1. Your Path To A
Meaningful Life
By Janice M. Payoyo
2. With or without outward success, let it not change the main essence of
my writings and the reason why I continue to write…that is, to inspire
people to live a meaningful life. If and when that comes, I know that my
level of happiness will not significantly increase. Thus, like my favorite
Bible character Joseph, I have discovered how one can possibly praise God
with all of one’s heart and continue to share one’s love for God to others
while in the “dungeon”.
I must admit that this has not been always easy to do. I have been
through a very severe material and relational drought and an
excruciatingly painful journey. And it took a very high tolerance for pain to
see beyond these hardships and struggles.
But my heart is now filled with gratitude for the fact that my writings have reached other countries and our very dear
OFWS. Some of them, I get to chat with. This makes everything that I’ve been though worthwhile. Thus, I hope that
all I’ve written will help give light to your daily lives and motivate you to see beyond daily struggles.
I just feel like sending a shoutout to my Lolo Jerry in heaven, who through his life has taught me what a meaningful
life is all about. As a financial planner, I would have to say that you will miss out big time on your shot at a meaningful
life if think about money too much. Money is an important tool but it is not everything.
3. Outline
• Introduction
• It Starts and Ends With God
• The Plumbline
• God’s Definition of Success
• San Mig
• The Simplest Possible Life
• A Edified and Biblical Family
• Bukas-Palad
• Reading Books/ My Library
• Books That I Recommend
4. Viktor Frankl
Author
Man’s Search for Meaning
Before I graduated from College, I had a good memory of taking my final
oral exam in Philosophy of Religion.
My professor asked me, “ Why is it important to study Philosophy of
Religion?”
I said something like, “We have to have a profound understanding of God in
order to grasp that if most people just live in order to just finish school, get
a good job, provide for one’s family and to see one’s children just repeat
the same cycle, then human beings have no dignity. If we were born just to
survive economically, not much differentiates us from animals.”
And I have at that point resolved to myself that that kind of life is not worth
living for.
When I was just starting as a Financial Planner, I once talked to
a prospective client over the phone. I told him that I feel sad
that I won’t be able to work the next day because it was a
holiday.
He bluntly said,
What is wrong with you?
5. One day, I took a joy ride from SM Mall of Asia all the way to
Quezon City. Aside from the jampacked MRT, I noticed how many
people line the streets just to get a ride home. And they do this
everyday. As a financial planner, I could not help but think about
the following questions:
• Do these people save?
• Do they think about their future?
• Have they just accepted that this is how it will be for them for
the rest of their lives?
Pastor Ed Lapiz, who is perceived by many to be arrogant give very
socially relevant commentaries on the sad fate of OFWS. He said that
most OFWs are unable to save because they have so many lazy relatives
who depend on them financially.
While the OFW phenomenon has buoyed our economy, it has led to very
serious implications on the quality of family life for a lot of Filipinos. I
found a copy of “Nawawala ang Ilaw ng Tahanan” (Case studies of
Families left Behind by OFW Mothers). I was only able to read two
chapters and I couldn’t go on because it was too disturbing.
6. Where is God in all this suffering? Why does He allow it?
One day, I wondered why the most of the masses are stuck in menial jobs.
Consider this: How do you make sense of the fact that most poor people live in
poverty and oppression, and they do “demeaning” tasks. Take for example the
manicurist who clean people’s feet everyday. Imagine doing that for years.
I think that the reason why God allows us to work and live as such is so that He
can humble us. While most of them will die poor because of their pride, very
few impoverished people are humble enough to merit promotion either from
their employer or God. A lot of them are not teachable and trustworthy.
In Genesis 15: 13 – The Lord told Abraham that before He makes his
descendants into a great nation, they will be enslaved for 400 years.
IMAGINE!!!
Often times, the Lord allows pain to be so severe in order to break our pride.
He wants it to come to a point where they would cry out to God for help.
In Exodus 16, God told Moses: “I have heard my people cry”. Before God led
the Israelites to the promised land, He developed a relationship with them
while in the desert.
