It was almost 1:00pm. Our guests were coming in.
Ms. Michelle could've won the early bird award if there was one! It was a pleasure to meet her.
More people were coming in...
Meanwhile...
That's me on your left with my partner, Bob Barcebal. (Spark Learning) We were about to launch the "Start Something" campaign. And just like any "Start", we had no idea how it will turn out. (I know we look calm, but deep inside we were nervous.)
We waited for a few minutes for the other participants to arrive. At this time, everyone looked so serious. Remember when you were in high school and you were asked to go to the principal's office? That's how serious they were.
To break the ice, my partner and host, Bob Barcebal, encouraged everyone to stand up, "Talk to least five people you don't know."
Ms. Aldreanna and Ken
Jay and Mark
Marvin and Ms. Barbie
After the exercise, Bob gave this takeaway, "To succeed in any endeavor, you've got to take the initiative."
Now, we wanted to make sure that everyone was awake the entire event. The Solution...
Chocolates!
Coffee. Not just coffee, but good coffee.
....and Humor!
We take FUN seriously. Like you, we hate boring presentations too!
Now, when Bob introduced me, I thought he was introducing another speaker – the person he was describing was a bit too impressive. I guess that's what friends do. They build you up, then leave you alone on stage!
I shared what it means to be a Productive Pinoy. (... and the story how Angry Birds became the #1 game)
Photo Courtesy : Francis Supe
Before that, Mr. Buddy here won a Productive Pinoy book by guessing who quoted this line, "Trabaho lang ito, walang personalan." If you don't know who, be happy, that proves that you're still young.
Shortly after, I asked the participants to do this simple activity. "What's one thing that you've been putting off?" And in the spirit of Draw Something, I asked them to draw it!
Looks like the guys at Logorama is brewing something...
Ms. Hannah, is that a hotel? Hope you can invite us when it opens.
Kevin and Ms. Barbie
Ms. Hannah and Ms. Carmen
Everyone seems to enjoy what the others have to say. So, I called for volunteers, "Who wants to share what you're about to Start?"
MoneySwap Marketing Manager Ms. May Shelle told us about "Gadgets Unlimited," an exciting project she's working on. (Ma'am discount ha!)
Krizia wants to become a motivational speaker someday. After hearing her, I'm convinced that she will be one ... maybe sooner than she thinks!
Now, before Adrian becomes a best-selling author, I suggest for you to take advantage of his writing now, visit his blog... Seeker's Portal.
The best is yet to come. I asked three of my friends to tell their story on "How they Started Something"
Malvin Dinlasan told us how he is now living the exciting life. (now a social media consultant)
He concluded with this, "The ACHIEVERS created the bags of chips and television that the SETTLERS munch and watch TV shows all day." (Another memorable quote from him would be something related to "Boy Bawang.") Read Malvin's take here.
This proves that you don't have to be a motivational speaker to inspire people. Rochelle, the blogger behind Hearty's Haven told us her story.
She works for a multinational company. Her boss told her that she needs to improve her writing skills. Instead of being discouraged, she took it as a challenge and decided to start a blog to improve her writing.
She didn't even expect people to read it. Today, Rochelle's blog has 60,000 visits per month. Now, she enjoys writing and meeting new people. Rochelle made us realize that even our weaknesses can become our strengths if we are willing to work at it! (read Rochelle's take here)
She didn't even expect people to read it. Today, Rochelle's blog has 60,000 visits per month. Now, she enjoys writing and meeting new people. Rochelle made us realize that even our weaknesses can become our strengths if we are willing to work at it! (read Rochelle's take here)
Cornel Bongco tells his story on how he started using his Yoyo to share a life-changing message. This unique idea has allowed him to speak to different groups of people and has brought him to many places. (local and international)
We all enjoyed his story, especially when he was talking about the mysterious "kwan!"
It was a fun afternoon.
Maybe more fun than you would think...
Even this guy is thinking ... "Hmmm what business should I start?"
You're never too young or too old to learn!
This young lady told her brother the next day, "Kuya, before you start anything, decide to finish it!" (A point I made during the presentation)
I continued with "How to Achieve Major, Major Goals" and shared the story on how my book idea came to life. "To write a book, learn how to write one page a day."
That's my pretty wife wearing fuchs... What's the spelling again? Ok, pink na lang daw. Alongside our good friends, Kat, Rudyard and Sol, my brother-in-law.
Mr. Buddy wrote a dedication for me. See the left side of the book.
The next two books I signed was addressed to the two Ronalds of Red Ribbon. To avoid confusion, which book belongs to whom, I wrote the same dedication! (Ayos ba, Nalds?)
Nice to meet you, "Ms. Nyc". Yup, that's her name.
It was fun working with Cornel, Rochelle and Malvin. Hindi kompleto 'pag walang group shot. (Sorry, we didn't do any jump shot.)
Me (Yeng Remulla), Cornel Bongco, Rochelle Chua and Malvin Dinlasan
Special thanks to May (my editor) and Ms. Shawie for helping us during the event! Big thank you to Maan Villanueva for taking our photos!
This was held last June 8, 2012. The Forum, 4th Level of FullyBooked Bonifacio High Street in Taguig City.
We are excited to see our participants start their something. Hope you can join us next time!