I’m so happy to finally tick off my favorite item in my dream list and that is to see the Cherry Blossoms in Japan. It was a carried over goals for a couple of years and finally it’s here! Sharing with you some photos we took during its full bloom.

Before I thought Cherry Blossoms can be found in Japan only, but they’re all over countries in the Northern Hemisphere, including China, Korea, Europe and the United States. 

What makes it unique in Japan is the special attention they gave to it. They have this particular picnic held under a blooming Sakura tree called Hanami. 

They celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom while relaxing and enjoying the company of friends or family. Just by walking around the park and seeing the Sakura and the Hanami parties, you can sense the joy in everyone.

This made me realized that learning to celebrate simple pleasures can transform to enormous joy. Taking time to look closer at the things that we have and appreciating it to the fullest will yield joy, and I decided to practice it every day. I hope you too.

Let’s celebrate life! There’s more to be thankful for.

April is a great month for me. I get to see the Cherry Blossoms for the first time, and kick start two of my goals. I started running again and to be able to do this, I had to get up early – hitting two goals at the same time.

For this month’s favorite, I’ll share with you my workout app, running shoes and a book about finding your style. Let’s jump straight right into it.

NIKE TRAINING CLUB (NTC+)

This is my current favorite workout app. It has sets of workout for Strength, Endurance and Mobility – pretty much everything. It’s like a virtual coach. You get to see a demo through a video guide and a voice over to tell you what to do and cheer you in between. Also, it gives you a log of your workouts, which motivates me to keep going.

If you are starting out to get fit, this is a good start. It has set of beginner’s workout which you can do in little as 15 minutes, there’s no equipment required.

One thing I like about this also is the Active Recovery workout. For days I can’t run, I use this app to workout at home. Really, with this app, you have no excuse in getting fit.

ADIDAS CLIMACOOL RUNNING SHOES




Lessons from Madame Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris

I’ve mentioned this book in my previous post. This book by Jennifer L. Scott, is a guidebook for women on the path to adulthood, sophistication, and style. In a nutshell, it’s the story of the author when she went to Paris as an exchange student and the things that she learned from her host family whom she referred as Famille Chic who took enormous enjoyment from the small pleasures in life and who appeared to have mastered the art of living well.

What I love about this book is the 10- item capsule wardrobe and the chapter where she discussed about Finding Your True Style. If you’re in the process of finding your style, this book is a good guide.

That’s about it. I realized it’s important to find the right tools to reach your goals. I have high hopes with my Nike Training Club app and my running shoes will really give the boost I need to stick to my fitness goal. Do you have any tips to help me keep going with my routine? Let me know in the comments below.

Have a great day everyone!

I used to have a jam-packed closet but I always felt like I have nothing to wear. If this sounds familiar or if you need a help organizing your closet, keep reading!

We sometime keep clothes for wrong reasons. We all have this one thing we purchased just because it looks good in the store then eventually realize it doesn’t fit our style. Or it could be a dress we keep holding on swearing to wear it when the occasion is right, but the occasion never comes. Or a shirt given to us as a gift that doesn’t really suit us but we feel guilty getting rid of it. Or an old college shirt we keep for memory sake but had seen better days.

We should be intentional on what we keep in our closet. It’s like your fridge, if it’s filled with unhealthy foods, you’ll tend to be unhealthy, but if it’s filled with power foods, most likely you’ll be fit. Dressing up is a part of life and it shouldn’t be a chore. It should be something we enjoy and we consciously choose for ourselves every day. So if your closet is filled with random stuffs, you know what to expect.

Whether you like it or now, the way we dress ourselves represents who we are. We can’t keep people from judging us on how we choose to dress, its instinct, and human nature. That being said, let’s represent ourselves well by being intentional on how we dress.  Of course, it will all start in your closet.

The solution is simple - Capsule wardrobe. Simply put, capsule wardrobe is a compact collection of essential and timeless pieces of clothing that you’ll use for a particular season. The intention is to simplify getting dressed with quality clothes that you’ll actually wear. Studies shows that you only use 20% of what’s in your wardrobe so in essence we already have the capsule wardrobe in place, we’re just unaware of it. 

