Lessons from Traffic and Meeting with the CEO
Last Tuesday, I was on my way to work. Well, it felt like it because I was taking the same route I took for years as an employee. You see, I was visiting my former office/company. That particular visit was very special.
I took a cab somewhere near Edsa Shangrila Mall to Bonifacio Global City. It was a few minutes past 8am and traffic in Edsa was really terrible. After all, it was rush hour.
Just a bit of a background. When I quit my job in August 2013, I made a decision to schedule my meetings or activities during office hours, when there’s relatively less or no traffic. I made a conscious decision to avoid going out during the rush hour.
Last Tuesday was different. The CEO of a big, multinational, and Fortune 500 company — my former CEO — ordered copies of my book Money & Me for his reading pleasure and as gifts to his friends.
I could have asked the courier to deliver the books to the CEO’s office but I chose to personally deliver the books as my way of thanking him for supporting my endeavor. You see, he doesn’t really need my book. He’s a well-accomplished and respected man both in his career and his finances. Yet, he bought copies of Money & Me anyway. Despite his super busy schedule, he allotted time for our one-on-one meeting. Such a humble and admirable leader.
Anyway, I was in Edsa-Boni and the traffic was terrible! It was slower than my walking rate!
When I’m riding a moving vehicle, I don’t usually text or read because I would get dizzy. But that particular ride was so slow I was able to sign books, text a few people, write a few notes, and pray hard that I will make it to my meeting with the CEO on time!
Why am I sharing this “traffic” moment?
Two things:
One, your TIME is very important.
Your time is more important than money. It is something you can never bring back.
Imagine spending about 2 hours going to work and another 2 hours going home from work. That would amount to 80 hours a month or the equivalent of 960 hours a year!
If you compute that in days, that’s equivalent to 40 days in a year! My gosh!
How many vacation leaves does an employee have in a given year? To some, it’s 15 days. If you’ve been with the company for more than a decade, it could be 20 days.
Let’s do the Math:
20 days Vacation Leaves < (less than) 40 days commute/travel time
You would have spent (or maybe the other term could be “wasted”) more days in a year traveling to and from work than going on vacations!
Are you okay with that? If yes, good for you. But in case you want a better option, read on.
What if you have a choice not to go through the traffic every day?
What if you could manage your money in such a way that it would help you someday reach a point wherein you could pursue your passions full time, in the comforts of your own home or in a place closer to your residence?
What if instead of spending 40 days a year traveling to and from work each year, you could use those 40 days doing what you love to do, enjoying the beaches, playing with your kids or nephews/nieces, or simply enjoying what you enjoy the most?
Two, sometimes, the most humble and generous people are those who have already reached the top.
That Tuesday, I was meeting the CEO of a big company. How big is the company?
Let me quote this from Wikipedia:
“It has around 7,200 offices in 85 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and around 89 million customers.”
The CEO I was meeting is the CEO of that multinational company’s operations in the Philippines. He was my former CEO.
When I was working in that company, I was a simple employee. In fact, I could be considered a wallflower. I was doing okay but I was not a “star” employee because my work was not directly related to my passion and skills.
Anyway, why did the CEO make time for our one-on-one meeting?
My quick answer would be: because he’s a great leader who knows how to listen, who’s passionate about his role, and who senses another person’s passion and zeal for life.
Another answer is this: He’s humble and generous of his time and wisdom.
Sometimes, we have this impression that when you’re the CEO or the President or Vice President of a company, it’s hard to reach you. You’re up there! Your time is so precious you can’t waste it meeting a “beginner.”
Guess what?! I realized that many of the highly successful people or leaders are those who are very humble and generous. They are actually approachable.
For instance, Mr. Edward Lee, the Founder and Chairman of COL Financial is very down-to-earth and generous of his time. Whenever he can, he would share his knowledge about how to invest in the stock market because he’s passionate to help Filipinos get rich in the stock market.
Dr. Larry Gamboa, the Chairman of REMAX TRP Realty and the bestselling author of Think Rich, Pinoy! keeps learning. I would always see him in seminars either as a speaker or participant. When I would approach him and ask him things, he would really listen and share his words of wisdom.
We’re very blessed because despite their busy schedules, Mr. Edward Lee and Dr. Larry Gamboa made time to be with us on June 7, 2014, during the Money & Me seminar.
If you want to hang out with them, catch their passion and enthusiasm for what they do, and learn how to be rich like them, join us on June 7! Visit http://betrulyrich.com/seminar for more details.
If you are ready to make a significant positive change in your life and have the liberty to use your time the best way you want to, I’ll see you on June 7! 🙂 Visit http://betrulyrich.com/seminar/register/ to register.
I wish you success and happiness!
Sha Nacino
P.S. Learn how to manage your finances, make money work for you, and turn your dreams to reality. Register here –>> http://betrulyrich.com/seminar/register before the seats run out.
P.P.S. Your time is important. You deserve to use it the best way you know of. See you on June 7! http://betrulyrich.com/seminar/register
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Sha Nacino, Inspirational Speaker and Prolific Author
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Sha Nacino, Inspirational Speaker and Prolific Author
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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