Sales Calls and Courtship

They say that those who are good at sales are also good at courtship. These two things are actually so alike that you can talk about one thing using terminologies and processes of the other. It's normal for TL's to coach their agents using ideas of courtship but what i found out this morning was the amazing effect of discussing it the other way around specially if those who are involved in the discussion are all tenured.


This morning, at shift, the atmosphere was very dull and heavy because of various events that transpired during the past days. Then, agents suddenly talk about relationship issues and shared their personal views on things. The discussion became more lively when our operation's manager joined in. Everyone has their own views of things which made the discussion a multi-party one. In able to have similar ground on these diverse views, we then start comparing it to making sales calls.

Unknowingly, our discussion was then focused on how sales call works. We are using terminologies such as "quality issues", "kicked sale", "call back". "hold". "hung up", etc. It is so focused in a sense that whenever someone who just walked in would hear our conversation, he would have no idea that we were actually talking about our views on romantic relationship and courting.

In the end we were able to come into agreement on certain issues. It also made the floor livelier and more conducive.

Outdoor Experience in Antipolo

Last Friday, I went on a swimming party. It was held at Boso-Boso Highlands Resort and Convention Center.

All personal troubles in getting there was all worth it as I've enjoyed our whole day of fun and adventure.
I was amazed with the beauty presented by the venue. It is a great place for adventure-lovers, nature-lovers, or even for those who just want to swim to keep stress away.

We had so much fun with the pool that was almost exclusive for us hehehe. Just when I thought that the astonishing view and the relaxing pool was all I could ask for, I've learned that they have more to offer. We explored the resort and we found a some exciting things like the seemingly army training camp that you would reach after walking way down on the inner part of the resort wherein you would pass through a bridge situated among trees and shrubs.

Unfortunately, after a few minutes of fun, we were informed that this potion of the resort is not available publicly, perhaps it is on private reservations.

On our way back, I've noticed few function halls and another pool within that area of the resort.

I would really recommend the resort for those who would like to enjoy a day of great outdoor experience away from the stress of the metro.

But there is no doubt that a place like this is more enjoyable when you spend it with new friends.

Mobile Blogging

This is my first post using a mobile phone. I'm actually at home right now  so there's no need to be mobile blogging 'coz I can get into ky PC but I just wanna try out things.

Thouh I find it quite "different", I think this would be handy for instantly blogging things when I am out.

Still, I find blogging on PC to be more convinient.

Success, Happiness, and Satisfaction

Who on earth does not want to be happy? To attain a certain level of satisfaction in life? In other words, become a successful individual?

Happiness and satisfaction comes after success. This how we were brought up. This is what we are taught at school. This is the same idea imposed by the society. All these contribute to a strong environmental factor which serves as the primary reason why we struggle in life. Students study rigorously in able to get a diploma or better yet, become the best in class. Having their credentials to back them up, graduates then seek for a good job -- a high-paying job. After getting a job, he would then do his best and compete with co-workers for a better position which gives a better payout.

Why do we need to go through all these rigorous struggle and tight competition? Well, it is to become successful. Then we would earn a high social status, buy the things that we need, spend for the luxuries in life, or to put it simply, live the elegant life that we dreamed of. With such a wonderful life, we earn a certain level of satisfaction. We are satisfied to finally attain a so-called happy life.

That is the structure of the path that most of us are taking. Actually, it makes a lot of sense why we choose that path. In the first place, we are part of the society and we should move in accordance to the norms imposed by the society. After all, who is to reap all these good things? Nobody but us.

For a moment, let us try to forget about this structure and the cultural norms that we live with and let's try to have a deeper understanding of the 3 terms.

I found 2 interesting definitions of the word "success". Dictionary.com defines it as "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors" or "the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like". Applying these in the context of life in general, these definitions imply that in able to be successful, we need to magnificently accomplish something (education) or become a wealthy and highly acclaimed individual. We can then say that success really is something external that is judged by the society. We can trigger it but we cannot control or impose it. You will be labeled as successful only if you comply to certain parameters set by the society.

Now let's look at the term "happiness". This is a word that we all understand but find hard to fully explain. It seems that even dictionary definitions are still not that clear. It is usually defined by giving related words such as well-being, contentment, and joy. Why is it a little hard to fully define it? It is because happiness is something internal that we can feel for our selves. "Happiness" along with "love", are some of the words that remains uncontrolled by norms and standards. It can even go beyond logic and reasoning. The society has no direct authority on saying when you are happy and when you are not. Others can only perceive it but only you can identify it.

