My Last Babble On Column: Lessons From Column-writing

Farewell (For Now)

(Babble On For the Sunstar Davao, January 25, 2008)

This will be my last column for the Sunstar Davao (for now). I’m taking a break from column-writing (with Sunstar’s permission) in anticipation of some personally significant events coming up this year.

I’ll still write once in a while on my blog and you are welcome to visit it, but 2008 will mostly be a rest year for me when it comes to writing, although I do hope to return to these pages. By then I may focus on a different area of writing instead of the Op-Ed topics I used to specialize in.

Writing an opinion column for the Sunstar Davao has been a life-changing experience, and it has taught me many lessons over the years some of which I would like to share with you:

1.) Not Everyone Will Agree With You. – Writing week after week on the most controversial topics usually means that not everyone will agree with what you have to say. Some people will even strongly disagree with you and go out of their way to insult you.

Writing on politics, in particular, tends to bring out the worst in people. I’ve had people call me names because of something I wrote. In this line of business, one’s opinions can get one into trouble.

But I guess this is normal for writers. Publishing your opinions and opening them to public scrutiny means that those same opinions are fair game and open to criticism, and that you yourself are fair game as well.

2.) Discipline is Key – I once thought writing my opinion about anything meant that it would be a fun job. I realized however that writing something every week is a challenge. Especially if other responsibilities get in the way.

There have been days when I wanted to skip the column. This happened a lot when I entered law school, and its horrible demands began to take over my life. Some days I would arrive at the house and simply want to plop into bed and sleep.

This is where discipline is key.

You have to set aside time for your responsibilities. You have to find the discipline to write, even though you would much rather get some sleep, or perhaps watch tv to relax after a long day of studying.

As I write this for example, I have a paper due for a class, and midterms to cram for. But I am pounding out a column instead, because I somehow found the discipline to do it week after week after week. This isn’t easy. But writing a weekly column is a responsibility which shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Discipline is a good thing, you see. And it can be the key to success.

3.) Attention to Detail is Necessary – Another lesson I picked up while column-writing is that one must pay attention to the smallest detail. I am not the only one who believes attention to detail is important.

Liew Mun Leong, the CEO of CapitaLand, the largest real estate company in Singapore, is such a perfectionist that others have said that he is “very fussy on details.” He credits his success to his perfectionist streak and paying attention to the smallest detail.

Applied to writing, paying attention to the smallest detail can mean the difference between a good column or a bad one, an accurate one or a totally wrong one.

In one column I wrote, one missing letter somehow made it seem like I was insulting a doctor I respected, rather than lauding him for his medical expertise. I apologized immediately of course but that was something that shouldn’t have happened.

One small detail can obviously make all the difference.

So Long
And with that final lesson, allow me to say thank you for your patience all these years. I hope you can join me when I return to writing one day in the future. Until then, you can still read my some of my random thoughts on business, law and life on my blog. You can also subscribe to my feed here.

Until then, farewell (for now).

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Midterm Examinations & A Leave of Absence

I apologize for the lack of updates. It is currently midterm examination season in law school. So there will be few updates this week and next.

I will, however, upload my last column for Babble On later this week. I am taking a leave of absence from the Sunstar Davao newspaper due to several significant personal matters coming up this year. I’ll blog more on that later on.

For now,  please bear with me, as I continue to juggle law school and writing.

Take care.

How Your Motto Can Make A Difference

(Originally entitled How Slogans Can Make a Difference, for my Babble On column in the Sunstar Davao, January 18, 2008)

In a recent issue of Forbes Asia magazine, there was an article on “Slogans That Work.” It talked about how corporate catchphrases and mottos can be effective, provided that there is some substance behind it.

Meaning, they work only if the companies do actually support these mottos, and aren’t just using them as mere wordplay. For mottos to work, companies have to mean what they say, and essentially, say what they mean.

One example that the Forbes article cites is Nintendo. For years, the Japanese gaming company rallied around the motto of “The Blue Ocean.” Blue Ocean strategy basically says that companies shouldn’t battle it out in an already saturated market, but should instead develop uncontested market space with limitless potential.

And Nintendo did exactly that. Nintendo sidestepped the standard gaming market and aimed instead at people who never played videogames before. Uncontested market space equaled limitless profits.

