Happy birthday to a special panda. I am 29 years old today and it’s the 29th!

Technically, It’s already the 30th in Asia but I still have my western blast from the past on my side. To honor my birth, I have decided to host a super special gift for you.

In the Philippines, when people celebrate their birthdays, it ends up being the birthday person’s treat for others, rather than the western sense of treating the birthday person for their special day. People will throw parties… on their own tab! I found this fascinating when I first heard about it, because a birthday dinner in the states usually meant that they treated me.

My treat for you

I am offering a crazy $29 sale for a uniquely designed website/blog header. This normally costs $300, and for 29 hours only, you can get it for $29. The sale will end on April 30th 7:40pm EST.

I think I’m somewhat crazy for offering this at an insanely low price but lets not forget the $5 fiverr jobs and the fact that I live in a third world country that can “support” my low wage experiments.

You’ll have to act fast, but buying the 29 in 29 means that you’ll have a 6 month window towards starting your banner design project with me. Think of it as a coupon that expires 6 months from now. Act now, and you can avail later. So if this is something you could anticipate having a need for, no need to worry about the timing because it’s flexible. Buy it for yourself, or pass it on and gift a friend!

But that’s not all!

And now the obligatory “I’ve always wanted to say that”.

I’ll be donating 29% to a charity that I have a special connection to.

Her Stars Scholars was my first client, and although they are headquartered in New York, their main work is in the Philippines and other third world areas. From their website:

Her Star Scholars helps girls and women who are living in poverty receive an education so that they can achieve their fullest potential. We support a variety of programs including pre-schools, K-12, enrichment programs, leadership training, vocational training, and college scholarships.

I have a heart for social justice and believe that education and educating women and young girls is a big part of the puzzle, and a good start for our future. We’ve all seen the much more branded Girl Effect and why this issue is so important.

Her Star Scholars is my more localized version of the same thing. It is in my heart to help other Filipinos to have a better quality of life, and I truly believe this is part of why I am here, on this crazy adventure, even though it feels like I’m always kicking dust and nothing happens fast enough.

Still not convinced?

Here are some of my client testimonials:

Janet was the first graphic designer I’d worked with in my Crystal Clarity business, and I was a little nervous about how it would all work.

I needed a cover graphic for my upcoming ebook, and I had very definite ideas for what I wanted. But because it was very different from the previous client work Janet showed me, I was initially worried that she wouldn’t fit with my personal style. Also, I didn’t have a huge budget, so I was concerned about cost blowouts.

I’m happy to say I didn’t need to worry about any of it! Janet was friendly, professional and incredibly creative. She spent enough time at the outset trying to understand exactly what I wanted in terms of style and imagery, that when she sent me her first version, it was 80% ready! We quickly hammered out the remaining 20% between us; and I was delighted with both the quality of the final images, and how affordable Janet turned out to be.

I’d highly recommend Janet to anyone looking for a graphic designer. I know her images are going to make my ebook look a hundred times more professional than I could have managed on my own; and she’ll absolutely be my first port of call next time I need any graphics created for any future products!

-TANJA GARDNER, Crystal Clarity Copywriting Ltd.

I am still very much in love with the work you’ve done for my site. You took the words “old photography” and “Writer” and created exactly the mood and tone that I would never have done for myself! I can see an up-tick in traffic, and can see the click throughs between various pages which I attribute to how user-friendly it’s all become.
More than that, I feel this change of “e-scenery” has lit a fire in the belly and makes me want to write and create and bring things to life again! Thanks Janet! Best experience I”ve had with a web designer yet!
-K Syrah, Shoes Never Worn

Whether I make 1 sale or all 29 sales, I am dedicated to donating the 29% to charity. Whether that means donating $9 (I’ll round up) to Her Star Scholars and treating myself to a nice $20 dinner (or maybe that massage/free buffet place), or $261 to charity and $580 for myself (that I could easily use to finally move out of the slums), I’ll be happy no matter what.

Help bring the last year of my 20s out with a bang!

PS: If you’re looking for the brand new redesign of Purple Panda, it’s coming up soon! Keep your eyes peeled as I celebrate my birthday and celebrate my blog launch with a few more tricks up my sleeve. Watch this space!

