Follow the Law – pay your taxes (correct tax)

Following the law of the land – wherever you do business it is a must for any of us who are in business or who intends to go into business. 

 

Anywhere you go like in our city there are a number of things needed before you go into business like the most common requirement – Business Permit and this permit requires registration with a number of government agency like the Department of Trade and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

 

A number of people would feel bad about paying the right dues because the argument would be that the people in government (not the government) would just steal these taxes through corruption.  I do will not argue with anybody on this but the bottom line is that there is a law by which the said City is under and thus the need for anybody regardless of stature or affiliation must follow. Why should we follow the law? Because the Bible tells us so.

 

Below is an example that Jesus Christ Himself highlighted the need for us to pay taxes.

 

Luke 20:19  And the chief priests and the scribes made attempts to get their hands on him in that very hour; and they were in fear of the people, for they saw that he had made up this story against them.

Luke 20:20  And they kept watch on him, and sent out secret representatives, who were acting the part of good men, in order that they might get something from his words, on account of which they might give him up to the government and into the power of the ruler.

Luke 20:21  And they put a question to him, saying, Master, we are certain that your teaching and your words are right, and that you have no respect for a man's position, but you are teaching the true way of God:

Luke 20:22  Is it right for us to make payment of taxes to Caesar or not?

Luke 20:23  But he saw through their trick and said to them,

Luke 20:24  Let me see a penny. Whose image and name are on it? And they said, Caesar's.

Luke 20:25  And he said, Then give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's.

Luke 20:26  And they were not able to get anything from these words before the people: but they were full of wonder at his answer, and said nothing.

 

Apart from this side of the New Testament there is another New Testament record of this found in Romans 13:1-7 whereby all are ask to submit to the authority. In Romans it is God that it is God that establishes authority in the land and that He has the authority to unseat rulers if it is His will. Again I will not try to lead you into idealisms as it might end up into a debate which is not what the Word of God has thought me. 

 

We need to pay our taxes right as it will later on create that cycle in our country or city that our children will later on enjoy or as the Lord will allow it we may even become the benefactors of such righteous way of doing business. Besides there might come a time when you need to call on the cops or the police to help you with something – that is tax payers money in the works. You would not want them to tell you that you are not paying for their services when you call them if there is a robbery in your place of business.

 

Let me close this in this way – there is that saying which says “what you sow is what you will reap” – any religion in the world today believes in this and if suppose today you do not follow the law of the land because you do not believe in the person in leadership then think about yourself in your own field of business.  What if the people under you do the same thing? How would you feel? Please do not blame God about it because it is simply the cycle of your own doings. What you sow is what you will reap.

 

MPM

Like 19:11-27 The Parable of the Gold Coins - Stewardship

 

Luke 19:12  He said therefore, "A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Luke 19:13  Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Engage in business until I come.'

Luke 19:14  But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

Luke 19:15  When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

Luke 19:16  The first came before him, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.'

Luke 19:17  And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.'

Luke 19:18  And the second came, saying, 'Lord, your mina has made five minas.'

Luke 19:19  And he said to him, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

Luke 19:20  Then another came, saying, 'Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;

Luke19:21  for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'

Luke 19:22  He said to him, 'I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?

Luke 19:23  Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'

Luke 19:24  And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'

Luke 19:25  And they said to him, 'Lord, he has ten minas!'

Luke 19:26  'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Luke 19:27  But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.'"

 

There were 3 servants entrusted in this story the first was given ten gold coins after his master came back that same 10 gold coins were doubled and with that the master was pleased and gave him more authority and wealth.  The next one was given 5 and gained the same as well while the last servant was given 1 but gained nothing out of it.

