It was the same thing year in and year out. If it were February, you’d have to find an instant lover to show off on Valentine’s Day. If it were towards April, you’d have to go somewhere for Holy Week and come back with a tan or else you would not be "in." Then the summer heat would become unbearable that you’d have to escape somewhere or dehydrate. July and August bring in the torrential rains that would drown Manila in disastrous floods. Then December comes and you’d go through the same tiring commercial Christmas exercise only to suffer later from post-holiday depression. When New Year comes, you would draw up a new set of resolutions that gets forgotten by the middle of January. Then it is Valentine’s Day all over again!
In short, life was boring, draining and slow. And Manila offered no help. At that time, it had nothing new to show me. When a friend from London came over for a visit, he commented, "I went to Manila hoping to slow down but this place has stopped!" I felt consoled that someone at least agreed with my misgivings.
I thought, "There must be a secret to achieving that kind of life!" because there were some people I’ve met who actually seemed to be living it. I wanted to understand why I seemed to be failing in the game of life. Most important of all, I wanted to learn how to reach my goals, turn my dreams into reality, and feel really alive. And I was willing to pay!
There is an ancient Zen proverb that says, "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." The lessons are actually all around us every minute but we are just not ready to learn them. I was truly ready and aching to learn. And I was very fortunate to have found some of the best gurus and success motivators in the world.
Among these were the sell-out seminars of New Millennium high priestess Iyanla Vanzant, PR and promotions genius Carol Sapin Gold, entrepreneurial expert Barbara J. Winter, media magnate Steve Scott, and the delightfully bodacious creativity guru, Sark. I studied Film Directing and Producing with "Mr. Hollywood" Dov Simens at the Hollywood Film Institute, Lighting for Film with Verne Carlson at the American Film Institute, and Screenwriting Techniques with John Truby. I got an inside look at the American Recording Industry with Arista Records president Clive Davis, learned about the Hollywood Star System from top celebrity agent Jay Bernstein, and analyzed cutting edge creative advertising with advertising innovators Richard Kirshenbaum and Jon Bond. Intrigued by traditional Chinese martial and curative arts, I took up Ancient Secrets of Qi Gong with Enid Ballin.
Of course, aside from attending seminars, I read tons of books and reading materials, and surfed the Net.
Passionate to learn more, I went to as many museums, historical landmarks and tourist spots as I could in America, Europe and Asia. Savoring in person the beauty of art works and paintings that I have only admired in books and magazines before was an invaluable experience. I could not believe that I was actually in front of my favorite paintings by Caravaggio, da Vinci, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Sargent, Seurat or staring up Michelangelo’s powerful frescoes at the Sistine Chapel.
I would pinch myself to check if I was dreaming while mesmerized by the Mona Lisa, the Las Meninas by Velasquez, Michelangelo’s Pieta and his towering David. I stood in complete disbelief while intrigued by the mysterious Stonehenge, enchanted by Hadrian’s Villa, captivated by the musical rush of waters from the hundreds of spectacular fountains at Villa d’Este, enraptured by the blue Mediterranean in Capri, charmed by Bruges, and totally enamored by Venice. It was heartwarming to get into the magical pulse of each city I visited. Time takes on a different dimension depending on which city you are in – eternal Rome, glorious London, scintillating Paris, stunning Tokyo, throbbing New York, or surprising Salzburg.
The amazing thing was that the more I learned, the more my thirst grew. It was an aggrandizing but humbling experience at the same time. And I also realized that the more I learned about other people, the more I understood and saw my own people in a different, better light.
For more information about the seminars, e-mail me at the e-address below. I will post a phone number that you can call in my next article. I am looking forward to giving the seminars. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "When one teaches, two learn!"
OK, OK! I won’t make you suffer anymore. "I’m a lemon art" rearranged is Metro Manila; "to breathe lazily" is Elizabeth Taylor; "I ship nipple" is Philippines; "be croaks by test" is Backstreet Boys; and "just’s riches" is Jesus Christ.
Easy, huh? Now try these ones: "I am a corporal gaga royal," "rejected as a poorish jet" and "in a nice dismal jar." Let’s see who can e-mail me first the correct answers. Have fun! And have a meaningful Easter!