Nintendo produced the Wii, which has attracted new gamers and is especially popular with women and older players. These were people who were never even considered part of the videogame market. Nintendo Wiis now outsell the products of Sony (the Playstation 3) and Microsoft (Xbox 360).

Nintendo’s Blue Ocean made a difference and succeeded because it wasn’t mere wordplay for them. It was their way of corporate life. It was a motto that became part of the corporate culture.

(Btw- In the Philippines, early advocates of the Blue Ocean strategy are Francis Kong and Josiah Go, who both teach seminars on the subject.)

In the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila prides itself in “creating men and women for others.” This is not mere wordplay either. One only has to look at the number of social entrepreneurs that make up the alumni of this school. For example, Harvey Keh created Pathways to Higher Education, which helps less-fortunate students from public schools receive quality university education.

Atty. Carlos Medina, a graduate of the Ateneo School of Law, went into alternative lawyering (where lawyers essentially work for free ) and became head of the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC).

The AHRC’s clients aren’t the top moneymakers. Instead, their clients are people like the Sumilao Farmers, poor and indigent, but in need of legal assistance.

Ateneo continues to mold men and women for others, because that institution supports its motto by believing in it, living it and breathing it everyday. Pathways and the AHRC are actively supported by the Ateneo leadership; both organizations have offices within the Ateneo campuses.

In the curriculum of the Ateneo itself, there are even classes which require immersion in poorer communities, in order to expose the studentry to those not so blessed in life. The Ateneo also actively supports and encourages the Jesuit Volunteer Program (JVP) among its students.

It’s no wonder that Ateneo continues to produce selfless graduates, men and women for others, such as Benigno Aquino, who literally came home to the Philippine from exile to die. He believed in his motto that “the Filipino is worth dying for.”

Mottos aren’t just mere words. They can embody an entire culture and lifestyle, provided the corporation, institution or person wants it, supports it and believes in it. Then and only then can the motto make a difference.

As a law student and writer, I know the power of words. I make my living off of them, after all. I believe in the power of words so much, I made my blog and column’s personal motto revolve around it: “Making a difference one word at a time.”

I try and stay true to that motto every time I write. It’s a heady responsibility, knowing that with each word I put down, I am trying to make a difference in the life of my readers. It makes me more careful of what I write, and of the thoughts I consider putting down on paper.

So I continue to write and try to make a difference — whether it is through expanding the political point of view of my readers, sharing a lesson I learned with them, or simply just blogging a random thought, I hope my words can make a difference, one way or the other.

Whether I succeed or not like Nintendo and the Ateneo did however, is another story entirely. But I keep trying. One word at a time.

Your motto and your words can make a difference – you just have to stay true to them. And most of all, you have to believe in them.

So what’s your motto?

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8 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

On the Newly Corporate Blog, Melanie Lopez’s Gen Y blog, and even on Sam Davidson’s blog, there is an 8 Random Facts for 2008 meme going on which I found interesting and so I thought I’d give it a try.

So here are 8 random facts you probably didn’t know about me:

1.) I’m engaged! My dreamgirl said yes!

2.) I’ve lived and worked in Beijing – I studied Mandarin Chinese in the Beijing Language and Culture University for a year, and afterwards, I managed to eke out a living for another year.

Somehow, I was “lucky” enough to be there when SARS came. And because of that, I wound up heading back to the Philippines. Good thing I didn’t get infected, but man those were tense times!

3.) I was part of a Revolution – while I was teaching English to elementary kids (back when I had just graduated from University), Philippine President Erap Estrada was embroiled in a controversy over corruption.

The school I was working for sent a contingent of teachers to the rallies of what would become the EDSA II Revolution, the second bloodless revolution. The thing was, I had promised my mother I wouldn’t join the rallies. But I went anyway.

While I was there at the rally site, my cellphone rang, and it was my mom! I had no choice but to answer the phone, and when I did, she asked me point blank where I was. I told her I was at home.

She asked me why it was so noisy. I told her the tv was on real loud and covering the rallies. She then told me that my face had just been shown on television, so she knew I was at the rally. Busted!

4.) I almost moved to Belgium. – Yes. That Belgium. Enough said.

5.) I didn’t notice girls until I was in College – I was a loser in high school. Some people say I still am. Hmm…

6.) I have a fear of sharp objects - I still can’t touch a knife properly. I think this happened because of this incident: when I was a little kid, I had a lot of pet chickens. I gave each of them names. Then one by one, they started disappearing, right around the time we had a lot of fried chicken and chicken soup for our meals.

