Someone asked me what does success look like.

Of course, as I will always say, IT DEPENDS ON YOU.

If this is my younger me, I know she would say:

"Having a car and a house with 6 to 7 digits in the bank." But now, this is what success looks like FOR ME.

"Waking up with no alarms and going out on a date or vacation without asking for a leave. I work at my own pace, at my own time, with a purposeful career and business.

I'm blessed more than enough that I can help other people." My early 20s is so much focus on acquiring material things. I stopped being defined by that. While these things will make me look "rich or successful" but at what cost? Without freedom? Ah ah, no! Without purpose? No, thank you! Life is too short for me.

And I don't want to work just to live or live just to work. Well, that's for me. Of course, your own definition of success will be different.

Well, it should be! Because if you live your life by someone else's definition of success. You're not really making yourself successful, you're making yourself miserable.

This is why, the first step in creating your own road map to success is to know who you are.

Who are you? If we remove the titles and positions you have, who are you?

What are your core values? Are you operating and making your decisions based on your core values?

What are your beliefs? Including the limiting beliefs that you have that you need to overcome? Self recognition is not only in relationship.

In life and career too. Because if you know who you are, what you want, and who you want to become?

That's when you'll start attracting things and opportunities that are aligned to who you are.

Know yourself. Who are you really? What do you really want? And what's your own definition of success?

"You know why you don't get what you want? Because you think like that."

And I love it because it always reminds me to stay grounded. The house on the left side is what our house looks like before. Much even worse.

Yes. I'm not privileged. I didn't have what I needed. I literally started from the ground up.

We didn't have electricity or water before.

Every day and night I have to fetch water while most of my neighbors are bullying me.

We even experienced living in a very tiny room where only our neighbor's chickens were there before.

That gets flooded every time there is a typhoon even though we are on the 2nd floor because there is a hole in the wall but no window. I could have given up.

I could have settled. I can say "Maybe I'm only here. Maybe nothing good will happen in my life." I can also say "My parents got married early. They are not done either."

And I can also say "It's my parents' fault why I'm like this." But nope. While I don't have the resources, I trained my mind to always hope for the best.

What happens to my life is my responsibility. No one is responsible for my success but me. I always thought, "Others can do it. So I can too." I may not have the material things and other resources, but I have a big dream.

And I didn't just dream and imagine. I did and I always do the necessary things for me to be able to get my dreams.

In short, he is not spoon fed to me by the world. I dreamed about it. I prayed about it. I worked hard for it. And when things are hard or not working, I didn't give up. So to you who's reading this: If you don't have yet the things that you need, then fill your mind with dreams, and how's and why's. And then act.

And when things get messy and hard, don't give up. And when you finally get what you want, stay grounded.

STUDY, FINISH. THEN YOU WILL WORK IN A GOOD COMPANY.

We are raised by this mindset to study hard, do well in school and find a very good company, just to work our whole life even at the expense of our own joy, family, and sanity.

Because working in a company is society's definition of "stability" There is nothing wrong with working if you really love what you do and it makes you happy even if it is sometimes toxic, and most especially if your job gives bread and butter to your family.

There are also many of us who are not privileged enough to have a decent job. But you know what's wrong? Even if you're underpaid, go ahead anyway. Even though you gave a lot of effort and time to the company, just thank you and you are still on minimum wage.

That's how much you sacrificed for your work, still, you still don't see your worth. You have done masterals and everything. Your skills have been upgraded.

Then you can't even get promoted because someone came before you? Still, we stay. Still, we give a chance. Okay, but until when? Until 65? Until you retire everything, then you thought your retirement fund was big and then later you find out that what you worked hard for is not even a fraction of what you will get? Even though your family and health have been sacrificed?

Why? Again because "stable" "That's okay, the others there are unemployed. Shall I continue to act?" That's right that we should always be grateful for what we have. We really should be.

But having this kind of mindset is not gratitude, this is false humility. It's also not a reason to be complacent for the rest of your life and later regret it.

Why didn't you do the things you knew you could do? Or important things that you didn't do.

Underestimating your value or your worth, and thinking less of yourself is not a sign of humility. You are simply wasting your talents and your skills that you could have used in more meaningful things so that you can help other people or spend more time with your family.

There is nothing wrong if you still work and stay at a company, especially if you have just started or are still saving.

You need that. You don't have the right to act if you just started. You need to do the necessary hard work. But for those who have been working for a long time, I hope you don't use this as a reason not to work on your dreams or passion or side hustle after working your 9 to 5pm job.

Then you haven't saved anything. Then you don't even have benefits or bonuses in the company. Then you don't have HMO or health protection yet. Then you don't have time for yourself and your family.