Here we can see that even in business we need to consider the productive ways by which we can generate income.  Contrary to regular opinion about being a Bible believing Christian going into business should not gain more.  This parable can help us make that paradigm shift that it is advised that we gain from our business.  As a model the return should be at least 100%.  This simply means that our business  will be blessed with the grace and favor of the Lord.  In any sense being profitable in business is not a sin but rather the will of the Lord for business owners because if we pattern ourselves with the last servant who simply see his master as an unfair master who gets what does not own to him or other accusation then you are in to a bad end since what little was given to you will be taken away and is entrusted to those who take care of what was given to him.  This is not much in terms of insight as you probably think but bare in mind that this text in another interpretation is straight forward and should not be made complicated.  What talents, skills, wealth and even knowledge you have today you must find ways to grow further from it.  There must be an insatiable desire to continue to grow more everyday.  That is not greed but rather the suggested cycle of life.

What you have today in order to grow must be shared to others as this is one way for you to learn more and be given the privilege to be stewards of more opportunities.

MPM

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector – How we mirror ourselves through the eyes of those around us

This is an interesting story but before we can drive through the application of this parable please indulge me for a little bit of details pertaining to the characters mentioned here. 

The Pharisee, quoting from answers.com would yield the following meanings;

1. Pharisee A member of an ancient Jewish sect that emphasized strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic law in both its oral and written form.
2. A hypocritically self-righteous person.

The Tax collector on the other were Jews who collaborated with the Roman Empire .

Luk 18:9  And he made this story for some people who were certain that they were good, and had a low opinion of others:

Luk 18:10  Two men went up to the Temple for prayer; one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-farmer.

Luk 18:11  The Pharisee, taking up his position, said to himself these words: God, I give you praise because I am not like other men, who take more than their right, who are evil-doers, who are untrue to their wives, or even like this tax-farmer.

Luk 18:12  Twice in the week I go without food; I give a tenth of all I have.

Luk 18:13  The tax-farmer, on the other hand, keeping far away, and not lifting up even his eyes to heaven, made signs of grief and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Luk 18:14  I say to you, This man went back to his house with God's approval, and not the other: for everyone who makes himself high will be made low and whoever makes himself low will be made high.

There is a simple and straight forward wisdom here and it is applicable not only in the office but in life in general.  How?  This is how it goes – we can not lift our chairs or tell people of our best traits or good characters. Especially if you are not being asked for it.  The person sharing his or her so called admirable traits is actually the person with the worst reputation.  At the end of the day it is the people around us whom we can use as a barometer for all things good and even bad about us. I am not trying to tell you to rely on their opinion of you but bare in mind that if you are in an office and you do this.  You will end up as a self absorb and conceited person.  But if you allow your good traits given to you through the grace of God then those good traits will simply reflect on people and back to you. 

At one time in my career as a Team Leader for a contact center in Cebu I was blessed to have made a sort of activity which we will call the Paper Mirror.  What you will need in this activity would be a piece of paper preferably with lines A4 size would be perfect and ball pen for each participant.  Asked the participants to occupy a circular table side by side with the person on your left and right are within reach.  Then ask them to fold their paper into three parts preferable cross-wise or horizontally.  Then fold it again length-wise or vertically – just one time. Then label the three rows with the far left –“My personal Opinion” then the next one would be the person on your right while the last one is the 2^nd person on your right.  The upper fold will be for all positive traits while the bottom section will hold the “for improvement traits” – the phrase sounds more constructive and yes this is just euphemism but we do not want to hurt people and the label is very positive as well giving the person room to grow. Anyway, after labeling let the owner of the paper write down his or her own “for improvement traits” in 5 minutes. After that the owner still of the paper will then write his or her own positive traits.  Mind you 5 minutes is more than enough. The other 5 minutes – you must encourage them to be honest and write down the first thing the come to mind. Then fold the fill-up part and staple it so that no one else will see it because you will let the participants move the paper to their left letting that person list down the rows with the same label as “positive traits” and “for improvement traits”. The same time will be given and that it must reach the 2^nd person. The processing part is the most interesting. What you will then ask them is to return the paper to the owner and then have the owner count the traits he or she saw from hir/her list and compare that with others listed.  If they find similarity then your assumption of your self is correct in the eyes of the people around you.  While those which were written about you but you were not able to see it and list it yourself then that is something your peers see you. Good or bad this information will help you and your team  know each other better and if there were those who were unable to write down something about their co-worker then that person needs to know the others and vise versa.

