WHERE do you see yourself five to ten years from now?
This is one of the standard interview questions that usually brings us to a pause, whether applying for a job or just simply contemplating on our own.
A once timid, almost a wallflower psychology graduate Maria Teresa Bermejo or Myra never expected to end up as an insurance agent, a field that requires constant interaction with people to convince them on the value of investing, to teach financial literacy, or simply maintaining relations with trusted clients.
She has been doing it for three years and has been keeping her status as an Elite Bronze Planner.
What changed her was her pursuit for personal development and growth.
“Dili baya ko tabian sa una. Kung makita lang ko nimo sa eskwelahan sa una, wala tao-tao lang ko. Hangin-hangin lang (I was not really talkative. If you could only see me in school, I seem inexistent). I really don’t talk. Even recitation, I don’t like,” she said. “Tungod man gud atong personal development, na-transform ko (But because of my desire for personal development, I was transformed).”
She used to work at a mall in Davao City as a Human Resource (HR) assistant for three years. There, she was doing more, she said. In fact, more than what she is paid. She has also undergone several trainings during her stint and there is that possibility of promotion. She was thankful for the opportunities yet still feel unfulfilled.
“I stayed there for three years. I resigned because na feel nako walay personal growth. Naa may trainings and experiences pero all about sa work. Dili siya sa personality (I resigned because I felt that there was no personal growth. There were trainings and experiences, but they are all about work. Not on personality),” she said.
After months of unemployment, her father encouraged her to join her first insurance company. She thought it was where she can find what she was looking for.
“Naay feeling na kanang mao na siguro ni akong ginahulat para sa personal development and growth pero (I had a feeling that maybe this is the personal development and growth that I was looking for but) but it did not end up to what I really envisioned,” she said.
Her team was dissolved three months after she joined. She became idle and less productive for nine months. She did not get any recognition because of it.
“I was questioning everything ba that’s been happening because I did not intend to be here in the first place. Nagjoin gani ko ani para naa koy mahimo unya nganong nawala na pud (I joined so that I have something to do and now it is gone),” Bermejo said.
Until, some members of her company transferred to another insurance firm and brought her with them. She then found the environment that helped her flourish and figure out her sense of purpose.
“I fell in love with the team because they incorporate life coaching in financial coaching, the team, and the culture,” she said.
She realized that personal growth does not stop once found but rather a continuous process.
“Narealize nako nga naa pa gyud diay ikagawas nga murag naa pa gyud diay potential ang usa ka tao (I realized that people can still give more). You can never judge a person based on their current situation even if seems they have already achieved success. We can still do better than that,” Bermejo said.
She said everything that happens in one’s life has always something to teach. And she wants to echo the same lessons to others and hopefully add value to their lives with financial literacy.
“What I am looking forward pa in this industry is being a leader, creating a team and I want to influence them or convince them that they can still be the best version of themselves,” she said.
She said the only way for change to begin is to start from within.
“Before you can change as a person, you need to be aware first kung unsa imong sarili para from there, ma-identify nimo kung unsa pa ang imong kailangan ichange,” she said.
Her pursuit to know more about herself made her see what she can become in five to ten years’ time - from a shy woman to a wealth coach.