Welcome to my new and improved personal blog. My name is Alwyn Sy, a law graduate, marathoner and volunteer business coach of Create Abundance International Business Community. My passion is running and I want to be financially free to be able to run around the world. Our mission in the community is to spread financial education to the Filipino people. It is also our dream to lay the foundation for First-World Philippines and Filipinos to be world-class entrepreneurs. Aside from helping out in our family's garments business, I am also an International Executive of Nu Skin Enterprises, a company specializing in health, beauty and anti-aging. Hope you enjoy reading some of the articles (business, running and anything under the sun).
I'd like to share to you my daily morning prayer. This is to constantly remind me that I am in business to make peoples' lives better. Enjoy!
As I awaken with the gift of yet another day and prepare for the tasks at hand, I offer up this most ardent prayer:
I pray for continued clarity of purpose so that I may hold my vision steady and keep my focus on the needs and success of others, which in turn shall bring me my success.
I pray for the wisdom to expect abundance in my life, that it surrounds me and is available for the taking and to be shameless and unapologetic upon its receipt, for I deserve abundance.
I pray for a cheerful countenance, be it clear or cloudy skies and that I may radiate and infect others with my positive attitude.
I pray for the trust of others that they may recognize my sincerity and true intentions so that we may move forward together.
I pray for the strength to fend off adversity and use my desire and determination as both weapon and shield.
I pray for the courage to carry forth my convictions during the battle of business and to resist temptation to a quicker monetary result when such temptation compromises these things for which I stand.
I pray that I may be used as a lightning rod to collect the amazing ideas already present in the universe and when blessed with such inspiration, that I may be able to apply my talents and abilities to turn the power of thought into measurable advancement of my goals.
I pray to retain my childhood wonder so that I can recognize and revel in the small miracles of each day that others may miss.
I pray for an infinite supply of self-confidence for it alone fortifies faith, strengthens my resolve and conquers the largest enemy I will ever face - fear.
I pray for a compassionate spirit and the patience to offer those who seek my advice and my help, my full and undivided attention.
I pray for good health and a feeling of well being, and the continued desire to improve those areas of my physical life I may be neglecting in the name of my spiritual and entrepreneurial advancement.
I pray that today is a day of excellence and at its conclusion I can acknowledge and be grateful for the forward motion I have made and the growth I have experienced.
I pray most of all for the understanding and support of those closest to my heart, my family, that they will equate what may seem like endless hours of apparent pre-occupation with affairs of business to what is at the very core of my being, that which drives me, for once I achieve what I have set out in its fullest, I will become that more complete being I strive to be.
It is for these things that I pray, for I am an entrepreneur.
8 months ago, I had to make a tough decision. I had to choose between two roads.
The road to the right leads to the noble legal profession. This is the path where most people thought I would take. This is, for my parents, their dream for me. Attorney Alwyn Sy. Defender of the oppressed. Sounds good?
The road to the left leads to world-class entrepreneurship. This is the path where most people fear to take. This is, for me, the answer from the heavens that I was looking for. Platinum Team Elite Alwyn Sy. One of the few brave Filipinos who paved the way for First World Philippines. Now that sounds better!
Stage 1 of this road less travelled requires us to succeed in business, but not just any kind of business, it is a business best suited for the Information Age. Robert Kiyosaki calls it the "Business of the 21st Century." - NETWORK MARKETING.
And we are very fortunate to have partnered with arguably one of the best companies in the network marketing industry - Nu Skin Enterprises.
So why do I love this business? Let me count my 101 reasons.
1. Nu Skin has been in existence for 27 years. (almost exactly my age :)
2. Publicly listed in the NY Stock Exchange. (one of few companies whose stocks improved during the recession)
3. 5A1 rating given by Dun and Bradstreet. (think of it as a 5-star hotel)