At the end of the day we all are not perfect and we will never will but the great thing is that by the grace of God we can improve as we agree with our maker.

Shalom!

MPM

Jesus heals ten lepers - A case of marketing

Luke 17:11-19

Luk 17:11  And it came about that when they were on the way to Jerusalem he went through Samaria and Galilee .

Luk 17:12  And when he went into a certain small town he came across ten men who were lepers, and they, keeping themselves at a distance,

Luk 17:13  Said, in loud voices, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Luk 17:14  And when he saw them he said, Go, and let the priests see you. And, while they were going, they were made clean.

Luk 17:15  And one of them, when he saw that he was clean, turning back, gave praise to God in a loud voice;

Luk 17:16  And, falling down on his face at the feet of Jesus, he gave the credit to him; and he was a man of Samaria .

Luk 17:17  And Jesus said, Were there not ten men who were made clean? where are the nine?

Luk 17:18  Have not any of them come back to give glory to God, but only this one from a strange land?

Luk 17:19  And he said to him, Get up, and go on your way; your faith has made you well.

I could not start the usual way I begin with my writing in relation to how the Bible will reveal to us things we can apply in business.  In this regard it is but appropriate for us to read the text first and be familiar with the story of the 10 lepers Jesus healed.

In summary Jesus met 10 lepers and they asked for His mercy if he wants to heal them.  Without touching them as in most case we knew wherein there was not laying of hands as compared to other case of healing. There were other instances wherein just the word of Jesus Christ healed people.  But in this case he commanded all ten to go the priest and present themselves to the priest in the synagogue so that the priest will confirm that indeed they are healed.  I am tempted to share with you other parts of history that we can relate to this story but in this case I will not.  While on their way one of the 10 lepers noticed that he has been healed and went back to Jesus and thanked Jesus for the healing.  The said person who came back was not a Jew but a Samaritan.

How does this apply to marketing?  In this way – if you want to put 1000 people in a concert then tell 10000 people.  The key here is 10 percent – only 10% went back to thank Jesus in marketing as well the 10% apply.  If you want to sell 10 LED TV then go and tell 100.  

Apart from the 10% side of the story please bare in mind that person who came back was a Samaritan which means that at times the person or group you probably thought last who will avail of your service or product might even be the one who will actually try what you are selling thus do not neglect the minority in a particular demographics even those whom you think is outside of your defined market because they might be your 10% market.

mpm

Want a promotion? - Luke 16

If you go to a book store and look for the answer to the question – Want a promotion? You will more than likely find a few books trying to respond to that question.  This may somewhat come as a mere question but I believe that most if not all would want to be promoted.  Whether you are in a corporate setting or a none traditional set-up you would want to be promoted.

Promotion is at times given because it is a necessity but it does not mean you deserve it like for instance you are currently a son but at one point you impregnated someone and she bore your child.  With such a dilemma now you are not just a son to your father but you are also a father to your son - a promotion.  Prepared or not then you will have to take up the role of the father.

The story of the shrewd manager (verses 1-13) and the rich man and Lazarus story(verses 19-31) speaks of a similarity that we can live by in relation to the question of getting a promotion.

Luk 16:11  If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

Luk 16:12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

These verses reveal a very straight forward idea in relation to how we do our task/s or the task/s given to us.  Even if how small or minute we see these task we can not assume a posture that I cannot be assigned to this assignment or this area because I know I deserve better – does this sound familiar?  Bare in mind that the people above us are not Gods’.  They probably act like one but it does not mean they are thus we can conclude that they do not know us for sure as to competency in relation to a much higher job assignment or better area.  But if we react in a way that would appear conceited or if you are a euphemist you would say I was just being honest by telling your boss I deserve better then you can now either look for another job soon or probably expect that you will not be given assignments you think you deserve.  What this part of the book is saying is that we need to accept that role given to us and give it our best.  With such a productive reaction to the assignment given to you I am pretty sure that you are going to get a much better assignment or a much better area or in summary a promotion.  Let me quote from the verse above specifically in verse 12  And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?