7. Whenever I see people desperate and devastated, deep inside, I am actually very
happy for them because I remember the time when I accepted Jesus in my life.
Seeing them, I often pray that they would accept Jesus in their lives. Oftentimes,
it takes intense pain for people to surrender to God.
I went through several churches since I became a Christian. I then was led by the
Lord to several mentors, bible studies and countless books. For about 10 years, I
sought deep emotional healing until it came to the point that I can share about
my journey. Expect the Lord to give miracles and breakthroughs but before He
releases the full blessing. He wants a personal relationship with you first.
I just want to share this song that has helped me through difficult times.
It is called “Because He Lives”
God sent His Son. They call Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.
Because He Lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He Lives, all fear is gone.
And because I know, He holds the future.
And life is worth the living just because He Lives.
8. Prosperity Gospel
Not all preachers who use the name of God and Jesus are legit.
I just felt that it is important to mention this because we live in a time when even
the big names in Christian ministry and music are influencing people using
messages that are no longer rightfully according to the Bible. During these times,
this is just my personal opinion, one should rely most on one’s personal
relationship with God and one’s reading of the bible for discernment. One does
not have to belong to a Church in order to have a relationship with God. Having
a Church and a bible study group would greatly help, but you cannot just accept
everything said. You always have to double check with the Bible. Remember,
that even your pastor is prone to error since he is just human.
Anything that perceives Christian life as “blissful” or “the end of most of your
problems” falls under prosperity Gospel. Following what Karl Marx said, he said
that “Religion is the opium of the people”, because it appeals to the masses’
desire for power to end all suffering. These preachers only say “what the itching
ear wants to hear”.
Following Jesus was the best decision I even made, but it is not easy. A lot of
Christians are even persecuted for their faith.
9. The Plumbline
Is a standard for structural integrity
In Amos 7: 7-9, the Lord says, “ Look, I am setting a plumbline among my people Israel: I
will spare them no longer. The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of
Israel will be ruined.”
Applying God’s plumbline in our lives involves drawing the line as to what is acceptable and
not acceptable in our lives. Careful reading of the bible reveal that God has a lot of black
and whites. In considering the gray areas, one still has to consult the Bible and dwell in
prayer.
Careful reading of the Bible also reveals how far astray our world has gone from the kind of
life and values that God wants us to have. I am not against all forms of media, but a lot of
them promote values like materialism, violence, pride, and too much reliance on personal
relationships and sex for happiness. In media, regardless of the underlying value, things
will be shown for as long as there are advertisers who will support them.
That is why, no wonder, our society has been so devoid values that enable people to live
according to the will of God. A lot of people equate happiness and fulfillment to having
much. And people displaying good values go unnoticed and even mocked simply because
they are not rich.
10. Ancient Paths ( Jeremiah 6: 13-16)
“Universal ways of God that simply make life work when we walk in them.”
It involves blessing and cursing.
Blessing: God’s impartation of Identity and Destiny
Cursing: Satan’s impartation of identity
Call it conservative or even ultra-conservative, this involves going back to
forgotten traditions that lead to a blessed life. I attended this seminar
about 10 years ago, and at first these ideas seem foreign and too
conservative. But as the years went by, I understood why these traditions
lead to a blessed life.
Giving reference to what King David said in Psalm 119: 97, “ Oh, how I love your law. I meditate on it all day long.”
For those interested to attend the seminar, send me a message. It liberated me from so many hurts, inner vows and
dishonoring. Thus, through the years, as I look back at the lessons, I experienced more breakthroughs. For more
information on their programs, you may look at www.familyfoundations.com. You can also search for videos about the
Ancient Paths by Craig Hill on You Tube.
11. Generational Curses and Deliverance
Ephesians 6: 10 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms
2 Corinthians 10: 4-5 – The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world….We demolish arguments and every
pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
I am very interested in these topics and I will definitely write more about it in the future. To those who watch a lot of
showbiz news, it is very common to see the lives of actors and tycoons in shambles, because they do not have God as their
foundation. Though they may have outward success, their relationships are characterized by high levels of pride. Pride,
which is the excessive desire for power and money makes people fall into the deception that they are god-like----all
knowing, controlling and very insensitive to the feelings of others. People who exhibit a high level of pride are often
clueless that they hurt people.