For those who need a recap to the recap:
1. Niall Doherty wrote a blog post about his challenge to do a No Self Promo.
2. I got inspired and joined in on the fun, then wrote a guest post for him to pave the way for others to join in.
3. Will Peach joined in and wrote about his experience recap on Niall’s blog.
4. Niall got to post his recap on Keith Ferrazzi’s blog, who is the Never Eat Alone author who inspired him.
5. I was too lazy to write about my recap, until now…

My month of no self promo was a smashing success! During that time, I felt the spark of blogging that I hadn’t felt in awhile. It’s that getting in touch with the community, and people, that makes blogging worthwhile. Forcing myself to keep in contact with people and asking them if they needed help was challenging and I learned a lot.

1. Asking people for help gives you more work to do. Well duh. But it can get overwhelming pretty quick! You create little jobs for yourself with no pay or expectation in return. It’s a hobby at best and something fun to explore. It’s VERY worth the time and effort if you do it right. If I do this for free, and I do, it means I must really have the passion for it. I’m onto something here…

2. It may or may not lead to potential client leads or work. Reaching out to others lets them know that you’re there. It keeps people in your radar, and lets them know that you’re relevant, gung ho and ready to go! Although I didn’t receive work from my No Self Promo challenge, it doesn’t matter. That wasn’t the point, and it was fun to genuinely help others.

3. Blogging becomes more fun. It’s the spark I mentioned. I got my groove back, even for just a little while. I remembered why I loved blogging. I had more focus and discipline and a bunch of ideas that made me feel alive. I wanted to interview people and dreamed about Purple Panda turning into a magazine style with fresh new content.

4. It’s really, really hard. It’s hard to keep consistent. It’s hard to follow through on things that I had wanted to do because I’m lazy. I didn’t interview as many people as I would have liked. Some either declined my requests to help, never answered back on the things I had asked them for a feature write up, or I simply got lazy with my follow up and follow through. I plan to revive this though and get back to everyone that I want to feature!

5. It gave me time to reconnect. Reaching out to bigger, more “famous” bloggers wasn’t my only criteria. I also got in touch with blogging peers that I know, and non-bloggers that have an interesting story. Blogging in itself isn’t an interesting story. The people behind blogs are normal people, and it’s up to YOU to create an interesting life. Not every blogger has an interesting story, and not every interesting person has a blog… I’d rather diversify and highlight those who aren’t in the ‘circuit’. Stories like walking across America or flying to every country in the world might be impressive, but it’s just overdone. I’d rather show something that no one has heard of. Knowing this, and gearing up for blog features made me realize I wanted this to become a more regular part of Purple Panda.

6. My site traffic went up. Despite doing NO self promotion which for me meant no tweets or facebook statuses about new post updates, my traffic remained strong and even spiked up a bit! In helping others, evidently, they were more likely to help me out as well! There is a natural interest to genuinely give back with people I encountered. Although there was no monetary exchange, there still seemed to be a natural energy exchange of some kind. I believe give and take of equal energies is part of our social make-up, especially when encountering positive people.

7. It changed my perspective and changed my life. I use this lightly. It was a game changer, for sure, and I saw the definite need to keep this new model consistent. To help others is to help yourself. There is so much truth to it, but it’s so easy to get back to old patterns and back into my own vacuum where only I exist and I don’t even like it. The good things in life take effort but it is sadly too easy to default into lazy mediocrity. Note to self: don’t be mediocre.

8. It’s inspiring. It’s inspiring to connect with such remarkable people and feel their energy through my interaction. You learn more through others and it becomes much greater to write about. I have been unsatisfied with my writing lately and maybe its time to connect again. In my mind, my writing has become forced and shallow, and I struggle to find my writing voice and style. I love old school Ash Ambirge or even Penelope Trunk. Danielle LaPorte meets Justine Musk.

9. It’s not in my nature to reach out. It takes a concerted effort on my part and doesn’t come naturally. But when I do, life becomes more fun and bearable and light. Life (and love..of life) opens up and I find a little bit of me and who I am through others. I find that spark energy. That essence. The thing that gives me drive.

Go towards your passions. Find out what makes you spark, and do more of it.

There’s more where that came from.

I have a problem. I call it the “deer in headlights syndrome” and have made excuses for myself that never served me because of it. I’d blame the environment. I hated my job. My room was too cluttered. I was just stuck in a rut!

The Deer in Headlights Syndrome can strike when you’ve got so many ideas, dreams, wishes, desires and no plan to get you started. The debilitating perfectionism can hold you back. You might have a million and one ideas and feel total overwhelm, or the vision in your head can never live up to reality. Why even bother?