This may prove to be an easy thing to do but this would require a choice and a decision that you will have to be firm on and that is viewing things in a positive way.  Do not look at it as some punishment but rather see a much better situation ahead of you as you perform the job in the best way possible.

MPM

The parable of the lost sheep – a story of excellent customer service Luke 15:4-6

As part of the label By the book let us run through the pages of the Bible and see what insights we can derived from it to help us today.

I have worked for a leading telecoms company in the Philippines for about 9 years. All through out the period I was part of the company it has stressed a number of activities in order to make customers happy and make loyal patrons out of them.

After reading this part of the book of Luke - I am blessed with this understanding and relating this part of the best selling book of all time to excellent customer service.

Let us work bit by bit on the items starting with verse 4;

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

What the Bible has thought me in this segment is the fact that customer service should not just be about waiting for the customer or the client to come and visit you and tell you that something is wrong with the service they paid for. Often times even with my previous employer it proved to be true because the direction was to set-up a number of contact centers like offices for walk-in customers, hotlines for incoming calls and even emails and text hotlines to receive concerns and some queries over another platform. This may be productive but this is very reactive. Let me go back to verse 4 – the move was proactive when the shepherd noticed that one of his sheep is gone which means that this shepherd is keeping tabs of his sheep thus service providers must do the same. Some of you might be thinking of how impossible this can be done and how much cost would be invested in keeping that proactive customer handling going – let me just put it this way I would have to say also that marketing may pose good results but there is nothing better than retaining one client from the original pool as we can turn them into our willing slaves spreading the best service they got from us for taking that step to get in touch with them. Being sincere in asking them how are they doing and what our business has provided you over the span of time that they have used our service. Let me also stress that the quest for keeping customers in our own backyard must be a continuing process and not something we do for a season. That is the part which said “…go after that which is lost, until he finds it?” apart from the fact that prior to that statement another phrase preceded it and said something about going “..in the wilderness…” that my friends is about doing something not regular and probably something that has not been defined in your operations manual yet. This can be aligned with the Nordstrom Way of handling their business.

The Nordstrom Way does not handle their customer by a set of parameters and making their decision over such boxed in policy but rather they kept it simple that others find it complicated. Their philosophy is that for as long as it makes the customer happy and it does not taint the image of the business then they pursue it and go with it. They would not even penalized their associates if they give a replacement without much hassles to the customers. This may prove to be a challenge but it can be done – Nordstrom proved it.

Moving further in verse 5;

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
This is something most business owners do not do. They do not party over a client they won back. Instead they spend so much on trying to woo other customers from the competition.

Let me jump over to verse 6;

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Please remember what I said about verse 5 and align this with it. After winning a client back or simply winning a client how many companies of today who actually throw a party for their shift or simply staying with them – likely “ZIP”. Why? Companies tend to invest in the wrong areas of customer service and sometimes greed gets in the way of sincere customer service – they would look at how much would they get back instead of having that investor mentality wherein they just invest on their clients in an obvious manner. Imagine the look of your clients face when they hear that you are throwing a party for them because they moved to your backyard. Imagine that!

If you were the type of person who did refer to their Bible while you are going through the lines on this blog then you might be asking why I stopped in verse 6 while the entire parable ends on the 7. Let me answer you this way – If you are a professional in a service oriented industry or might be an executive scouring the net for ways to make your customer service better – I am bably not your client or could be your client – I forgive you. There is still time. As Bo Sanchez said in one of his fellowship in Cebu – “everything in life is a choice….”

