Insights From My Virtual Mentors

Oct 26 to Nov 1 Edition

My Virtual Mentors

Radio Talk

Laws of Marketing

Bewitched

This is the cover story of my story, "Insights From My Virtual Mentors," which  appeared July 7, 2013 in Philippine Panorama magazine of The Manila Bulletin. It features stories on Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, Matthew May, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn and Eric Arceneaux.

There is an element of clairvoyance in talking face to face with someone on the other side of planet (in Skype), or watching an event that happened in the past (in YouTube). The wonderful World Wide Web takes us beyond time and space.

This the essence of transcendence, sought by yogis and mystics even before the birth of history.

We surf an ocean of knowledge, with our moral compass as the only guide. We go where we want because of who and what we are.

This new special feature, "Insights From My Virtual Mentors," is the distillation of the wisdom of some of the greatest motivational speakers who ever lived, whose videos can all be seen online

(See their videos on Huggybear's Playshop)

The Law of Exclusivity is one of  The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing. "Two companies cannot own the same word in the people's mind," according to Al Ries and Jack Trout. Volvo is synonymous with "safety" so other car manufacturers should promote theirs using a different approach, emphasizing a different advantage.

The Law of Leadership means "It's better to be first than it is to be better," says the book. "The basic issue in marketing is creating a category you can be first in."  The first man on a solo flight across the Atlantic is Charles Lindbergh, who is one of my spiritual mentors in writing (His autobiography The Spirit of Saint Louis, named after his famous airplane, won the Pulitzer).

The Law of Category says "If you can't be first in a category, set up a new category where you can be the first in." That's why Amelia Earhart will be remembered as the first woman who made a solo trans-Atlantic flight.

The Law of Sacrifice says "you have to give up something in order to get something," like how FedEx focused on overnight delivery of small packages and their forte solidified their position.

The Law of Singularity says "In each situation, only one move will produce substantial result."

"History teaches that the thing that works in marketing is the single bold stroke," says Ries and Trout.

I enjoy radio talk shows because oftentimes they're more substantial than their soundbite-driven TV counterparts. It calls to mind a line from my favorite Sharon Cuneta: "Radio's fine, it helps forget for a while..." No, Virginia, video did not kill the radio star!

Radio is great especially if you're doing something else. Though Huggybear is a DZMM baby, I got the habit, when I was in Mulawin, Tanza, Cavite during the first quarter of 2012, of tuning in to the talk shows of 92.3 NewsFM, aka Radyo5, the radio station of TV5.

I have friends of all ages and among the eldest is C, a senior citizen who had spent 25 years working in Saudi Arabia in the 70s after doing bit parts in some of the movies of the late filmmaker Ishmael Bernal. C is the most reliable when it comes to texting inspirational quotes, jokes and even chain letters. Now in retirement, he spends a lot of his time listening to the radio, mostly the call-in so-called counseling show by a famous deejay named Papa Jack which I don't listen too anyway. So I sent him list of radio shows which I do listen to, and I'm sharing them here on my blog by Copy-Pasting my text to him:

Here are some of their shows I enjoy, and no, I'm not getting paid to endorse. Hurray for radio: my text messages has been read on air in 6 out of the 8 shows below. Hurray for cell phones too!

~Night Chat, 9 p.m., weekdays, hosted by Tsongkibenj: positive stories from listeners and non-gossip entertainment. My story, a true story about Tony Robbins, was read by Tsongkibenj around Feb 2012; I won the Hammerhead and Royale Business Club business pack.

~Remoto Control, 10:30 p.m., weekdays, hosted by Danton Remoto: history, literature, culture and current events.

~Healing Galing, 6 a.m., Saturdays, hosted by Edinel Calbario: natural healing, healthy living and wellness.

~Magbago Tayo, 8 a.m., Saturday, hosted by Anthony Pangilinan: leadership and change management.

~Chillax Radio, 9 p.m., Saturdays, hosted by Lourd De Veyra: relaxed conversations, interspersed with rarely-heard timeless original Filipino songs, from such diverse artists as Sylvia La Torre and Tito, Vic & Joey.

~Chink Positive, early Sunday mornings, hosted by Chinkee Tan: financial literacy and wealth management.

~Iba Yong Pinoy, 9 p.m., Sundays, hosted by Maricel Halili and Mike Templo: OFW-related topics. I would tune in here after switching from Inner Mind On Radio, hosted by Jimmy Licauco, DZMM 630 khtz, the AM

Radio 3 the AM station of ABS-CBN.

~Kasindak-Sindak, 10 p.m., Sundays, hosted by Tsongkibenj: scary stories, historical intrigues, dream interpretations, and other unexplained phenomena.

I wrote this pieace around July 2012 when I was living in Vanguard in Moonwalk

Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) is a witch, like, you know, a real cast-spelling broom-flying witch? But she wants to be a normal person.

"I want a man who needs me," with whom she won't have to use her powers to make him love her, she tells her warlock father (Michael Caine).

Then she meets the movie star Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), whose last film was a flop so he's doing a remake of the TV show Bewitched to go back to the limelight. He'll play Darrin, originally played by Dick York, the mortal lead character who is married to a witch. He wants someone obscure to play Samantha so he won't be upstaged.

Isabel, with the witchy nose-twitch made famous by Elizabeth Montgomery, is perfect.

"If I can act, you can!" he tells her in the sidewalk cafe where he came up to her.

The passing waitress says "Amen!"

"Don't you want to be rich and famous?" asked Jack in disbelief.

"I just want to be normal," Isabel tells him sincerely.

But he's relentless. "Acting is better than normal!"he enthuses. "You could pretend to be normal!" He continues: "And if you're good, and you become a big star, guess what happens?"

"What?" she eyes widening, enchanted by his sweat, the exhilirating aroma of mortals.

Jack says: "You snap your finger and everything you want materializes!"

Isabel is horrified at the thought, but she is attracted to him. "You're sweet, unkempt and troubled, and I think the fact that you are a hopeless mess is refreshing!" she tells him. "It moves me!"

Bewitched Trailer

In the pilot episode, Samantha would confess to Darrin, on the night of their honeymoon, that she's a witch. Her mother, Endora, played by film legend Iris Smythson (Shirley MacLaine) appears at their bedroom, literally. Endora feels sorry for her daughter; witches can never be like ordinary mortals.

"We are quicksilver!" she says. "We are fleeting shadow, we are distant sound! We live on a wind, in the sparkle of a star...!"

Jonathan Aquino's Journal

July 21, 2013

5:49 a.m., Sunday

I am genuinely happy when I see people achieve their dreams and find fulfillment in their lives. But I don't understand why there are those who keep insisting that other people are envious of their accomplishments.

As a traveler and a keen student of human nature, it's part of my character to try to understand why people act the way they do.

Still, I can't imagine why there's a lot of people with this comparison mentality: "I have a car and you don't so I'm better than you!"

What I find more tragic is when people raise themselves through others: "My brother has a car and you don't so I'm better than you!"

I understand we live in an external-oriented society and we are surrounded by insecure people. That's all I can do: to understand. I can't change them nor am I interested in doing so. There's another thing I can do: avoid judgments. But I'm sure they all feel superior to me, and to everybody else