As an artist, I admit, this has happened far too many times than I’d like to admit. I lack initiative to get a project started. I lack the gusto to keep it going… Even during this so-called blog launch, I fear that I am telling everyone about the launch that’s happening on April 29th and once the day rolls by, I’ll have nothing to show for it. So how do you get past stuck? How do you stop putting off the projects you know you should do but haven’t started? How do you keep on moving?

Partner with a friend for accountability

One solution is to partner with a friend. This partnership, also known as “accountability buddies”, provides support and inspiration to keep on going. The key is to have regularly scheduled meetings, either in person or via Skype, to talk about your progress. I was really inspired by David Krug who started live blogging about his new venture, Freedom Business, and decided I needed to take action on my launch goals too. If it weren’t for this initiative, I might have let my April 29th blog launch slide by and never start working on it.

Tell everyone your plans

As in having an accountability buddy, you have to tell everyone your plans or publically announce it, even before you start. Decide on a goal and announce it, then implement and give status updates as you go along. This helps you feel the responsibility of your decisions, and follow through with action. It’s also a great motivator because you don’t want to embarrass yourself or fall short of the goal now that you know people are counting on you or expecting something to be done. The positive energy and support from other people also helps keep you on track and accomplish what you’ve started (or are about to start). Real implementation: perhaps instead of writing “run a marathon” on my bucket list, I should announce that I’m running a marathon… and act accordingly. The reality (or unlikely reality) of that goal seems like the ultimate accomplishment.

Reach the tipping point

Once you take the steps towards your goal, and work on it little by little each day, there will be a tipping point or “point of no return”. Quitting will be pointless and impractical because there is so much progress. Before I took my cross-continental move from the US to the Philippines, I designed a step by step plan to calm the overwhelm and break things off in measurable baby steps that I could handle. I made it a point to design my “tipping point” into my plan by checking into a group voluntour program in India. This required money and non-refundable deposit fees. Once placed, I was already setting things in motion. It made buying my one-way ticket to the Philippines so much easier.

The tipping point usually comes in bursts of excitement. When you feel that spark, you know you’re on the right track. Once you feel it, you know you’ve gone from being stuck to being in the flow.

Find Inspiration

When Ash from The Middle Finger Project relaunched her site with a sexy new design, I must admit I was jealous. Jealous in that good way. The sort of way that makes you feel “I can do it!” or brazenly declare “I can do better!” and pushes me to work. I’m coming up with a HOT new design that I’m beyond excited to reveal. And I’ll do everything I can do meet my deadline.

Will you be there?

I’m launching. Or am I?

David Krug is real time blogging his new launch and business plan for 30 days. It got me inspired and questioning. Can I launch in 30 days? Thirty days was… on April 1st and I haven’t really started so I’ve got a lot to do. Can I do it?

Of course I can. It all depends on how much focus and dedication I put into it and actually take myself seriously for once.

I’ve been blogging on this site for a little over a year now but haven’t properly “launched” it, or anything, for that matter. I’ve stumbled around, trying to decide what my “purpose” is and how NOT to be a personal blogger. How to give people “value”. But what if my value is in personal blogging? I’m a memoirist at best. When I think of my favorite books and the things that I like to read, memoirs are by far my favorite. From Anne Frank to Anais Nin, the memoir speaks to me, and I would absolutely be humbled to become a memoirist blogger.

What I’d love to do is have a proper launch on April 29th. My birthday. During this time, I’ll make a much-needed redesign to the blog and add a mailing list. Slowly but surely, I will take my online “brand” more seriously and try to make something out of it and growing the community. I’ve played with the idea of creating/designing products around the Purple Panda theme (brand?) to make my own “kawaii”/Asian cute/poppy stationery, cards and other things. I’ve played around with the idea to make Lessons From the Trenches a paid newsletter, and turn it into a platform for my own social outreach programs and charity work; a different kind of “lessons from the trenches” with social entrepreneurism in full focus. So far, the latter seems to speak to me the most. But how would I get interest?

The interest comes in your execution to launch. Play it right and it will be a success. Fall short and so will your ideas. I want to play this right so I want to be held publically accountable.

29 on 29

This might sound slightly crazy, but on launch day, my plan is to have a $29 sale on any blog header work, normally priced at $250. This should only last for 29 hours so you’ll have to act quickly. Perhaps a proper blog post is in order for more details, but for now, a heads up.

