Article
I believe in lifelong learning. That one has to continue acquiring new knowledge, developing oneself and expanding horizons. I had mixed feelings when the K-12 basic education program was introduced to the Philippines. Good, because it gives the young more skills to ready them for employment even without a college degree but do we really want the next generation to be skillful employees and not leaders who can do critical thinking and innovate and design new things?
Are we just thinking short term of making sure the next generation can look for a job with average pay than develop entrepreneurs who can provide more jobs for other people? Do we really want them to be eligible to work abroad and be employed by other nationalities or help them realize their worth and assist in building the Philippines become a first world country? As a former college professor, I am forced to think, to ask: What is our intention of sending the young to school? Will an additional two years equip them with what they really need to survive in the ever-changing world?
I may be gathering mixed reactions from whoever will be reading this post, but with an open mind, may I encourage you to ask: So what kind of education then, do we need?
Financial education: This teaches us how to handle money, how to expand it and how to make the most out of it. True, money is not the most important thing. It is what money can give that we all crave: Time to spend with the ones we love, health for our family, the ability to contribute to our church or a cause that we believe in, and yes, including education for our children. Isn’t that the reason why we work hard anyway? Why we want a good job in the first place? Why more and more people take up their graduate studies, MBAs and higher education?
The thing is, money was never really taught in school. The concept of accounting and finance, yes, but not something that is tangible enough for most of the people to grasp and apply in their life. The thought of introducing basic skills to young minds is not bad at all, I believe it can also help, but I do believe it is not enough. Learning to become financially literate helped me more than what I learned getting my engineering degree.
Allow me to share what I hope I learned in school:
1. The financially successful don’t work for money; they let money work for them.
I realized that investing is much better than saving alone. Investment grows our money while saving can be affected by inflation and economic turmoil. Working as an engineer, I worked for money. The earning was good, but if I stopped working, the earning stopped as well. With the K12 system, why are we training the young to work hard for money when we can educate them to have money work for them?
2. Passive income is much more important than active income, no matter how big your active income is.
Passive income is money you earn without having to work, it is money earned from stable businesses and assets. Passive income gives financial and time freedom. When I was working, my dilemma was, when I have money I don’t have time. If I don’t work, I have time, but I don’t have the money. You see you can have both – enough money to live the lifestyle you desire and the time to spend with the people that matters most to you. Why not have both?
3. Assets are what put money into your pocket, liabilities takes money out of your pocket.
People seem to be living in the age-old belief of finish school, get a good job, save money and buy a house and a car and live happily ever after. I have nothing against a house and a car, but do happily ever really do exist for everyone? Perhaps for some and I am happy for them but what about the majority of people who struggle every day to make ends meet? Of people who choose to leave the family and work overseas just to have food on the table. In my travels, I meet Filipinos who would want to go back home and be with the family, but who can’t. What are you trying to build?
4. Mindset is much more important than skill.
Skill is important, but skill without financial knowledge leads to a lot of skilled, overwork yet underpaid employees. There is nothing wrong with working, as long as you work to learn and not just work to earn. Then, apply what you have learned to do business. I am thankful when I understood that without the proper mindset, things would not fall into place. In business for example, having all the capital, skills and contacts won’t give you the same success as having the right mindset. What kind of mindset are we teaching the young these days?
5. Information is more important that capital.
A lot of people are stopped because they do not have any money, when in reality ideas alone can go a long way, especially if it is coupled with financial literacy. People these days become billionaires from scratch. It does not take money to make money, anymore. The industrial age is long gone. Take the courage to swim with the tides, employment skills are not enough, you have got to learn how to create your future and not just rely on a 15-30 salary. Be open, the next big information might just be around the corner.
Robert Kiyosaki once said, it is not how much money you make, it is in how many generations you keep it.
The times have changed. It’s the information world now and information travels faster than light. I am worried that the young generation may not be fully equipped to set the world into new heights. Let them build a future that they deserve with the right education. School should not be the end of learning but a beginning. Allow yourself to develop, to grow and never be fixed with what you already know. Attend seminars. Find a mentor. Read books. Listen to audiobooks. Keep on learning. Our mind is like an umbrella; it works best when it is open.
I am off to another seminar and am ready to learn new things and eager to apply them. May you also find the wisdom in growth and life-long education! Happy learning and I’ll see you in all the beaches of the world.
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Congress election (10 years ago)
About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