In the book Lessons from Madame Chic by Jennifer L. Scott, she shared her observation about the way of French people when she was in Paris. She realized that French people wore the same clothes in heavy rotation – unapologetically and with great panache. This proves that it’s really not about the quantity, but the quality of the clothing we have.

Ready to create your capsule wardrobe? Here we go!

DEFINE YOUR LIFESTYLE

Are you working in a company that requires wearing corporate attire? Let’s fill your clothes with the right number of corporate outfits. Corporate attire might be boring and monotonous but that’s not the reason to deviate. I’ll tell you later how to conform yet still stand out. How do you spend your weekend, pretty casual or more formal affairs? Take note of that as well. With a more defined lifestyle, you know what clothes you need to wear.  

Now, let’s take a step up on your clothing requirements. Many offices today allow wearing casual clothing. However I would say to aim for smart casual.

Personally, I worked from home but I don’t wear loungewear all day long. I still dress up a bit. Although no one sees me, the way I dress myself affects my mood. If I’m in my jammies, I tend to be lazy but if I dress up, it sets the atmosphere of productivity. Not to mention that I’m always ready for unexpected errands.

Remember, the way you dress defines you. It won’t hurt to step up your dressing game just a bit.

DEFINE YOUR STYLE

Imagine your outfit you feel most confident about, what’s the style? Is it shabby chic, androgynous, boho chic or classic? Find the style that works for you and incorporate it to your dressing requirement. If you’re office requires corporate attire and you’re style is boho chic, you can wear a boho dress and pair it with a structured blazer and heels. Another way is to incorporate boho chic through color palette.

There are plenty of ways and you can browse all over Pinterest for inspirations. Why reserve your style for special events if you can incorporate it on your daily life.

 Love this quote from Coco Chanel, as it says is all.

Now that we define our style with our current lifestyle, it’s time to evaluate your closet and find that 20%.

Check each piece of clothing and decide which one to stay and which one to get rid of. Be as honest as possible when doing this and let of the “WHAT IFs”. Also, consider giving up your favorite dress if it has seen better days! Let go of the worn out clothes.

If there are still pieces you’re unsure of, put them in a bag and keep it for six months. If you didn’t reach out for it within that period, it’s a good sign to totally get rid of it. Be ruthless when you do it. What you want is to see your closet with clothes that defines your style and personality.

ORGANIZE YOUR CLOSET

Last and finally, organize your closet. I know, this is the boring part but hear me. If you strictly follow the first three steps, this is an easy part. Why? Because you’ll be organizing fewer clothes and clothes that you really love! I tell you, it’s not that hard.

There are tons of ways to organize your closets on line but the best method is the Konmari way of folding clothes. It’s like Science, so get the book, it’s worth it! She teaches the folding of clothes in a way that it stands vertically so you see all the clothes at once when you pull out the drawers. Also, when you take out a piece, the rest will hold its place as it is standing vertically. There’s even a way of hanging clothes.

That’s about it. I thought this post is timely for Spring Cleaning. Give it a go and share it to others too! Let’s step up the dressing game for everyone – one closet at a time!

See you in my next post! And remember, you can always live the life you’ve always wanted!

There are people who gave up on their dreams and there are people who gave up EVERYTHING for their dreams. To me this is a great tragedy of life, and this should not happen to you.

In the past, the first scenario was more prevalent. People are afraid to reach for their dreams for social conformity, security of following the norms or fear of the unknown.

With the rise of the millennial, the second scenario came in. Everybody bought the idea of “Be your own Boss”, “Working for myself” and “Time Freedom” which are just empty promises (I’ll show you later why). We’re so sold out that we don’t care about breaking laws, burning bridges and thinking all for ourselves; they even call us Selfie Generation for the matter.

But there’s a way to strike the balance – to reach for your dreams without giving up life itself. 

