Celebrating the Life of “The Voice” – Meeting with the Media

This is a continuation of special series of blog posts capturing the experiences & activities of the Sapaula-Carballo family handling the unexpected death of a beloved family member, sparking an unplanned international, trans-Pacific family reunion.  This is what Money Smart Radio calls, “Building the Family Bank”. We will enlighten the celebration of the life of  a pillar of the media in print, radio and TV broadcast journalism – Cris “The Voice of Davao City” Sapaula.

I had a great time at my first press conference held overseas.  At the Dimsum Diner off Torres Rd, journalists from GMA-TV, Sun Star Davao, Mindanao Times and Digital Photographers were present.  I had the opportunity to meet with the media and discuss the legacy created by my Uncle Cris “The Voice” Sapaula, the importance of personal financial savings, entrepreneurship and business usage of social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

Offering a free CD to members of the press

It was awesome to know that I was communicating with the same media community that my Uncle Cris had worked with and established his reputation with for over 30+ years.  I was fired up to answers questions they asked such as, “If you are poor and don’t have anything, how can you save money?” and “How do I get ahead in the Philippines where mostly everybody wants to leave for greater opportunities abroad?”  After listening to their questions and observing the culture around me, we Americans take SO MUCH for granted!

For example, the kids in the Philippines graduate high school and college one year earlier than US students do so they can find work sooner, to help support their family.  If they want higher education, they have to find some form of work to pay for college or provide an alternative way to help their other siblings get ahead.  They just cannot think of themselves.

The Filipino culture breeds this mindset of helping out your family get ahead together.  How many high school students in the USA expect their parents to pay their way through college, end up partying on their parent’s dime, charge up credit cards and while graduating deep in debt, find themselves jobless and ultimately move back in with their parents?

To help stir some thoughts, a reporter for the Mindanao Times requested an additional one-on-one interview to get more detail for her article.  She was a college graduate in journalism and was quite sharp in her dialogue of the English language and interviewing skills.  I was impressed by her maturity, strong eye-contact and note taking ability.  I was floored when I found out she was only nineteen years old!

Meeting one-on-one for interview with reporter from the Mindanao Times, after press conference.

Plus, based on the invitation from my cousin, Michael Sapaula, financial consultants of Pru Life of UK dropped by to listen in.  With so many successful people to learn from in the US, it is easy to take for granted the direct access to coaches and consultants who can take our business and careers to the next level.  I appreciated the short opportunity to share with them some of my best business practices, which are time-tested and currently utilized by our network of financial planners in Chicago.

It seems to be another packed day, tomorrow.  My virtual assistant here in Davao City, Jefferson Faudan, has been busy keeping my scheduled packed with productive activity.  After the press conference with the media, I finally had the opportunity of meeting my full team of virtual assistants for the very first time.  It was like we’ve been friends for a long time already!

It is amazing what technology has done to create jobs and opportunity world wide.  The world wide web has truly leveled the playing field for those who have the courage to get their message together and market their services just like any big corporation would, literally for free.

Having a quick chat with financial consultants of Pru Life of UK, branch office based in Davao City.

Looks like we will be stopping by a radio station tomorrow, 105.9 The MIX FM,  a photo shoot Digital Photographers Philippines, headed for some fun riding the zip lines at Outland and winding down with some relaxation at Bloom Spa Services

It continues to be a great time here, loving every minute.  Plus, it is was great to have my Auntie “Nena” Crispina McDonald, also give her two cents on personal finance and reaching your goals to many of the people we are coming across.  She is another reason why our family has such great role models.  I remember growing up the stories of her travels abroad and her experiences as a professor at Howard University.  And now, I get to experiences a little bit of that with her.

Non-stop action here…fired up!  More updates tomorrow…