My
Road Map…
06 September 2015 (9:30 AM, Manila Time)
Pabebe wave!
First of all, I
would like to congratulate all my nephews and nieces who graduated
recently. Next week, you will turn a new
leaf in your academic life. This is
going to be exciting.
Daisy requested me last
weekend to prepare some sort of inspirational talk for you particularly those who graduated and are now
moving to the university, or those who are going to another level of schooling.
I got excited about
it because I have been praying to God as
of late that I would be able to touch
lives. So I thought that this may be one
of the opportunities that God has opened
up. I hope that you will all be inspired by what I am going to share.
My desire
as I organize my thoughts is to
be able to connect and communicate in a manner that you could appreciate.
Frankly, I am worried about the
generational gap. I am also wandering about the impact of culture difference. But
I opted to brush them aside and thought of just telling these to you so you
know that I know you could get bored. Can I hear anybody say Cool? Awesome?
In my talk, I have 3 questions that I myself answered and
expounded. If I can swing you to seriously
ask yourself the same questions when you manage to have your own privacy later,
half of my goal is achieved. But if you decide to adopt the road map I used to answer these questions, it is
a homerun.
1. What
is my foundation?
Each one of us needs
to understand our own foundation.
I don’t mean a charitable
organization like Bill Gates Foundation
or Mark Zuckenberg Foundation.
I don’t also mean
the foundation the Wayne uses when she
puts on her make up. Or else I should be wearing a rainbow color shirt here.
I am talking about a
foundation in life. This is the core of
my being. The ground that I chose to stand on.
The reason for my existence.
When I was young
like you, I could not recall of any specific foundation in life that I
deliberately pondered on. I did not
attend any seminars or orientations that will help me understand who I am.
One thing that I
vividly recall. I personally surrendered my life to Christ and allowed Him to
take control of me when I was a teenager like you. That changed
my life. That was the turning point.
That was when my foundation in
life was laid.
I could not
specifically recall who shared the Gospel to me. But I remember praying in the room at 2nd West Crame with my head
bowed and eyes closed, saying to God, Lord I acknowledged that I am a sinner.
Forgive me from all my sins. I accept you Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and
Savior. Take care control of my life.
I was not like a
juvenile back then. In fact, I would
like to classify myself as a good boy. Religious. Ambitious. But when I humbled myself before the Lord and
say to the Lord, please take control of my life. It was liberating.
Christ became my solid foundation.
My dear nephews and
nieces, let us re-examine ourselves.
Have you seriously thought of
allowing Christ to take control of your lives and making him to be your foundation in
life? It’s a million dollar question.
Let me share 3
important points that I gained when I allowed Christ to be my foundation.
1. Christ has built my character . When I was your age, I was immersed with God’s word when I surrendered my life to Christ. I read it almost day and night. I mingled with fellow Christians. I allowed
God to use me in the church. In so
doing, the Spirit led me to develop my character.
In my almost 20
years in academic life, I would say Christ developed in me the right
values such as honesty and integrity. It was tough but God always finds a way. I remember in one of my subjects it the
College of Accounting in Letran, I took the final exam without having to prepare
much. It was so recless of me by the way. When I read the
test paper, it was a biography of a
Filipino hero written in Spanish. The requirement is to translate it in
English. I think I was sweating and I
could hardly translate a sentence. But
you know, I remember what my Professor
said to the class , for as long as you will not cheat, I will pass you. So in all
humility, I just wrote in my test
paper, something like Sir I am so sorry I
could not translate it. I was not able to prepare. I simply bared
myself out and closed my letter in saying--since
you said that if we will not cheat, you will pass us. I will hang on to it.
Lo and in behold, my professor gave me a C in my final grade. Praise God! I am warning you though. Do not
imitate what I did. It was an example of the Lords’ faithfulness in relation to
character building. Stay honest but do not be reckless.
Anyway, In the
College of Law, I generally opted to stay in front during exams to keep me away
from temptation. You may ask, Tito Danny,
are you really immaculate in your
academic life? I must confess no. There
were a few times that I cheated. But it was during these times that I was relying
on my own. My back was against the wall in most of these instances. Should I
endorse it? Looking back. I say No. I will not endorse it but I leave up it to you
to decide. It was only by God’s grace
that He allowed me to survive my academic crisis.
There will be a lot
of temptations out there. Cheating. Peer pressure. Sex. Drugs.
Even your own curiosity is going
to be a challenge. But if Christ is your foundation, God will lead you to the right values in life. You will have the power to say no. You will find yourself relieved having
survived the challenges of the college life one after the other. You will be surprised, God will make a way
for you.
Let Christ build
your character. Read God’s words. Mingle
with fellow christians.
2. Christ has given
me the confidence. When I decided to identify myself with Christ,
I enjoyed confidence that I would not have gotten if I were to rely on my own. Or if the
confidence that I exuded would have emanated from my Adonis behaviour, I would
have become very arrogant and egoistic. My
confidence in Christ has given me peace.
The type of confidence that Christ wants is not half hearted. What he
wants is our full trust and confidence
in Him.
In the Philippines,
it will take 4 more years of study on
top of the College course before you get the law degree. I remember one time
when I was about to enroll in my 4th year in San Beda. I suffered some setbacks in my early years so
that I had to take extra load. If I
would no do it, I will have to finish
law in 5 years. I knew that it would be
very difficult for me to get an overload of subjects. For one it has not been the school policy. Second, the regular subjects in 4th year are
tough. The night before I enrolled, I
fervently prayed saying Lord please touch the heart of the Dean that he would allow me to take
the overload. I was struggling in my prayers, because I really want to finish law in 4
years. Until the Lord impressed upon me to give everything to Him. If the Dean would not allow it, so be it, I
said. I was prepared then to finish law
in 5 years believing that God has the best plan for me. I said to the Lord let your will be done. I allowed him to take
full control.