First, let’s define your dreams. Have a clear vision of what you really want to achieve. What it is that you really want? Most of the times, we are not really sure about our dreams. We try to pretend we know it and we realize it isn’t real. Make sure you don’t fall in any of the following Defining Dream Mistakes.

COPYING OTHERS DREAM

We tend to copy the dreams the society gave us. We are programmed to believe that those who have a lot of money, those Entrepreneurs and Celebrities are the ones who live the dream life. We feel jealous about the perfect life that we see on TV and social media.  But what we see is only a tip of the iceberg, a portion of their life. I remember seeing an Instagram post of one celebrity going home at 3AM and waking up at 6AM for another taping.  Wait, this is not living the life for me. Chances are you get to sleep more than those celebrities do.  

Now let’s look at the Entrepreneurs, they look cool and powerful at the same time. Be your own boss right? But that will never happen! We simply change the name from calling them “boss” to “customers or clients”!

How about working for yourself? Nobody works for himself. We all have to work for others, that’s how we get paid.

Time freedom? Try to talk to a successful entrepreneur and you’ll find out they worked more than 40 hours a week. Granted, they have a lot of social events on weekends, but actually it’s just a better word for “marketing or networking events”.

I’m not crashing your dreams of being a celebrity or an entrepreneur. What I’m trying to say here is that, we may like the things they have but we may not like the lifestyle that comes with it. If you are up with the game, by all means go for it! But if not, don’t fake it.

There’s a lot of road to success, you don’t have to go to the same road as others. We are made to believe that you’ll never get rich by just being an employee. However, so many people had succeeded in life by being an employee. They may not be popular, but they’re living the life of their dreams.

I’m not lowering your standards either.  What I’m pointing out here, is to be real about what you really want.

Is it your dream to travel the world? You don’t have to join multilevel marketing or build your own company just to fund your travels. In fact, there are high paying jobs that allow you to travel the world for free.

Ask yourself honestly, what it is that I really want? Without knowing it, we have no way to go. We will pursue anything, following any waves that flow.

DEFINING YOUR DREAMS WITH THE MEANS

People dream about having a lot of money. They thought this is a big dream, but actually it is just the means, the way of reaching the dream. What you do with the money is what you really dreamed about.

Is it to be financially secure until retirement or to finance a charity you care about or to be a hero of some kind? Whatever it is, we must focus on achieving the dreams and not only the means.

I’m sure a lot of parents dream of caring for their children. Of course, this includes providing well for them. Some parents spend most of their time working hard even working abroad thinking they’re doing this for their children. Then they missed the PTA meeting and the soccer games. They even missed the graduation. Now the children are all grownups, parenting missed.

Sometimes, we get stuck on what we’re doing. We missed the reason why we’re doing 

things in the first place. Take time to evaluate your means to know if it’s stillaccomplishing the dream.

When I had my son, I have this dream of staying home and caring for him personally. I stressed out returning to work. A colleague, also a mom told me, “I know it’s hard, but you’ll get used to it”. Wait a minute, my mind tells me. Why do I have to just get used to this? Thinking about it, I know I need my job and I love what I’m doing professionally, but I also have this dream for my son. The idea of working from home came to me. However, it doesn’t seem to exist, especially in my field of work. I’m almost at the point of having a career shift, but God indeed never delays. I got a home-based job as an Accountant.

Sometimes, we have to give up the current means and find another that aligns with the dreams. Don’t be afraid to give up the means, there’s always a new one. As Marie Forleo says “Everything is Figureoutable”.

DON’T SLEEP AND DREAM

Take action. Write down 12 things you can do right now to achieve your dreams. It doesn’t have to be detailed yet, just write down your ideas on how you will accomplish the dream. Don’t stop until you come up with 12 ideas. If you can’t come up with 12 action steps, maybe you don’t really dream about it that much. If you do, you can list the 12 ideas right now. Do it, don’t cheat on yourself.

With this exercise, you open your mind to possibilities on how to achieve your dreams. Chances are, these are not all the steps. Along the way you will add more action items and eliminate some. But the point is to get started. Get going. Take one step at a time and take the first step now.

