What do you do when you’re granted the opposite of what you’ve been praying for? I fly by the seat of my pants.
Last week was a challenging week, and even as I wallow under the weight of my thoughts, I always fail to realize that the world goes on. No matter how I want to stick unforgivingly to my plan, it makes me wobbly when things don’t go the way as I envisioned them to.
I saw my good friend Winston Emano at an entertainment speed-networking event by FilAm Creative last Monday. When I started on this new job, I reached out to Winston for career advice. While getting me an apple martini, he said: “You should be the face of your company if you want to reach out to our community.”
“What? No way. I am OK being anonymous and working behind my desk.” I said.
The next day I knew that Winston made a good point. But I shrugged it off, anyway.
At the office, my publisher Mr. Oriel called to follow up on an interview with one of my colleagues. I then told him about what Winston said and he confirmed:
“He is right. I was just about to ask you if we can also feature you since you are the one that brought your company to the Filipino-American community.”
I know that Forrest Gump is right when he said that “Life is like a box of chocolates, you’ll never know what you’re going to get.” Yes, life is unpredictable, but my stubborn self refuses to acknowledge it.
This is not what I was praying for. My plan was to live anonymously, sell my car and take the bus. Simple. I didn’t want to be visible.
In panic, I called my mentor Tita Prosy and told her everything. She said, “They are both correct. You are given an opportunity to do community service.”
I can see it clearly now.
It makes perfect sense why an Asian American should be the one reaching out to other Asian Americans. The relationship is there to begin with. If I truly believe in what I do, then I should be aggressively spreading the good news. I guess being visible comes with the territory of loving my job.
Now I know that I’ve been given a good substitute for my aborted plan. I can work around my “simple life.” Maybe I will take the bus twice a week and attend events twice a month only.
Concerns are a part of life. Plans fail and we have a choice to work around it. Here are some of the things I thought I should keep in mind while being “visible:”
– I am going to remember the names of the new people I meet by heart. Nothing beats the sound of one’s own name.
– I am going to be genuinely interested in people. From experience, people tend to remember you when you are generous with praise and cautious with criticism.
– I am going to be considerate of what others feel and think. What matters is what I do for them.
I’ve been given an opportunity to be maximized by our community. How exciting it is to be a work in progress! I must finish strong.
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Catch Filipino Chocolate and Wine Pairing by Tonet Tibay of Marti Chocolatt and Santos Uy of Mignon on June 26, 2011 from 7-9pm at Kazuyo Sushi. General admission is $35 (includes four wines and six chocolate pairings). VIP admission is $75 (includes wine and chocolate pairings plus a box of chocolates and wine to take home.) This is for the benefit of FilAm ARTS/FPAC.
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Elgin Zulueta is the Business Development Director for the International Academy of Film and Television / Bigfoot Entertainment. She finds simple pleasures in the daily grind and turns them into interesting topics for her column. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on twitter @elginz.