Truth be told, I have many ideas but not enough action. I try to guide my life intuitively and have thought of business ideas while meditating that I have yet to execute. Crazy ideas that involve purple body paint. And nudity. That I’m way too chickenshit to accomplish just yet. The paid newsletter came to me through my intuitive voice. And my connection to tie it into social entrepreneurism came after that. I have always believed that following your intuition is your wisest voice so if my intuition is telling me I should start a paid newsletter/e-zine, I better deliver! The steps to get there involve launching my blog (for real), building my email list and creating a more marketable web design.

I hope to see you on April 29th.

For the first time ever in the history of this blog I’m going to toot my own horn and tell you that I’m offering $50 Timeline Cover graphics (I’m not going to do one of those gawdy BUY NOW buttons because that would be too much like tooting my own horn, f’realz, or I’m too lazy to add it).

See, Facebook decided to be Nazi’s and make it MANDATORY starting March 30th that all Facebook Fan Pages (and probably all pages in general but I’m too lazy to check) convert into the Timeline profile. That means if you’re a business and you don’t have anything prepared, your page will look like Plain Jane without a header. And who wants to be that loser?

There’s a lot of opposition but love it or hate it, you’re stuck with the change. The best you can do is embrace it and be prepared.

The GOOD thing is you have much more real estate to beautify your page, match your blog header, showcase your products or just get creative. I can help.

For $50 I can beautify your fan page within a speedy turnaround and for $90 I’ll throw in a custom Twitter background. You’ll get my expertise in Photoshop ninja-ry plus marketing savvy as I research and get in line with your brand. Just email me to get started.

Are you ready?

Facebook is a Piece of Shit and 5 Ways You Can Rock Your Timeline

Yes. That’s right. I’m totally dissing exactly what I’m telling you I offer for a bit of reverse psychology. Because I kind of hate Facebook but its not going away anytime soon and why not attempt to capitalize on something that you have no choice over? That being said, you DO have the power to do it yourself and choose your Timeline cover. Get creative!

1. Think of patterns.
For creatives, bright colors and patterns may just be the right texture for you. There’s nothing like a bit of houndstooth to say you’re hipster, or plaid to say you’re from Portlandia. Party like it’s 1999 with some Purple Rain! If you’re a writer, maybe add a closeup of handwriting for texture. If you’re an artist, add paint blotches! Choose something that best represents you.

2. Break the Rules!
Facebook actually tells you that you’re not allowed to add contact information on your cover graphic, calls to action, or arrows trying to get people to like you. I think its bullshit and if you really want to use your cover graphic as a business card, why the hell not? Since landing and welcome pages that have typically encouraged users to “like” the page is becoming obsolete with timeline, why not make your cover graphic with arrows to ‘like’ the page?

3. Showcase Your Work
If you’re an artist, why not showcase your work on your timeline cover graphic? This could serve as an instant portfolio and gives a glimpse of what you do. Create a collage of your work meshed together in one cover graphic/header! You can also choose one stand alone image and your best piece.

4. Quote it Up
If you love quotes as much as I do, consider adding one that represents you or your biz. Play with the typography, size and positioning to turn it into a graphical element. Google Photoshop text tutorials if you’d like a certain effect. Pair it up with a simple texture as above. Or simply add your tagline.

5. Stock Photography
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words and if you nail the visual element, you’ve got yourself an excellent timeline cover graphic. Don’t be afraid to use stock photos for your graphics. You may have to purchase it, but there are also free options that you can choose. My favorite free stock photography site is stock.xchng. The selection is pretty good but if you’d like an ace image, you may want to go with the purchase option.

Facebook timelines do not have to be a scary transition. With these five ideas, you can get started on your own, or hire a professional. (wink wink, nudge nudge)

Either way, make sure you’re ready for March 30th!

Sui: The Love Warrior

“Being present is the greatest love that you can give to yourself and other people.” – Sui

Sui’s (pronounced Sway) journey starts out much like my own. So much so that I have to wonder if we are twins in a parallel life. Born in China, but raised in California makes her a 1.5 generation immigrant like me. Growing up wanting to be white and having her first Asian friend in middle school is something that I can relate with. That self-loathing and intimate hate for one’s ethnicity and being bullied for being different is an all too common memory.

There was gender and race fluidity. Not identifying as Chinese, or American, or any one specific nationality, but rather a citizen of the world. Like Sui, I find it hard to identify myself as Filipino or American or even Filipino-American. This disjointed sense of identity in a fragmented world… We are simply ourselves, in the most human way.