5. Operates in 52 countries. (and it keeps growing and growing)
6. US$1.5 Billion in sales revenue last 2010 (projected to shoot up to $5B in 2020!)
7. A millionaire is born (from commissions) every 5 days.
8. Has a very generous compensation structure (front-middle-back end!)
9. High quality products (All of the Good, None of the Bad)
10. Powerful partnership with LifeGen Technologies (talk about reshaping the way we age at the DNA level)
11. Recipient of numerous American Business Awards (Stevies)
12. More than 100 in-house scientists all with PhD degrees. (Dr. Carl Djerassi, the "father of Birth Control", is one of them)
13. Better Business Bureau (BBB) A+ Rating.
14. Member of DSA (Direct Selling Association) and DSAP (Direct Selling Association of the Phils).
15. Corporate Social Responsibility - Force For Good Foundation to help put an end to malnutrition.
16. Company not only about beauty products; but also health supplements (Pharmanex) and anti-aging (ageLOC).
17. Products are consumable (slim chance of repeat orders for a refrigerator with lifetime warranty! :)
18. Patents and exclusive technology. (Would laugh out loud if I see a Galvanic Spa in 168! :)
19. Can start doing the business part-time or full-time.
20. Option for small business (buy at wholesale, sell at retail) or big business (build your organization)
21. What Apple did to revolutionize the music (and phone) industry, Nu Skin will do to the anti-aging industry.
22. Business is perfect to meet the demands of the baby boomer generation. (our lolos, lolas and parents)
23. ageLOC = anti-aging at the DNA level. No other company comes close!
24. Like Apple, Nu Skin continues to "Innovate, Innovate and Innovate!" We're excited with the next wave of products. Age will soon be nothing but a number!
25. You will earn more if you help more people succeed. Nu Skin is not for those who wanna ride solo.
26. I don't work for a boss. I am my own boss here.
27. I can do this business anytime I want. I'm not confined to an 8-5 job.
28. Mentors and coaches will teach you how they succeeded. All you need to do is to be an empty cup, be coachable and duplicate yourself to other people.
29. I don't get linear income. I get exponential/leveraged income.
30. Nu Skin's business model is an improved version of Franchising. We call it Innovative Franchising!
31. This business is perfectly suited for the Information Age (business tools, testimonials, videos are all in the net!)
32. This business is an asset which you can transfer to your children in the future. Can you do this to your job?
33. Can easily expand my business to other countries (with the power of the internet). Can you do this in your traditional business/ siomai foodcart/?
34. Perfectly positioned to be a Trillion Dollar Industry (distribution of Health and Wellness Products according to Paul Zane Pilzer)
35. I can start this business with a small amount of capital.
36. There is no income ceiling in this business. Millions of passive income per month is a reality!
37. I don't need to deal with employee problems.
38. I don't need to deal with all the paperwork (legal and accounting).
39. I don't need to invest all my money and time in research and development; I just need to share the beauty and value of our products.
40. I don't need to pay rent. Our offices are in key business locations around the country.
41. I don't need to sacrifice my values to get successful.
42. This business teaches us how to shift from the left side of the quadrant (employee, self-employed) to the right side of the quadrant. (business owner, investor)
43. Like a franchise, this business already has a system in place. You just need to make sure that you're in the right company, and you are with the right team who are committed to help you succeed.
44. On our way to our dreams, Nu Skin business is the perfect vehicle. This is not just a sports car, this is what we call the Bullet Train!
45. This is something most people won't do for a living, which makes it perfect because I love going against the status quo. :)
46. In the near future, the Nu Skin business will emerge as one of the top business opportunities due to economic recession.
47. With ageLOC, you get to have "first-mover advantage" in the anti-aging technology while having the solid foundation of the company to back you up.
48. I don't need a PhD to explain all the technical and scientific aspects of the products. I just use them and share the benefits I got from them.
49. The company's supplements are derived from quality food ingredients and are included in the Physician's Desk Reference (they are not medicine, but they can have curative properties like them!)
50. Products are visual and emotional. With the ageLOC Galvanic Spa, you can already look 5 years younger in just 5 minutes! (Note: picture below shows the effect after 90 days)
51. This business makes me feel healthier than ever. I feel energetic and I rarely get sick.
52. I get to be with positive-minded and proactive people. Energy is infectious!
53. Part of my growth comes from business and personal development books which I enjoy reading compared to the law books I endured for years!
54. This business does not train you to become salesmen (as most people might think); this business trains you to become big business owners.
55. If you are very good in sales, you can only go too far in this business. What's most important is how you can duplicate what you've learned to other people so that they can also duplicate themselves to others.
