Last week, I facilitated a three-day workshop on soft skills for a group of professionals. After which, I attended a two-day conference on personal finance. In both occasions, while I played two different roles, I learned a lot. The education I gained is invaluable. In today’s column, let me speak more about the latter: on attending learning events.
When you are given the opportunity to attend learning events, I enjoin you grab it. Join learning events. This is one way of investing in yourself – your most valuable asset.
Let me give you two terrifically good reasons why you should consider participating in learning events like trainings, seminars, workshops, and conferences.
First, these are opportunities to meet great men and women who you can learn from and/or be inspired of. Worthwhile learning events would give you chances to meet successful people who you can learn from. While you may get to know many great people in the virtual world through their blogs, videos and books, nothing will ever replace the experience and the magic of meeting the persons in the flesh. For me, meeting these big names, shaking their hands, and engaging them in a conversation makes me feel like success is reachable rather than insurmountable. Seeing them in person could also help me see a glimpse of what they do, how they do and who they are.
In that seminar last week, among the great men I’ve met once again were Edward Lee (the Founder and Chairman of COL Financial, the largest online stockbroker in the country); I also met his CEO and President, Conrado Bate. Mr. Lee was a school dropout but with the unconditional love of his mother and his passion to do business and stock investing, he was able to make his way to his present status amidst the pains he had to go through.
I also met his son Edmund Lee, the President and CEO of Caylum Trading Institute. They are teaching professionals the right mindset and skills to do stock trading. While I do not do stock trading (only a little of stock investing with small amounts) and not planning to become a stock trader, meeting this fellow young man who is an expert in his field and even owns a school that teaches others to do what he does is inspiring and empowering.
There were other big names that I’ve met, plus once again meeting my idol (I call him mentor) Bo Sanchez.
Second, these are opportunities to learn from the experience of others who have failed and succeeded in the actual field. We always hear that we should learn to be wise by learning from our experiences. I would agree with this. But what we sometimes forget is that we should also learn to be wiser by learning from the experiences of others.
In that same event that I attended, business ninja Dean Pax Lapid shared about his big business failures and the lessons he learned. Edric Mendoza, lead anchor of ANC On the Money and entrepreneur himself, shared his learnings from interviewing thousands of financial and business experts. Rose Fres Fausto, the FQ Mom, also gave simple tips on how to raise children with high FQ (financial intelligence); she emphasized that this is the way parents can arm their sons and daughters with economic self-defense. RJ Ledesma, the founder of Mercato Centrale, spoke about his entrepreneurial journey. Rosalind Wee, a legally blind teacher turned mega millionaire, shared her stories of struggle that led her to success. Those were like multi-million lessons being given away.
There were many others who I saw and learned from in that summit – Rex Mendoza, Mon Abrea, Tintin Bersola-Babao, Chinkee Tan, and many others. They spoke about their experiences from failures to successes. The lessons I learned from them are priceless. (The challenge that’s left me with me now is how to put these into practice considering my personal situation and circumstances. While each of us are unique with our own personal situations and circumstances, there are universal concepts, strategies, and tactics that we can learn from those who have walked through the path. And then apply these in our own journey.)
Truly, attending learning events could give us tons of inspiration and instruction that we can bring home. When you are given the chance, grab them. Some are offered for a fee while some are for free. Just open your eyes wide and get ready! Learn from others and grow wiser.
(Chris Dao-anis/CPA, as an author and speaker, helps aspiring and young professionals become better communicators and leaders. His first book ‘The Gift of the Ordinary’ is available at Mt. Cloud Bookshop, Casa Vallejo, Upper Session Road, Baguio City and in Central Bookstores in Cebu and Metro Manila. For seminars and resources, visit www.chrispoweracademy.com or email chrisdaoanis@ymail.com.)