Gender androgyny was a result of preferring shorter hairstyles that had her being teased as a lesbian, much like how I preferred my spiky pixie in highschol and early college. Oh, and we both eventually shaved our heads.

Deconstructing the gender binary was at the forefront of Sui’s beliefs not to pigeon ourselves in roles of what women and men should do, and the Feminist in me rejoices in her philosophy.

Where our stories veer off is one ripe with emotion and pain. Though I related with the emotional struggles of eating disorders and thought I possessed emotional tendencies to go down that path, I made the choice not to. After all, I loved food too much and my body was a source of hatred. I wanted to have something wrong with me, as if this would be a physical badge of the emotional turmoil I felt within, but I couldn’t become a cutter, or someone with an eating disorder, or become bipolar.

Sui has battled and recovered through depression and eating disorders. As a young woman who successfully supports herself entirely online, I find her ability to overcome pain and teach what she has learned to be incredibly inspiring. Being a professional blogger misses the mark, she says. It’s more like blogging is a pillar that attracts interest in her work. Although she relates with Feminism, and most readers are women, she never uses one pronoun or targets one movement to try not to exclude people in her work. It’s a sign of an evolved and carefully thought out professional writer.

Loving yourself hasn’t been an easy path for Sui, like many. As a young, idealist, 18 year old, she wrote an intention to make 1,000 people happy every day. Perhaps it was her sense of unwavering social responsibility since childhood that gave her the strength to overcome her own demons and learn to love herself to eventually serve others. Her recovery was in large part through the aide of a healthy romantic relationship that taught her how to love her body and genuinely love another. Her recovery also took self forgiveness, patience and acceptance, but would soon relapse when the relationship ended and she had to relearn how to recover on her own.

“My passion comes from knowing pain.” – Sui

Today she is doing well and living life on her own terms by being a digital nomad currently relocated in New York City. The exercise of loving yourself everyday started as a conscious daily choice but has now become a state of being. Loving yourself is automatic. If difficult emotions come up, she asks herself what she needs to do right now and finds a way to give that to herself. Being present is the greatest love that you can give to yourself and other people. Loving yourself is about being present, and being aware of what you need. Living in this conscious love is the best way to guage your authentic path and where to go from here. It’s this presence that has guided Sui in New York, with no set plans on where to live, but things always working out in the end. The purging of emotions, in recovery, is mirrored in her minimalist lifestyle of purging the clutter and unwanted stuff, living off of a suitcase.

Blogging as a pillar for your message is something that has grown organically for Sui. This year marks her 13th anniversary of her first website, and her first domain was purchased 10 years ago. Although she wanted to start a revolution of love through blogging, her blog, Cynosure, was intended to be a fashion blog that would make her “famous” and eventually evolved into the revolution of love that it is today. It is a beautiful expression of inspiration and courage, and her offerings are a gentle outpouring of the value she’s written for purchase. She has struggled with the balance of sales and marketing versus finding her genuine path and authentic self that didn’t like the idea of being too salesy or doing it a certain way. Sui has made me realize that it can be done your own way, if you’re willing to go through the trial and error, but it’s certainly reachable for anyone with a message and enough passion and vision.

Stick with your mission. Give it attention and intention. And watch it evolve organically into something that becomes self sustainable. That–beyond the buzz words of “digital nomad” and “location independence” or “entrepreneur”–is what I ultimately want, in the end.

* * *

To find more of Sui’s work and photography, you can go to her digital hub, So.li.taires or her blog, Cynosure.

If you haven’t stumbled upon More Love Letters, you’re in for a lovely treat! This is Hannah’s journey of one amazing passion project. What started as a randomly inspired idea to write a love letter on the New York 4 train and leave it for people who might need a lift, has now grown into a small army of love letter writers and an incredible movement that has transformed many people’s lives.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah below.

1. I recall you mentioned that you wanted to be a professional love letter writer when you were a kid. How did this become a reality? Did you consciously have it in mind up until your 20s or was this a nice surprise memory you conjured after More Love Letters was created?

Though I swore I would become a love letter writer as a child, I never actually anticipated it would happen past that 7 year old age mark. I think I just continued to carry my passion for writing and love into my experience as a blogger. I always did view my original blog as a love letter to my readers. But the thought of actually doing what I do now, scripting love letters to strangers? No, I don’t think I could have ever anticipated that would happen. And I still regard it as an accident. It is part my love for handwritten notes, my need to be helping others, my sometimes gut wrenching sense of empathy, and my love for social movements all meshed into one.