58. I make my family feel healthier and look younger.
59. The company is very generous when it comes to commissions and incentive trips.
60. The company's business presentation is very straightforward, unlike other companies who are obviously scripted and try to hype you by flashing their paychecks and cars (BLECH!)
61. Nu Skin business is not a get rich quick scheme. In network marketing, the quicker you get rich, the quicker the company closes down.
62. To succeed, I just need to look for 15 strong leaders who are committed as I am. There are 90 million Filipinos, finding the 15 will just be a matter of time.
63. I get to have control over what I want to do with and how I want to do the business.
64. In Nu Skin, the company will not fire you for poor performance. You alone will fire yourself, when you quit in the business.
65. Network marketing is not about earning more income, it's actually about building an asset.
66. Nu Skin is our bridge to become a reputable real estate developer and to form our own corporations and big businesses.
67. Law school obliterated most of my hair; now, thanks to Nu Skin, my hair is improving! :)
68. Thanks to this business, I learned how to take care of my face.
69. I get to form the habit of celebrating my successes (big or small) every single day.
72. This business is all about empowering people. Very different from corporate employment and traditional business, where it's more of dog eat dog culture or survival of the fittest.
73. As I teach another person to succeed in this business, I get paid royalty income. If you do this in traditional business, the person you taught the business will eventually become your competitor.
74. The Nu Skin business gives me a real-world business education. In an MBA, it just teaches you how to be a high-salaried employee.
75. This business teaches me how to get organized and set my own agenda.
76. Compared to employment and traditional business, I only get to pay 10% taxes to the government.
77. This business gives me the opportunity to face my fears, deal with them, overcome them, and bring out the WINNER living inside of me :)
78. I gained a new set of friends who are going in the same direction as I am and share the same core values as I do.
79. In this business I learned to harness the power of the network. To grasp its value, it's not enough to open your eyes; you need to open your mind.
80. This business unleashes the leadership within me.
81. Participating in marathons around the world anytime I want to is a reality by being successful in this business.
82. I will be able to construct a beautiful house for my parents so that they can enjoy their lives without worry.
83. This business teaches me how to dream again; and not just any other dream, but BIG DREAMS for family and country.
84. Having a lot of IQ is not a crucial factor to succeed, but having a stable EQ.
85. Because the Team Elites (people who succeed in the Nu Skin business earning millions of passive income per month) are real and down-to-earth generous people. I want to succeed fast because I want to be like them.
86. In this business, we are starting to create livelihood programs for barangays and cooperatives to help them start a small mobile face spa business.
87. I was able to recover very fast from my first marathon (42.195Km) thanks to one of our products - OverDrive. The time will come when hardcore runners and other athletes will be able to perform better and recover faster.
88. With the company's technology, extending our lives up to 100+ years is a possibility.
89. This business provides Filipinos to start their own business with low risk.
91. Nu Skin, being a network marketing company, is a recession proof business that's the last bastion of free enterprise.
92. Because network marketing is in essence, word-of-mouth marketing. No need for flashy advertisements or celebrity endorsers. In fact, Christianity and Facebook are the best examples of network marketing.
93. The beauty of this business is that it can be started by anyone, regardless of gender, religion, race or educational attainment. (Everyone starts on equal ground).
94. Competitors and mass market products target in removing the signs of aging. AgeLOC targets the SOURCES of aging.
95. Once your business expands to different countries, it's like your business never sleeps. When Asia sleeps, America wakes up. When America sleeps, Europe wakes up.
96. For the guys like me, being with a company that specializes in skin care doesn't make you less of man. In fact, most Team Elites are men.
97. This business can help you become a TYPE 5 person - those with TIME freedom and MONEY freedom while STAYING YOUNG.
98. This business is like parenting. It's more like a bird teaching chicks how to fly. And sometimes the people you teach are those older than you :)
99. Nu Skin celebrates twice a year, recognizing those who became successful and awarding them pin titles.
100. When I become a Team Elite, I can get to do all the things I am passionate about - running, singing, learning how to cook, scuba diving, traveling, and a whole lot more. One of my big dreams is to run a marathon with my children and grandchildren. :)
101. I get to build this business with my life partner, Jenny Sia. Nu Skin is the perfect platform for us to build everything we want for our future. But most of all, Nu Skin can give us all the time for our future children. :)
So there you are. I can think of more reasons, but that will do for now.