Another point of interest for me are family corporations. Coming from a former landlord family, I believe that there is no
such thing going about one’s work or business with compromises and it having no effect in the corruption of our familial
relations. According to the book of Exodus, the Lord punishes families until the fourth generation for their idolatry.
Deliverance, as I have underwent it several times frees people from the bondage of past hurts and destructive behaviors
that are passed from one generation to another. A lot of people can be in bondage to hurts for years which they can talk
about as if they happened just yesterday. Deliverance is administered in a lot of churches. Also, Stormie Omartian has a
book called, “Lord, I Want to be Whole”, which discusses deliverance.
12. God’s definition of Success
1. Your relationship with God
Lamentations 3:24 - The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him”.
1 Samuel 16: 7 - The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
2. Your contribution to building God’s Kingdom on earth and the
extent of God’s rulership in your life
Matt 6: 33 – Seek first His Kingdom and righteousness and all of these things shall be added
unto you.
Luke 17: 21 - "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say,
'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.
3. Living according to God’s plan for your life
Psalm 139: 16 - All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be
Ephesians 2: 10 - For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
for us to do.
13. 4. Your Integrity
Matt 8:36 – What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
Psalm 37: 25 - I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or
their children begging bread.
Psalm 84:11 - For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no
good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
14. SANtino MIGuel or SAN MIG
Has been a big blessing to our boarding house since he came. For almost a
year now, I spent so much time at home, and I have observed and written so
much about how he has grown that perhaps I can teach about parenting in
the future.
I did everything to him as I did to my nephew, Andrew, and I got the same
results. As a financial planner, I made it imperative that I never give him
anything expensive. I taught him how to enjoy the simple things. I gave him
a lot of time, energy and food. For that, he calls me “Beautiful Ish”.
He would watch each of our boarders go out and back home everyday and
make sure that he kisses all of them. Whenever each would forget about his
kiss, he would cry. One thing about him as a child is that he never cared
about whether the clothes that he wear new or old or whether there were
things that he lacked. He enjoyed whatever was there to play with. Having
watched a lot of English cartoons, while once riding a jeepney with his mom,
he told the driver “Manong, pull over!”.
This picture shows him playing with a box of nachos. His mother put packing
tape on it for him to drag and I put beads inside so that it will make a sound.
15. Hello Train!!!
One of our favorite things to do is to go up our roof deck and watch the trains
go by. Whenever each would pass, as taught by me, he would say, “Hello Train!
(with wave) Let’s Play! Look at my costume!”
Like most little boys, he likes running. I told him to run after ready, get set, go.
But in his version, he would make sprints after saying “Ready!”. His laugh and
excitement are indescribable. He would then gather whatever was at hand to
build his own obstacle course and mini-train.
We would then watch the birds fly. And pointing to the clouds, I told him that
Jesus is watching Him. I told him that Jesus has a sword that He uses to pierce
all monsters that will try to harm him. Added to the fact that I often let him
listen to praise music for children, his mother tells me that she often hears him
sing, “Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.”
I hope to be able to write more about child development and creative play in
the future. Seeing him play like we did when we were young, I consider him
very fortunate to have very good childhood memories. Thus, I am very
confident that he will grow up to be a very happy and confident individual.
This picture shows San Mig showing
off his muscles. He eats a lot of
fruits and veggies whenever we tell
him that it makes his muscles bigger.
I also encourage him to read a lot of
books. He likes the ones with
monsters.
16. Inexpensive Creative Play
As a financial planner, one of the things that I intend to write a lot about is materialism.
I believe that children learn it early in childhood. It is important to note that while San
Mig watches a lot of cartoons, there are no advertisements.