2. I love when things seem to happen organically, and you can just simply go with the flow… Like your kid self unknowingly manifesting the future. I know you have a lot of faith. How has your soul guided you? Can you give an example of how things just “naturally work”.

As much work and energy I have had to put into the site, I regard all of it has an act of God. He really placed this divine purpose on my life and I have been continuously blown away by how much my vision has spread in less than a year. Everyday there is someone new, in another country or state, spreading love letters and I have to stop and ask myself, “Did I really start this? Was this me?”

I’ve gone with my gut in everything. I have made decisions based off of the peace I have felt. I have asked myself, what in this world do we need more of and how can I make that get displayed on the internet? Things have just naturally flowed from there.

An example I always use is the time I scripted a love letter to college students during their final exams. You could have seen that as “content” for the site or as a genuine love letter reaching out and saying, “Hey, I’ve been there before… hold tight.” I viewed it as the latter and, as a result, the love letter went viral. It reached over 150,000 college students in three days! That could have never been by my own works! That just happened all on its own.

3. What impacts do you see from More Love Letters? Are you able to track people’s reactions or is it just a mystery once a letter comes out of your hands? Do recipients ever get back to you?

We are starting to get more and more recipients coming back to us now that the site is growing and spreading. People are normally blown away. They are thankful for their letter. They had already begun to wonder where the compassion in the world had wandered of too. Many of those who find or recieve a love letter in the mail are the ones who join on board and start scripting their hearts out.

4. Do you have a day job? How have you been able to keep More Love Letters running?

Yes, yes, there is a day job. I am lucky to have my cake and eat it too. Though I adore my love letters I also have a serious passion for human rights and communications. I marry those two in my 9-5 job at a leading global NGO for children.

More Love Letters stays running with a lot of caffeine, faith, night hours, dedicated participants and the sometimes hard to swallow truth: most passion projects take a lot of grind before they switch from you carrying them on your back to them carrying and supporting you.

5. I know that you’ve gotten media attention in the past. How has that come about? Do you see More Love Letters gaining steam and more notoriety? What’s next?

I am constantly getting story requests from editors at different publications. It has been really something wonderful and completely organic in the sense that I never had the time to go out there and get my own press. I think that the story has an infectious tinge to it and it also comes with a hook for anyone to get involved. People seem to dig that. But press like Oprah and Hello Giggles or the Wall Street Journal? I could have never anticipated that.

What’s next? Certainly, I want it to be a book. Though I love the interviewing opportunities, I think I am ready to tell the story with my own writing.

6. How can people get involved? Who do you give love letters to? Is it random or is there a system where people request letters?

The site is absolutely packed with the ways to get involved so I won’t go talking your ear off. Basically there are a number of ways from writing love letters and leaving them where you are based or from signing on to script love letters to people in need. We intro’ new people who need love letters every other week. I’d recommend you check out the site because I could never do each of the options justice.

7. If you could write a love letter to everyone in the world right now, what would it say?

Oh boy, aint that the million dollar question? My goodness… I don’t know if you could start a love letter off with speechlessness… I think I would just let that love letter be a reminder to them, a reminder to think back on the dreams they had when they were younger- when the world was kinder, where things weren’t so hard- and I’d ask them what changed? What did they let go? How can they hold it once again?

I think every love letter should exist to let people know that they are precious beyond measure. They are important. Valuable. They fill the shoes that no one else in this whole, wide world could fill. It is not something to take lightly or belittle. Life… she is short and not guaranteed, so I’d use my love letter to make sure people know that… that they should be grabbing life for all she is worth.

8. What’s your hope for the future and how are you changing the world to make it possible?

I never stop to think or say, “Oh, I am changing the world.” The thought does not really even dance in my head. I grew up not saying that I wanted to change the world but rather that I wanted to teach others how to do it… That is what I love and that is what I want to do on a grander scale in the future: give people the tools and empowerment they need to believe in themselves and their capacity to change the world. I like the background roles and I am looking forward to more of those in the future. I’d rather train up a generation of go getters than focus on me… My goals and my dreams are hinging on the younger ones now so that is where I will invest my energies.

It’s no secret that like many 99ers, my “comfortable” US lifestyle has been compromised and downgraded. Rather than do what’s “normal” and move in with my parents, I did the “impossible” and started over in SE Asia while living in humble local conditions instead. Yes, I live in the slums. What of it?