On the day the last chicken disappeared, I ran into the kitchen looking for my dad, to tell him what happened. When I opened the kitchen door, I saw my dad holding down the last chicken and just as I entered, watched in horror as he chopped off its head with a gigantic cleaver.

I blacked out. And ever since, I could never touch knives, or any sharp object without shivering.

7.) I haven’t zipped the fly of my jeans in over 5 years. – I use button fly jeans.

8.) I once had my middle finger lacerated by an air-conditioner. – I know that sounds weird. My brother and I were trying to put the airconditioner back into its slot, when his grip slipped and the whole aircon slammed into my hand.

I had to have 2 stitches done in the hospital. And while my finger was being stitched up, I almost fainted. Yeah I have a fear of blood too. Why do you think I didn’t go into medicine instead?

And now to wrap up this post — an invitation to continue this meme. If you are reading this, well… consider yourself tagged.

So what else didn’t you know about me?

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The Top Ten Emerging Blogs Contest: Why I Deleted My “Old” Posts

I just read about Janette Toral’s contest on nominating the Top Ten Emerging Influential Blogs of 2008.

Her rules are simple, just blog about ten blogs you believe are qualified to be cited as a “Top Ten Emerging Influential Blog.” You can start posting a blog entry beginning May 3, 2008 citing those 10 blogs you find to be emerging and influential. Only blogs created from July 2007 can be cited.

Ma’am Janette will post a link where you can submit the link to your blogpost on the topic. Since I wanted to join, and as per her instructions, I decided to delete some of my Babble On articles which I posted when this blog first came to be in September 2007.

Although those articles, columns and blogposts were posted in September 2007, when I first created this blog, they were written around 2002-2004. I had time-stamped them accordingly for my own reference purposes. So it looked like they were posted in 2002, 2004 etc.

Since this may confuse readers and participants of the contest (who may wind up thinking my blog is MUCH older than it really is), and taking Ma’am Janette’s advice, I decided to simply delete those posts and repost them later on.

I hope no one thinks I am trying to cheat here. I already emailed Ma’am Janette on this matter and she knows I am deleting those so called “old” posts so that I can qualify for the contest and avoid any confusion.

Anyway, the contest rules can be found on her site. I’ll be posting the ten blogs I personally find to be emerging and influential as soon as the contest opens. Good luck!

Who’s On Your Top Ten Blog List?

3 Things On My To Do List For 2008

A To Do List for 2008

(Babble On, for the Sunstar Davao, January 11, 2008)

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-tacts.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 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, 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 in grassroot communities 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 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?

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New Layout for the Babble On Blog

With the new year, comes new things. And one new thing in my blogging life would be this theme I picked out from the many custom-made designs by WordPress.

I think this one is cleaner and more pleasant to the eye than the old design that this blog used. Of course, it may not be perfect, and I still have to thresh out some bugs, but overall I’m happy with the new layout.

Why the change? Well, I’ve been thinking about a different layout for the blog for a long time now. I found the gray color scheme of the old one to be professional looking, but very depressing and monochromatic.

And in the words of my friend: it was sorta boring.

Thing is, I never did get around to making the change in layout. Change doesn’t come too easy for me, you see. Call it laziness, call it fear. Call it whatever you want. The result was the same. No change in my blog layout.

Then I saw that Ben Yoskovitz redesigned the layout of his Instigator blog for the new year. The redesign was even guest-posted in the Problogger blog. This was a much-needed kick in the pants to make me change my own layout. If someone else can do it, why can’t I?

And so here we are. A new design for the new year. Let me know what you think.

Oh and to Ben Yoskovitz of the Instigator Blog, thanks for the unintended, yet much-needed inspiration. If I hadn’t seen the change in design of your blog, I would never have gotten the courage, nor the grit, to make changes in my own.

The instigator blog instigated this change. And I believe my own blog is now better off (design-wise) because of it.

Instigate Change.

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Singapore Lawyer Runs off to the Philippines

Singapore Lawyer Runs off to the Philippines

A Singaporean lawyer, Zulkifli Amin who has been missing since November 2007, ran off to the Philippines to escape possible criminal charges. Here’s the kicker – he billed the plane ticket to his law firm.