Whenever his mother and I would bring him to SM, he would go “Oooh Wow!” at all
the toys. Once he reaches home, as if he just had his share of delight, he would play
with whatever he has at home. Seeing his creativity , I think that giving him elaborate
toys are even deterrents to developing his creativity. Not to mention, it will cost you
almost zero money. Here are some of the things that we do:
• Whenever he sees my blender, he turns the blade and calls it “Epwayne” (Airplane).
Whenever I use my blender, I call him so that we can dance our Pocoyo dance to the
“beat”. He even calls his mother to watch us.
• Once, we played with a crumpled piece of paper. Everytime he was able to shoot it
at the whoop that I made with my hands, I would shout, “You did it!” And he would
be so thrilled.
• Playing with calamansi which he calls “Baby Ball”. Andrew had his baby guava or
baby gamba.
17. The Simplest Possible Life
I chose this picture in the title cover because it personifies the ideal life in
the countryside during the olden times. Back then, the houses were just
the right size for the family and low maintenance. People enjoyed the
sunlight and fresh air. And they have edible plants in their backyard.
Fast forward to now, much has changed because of developments and
technology. I am not saying that these things are bad. My main concerns is
just that with it came the degeneration of values that people had. Given a
choice between development and values, I would say that values should be
given more importance.
Mind you, I am not a fan of communism. It’s just that there’s this thing about pride (the excessive desire
for power and things) that lead people, especially parents to think that their efforts to buy the family nice
things will make them happier in most cases. And I know of some people work so hard in jobs that they
don’t like only to get luxuries like a nice condo, nice car, and travel among others. I am again saying it is not
bad. But if you will look at their overall satisfaction with their life, it is very low.
In the past, I saw myself as “deprived” because I didn’t earn much. But looking back at those years, I have
learned to enjoy simple things and I was free to do the things that I wanted to do.
18. A Simple Guide
(Especially Young People)
For you to be able to have a flexible financial plan that allows you to do what you want
in life:
YOU HAVE TO KNOW HOW MUCH YOU NEED MONTHLY TO SURVIVE
AND JUST BE CONTENT WITH THAT FOR THE MEAN TIME UNTIL OPPORTUNITIES COME
ENJOY THE SIMPLE THINGS AND AVOID EXCESSIVE LUXURIES
IF YOU WANT TO START A BUSINESS, COUNT SIX MONTHS MONTHLY EXPENSE FOR
LEAN TIMES AND SAVE UP FOR START UP CAPITAL FOR EQUIPMENT AND PAYROLL
(OVERHEAD KEPT TO THE MINIMUM)
This is very common: A family is experiencing emotional strains because the husband is so stressed at
work and he could not help but bring the stress home. Or one of the parents have to go abroad at the
risk of its effects on the familial relationships. A lot of families are unable to really discuss options
because just fight and seek the easy way out.
19. Education as the Major Concern and Expense
In the Philippines, more parents are opting to homeschool their children. Information on
programs and support facilities are readily available on the internet. There are even a lot of
homeschooling groups on Facebook. I just thought that if you are a parent of 3 children and
you are not able to spend much time with them because of long work hours, it would better
if one would just stay at home and just homeschool them. The financial cost would be the
same.
While this is a very new idea to a lot, a major consideration is that a lot of parents do not
know how to teach and what to teach. For a lot, they still enroll their children in a program,
but most of the time, they study at home. There are also support groups where teach
particular topics and parents can allow their children to mingle with like-minded friends.
One good thing about these CHED accredited programs is that they are open-curriculum. This means that parents and children
have the free hand in choosing what to study and study more, depending on the child’s interest. But there are also parents
who don’t follow any program at all.
I like this so much because if you are rearing your children to be an entrepreneurs, they don’t really have to finish any academic
requirement at all. Even College. A lot are even unable to apply most of what they studied yet parents even go abroad to
secure their child’s future. But for those who would like to enroll in traditional schools, another suggestions is that if parents
cannot really send a child to college, it would be good if they encourage the child to be a working student. This even makes
them more mature overall. And as young as possible, I think that it is a good idea to expose children to work, start small
businesses and even tell them to help in you in the family business.
