.

That was how I was dedicated to working things out.

After 2 weeks, I got my first stint. I had my first client. After another. After another.

It felt good working from home.

After a year, I thought of leveling up my career.

I enrolled in this course offered by the International Institute of Digital Marketing. That was when I got certified as a Social Media Marketing Specialist.

And as they say, the rest is history.

That was 7 years ago and it feels just like yesterday.

At that time I thought my life was a mess. I needed to know how to survive.

But it turned out, you can actually turn your mess into your message.

Do you feel as though you’re on the brink of giving up? You’re barely thriving life.

And you really want to know how to survive!

Allow me to share with you 3 tips:

1. Say Yes

I realized, my break started when I became faithful in serving. It was Bro Bo Sanchez who once said to “Serve first and money will follow.”

At first, it didn’t make sense to me. But I realized, one of the services I would offer then was to become part of the Visuals team at The Feast. And now, who would have thought that it paved the way to how I discovered one of my passions which is Digital Marketing.

Oh and this means you also need to say yes to God’s redirection. The only thing I had in mind back then was to pursue my career as a nurse. I realized I was better off pursuing other things. Say yes to being open to other opportunities.

2. Say No

There are times we have to say no to other things. By this, I mean saying no to things that would hinder us to grow.

One of the things I said no to was to please everybody. In your journey to reaching your dreams, sometimes, you just need to focus on your race. Stop thinking about pleasing other people.

Run your own race. Say No to things/people that hinder your growth as a person.

3. Say Something

I believe that you were born for greatness. In the same way that you were born to love. Love is not love until you give it away.

Give back to people. Pay it forward.

This is also the reason why I’ve written an eBook “How to Work from Anywhere” which people can download for free. It details how I started from scratch working from home or practically anywhere… and how you can too!

Now right back at you.

I know it’s not an accident that you’re reading this.