Though we cannot give an absolute definition for happiness, we can discuss it as a concept. We can classify happiness into two categories -- relative and absolute happiness. Relative happiness is one that we feel in relation to another object, event, or idea. This type of happiness is temporary and subjective. It's existence relies on another thing, usually an object. It also subsides as time goes by. For example, you had a new car. At the very moment you obtained the car, you are completely thrilled and happy. This may be because you attained something that you dreamed of for a long time or because you were one of the first few owners of that specific model. As time passes by, having the car will feel ordinary, and the happiness you initially felt is far different from the happiness you feel whenever you see the car. What's even worse is when the car is stolen, the happiness that you initially felt would turn into grief. If we would look at it closely, we could say that relative happiness is influenced by social structures.

Absolute happiness on the other hand, is a state wherein we feel happy even though social structures and sometimes even logical reasoning tell us otherwise. Now this is something completely non-subjective to external influence. For example, there may be times when you lost on a competition but, still, you are happy. This may be because you did your best or you never expected that you would reach that far and through the process, you developed a new skill or learning. It may also be something that is beyond your reasoning. You just feel happy. That's it. Without you even knowing why you are happy. We could say that this type of happiness is far more powerful than whatever unfortunate events that coincides with it and is therefore supreme to relative happiness. But if we would recall our experiences and compare the number of instances that we felt absolute happiness with that of relative happiness, it would be surprising that we could only recall a few (if any) for absolute happiness and a lot for relative happiness. What does this mean? It is because the society where we live in, puts too much emphasis on relative happiness to the point that we barely notice small instances wherein we felt absolute happiness. There may also be times where we subconsciously disregard this instances because the society does not approve of it and we think that we would just be ridiculed because of it.

Now let's go to our third term, "satisfaction". Dictionary defines it as "a fulfillment of a want or a need" but we could technically narrow it down to "a fulfillment of a want". To analyze it, let's look at one concept in economics which states that "Wants are limitless." If wants are limitless and satisfaction is fulfillment of wants, then we could say that there is no such thing as total satisfaction. The satisfaction that we feel at a given instance is transient or short-lived. When you attained something, you would be satisfied. However, It is part of human nature that whenever you attained something, you would then aspire for something higher. With that, your satisfaction subsides and then struggle to attain something more for you to have that level of satisfaction then you'd aspire for something higher and the cycle repeats again and again.

With all of the things discussed above, let's go back to the social structure we discussed at the early part. As implied earlier, all our endeavors are done because we would like to be happy. So is it true that happiness comes after success? Yes, this is true but only partially. Success leads to relative happiness but not absolute happiness. Can't we eventually be really happy when we become successful? Not absolutely but we can choose to be satisfied with all the relative happiness we experience along the way. That brings in the third term, satisfaction. We could never be satisfied with what we attain. We will feel temporary happiness and satisfaction but we will end up being swallowed in a system of continues cycle of events. We would end up like hamsters tired of running inside a wheel which don't really go anywhere.

The path towards absolute happiness is by following your heart. That way you would enjoy every moment of whatever endeavor you are in.

Flash Back

Just recently, I reflected on certain things about my life. Let's make a quick recap of the things that happened to my life.

i started elementary in La Huerta Elementary School then we accidentally found this small school, St. Dionysius School. It was situated on a place that you wouldn't normally find a school. The next year, I transferred to this school and eventually completed my primary schooling. After graduating from SDS, I went to Paranaque Science High School, an arena for the best of the bests. Unfortunately I was not strong enough to survive the remaining 3 years. The same year, we needed to reside in Pasig. With no other available choice, I enrolled at VABBC Christian Academy. After two years of stay, I unwillingly transferred to Rizal High School and there I completed my secondary education.

Here comes college life. I was planning to pursue geology, a field that interests me and where I really excelled. After a long argument with my mom, it was finally decided. I will be taking accountancy. I eventually studied at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig. I took BS Entrepreneurship, a course that I've heard for the first time during the enrollment date. Due to fortuitous events, I could not take accountancy so I settled with entrepreneurship though I was later on offered to shift to accountancy. During my 3rd year in college, I became a working student, not because I have to but because I just like the idea of it.

Looking back at all these things, it seems that none went according to how it was originally planned.