Build your dream in your own terms, with the right means and chase it every day. Enjoy every step of the journey. Sooner, you are living the life you’ve always wanted.

PS. This is just the first step in living the life you’ve always wanted. There’s more coming your way on the next blogs. Be sure to subscribe to get weekly updates and access to articles I only share with my subscribers. Click the photo right now.

How do you deal with unexpected situation? To something that went out of your way? It could be as simple as delayed bus or undelivered package or something as big as losing a job or losing someone?

I admire those people who stay cool in that kind of situation. For someone like me who loves to script life to some degree (just a little bit!), I freak out when things didn’t go as expected.

But there’s one story that really changed me. It’s the story of The Empty Tomb in John 20: 11-18. Three days after Jesus’ death, Mary went to the tomb where Jesus was laid and saw that it is empty. She stood outside the tomb and went crying not knowing where Jesus’ body is. Then a man came to her and asked her “Mary, why are you crying?” To her surprise, it was Jesus!

Imagine the situation, Mary was crying her heart out and Jesus was behind her, probably laughing a little bit (I’m just guessing). I assume Mary had a good laugh too, right after, for one because of joy that Jesus is alive and for how crappy she looked for crying for nothing.

This story taught me that we can only see a little bit of a picture but God sees the whole picture and every details of it. We may see things in a wrong perspective, but God always sees things in the right perspective. To Mary the empty tomb means disappointment, but to Jesus’ eyes, it is a place of victory.

With this new realization, I came up with two steps to help me deal with unexpected situations.

BELIEVE THAT GOOD THINGS CAN HAPPEN

When confronted with unexpected situations, I always think that something bad will happen. Learning from Mary unfolds a new point of view for me. Instead of thinking of the worst case scenario, I started to see things as a redirection, a lesson learned, or a new opportunity. It takes the same energy to think positive and negative, so choose to think positive. Things happen for a reason and believe that the reason is for your good.

One of the most unexpected things that happened to me was when I lost my dad. I used to think that if I ever lose someone I love, I won’t be able to live my life again. Losing my dad is the most painful experience I’ve been through so far. My life was never the same again since he was gone. I let myself go through pain, but I don’t let pain get through me. To cope up, I try to think of all the good things about his death; at least he doesn’t suffer that long, we don’t see him hurting for a long time; he’s now resting and enjoying heaven.

No matter how unexpected a situation is, when we believe that good things can happen, we are directing ourselves to do the next step…

RESPOND POSITIVELY

It’s one thing to believe, but it’s another thing to take action. After all, it’s not a belief if there’s no proof of doing it.

I wonder what had happened  if Mary overwhelmed herself with emotion. Will she bother to talk with  the man who asked her why is she crying? What if she ignored the man, cry some more and went home (crying)? She will never get her question answered and she will lose the chance to be a vessel of the good news.

We cannot control circumstances, but at least we can control our responses. As Mr. Charles R Swindoll says, life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to it. That means you can flip a bad situation into something good if you take an action to respond positively.

Let say you are going through a break up.  You can choose to mourn for a couple of weeks or for a couple of years. It all depends on you whether you will take an action to get out of it or keep a permanent residency in mourning city.  Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Know that pain is just a chemical cocktail inside your body that subsides after a while. It is your response that prolongs the agony.

So, how to respond positively? Think of a doable ways to solve your situation. Delayed bus? Read a book (or sure, go to Facebook, but please don’t rant). Undelivered package? Call the courier. Losing a job? Find a new job or build a business.  Losing someone? Do an Emotional Declutter and so on. The point is to take action because you don’t want to get stuck in yourself re-watching the unexpected situation in your head.

So there you have it. When things went out of your way, remind yourself of the story of The Empty Tomb. This will make you accept the situation you’re at and take courage to do something about it rather than just plainly freak out.  Who knows, it could be a blessing in disguise.

Do you have a personal “Empty Tomb” story? I’d love to hear about it. Feel free to share them below and let’s get the story rolling. See you in my next post!