PASSION FOR LIFE

How do you build a culture of excellence? It takes passion for beauty. An appreciation of work at its finest. The pressure to give your best for the sake of excellence. How do we encourage a people to behave in such a way? One is to have a group that makes excellence their way of life. This group strengthens itself, models to others, and the behavior catches fire. Excellence of a leader exudes and it catches on to his members. Excellence is the refusal to take on mediocrity as a way of life. Excellence seeks out a "give-all" attitude. Excellence is strongly linked with clear vision. A culture of excellence is built when the atmosphere for passion is established. It can come in the form of a dignified and creative workplace that emits energy to fuel your work. It can come from a model leader who talks with conviction and walks his talk more than anyone else. A Culture of excellence does not consider mistakes as failures, but a learning step to become the best in one's field.

Generations come and go
Leaving a legacy to know
Some created a mess
Others claimed greatness

Dare we choose our fate?
Are we to love or to hate?
The path of peace, narrow
But with faith we will go

There is no easy way
We only strive each day
Unless we will pursue
No freedom, nothing new

Only once we walk on earth
Then a new generation will birth
By our actions they will recall
Will they bow in shame or stand tall?

Generations come and go
It is love I have to show
Come my son, do not fear
God and country I hold dear

A choice between a nation of consumers and a nation of producers.
What happens when a country consumes more than what it produces? Poverty.
The Philippines has so many shopping malls. We want to spend. We love to consume. And what do we spend on? Foreign products. Why? There aren't enough local products with equal quality. Instead of the money going to our fellow Filipinos, it goes to countries that are already rich.
How can we be productive? Simple. Produce something! We all have our special talents and abilities. We've got to have the right mind-set. What can i produce to contribute to nation building? When one produces locally, it cuts trasportation and middle men expenses. Therefore it will be cheaper and more abundant.
To consume is to run out. To produce is to create abundance.
We try to increase our consuming power by looking for jobs. Lets try to increase our productivity power by creating jobs for people. When we produce a product, it will need people to run it. We hire people to run the business, then more Filipinos can have jobs.
Productivity has to start from the grassroots. From the poorest of the poor. Why? Because people are the true wealth of a nation. The more people, the more productivity. Our challenge is to bring out the best of the poor. To be able use their skills to create abundance for them and for the nation. After all, they are the most plenty. When we empower the poor to produce, we also empower them to share. As a Gawad Kalinga saying goes, "Poverty is not a lack of resources, but a lack of sharing."
What talents do I have to produce something of value for the country? What is my passion? What is something new that I can learn to be able to be productive? What can I share to others to make them productive?
Let us choose to build a nation of producers. Great abundance will come. Parating na ang ani ng bayan, ang Bayan Anihan.

We often ask kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

We have hopes for them. We are excited of the decision they will make. We want them to succeed in life.

The above question also reflects on our yearnings of how the kids of today can change the world of tomorrow. Will they become doctors that are pro-life? Will they be honest businessmen and politicians? Will many of them answer the call to religious vocation?

We often hear them answer, “I want to be a doctor.” Other popular answers are, “scientist, astronaut, fireman, and president.” Kids have dreams. And they mold their dreams based on what they see from their parents, their community, on TV, the internet, and at school.

Whatever their ambitions may be, the challenge is that we have to prepare them to be Christ-like. To be Christ-like engineers, nurses, lawyers, or artists. We hope to hear them answer, “I want to be like Christ” above anything else. A portion of KFC’s vision statement is “…guided by the Holy Spirit in preparing Christ-like leaders…” We have to be one in with our vision and start molding today’s kids to be like Jesus.

We hear much about Generation X or Generation Y, defining what kids are today and how technology, media, and culture are affecting the way they make decisions. In CFC Kids for Christ, we are raising “GENERATION CHRIST.” A new generation that loves the Lord and follows His ways. A generation where corruption will be a thing of the past and loving one’s fellowman is practiced by treating the poor as brothers and sisters. It is a generation where Christ is the center of their lives.

Last night was the GK Christmas party, with a thematic dress up of the 80's. It was one of the coolest parties I know. Some dressed up in TOYOTA-CRISPA basketball uniforms, many had the Debbie Gibson look, some the Madonna look, and most guys with the folded sleeve open polo and undershirt with a touch of "pang baha" fold on the pants. The GK drivers, janitors, and messengers dressed up like CEO partners with coat and tie.

A particular symbol caught my eye: the ones dressed in the 1986 Edsa revolution theme. Reminds me of the unity of the Filipino people to bring back democracy into the land. Yet, if you observe 20 years after the revolution, we have become worse than before. But hope is not gone. It took 20 years to birth a movement that will renew the face of the Philippines -- Gawad Kalinga. The call to make every Filipino a hero started in 1986 and the concrete response 20 years later through GK1mb -- Gawad Kalinga Isang Milyong Bayani. Let us bring the revolution from the streets to the communities!