Make that choice today start with the simplest and most cost effective way to ensure that excellence is the only baseline for your customer service and then we can say that you are in for a profitable day, month or year ahead of you.

MPM

 

I must admit it, these pictures made me smile and later burst into laughter seeing my self that thin and look at my hair its horrifying to be reminded that I use to have that in high school. I bet most if not all of you are feeling the same thing or worst. Some of the symptoms might include nausea or even vomiting for extreme cases. But nevertheless we will enjoy staring at this picture for awhile.

What do you think??

Thompson Christian School HS Batch 93-94 Tapok-Tapok

 

To all my classmates in Highschool Batch 93-94 sa Thompson Christian School. Naa ta tapok tapok karun March 6, dinner time ni 6 pm(don't be late please).  The Location would either be sa Tita D's or Apung Kula both sa  Anda St. near UP Min or sa Sutukil sa Mapa. Ang buffet nila kay P99 man ata. Kanya kanya sa ta sa buffet. I have told a few of those that I am regularly in touch with sa uban please let them know. I sent out an email via facebook so far si Jingle, Malou, Duffy and Erwin pa lang ang nitubag. I am hoping you will post your confirmation here.

Please let me hear from you on or before February 28 so I have time para to make certain arrangements as possible.

Thank you very much and God bless you!

Shalom!

MPM

The Best Seller - of all time

It made me think about a few things in relation to this part of life - what is indeed the real best seller of all time. Is it some novel written by some popular author, a book labeled as New York Times Best Seller.  I would have to say that the real best seller of time and will continue to rake in sales most likely even after I am gone is the Bible.  It has sold many copies and it would be possible that we have failed to get the numbers correct since the first time this book was even published.  Not only that but this is one of those books translated into languages to suit its readers apart from being translated to specific vernacular to ensure that it reaches every single person in the globe today.

In addition to it -  it speaks of a lot of things and has been the source of answers and even questions from a lot of different individuals across all cultures - i guess.

But my personal conviction on this matter is that this book has been instrumental in relation to my growth as a person in the aspect of knowledge and wisdom.  I am not going to argue with anybody who say otherwise but one thing is clear with me - that this book, every single page of it is alive and is applicable until today.  I have learned a lot from it and I am confident you will also especially if you give it a try and be open minded about it.

In the coming days we will share with you specific things about what the Bible say about certain things - whether in life in general or to be more specific in relationship, business and marketing even management.

Stay plugged in and do not miss out on the next post. Better yet register so the system can send you updates regarding this blog.

Looking forward to keeping in tab with you.

God bless you!

Shalom!

MPM

All It Takes Is One Big Idea!

I'd like to share some of the inspiring stories I just read. It talks about young people making it big because of one great idea. As Robert Kiyosaki of "Rich Dad Poor Dad" fame said, age is no longer a barrier in becoming financially free. I hope these  inspire you as much as it did me. Here is the link:  http://customsites.yahoo.com/financiallyfit/finance/article-108871-4204-0-how-they-made-1-million-before-graduation.

Employment: To Be or Not To Be

That is the question. So profound, yet quite confusing. A little daring? But simply amusing. I am what you might consider, someone who is caught between the two states of thought. Being employed for so long has somewhat satisfied my longing for structure and guarantee in these horribly uncertain times. But alas, my comfort zone has now been taken away from me... Time for a paradigm shift, I said to myself. Though I have read many books and articles, to hopefully prepare myself for the long term goal of becoming financially free, it never got the actual focus it richly so deserved. Thus, I am now one of the many unemployed who availed of early retirement (mandatory sounds too harsh).

It has just been 4 months of freedom from the corporate leash, and I have already associated myself with like-minded people, who has similar long-term goals as mine. We have just started our reselling business with very minimal capital, but with significant return. And then I thought, business ain't bad. Also, with a few tips from the books of my favorite authors, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki, life I feel is a myriad of dreams waiting to become one big reality.

And now I'm hoping this blog would eventually lead us to improve ourselves further with your insights and comments.