But because I live in the slums I can’t ignore the poverty that greets me every day. Imagine having to scrounge the garbage just to survive, while you can’t afford to put your son in grade school. What would they do with an extra $500?

Your #firstworldproblems are much smaller on a grander scale. Most Americans seem to be living in a dream, wondering when they’ll wake up. When life will be “perfect” again and when they can afford to live on their own. They might think about ending it all and taking their life, because living in a hotel room in the ghetto after losing their home is just too much and too hard to bare. They are disillusioned and hoping for their “normal” life back. I have to laugh a little because here’s the thing:

What you are experiencing right now, no matter how good or bad, is normal. Stop with the petty judgments already and realize that the ability to adapt to change and learn to be comfortable in the uncomfortable is paramount to your ability to survive.

The family that scrounges for garbage just to survive is true to life. This is a real family that I want to help. One of many, I’m sure. And although I’m not “rich” by Western standards, I want to give back.

I am 1 of 20 finalists to win $500 from Stratejoy’s 1st Annual Essay Writing Contest

You can vote for my essay #9 (my favorite number!) here by March 2nd.

Here’s what I plan to do with the extra $500:

-Donate part of the money to the family to get their kid in school. This is perfect timing since it’s nearing summer vacation here and upcoming new semesters don’t start until our US summer break. It’s the perfect kickstart to the social entrepreneurism that I hope to start at Purple Panda. Whether I win or not, I’ll make a way. The $500 would be a great intro to the things I’ve got planned!

-Renew my passport(s). I’m now a dual citizen! I haven’t done a lot of international travel lately, though I had a brief stint in Florida for a “work trip”. My US passport expires at the end of this year, and my Philippine passport should probably be renewed too. Just cause I can. Since I’m a Filipino citizen and all. *beams*

-Buy my boyfriend new shoes. The man who has walked Luzon island and Palawan in just sandals doesn’t have many walking shoes. He needs an “everyday shoe” that he can wear…everyday.

Here’s something that I’m learning about money:

Money is not meant to be owned. It’s meant to be shared.

Abundance is all around us, you just have to be willing to give (and receive)!

What would you do with an extra $500?

In this parts of the world it is February 14.

Happy Valentines Day!

I spent yesterday doing the usual. Going to the mall for some air conditioner relief (really, I never thought I would ever be a mallrat, but when you live 10 minutes walking distance from a major mall, live in a concrete slab slums with no air conditioner and still don’t cook with coal, it just kind of happens). But then I also bought an erotica book (because I have this fantasy to become a popular erotica writer, under a pen name of course, but realize I’ve never actually read proper erotica) and my boyfriend and I saw The Vow which is the perfect Valentines day movie.

But this has nothing to do with this article.

Boyfriend aside, I honestly believe one of the cheapest forms of love is romantic love and that this Valentines Day business is… well, not my thing.

I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never received flowers and the rebel in me wants to stick my middle finger through Cupid’s heart.

Ouch. This chick is brutal.

Whatevs.

My point is that romantic love is often cheapened by the whole courting thing itself. “Falling in love” is just an infatuated idea of love laced with crazy hormones and pheremones. Add in the idea that current day marriage is basically a joke (and less females are choosing to get married) that would honestly be set right by allowing gay marriage because marriage, like society, has evolved.

(Not that you didn’t know my stance because I’m obviously a raunchy liberal and completely off the map when it comes to democrats and republicans, who are seriously in bed together having crazy orgies, why do you think I chose to opt-out and move out of the country as soon as Bush left? I’m monogamous, ya freaks, and I don’t regret it.)

The better way to practice love is to Love Yourself (In a World that Doesn’t Want You to). In this way, you rely less and less on external factors for assurance and validation (the media, the “perfect” boyfriend/girlfriend, the beauty magazine that tells you what you “need” to look pretty) and exude self-confidence within yourself.

Once you learn how to love yourself, relationships then become less and less something you “need” but something you choose as a conscious way to outpour the love that you already have. You don’t need to go searching for it, but it’s something that you want to share.

The love that you want to share spills over in relationships of all kinds. Being a more loving, compassionate being is a mindset shift that means loving yourself, your enemies and your neighbors. This doesn’t just mean your street, your city, your state or your barangay (village)… It’s compassion for all living things and the world. Remembering we are one.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
~ Dalai Lama

Maybe John Lennon and the Beatles were right.

All you need is Love.

