“But I’m Just A Filipino”

Recently I came across this great post on my colleague Tyler Tervooren’s “Advanced Riskology” blog.   One of the negative aspects of growing old seems to be that the older we get, the more people tell us to “be careful”, “avoid risk”, “don’t stick your neck out’, etc.”

But to me, this is exactly the opposite from the way we ought to be thinking.

Do we somehow think that by “being extra careful” we can avoid the inevitable?  How many of you chose to realize that we are a;; dead.  Are we going to ‘avoid the end” by being cautious and no taking risks? 

That’s dumb in my book.  This is the time for me to take risks .. after all, I already have an income secured, including an income for my spouse after I’m gone,. and I’ve already outlived so 80 percent of disease risks I faced back when I was under 40.

Why not live a little?

I also titled this post ?But I Am Just a Filipino” because I hear that very statement so often in my life here, retired and earning in the Philippines, that it angers and depresses me.

Why do so many people seem to think that there is opportunity for foreigners in the Philippines but yet less opportunity for Filipinos?

Strange.  Actually, by law and by culture it’s much easier for a Filipino to succeed in the Philippines than a foreigner. The restrictive laws against foreigners in business alone can be mind boggling.

Yet I hear the “I’m Only a Filipino” cry so often it actually makes me sick.

What do schools and parents teach their children here, anyway?  And why does the Philippine government spend billions of pesos in promoting the exportation of talented Filipinos overseas, to work for substandard pay and give up the gift of their knowledge and spirit to other nations?

beats the heck out of me.  Read an excerpt here from Tyler’s latest post on the importance of thinking highly of yourself.

“BUT I’M JUST A WAITRESS”

I was in the car with a friend the other day.

We were driving to dinner and talking about life. I like to ask people hard questions—”What do you really want from your life?” and “How do you know it’s the right answer?”

She was telling me about the things she dreamed of for herself and her career and what she was doing to make them happen. I could see she was excited to think about these things; her voice got a little higher, and she started to talk faster as she described her ideal life and what it looked like.

But then something interrupted her thoughts, and her story trailed off. She slowed back down and her voice dropped a little. It was like she’d fallen back to reality—out of her dream—and she finished with a bit of a shrug and said, “But I’m just a waitress.”

Maybe you’ve experienced something like this? Where you let yourself dream about life and what you want to carry out in your short time here before falling back to “reality.”

It’s exciting to think about, but once you let yourself get too far away from where you feel you are now, it gets a little scary and you do something to bring yourself back down. You kill the dream.

Don’t kill the dream!

My friend is much more than “just a waitress.” She’s talented and capable in many ways—a truly wonderful person. And you’re much more than “just a [insert dream-zapping phrase here].”

You’re an incredible person, capable of great things. I don’t know you, but I know that much is true.

But the question is, do you believe it? …

So what about you, my friend?  The couple in their 60’s who always dreamed of moving to the Philippines but are still afraid to make the move because “something might go wrong”?

Or my talented Filipino friend and reader who tunes in every day to see what Dave’s been up to? 

Fat, old Dave, with no education and little money in the bank.

How come Dave learn, earn and succeed and you can’t?  Afraid something will go wrong if you stick your head up above the edge of the basket of crabs?

Well here’s a news flash. Something is going to go ‘wrong’ for you. And for me. And for everyone else alive today.

You are going to wake up dead some morning.

What will you accomplish between now and then?

As I have said before.  Many of you believe that the Bible tells you that you are a child of God.   If so, “Remember who you are and act accordingly”.

You are so much more than “some old fart”, or “Only a Filipino.”

Related posts:

1. What It Means To Be An American, Or A Filipino
2. Butterflies — Foreign and Filipino
3. Should Filipino Blogs Be Classed As Different — Or Is The Web World-Wide?
4. After The Fact and Other Fine Filipino Traits You Need To Learn About
5. Is A Filipino Brain Different Than A Chinese Brain or an American Brain?