The Day I Said, YES!

After months of dating, he finally popped the question and she said, YES! And their Facebook status went from being Single to In a Relationship.

Beautiful love story, isn’t it?  Ooops. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s not what we’re going to talk about in this article.. 🙂

Instead, let’s talk about saying YES to use our gifts to serve others.

For the purpose of this article, let’s assume that your gift (what you do best) is also your passion (what you enjoy doing the most).

“When you are asked to use your gifts to serve others, say YES!”

I was nodding in agreement when I heard this from Bo Sanchez.

The very next day, I received an email from a school in Aklan. They were asking if I could give a talk on Personal Financial Management to a group of around 350 parents. They also asked how much I am going to charge them.

A day after that, my photo-journalist friend asked me if I could join her and a team of 3 other photographers to cover the wedding of our artist friend.

When I received the invites, I wanted to say, “Not too fast, God!”

To put it bluntly, I was terrified. Both were outside my comfort zones! I was tempted to decline right away.

But then I remembered Bo Sanchez’ words. Mustering enough courage and faith, I said YES to both invites and I resolved to do both for free.

Who am I and What I Do

I am a banker by profession and a writer by passion.

When I said YES to share my learning and experiences on personal financial management by writing a book, I fell in love with writing. And so I’ve been writing and writing and writing. I wrote blogs, eBooks, several drafts for some five books (can’t wait to finish writing and publishing them), speeches, articles for online and offline publications, etc.

After I published my first book Think Rich, Yuppies, I was invited as a resource speaker in most of the seminars that I attended as a paying participant. These include Money Summit 2011, Jomar Hilario’s internet marketing seminar, Eireen Diokno-Bernardo’s Paypal seminar, John Calub’s Money Magnet, etc.  Some companies, communities, and organizations also invited me to give talks.

I said YES to all the invites and delivered all my talks for free! Why free? My mentors said, “serve first and money will follow.” I have this crazy experiment of wanting to check whether what my mentors said was true.

On the Aklan Talk

When I got the invite from Infant Jesus Academy, Kalibo, Aklan, I wanted to decline right away because of three main reasons.

First, I’ve never given a talk to a group of parents yet and the fact that I was not yet a parent would make it difficult for me to connect with them. Yes, I’ve given talks on Personal Financial Management several times but my audience were mostly young professionals like me.

Second, the venue was outside Metro Manila and I figured I had to take vacation leave from work so I could travel to Aklan.

Third, I won’t be able to use a powerpoint (again, my first time) since the venue is a covered court. And the fact that they allotted the whole morning for the talk wherein I was the sole speaker scared me. What if I had nothing more to say and the time was not yet up?

I said YES anyway. When I gave my YES, I did all the necessary preparations beause I wanted to give the best to my audience.

So far, the Aklan Talk was one of the best YESes I’ve made. I was also blessed with two wonderful friends who offered to accompany me to Aklan, them having to shoulder their own travel and accommodation expenses.

The school shouldered my accommodation and travel expenses. The organizers were so warm and friendly. They treated us to the most delicious foods that Aklan had to offer. I loved everything that Nia’s Bamboo Cuisine served.

I also learned that my posters were everywhere — in the school gate, in the stage, and in the mall. They treated me like a celebrity. 😀

When we left Aklan for Manila, they gave us two boxes full of pasalubong. They also gave me a Certificate of Appreciation and two  small envelopes — one with a handwritten Thank You letter from Ms. Nikki (I love receiving handwritten letters!) and another envelope with some cash.

On Photography

As regards the invite to cover a wedding, the pressure was so high. Yes, I love photography but I wasn’t skilled yet to cover a momentous occasion such as a wedding! And the bride was no less than a Filipina Coffee Painter who’ve been featured in Ripley’s Believe it or Not!

Then I realized that my photo-journalist friend was the type who highly values quality and who knows what she was doing. She must have seen something in me that made her think that yes, I can do the job.

And  so I said, YES! I filed my vacation leave and did all the necessary preparations for the big day.

On the wedding day itself, I was so nervous. I arrived at the venue two hours before the wedding! God had a way of comforting us. A team of professional photographers were hired and it turned out that my team was the back-up. I heaved a sigh of relief and shared the joy of the newlyweds.

When you say YES

When you say YES, blessings will flow into your life abundantly.

These were not the only occasions I’ve said YES. I gave my YES over and over again and my YESes have blessed me tremendously. Let me mention some of the obvious blessings:

> I traveled to China for two weeks for free!

> I met and dined with some of the people I look up to in the seminars and publishing industry and they shared with me some of their principles for success.

> I got free hotel accommodation and free entrance to museums!

And many more!

The best part was when I received emails from people telling me that they’ve read my book from cover to cover and they were so inspired to improve their finances, etc.

When you say YES to your passions and gifts, you’ll have so much fun!

I love writing and giving talks! That’s why I didn’t mind doing all these for free. When the time comes that I could charge for my services, that would even double the fun! Imagine getting paid doing what you love to do! Wow!!!

But it’s not all bed of roses. When you give your YES, you’ve got to do the necessary preparations. You wouldn’t want mediocre results, would you? You’ll encounter challenges. You’ll need to get out of your comfort zones.

But you know what? Everything will pay off. When you’re planting seeds of goodness with so much love and dedication, you will eventually reap what you sow. And your harvest will be bountiful.

Indeed, when you use your gifts to serve others, money will follow.

I encourage you to pursue your passion. Use it to serve others. And money will follow.

What is your passion? How can you use it to serve others? Share in the comments. 🙂

Seminar Philippines Recommends:

How to Earn while on Vacation eBook – written by Sha Nacino with a Foreword by Bo Sanchez. This ebook talks about how to earn passive income, how to get paid doing what you LOVE to do, and many more. Download your copy and be part of Seminar Philippines’ growing community, it’s FREE!

Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club – gain financial wealth and spiritual abundance at the same time. Receive digital copies (audio CD/eBook/eNewsletter/emails, etc) of Bo Sanchez’ Power Talks, Wealth Strategies,  eBooks, monthly Stocks Updates, daily positive inspiration, and many more!

***

Sha Nacino

Blogs:

http://www.happysha.com/

http://seminarphilippines.com/

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Text and photos by Sha Nacino. Copyright © 2012 All rights reserved.

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Sha Nacino, Inspirational Speaker and Prolific Author

Get in touch with Sha at ShaNacino.com

Sha Nacino is one of the most sought-after Filipino motivational speakers in the Philippines. She is the bestselling author of the books Money&Me, Mission Happiness, plus 7 other books. Sha is the founder of The 90-Day Book Writing Challenge where she helps first time authors write their books. She also writes for Bo Sanchez's TrulyRichClub newsletters. She regularly gives talks on Personal Finance, Happiness, Purpose, Success Principles, etc. If you wish to invite Sha to speak in your company or events, visit shanacino.com or email her at sha@seminarphilippines.com.

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