The next day, I just
did my part of writing the appeal letter to the Dean. No more pressure in me any more because I had
put my confidence in God. When the Dean
read my letter, he granted my request and he allowed me to get an overload. I
was able to finish the College of Law in
4 years. The rest is history.
As you walk through
in life, there will be many
uncertainties. But if Christ is your foundation, He will give you the confidence beyond what your own self can deliver.
3. Christ keeps me whole.
You know, I had been
broken a number of times in the past.
I failed once in
Accounting. I failed twice in the College of Law. I got rejected by a girl. I
lost in politics. I lost some cases. I compromised my moral principles. I had plenty of humbling experiences.
But thank God for
his Promise that no matter how many times a righteous falls, he rises
again.
Christ always keeps
me whole. If I were to compare my life
to a ceramic, I would say that it has
several cracks.
But one thing I can say, it is Christ that keeps me intact. In Psalms
34:18, the Psalmist said The Lord is near
to the broken hearted. He saves the crushed in spirit. In Psalms 147:3, it says He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
In Japan, they have this traditional art of fixing
broken ceramics with a lacquer resin made to look like solid gold. They call
this “Kintsugi” . Once the vessel is fixed properly, the
ceramics will look more gorgeous, more precious, and more appealing than before
it was fractured.
The same thing holds
true with failures, rejection, and disappointments. You may be broken, hurt, and downtrodden. But let Christ do the
art of Kintsugi in you. He will always make you whole. Before you know it, you are stronger, better, and
wiser than before you went through with
them.
In Ephesians 2:10, Paul says, For we are God’s masterpiece. He has
created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us
long ago.
2. Where
is my focus?
Now that I have
imparted to you my foundation in life,
let me glide you through my focus.
Firstly, I remember
that when I was your age, I desired excellence in my field of endeavor. I made
this my aim. Why did I imbibe it? I do not know. I am still wandering why. But one thing I
know, Christ is in me.
In so doing, I focused in my studies. There were
destructions. But by God’s grace, I was
able to manage them.
Focus is important.
Steffani Uy, a recent graduate who was
able to obtain the highest grade in the
University of the Philippines since
World War II obtaining a grade of 1.004 or 99.98% , said in her Facebook page
something like Focus in your studies. It is fun. You will surely not regret it.
At this point, I
would like to honor Inay and Tatay for giving me the opportunity to finish college without requiring me to work at the same time. This
practice may not be culturally attuned in Canada but I just have say it
to emphasize that I had the time to
focus because they gave me the time that I needed. Notwithstanding our constraints then, they supported me. I
remember then that I just had to go inside our store.
Open the fridge and drink 2 Yakults or so, then eat
anything that I wanted. Before going to
sleep, I would again go inside the store and
grab a can of liquid Bear Brand Milk. Inay and Tatay
even fed me and the rest of the siblings
with special food when there would be an
exam.
I can only say that
we are blessed for having parents who first dreamt for us. I heeded the challenge
and our dreams all came true.
Before I leave this
topic, let me emphasize that you are
going to the university or any school
for that matter, to learn. Remember that getting good grades is only a
tool in learning. Your focus should be to
learn. There is no point in getting good
grades if you did not learn at all.
In the same way,
honor your parents. They are dreaming for you.
Focus on your dream. Aspire excellence.
3. When
did I fly?
I started to succeed
by God’s grace when I got all the
ingredients I needed to make it
out there. I secured my double degree and built my reputation over the years.
The problem with
this generation is that they are all in a hurry to succeed in life. They experiment on a lot of things at the
expense of their studies. They cannot
focus anymore.
We have heard successful people dropping
college and venturing immediately to what they love most. People like Steve Jobs. Mark Zuckenberg. And a few others.
Our difference with
them is that we are ordinary mortals.
They are extremely gifted. We are not
like them. When I was in the College of Law, this is where I fully realized
that men are not created equal. There are
people out there who are better than us. I spent hours in the library to study but
faltered during recitation. I have a
classmate who only studies an hour or so
and even a working student at that. But when his name was called, he had a
photographic memory. He recited like he is reading the case.
Let us not compare ourselves
with these kinds of people. Let us be ourselves and learn as much as we can
absorb.
After all, everything
has its own timing. I began reaping the benefit of success when I was in my early 40s.
It was at this age when my career blossomed and this is when I started
succeeding in entreneurship. I took it
one at a time. I may be a bit slow. But
the breaks did not fall into places early on. I continued my journey.
Corollary to this, hang on to the promise. It is the promise of God that kept me from
moving on. In God’s own timing, He opened up the windows of heaven for me.
Equally good to note it to isten to the advise of the elderly.
Once ready, you can
fly like an eagle.
To sum it up, remember what I told
you before you take the journey.
What is your
foundation?
Where is your focus?
When do you want to
fly?
In the movie Forrest Gump, this quote was popularized.
Life is like a box of
chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get. 
When you enter the
university, or when you resume classes this school year, there may be a lot surprises and first time.
Don’t be afraid. Do not be intimidated. That is life.
Remember the
promise of God in Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not in your own understanding. In all
your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall make your path straight.
God bless us all.
Dan Patron
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