Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX

Bo Sanchez, in his book “8 Secrets of the Truly Rich”, talked about how one fateful night, he was fueled by so much passion and excitement that he wrote down a 15 page Word document containing his dreams in so much detail. He said that it was important to be able to do this, that is, write down your dreams, so that you will have a clear goal and direction: a clear target which you will aim for and shoot at, a compass of sorts that will tell you whether or not you are on the right track.

I have been meaning to do this myself, but somehow, that “passion and excitement” of writing down my dreams has not reached me. For some reason, I find it difficult to write it in serious detail, the most plausible reason of which is not really knowing what I want to attain. I do have some vague idea — the birth of my wife’s travel agency business is certainly part of that. But my inability to do so does not erase the need to write it down.

So here’s my meager attempt at writing at least some of my dreams, and then maybe I would be able to add details unto it slowly in the future:

1. Set up my own ISV (Independent Software Vendor) business - or simply, put up my own software company, which will most likely dabble with the travel and tourism industry which my wife is already in. I have already taken baby steps towards this direction, although I am keeping my day job until I’ve completed some extensive preparations. So far, I’ve been drafting a feasibility study for this, which is a requisite to writing a good business plan.
2. Put up our own resort/hotel - actually this is my wife’s dream, but after hearing of the idea and thought about it, I figured… that’s not a bad idea at all. Perhaps set up one of the real Value Hotels in the Philippines. Considering the fact that the Philippines suffers from a lack of hotels vis-a-vis interested foreign visitors, it’s actually crazy not to pursue this dream.
3. Be a “real” entrepreneur - By “real” entrepreneur, I mean someone who has set up a system or an otherwise efficient business model that creates jobs and generates a decent profit. The two previous items should lead to this.
4. Become a pilot - despite defects on my vision, I still hope to be able to afford laser eye treatment and learn how to fly a real plane, whether for recreational or business purposes. As you can see it’s still quite related to the business we’re in
5. Move/retire to a home away from the city - My wife and I have, at one point, considered moving to the province as an option, but we didn’t push through it because of the lack of employment options for either of us. But that was more than two years ago, when we didn’t have a business on our own. When we visited Puerto Princesa in Palawan last year, we were so impressed that we toyed with the idea of moving there, since we’re in the travel industry anyway and the city’s main industry is eco-tourism. Once I am able to go on my own and really set-up my ISV, it might actually be possible to do that.

So far that’s it. It’s not much, but I figured it’s a start. Wish me luck.

P.S. I’m flying to Cebu City tomorrow and will be visiting Bantayan Island. Not sure if I’ll have internet access there, and my wife and I do intend to enjoy ourselves, so I might not be able to moderate your comments until Monday. I’ll update if I ditch Puerto Princesa for Cebu City, but I think that will be highly unlikely :p