So he not only got away, he charged someone else to do so too. Talk about adding insult to injury.

According to the Strait Times, Zulkifli is under investigation for $6 million Singaporean dollars that went missing. A lawyer for seven years, Zulkifli is a partner in the Sadique, Marican and ZM Amin law firm. He was in charge of the conveyance and real estate department.

According to K.C. Vijayan, the Law Correspondent of the Strait Times, the runaway lawyer may have taken on “more work than he could handle.” Some of the transactions incurred financial penalties for delays. A number of these penalties were quite severe and allegedly caused Zulkifli to dip into other accounts he handled in order to pay off the surcharges.

This is illegal, and when other penalties started adding up, the whole thing “may
have snowballed,” according to the Times.

The interesting thing about this news report is Zulkifli’s choice of country. I am surprised Zulkifli picked the Philippines. Our country is not exactly the kind of place one would pick as a safe haven for criminals (unless you count the alleged training grounds for terrorists in the South, but even then Mr. Zulkifli isn’t exactly a terrorist).

Granted, the borders of the Philippines are porous; getting in and out of the country has never been particularly hard, and there are a number of Filipino fugitives who remain hidden to this day, such as COMELEC officer Lintang Bedol.

But I would have thought Zulkifli would have run off to some place like the Cayman Islands, or to Switzerland to escape the law, as traditionally seen in movies and novels.

As of this writing, I don’t know if the Singaporean government has contacted the Philippine one to investigate or apprehend Zulkifli. I do hope the Philippines does catch him though, if he is still in the country.

Otherwise, this rogue lawyer may not only give lawyers a bad name, he may also wind up giving our country a new reputation: as a hideout for criminals.

And no Filipino wants that. Ever.

4 Quick Ways to Improve Your Writing

4 Ways to Improve Your Writing

(Babble On for the Sunstar Davao, January 4, 2008)

As an offshoot of writing a column for the Sunstar Davao newspaper, a short stint as Food Correspondent for the That’s Beijing magazine (when I lived in China) and as a contributor to the AIM (Asian Institute of Management) Leader Magazine, I managed to pick up some basic writing tips which I think anyone can use.

I believe these tips can quickly improve the quality of your work. They mostly revolve around keeping things short and simple:

1.) K.I.S.S. –Keep It Simple Stupid. Readers as a whole don’t like it when you complicate the things you are writing. It tends to tire them out and discourages them from reading more.

Simplicity is key. Otherwise, you’re just trying to show off to your readers. The point of writing anything is to make yourself understood. Not to show off. Stick to the basics and keep things simple. Your readers will thank you for it.

How Taxi Drivers Made Singapore Memorable

I’ve just arrived from Manila by way of Singapore. I spent New Year’s there with my family, after spending Christmas in my hometown of Davao.

I just want to get this out of the way: I loved Singapore!

The people were friendly (especially the taxi drivers), the place amazingly clean and the food superb. For those wondering what we did in Singapore, I have two words for you: We ate.

And man did we ever eat. Singaporean specialties like Bah Kut Teh (bone soup), Hainanese Chicken, Chilli Crab, Satay, the works! I didn’t eat much over the holidays, but I think my binging in Singapore sort of spoiled all that.

But anway, much of my good impression of Singapore can be traced to several taxi drivers there. When we took taxis to get to far-away places, we were treated like friends. Friendly taxi drivers. I know, it sounds almost impossible (and I know this is a rare breed in Manila), but they were very friendly and even gave us tips on what places to go to and eat at (which made my family extraordinarily happy).

Basically we were told to avoid the tourist trap restos and go to places where locals would eat. They even took pains in explaining the directions.

I later learned that friendliness in taxi drivers is encouraged by the Singaporean government. There is supposed to be a campaign aimed at fostering this. It sure worked, in my opinion. Even China is said to be following suit, with English lessons and friendliness campaigns being aimed at taxi drivers.

This makes sense. The people that tourists meet all the time in a foreign country are the taxi drivers. If the taxi drivers are bad, the tourists get a bad impression of the country. If they get good and friendly ones, they get a good impression.

Taxi drivers are among the frontlines of the tourism industry. Perhaps the Philippines by way of the Department of Tourism, can also encourage our own taxi drivers. Dress them up. Make them learn english. And most of all, teach them to be friendly.

Friendliness in the frontlines can go a long long way.

Be friendly.