Now I am thinking, "What if I pursued geology?" Where could I be now? Though my mom was correct that it would not be that profitable, I could have attained one of my childhood dream -- becoming a scientist. Never in my childhood did I dream of becoming an accountant nor becoming a businessman. Though business and numbers are in  my blood, science has always been my passion.

Yes, I am good at numbers but my love for numbers was developed because of the computations one has to do to better understand and illustrate scientific concepts.

While writing this article, I realized that for so long, I've been blindly chasing rabbits, bears, horses, and dragons all at the same time but I failed to follow a dream.

Now I have a clearer understanding between the terms "happiness" and "success". You can be successful but not happy and on the other hand you could also be happy but not successful.

Sometimes, realization just come too late. How I wish I knew a scientist or someone who could have fostered my interest in science.

Building My First Company

There it is. I am finally starting a business of my own. It's not that I haven't had any before but this time it is something big. So big that can't carry it out on my own, at least not now. I want things to be somehow documented so I am posting it on my blog.

It is actually kinda crazy idea but it feels good. As my former dean said, "The crazier the idea, the better. Crazy bits of idea makes a successful business." It's worth a shot after all. Now, why do I think it's crazy? It's because it's a business wherein we (all of us involved) need to learn a different field -- far different from the course that we took and the learning curve is very steep.

Here's how the idea was formed. I have this cool professor in college. We have a couple of things in common. We're both into business and computing (programming to be specific). I always consult him on almost every business idea that I have, even on other interest that we have in common. There was a time when I created a program that could have saved a lot of students from stock market simulation, that professor's very notorious project. The program was written in C++ and I consult him for every now and then for the development of that program.

A few years later, the professor and I met again in a class This time it's e-commerce class. As expected a lot of side topics where brought up along the way and from time to time we recall that program that I made. One time, after reviewing for my upcoming exam, we had a talk about business a business idea that I have -- a coffee shop. We had an analysis on the said idea and I realized that it has a very shallow foundation. It doesn't even help solve an existing problem -- a fundamental concept in selecting a business that would have a greater chance to survive. He then suggested that I pursue my interest in programming and web-based businesses. He presented a certain problem of a certain age bracket and we pondered on it. We had exchange of thoughts and finally we both need to go home. Though no definite idea was formed during that discussion, it served as a catalyst of a great idea. It is to become the next Facebook, Google, and Microsoft.

The idea sure is crazy as hell. How can someone actually achieve that? To make things more depressing, I don't even have formal training on programming. At least I have a circle of friends that could compensate this. I have a lot of friends within the programming industry and they are very supportive whenever I inquire on programming matters. They also serve as anchors so I don't get carried away too far beyond control. I always keep in mind what one of them told me, "I tried to venture on my own but I didn't pursue it.... Even if your a great programmer, how could you beat a team of 500 programmers backed by a very good financial resources." He has a very good point but there's a loophole in this. The answer is "Great Idea + Proper Market Segmentation + Divide & Conquer".

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Success checklist:

• Existing problem - check
• Great idea - check
• Effective market penetration strategy - check (at least in plan)
• Technical knowledge - huh? where did I left it? ?
• Technical resources - do you know that google is your friend? :)
• Financial Resources - I don't need much for now
• Manpower - I just need a few to start

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So there it is. I need to find these few people that will work with me. That's the time I went to my classmates. Sure they are not in the IT industry and they barely have knowledge on programming but being graduates of Entrepreneurship and knowing their analytic skills, I know that they would contribute a lot to the realization of my idea.

Now the presentation. . . We conducted a meeting here in my place. It so happened that one member of the group has another business proposal. I let him present first but his presentation ended up in a series of unanswered questions. It's not that the proposed business was bad. I actually think it is a good business primarily because of the ease of production and the quality of the product but I don't see substantial potential for it.

Then came my turn to present. I talked about Google, Facebook, and Microsoft then finally proclaiming, "We would be the next big thing!" I told then that I have this untapped idea but I refused to discuss the details. Instead, I emphasized on how we should study a different field for us to realize this idea of mine. I also laid the plan on how we could achieve our ultimate goal. The plan is to study while applying our learning on creating applications and business solutions that we would be marketing to sustain us during our learning period. After completing necessary knowledge, we would then build what we call The Big "?" Everything is already set. All we have to do is to catch up with our learning before someone tap that untapped idea.