Friday, January 11, 2008 Lee: A to do list for 2008 By Kelvin Lee Babble on
EVERY new year people make New Year's resolutions. The problem though is that resolutions are always broken.
So I decided to try something new and come up with a To Do List instead. It's the same basic idea as a new year's resolution, except that there is an emphasis on it being something that one HAS to do, rather than being something one merely hopes to do.
With the name change, the list is more likely to get done.
I know it's just semantics, but you would be surprised at how effective a name change can be. Never underestimate the power of words.
So anyway, here's my 2008 To Do list. Hopefully it will inspire you to include it in your own To Do list for the year.
1.) Learn more about Financial Planning - everybody needs to learn more about personal financial planning. Money doesn't grow on trees, after all (even though I wish it does!). Unfortunately, financial planning isn't something you can learn easily. It requires study and discipline.
This year, I plan to read and study different books on financial planning. There are a number of books in the Philippines on the topic already, such as Bo Sanchez's 8 Secrets of the Truly Rich and Efren Cruz's Pwede Na: The Complete Filipino Guide to Personal Finance. One recently released book is that of Chinkee Tan, 'Till Debt Do Us Part.
On the Internet, the best place to learn about financial planning and meet like-minded Filipinos would be the forum www.income-tracts.com. This forum includes some prominent businessmen, such as Francis Kong, as members. I just joined that forum myself, and I hope to see you there.
2.) Make a Positive Difference in the Lives of Others -- How can I do this? By helping a volunteer organization, such as Pathways to Higher Education (www.pathwaysphilippines.org), which provides college education opportunities to underprivileged high school students.
One can be a Pathways volunteer teacher or a friend-raiser (Pathways defines friend-raisers as someone who spreads the word about what Pathways is doing).
An alternative to simply helping an organization is to create the organization instead. One can partner with the international organization Glocal Key (www.glocalkey.org), which is on the lookout for a founding member for a Philippine chapter. I would love to do this myself, but I just don't have the time nor resources right now. Hopefully, a passionate reader can pick up where I left off.
Glocal Key focuses on connecting the youth throughout the world. Glocal is basically an amalgam of the words Global and Local. Their motto is this -- A Global Network: A Local Impact.
Interested volunteers can contact the founder of Glocal Key, Harum Mukhayer, through the website at www.glocalkey.org.
Another option in making a positive difference is social entrepreneurship and becoming a changemaker. One can do this by joining the changemaker network (www.changemakers.ning.com), which is supported by the Ateneo School of Government. You can learn more about social entrepreneurship and hopefully become one yourself.
3.) Find my entrepreneurial passion- after being an employee, student and writer most of my adult life, I believe it's time to try and look for my own business opportunities.
It won't happen overnight, especially since I have my Bar examinations coming up soon, but at least by being consciously on the lookout for a business, I am more likely to find a startup to call my own. And I hope it shall be something that I can be passionate about.
One example of someone with entrepreneurial passion is my very own little sister, Keryl Lee. She had a great human resources job with an international bank in Manila. However she left that job to pursue her passion for coffee in Davao city.
She soon opened her own coffee shop named Brew Crew's Coffee House, near the Ateneo de Davao College Campus. Note that she is still in her early twenties, so this was no easy feat!
She is now doing what she loves, what she is passionate about. And that makes all the difference.
I hope to find my own entrepreneurial passion soon, and perhaps become like my little sister in the future.
So what's on your to do list?
(Email me at babbleoncolumn@yahoo.com, if you would like to know more about the groups mentioned in this article. Read more on my blog http://kelvinlesterlee.wordpress.com.)