The Real Way to Show Some Love this Valentines

With love and compassion in mind, the real way to show some love this Valentines day, or any day is to start donating to a good cause and help change the world for the better. I’ve got the perfect cause to champion!

My friend and amazing woman entrepreneur, Natalie Sisson of The Suitcase Entrepreneur is taking on a major challenge and needs your help! Natalie has really encouraged me over the years and been a major inspiration in my solo blog bum entrepreneur journey ever since she commented on one of my very first posts on this blog! When I heard that she was biking across the entire African continent to raise $10,000 for WomenWin.org and help improve the lives of women and girls in Africa, I jumped at the chance to help promote the cause (hello, no self promo).

For more information and how you can get involved, go to Natalie’s snazzy looking fundraiser page for more details!

Additionally, you can also buy fashionably designed graphic tees and tanks (designed by the popular exiler Colin Wright himself) where a generous 50% will be donated to the cause!

The other day, I went into the men’s restroom, by deliberate choice.

I was tipsy. OK, maybe a little drunk. Those bottomless margaritas be damned!

The reason I did it, small bladder aside, was because the men’s and women’s restroom were good for one person only. No walk in to 2 or 3 stalls. Just toilet and sink. And since the women’s bathroom was already occupied, I thought to hell with it and snuck in to the men’s room.

Only I didn’t sneak in. There was a line of 1-2 other females.

I heard snickers. I heard them say “cah-raaaa-zy!”
I heard them say “when you gotta go, you gotta go.”

That’s right, bitches.

I broke social convention and pissed in the “mens” room.

Mommy wow! I’m a big girl now!

And a fucking bad ass.

When you think about it, the idea of separate rooms for individual bathrooms is stupid. They should be co-ed! Everyone knows that women have longer lines — every time and I’m going to make a guess and say that we generally have smaller bladders too (especially when alcohol is involved). Not to mention all the fuss powdering our faces and being obsessed by our reflections.

That adds up to a fucking long time to wait for some bitch to wash her hands or shove a tampon up her vulva (that’s a funny word — vulva). Except over here, in SE Asia, everyone uses pads. You literally have to go to the pharmacist to buy tampons.. What the fuck!?

But here’s a secret. The other reason I went into the men’s restroom is because I saw another girl do it earlier.

I gave her a puzzled look. She said something in a language I still don’t understand fluently (ONE DAY!). I imagined her saying “it’s ok. You can go here.” And so I did. That time, with no line behind me, it wasn’t a big deal. But the second time, without the frame of reference that the others in line missed that made me reason it was OK, it was deemed “crazy”.

“I might follow her! I have a really small bladder.” I overheard a poshy girl in chip-chirp voice say.

We are All Lemmings

Even the “unconventional” people. Think about it.

If we were as unconventional as we claim, there wouldn’t be a huge following and a book deal for Chris G. at the Art of Non-conformity.

People love to be lead and there are just way too many people quitting their jobs to travel or start freelancing to even mention it as an “unconventional” path. It’s simply a new model to replace an old one; a new way of thinking, and a new economy emerging, that will eventually become the norm.

(It’s also a really exciting time and I’m glad to be a part of it.)

All it takes is one person to start something. One person to prove that it’s even possible, and the rest will follow.

I love the example of the weird white guy dancing in an outdoor concert festival by himself (I’m not cool enough to know which one), and slowly amassing mobs of people.

(I love it even more that it happened in Portland.)

It’s an old (in internet terms) viral but its still one of the most fascinating looks into human social behavior in regards to how movements are formed. First you need the founding leader who’s crazy enough to break social convention, and then you need 2-3 people who are crazy enough to join before it picks up and snowballs into social acceptance.

Crazy people change the world. And crazy is exactly where I want to be!

Meet Rodrigo of The Brave Man Blog.

Rodrigo is a fun loving guy from El Salvidor who wishes to make it on his own in lifestyle business. Like many before him, after reading the Four Hour Work Week, he “woke up” and became hell bent on going after his dream to a freer life.

He is still stuck at a cubicle.

What’s interesting about Rodrigo is his location and culture. It’s a little overdone when Americans move to SE Asia and build businesses, and a lot more acceptable these days. But get an El Salvadoran to aspire towards the same path and he is the first “crazy” in his country to pursue it and leverage technology.

Rodrigo will lead the movement for people in El Salvador to eventually do the same!

His act of breaking social convention, in a culture more stuck to traditional values, makes him “crazy”! And truly brave.

Don’t listen to the naysayers and keep on keeping on! It’s good to be crazy!