In case you want to know more about this wonderful business opportunity, we conduct a business presentation every Saturday 4:00-7:00pm at Nu Skin Makati office, 26th Floor Trafalgar Plaza Building, H.V. Dela Costa Street, Salcedo Village, Makati. You can also contact me at 0917-8588907 to schedule a meeting complete with free demo of one of our revolutionary products, the ageLOC Galvanic Spa.
Click the link below for a short video of the Nu Skin ageLOC opportunity.
Last June 26, 2011 I was invited to talk for a few minutes in front of our guests at the Cashflow Game and Millionaire Mind Gathering about what I've gotten by being part of Create Abundance Business Community. To keep the crowd entertained, I had to channel the Coach Warren inside of me (who loves to make stories using animals, by the way :) and at the same time make them get a taste of what to expect by being part of the community, I narrated one of Aesop's well-known fables, "The Tortoise and the Hare," but added more to the usual story which I came across the internet a few months ago. Here is the famous story with its extended parts and lessons in business:
This is an age old fable of the tortoise and hare race. Everyone knows who won the race or do you? Well, recently I heard a new version of this story with a new twist. Read this inspirational teamwork story with lessons in teamwork from an age old fable.
1. Once upon a time a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. The tortoise and hare both agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ. The hare woke up and realised that he'd lost the race.
The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race. This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with.
2. But then recently, someone told me a more interesting version of this tortoise and hare story. It continues.
The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul-searching. He realized that he'd lost the race only because he had been overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there's no way the tortoise could have beaten him. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed.
This time, the hare went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.
The moral of the story? In business, fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady. If you don't act with a sense of urgency, you will get left behind.
3. But the story doesn't end here. The tortoise did some thinking this time, and realized that there's no way he can beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. He thought for a while, and then challenged the hare to another race, but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. The tortoise and hare started off. In keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast, the hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river.
The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.
The moral of the story? Don't over-analyze and over-think. Just take action.
The story still hasn't ended.
4. The tortoise and hare, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better. So the tortoise and hare decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time.
They started off, and this time the hare carried the tortoise till the riverbank. There, the tortoise took over and swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the tortoise and they reached the finishing line together. Both the tortoise and hare felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they'd felt earlier.
The moral of the story? Teamwork works. It's good to be individually brilliant; but unless you're able to work with a team and harness each other's core strengths, you'll always perform below par because there will always be situations at which you'll do poorly and someone else does well.
Note that neither the tortoise and hare gave up after failures. The hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his failure. The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could. In life, when faced with failure, sometimes it is appropriate to work harder and put in more effort. Sometimes it is appropriate to change strategy and try something different. And sometimes it is appropriate to do both. Maybe in your current situation you are always working hard but never winning the race. Maybe it's time to look back and change your strategy.
But the greatest lesson I've learned here is that in terms of building wealth, the power of a team is very important. The members of the community are either tortoises or hares (no pun intended :), but the thing is, WE WORK TOGETHER. The businesses we teach here are entirely different from the cultures of corporate employment and traditional business, where it is more of a dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest kind of thing. In employment, to be promoted, you must perform better than the rest (or be a better ass-kisser :). In traditional business, would you teach your business strategies, models, etc. to another businessman? I don't think so.
Here in Create Abundance, it's a different world, and I love it because it matches my core values. We highly value the power of leverage, of forming teams and creating win-win situations. This could be a reason why we Filipinos only excel at individual sports (billiards, boxing) but not in team sports because we lack teamwork. And here all members are either tortoises or hares, but the best part is that everyone is working together towards crossing the finish line.
These are some of the lessons I've learned while being a volunteer business coach of this wonderful community. So if you feel that you're a tortoise or rabbit but you somehow can't find a way to win the race of your life, maybe it's time for a "rematch." :)
First step: Sign up at our website: www.ca2020.net and kindly indicate that you were invited by Coach Alwyn Sy. Attend our free wealth courses which could help you get that "entrepreneurial mindset" to get ready for battle. For more info, just send an email to coach.alwynsy@yahoo.com.
