Do You Stick to the Path that You Know? (Second of 2 Parts)

Life is a Celebration

You can read the first part here.

I am waxing nostalgic about some trainings and seminars I attended in the past. (some of them do that to you, you know)

A memorable one was the training I received for voice and dance (a scholarship) – it was through the generosity and kind-heartedness of Dong Alegre (of Miss Saigon fame).  In that “school”, I met many wonderful and talented people,  including two people whom I still consider my best friends, M and A.  The people in that school rose to great fame in theatre, both locally and internationally (and sometimes I catch myself wondering where I would be now if I had pursued that path).  I will always remember those years as one of the most exciting.

Then there are others I still want to experience:

1. Jim Paredes’ Tapping the Creative Universe Workshop (Manila)

According to his teaser, “There lies in you so much more than you know. Meet the bigger parts of yourself and set yourself free. Demolish what stops you from living your dream, or what prevents you from living a happy, productive, meaningful life. Experience your most empowered, creative and joyful year, and the rest of your lifetime.”

The 50th run ended on February 1, 2010. But you can inquire at emailjimp@gmail.com, or call 4275375 for the other sessions. Price is USD$120 for six sessions.

2. Millionaire Mind Intensive Wealth Seminar (US and Canada)

According to the website, at this “transformational” 3-day seminar, you’ll learn how to:

• Stop the blame game and take control of your financial future
• Focus on making a fortune while others are focused on fear
• Create your own personal economy that thrives at all times
• Make money while you sleep with massive, passive income
• Create and maintain wealth with the strategies of the rich

You can click here for the schedule.

3. United Nations Online Courses

They have courses on risk management, alternative dispute resolution, fundamentals of the money market and other interesting finance and business stuff.

For the course calendar, you can check this site. Fees are USD$400 per participant per course.

These delectable courses have been disseminated by my Maven friends (thanks so much). I am excited about attending them and meeting new people (I think that is half the fun).

Then there are other “trainings” that I really, really look forward too (and they are free or almost free or just spells “fun”):

1. Knitting, under the tutelage of my daughter. C’s teacher gave her a pair of knitting needles and balls of yarn and I saw her eyes light up when she looked at me. Really, this girl relishes being teacher to mommy. We are at the making-the-loop stage.
2. Lamazze. I did take some childbirth classes in San Diego (cannot find my certificate) but since I labored for 19 hours, I am not sure that I have it down pat. I think I need to take a refresher course so I can help this baby get out into the world with little or no discomfort (to both of us).
3. Attending a BlogHer Conference. I am so proud to be a part of this group and look forward to attending my first conference with them.
4. Attending the Personal Awareness and Leadership Seminar through WhenInManila and hopefully attending it for free.
5. Financial Planning. I am a junior Financial Planner under the tutelage of my FP. Learning about making money (lots of it) and keeping it (and yes, giving it away) is wonderful.

And you know what? The indirect (or direct) effect of all these trainings is that you would have made yourself more valuable.

Ricky Lee, a writer extraordinaire who penned obras like Moral, Bulaklak ng Maynila, Gumapang Ka sa Lusak and Himala – and yes, I trained under him too (in his scriptwriting seminar, Trip to Quiapo) – said that “the moment you think that you are a great writer will be the start of your death as a writer”.

If you expand the ambit of that statement, I think the analogy is this: the minute you think you are great and know everything, that the world cannot possibly teach you any more, that will be the exact minute of your demise.

In the end I guess the question is not “do you stick to the path you know”. Rather, what we have is a commandment: seek to learn, seek to know.

I have this mental picture of an old lady receiving her highschool diploma, beaming at the camera. To me she is this: a picture of man’s indomitable spirit, kind of a raging against the dying of the light. So when someone tells me they want to be something, I tell them to go ahead and give it a try and I mean it.

I really do think it is never too late.

Be rich,

Issa

P.S.  You can still win tickets here if you tell me your Valentine story.

Article by Issa. Art by D.  Copyright 2010.
Blog: YouWantToBeRich.com
Email: issa@youwanttoberich.com

[ad name=”HTML-2 Blogher Before Comment”]

[ad name=”HTML-1 Love in the Key of R Ticket”]

[ad#Google Adsense-1]