20. An Edified Family
At this point, I know that most of you are thinking that financial
planning and going for a meaningful life is multi-faceted. It involves
lifetime learning.
To add another dimensions is the fact that all efforts lead to having
one’s own edified family. As I spent a lot of time with San Mig, I
realized how difficult it is to raise a child and how needy they are
for time, attention and affection. Often, I catch myself saying,
“Ganyan pala ang magka-anak!” (That is how difficult it is to raise
a child).”
According to Dr. James Dobson, a lot of married couples’ lives
revolve around working in order to provide for their children. Thus,
a lot of children lack time and guidance from their parents. A lot of
them go home to an empty house as they come from school.
I realized that it is very easy to conceive a child and get a yaya. Not
to mention, a lot of parents compensate for the lack of time by
buying their children things. I know one child who said, “When I
grow up, I will marry my yaya (nanny)!!!”
21. My FUTURE PLANS
Actually, this powerpoint presentation was born out of my desire to come up with seminars for young people. I have
always wanted to open their eyes to what they have to prepare in their future as adults. For me, each chapter of this
powerpoint is just an introduction and I intend to come up with books, materials and seminars for each. Here are
main topics that I intend to include in the seminar.
• Choosing a career path and developing your interests based on a personal
relationship with God
• Financial Planning for families and businesses
• Entrepreneurship 101 and how to be a trailblazer (Can be taught to children as
young as 7 years old)
• Family Life and Child Development (Integrating career with family life)
• Having an impact in society and philantrophy
I ENVISION IT TO COME WITH COLORFUL WORKBOOKS THAT PARTICIPANTS CAN
WRITE ON. IT SERVE AS GUIDES FOR THEIR FUTURE PLANS AS THEY CAN ALWAYS
GO BACK TO IT. AND I WILL INVITE SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE TO SPEAK.
22. My Definition of an Edified Family
• A family that honors God and is directed by the Holy Spirit in their
relationships.
• A family with a mission statement; with their similarities and
differences, they are able to work together towards a common
goals.
• Where people are grateful for whatever they have and have
attained because they have found in their homes a place where
they are loved and appreciated the most.
• Where basic needs such affirmation, guidance, understanding
and support are met.
• Where people laugh a lot =)
• Where their greatest treasures are one another =)
23. The Biblical Family
I just want to share about a chance conversation that I had recently. I just I
found this so interesting that I will definitely write more about it once I find
more information.
She told me that she and her husband are both Christians. When her husband
proposed marriage, he had only Php 3,000. She also had very little money. So,
they prayed to the Lord for guidance, and the Lord impressed in their hearts
the desire to have a grand wedding. More than the extravagance, the Lord
wanted it so because their wedding became a venue for ministering to their
relatives.
Thus, mainly due to the gifts that they received from their relatives starting from their engagement announcement,
they were able to pay for everything, including a reception in a restaurant that is quite expensive. She told me how
much they spent all in all. Seeing them able to pay for everything by faith, one relative said, “Your God must be very
rich.” She said, “Yes, He is.”
She also said that while a lot of people think that both husband and wife should work so hard (double income), just to
make ends meet, if you rely on God to provide for the needs of the family, single income is actually possible. When I
talked to her, they were married for six months, and she said that until that time, they continue to receive gifts of
money and things from relatives.
24. Even if we don’t have children yet, she said, I chose to quit my job and stay at
home most of the time in order to manage it. I LET MY HUSBAND BE THE HEAD
OF THE FAMILY AND MAIN PROVIDER. I LET HIM LEAD THE FAMILY. And as for
me, I am open to having a home-based business in the future.
It is important to note that like a lot of Christian churches, their bible study group
leader encourages their other members to make their families also biblical.
Women are encouraged to stay at home to manage it and to nurture children.
I know of a Christian family where only the husband is working and the wife
stays at home. They may not be able to provide for a lot of luxuries, and their
four children may not be sent to expensive schools, but seeing them at church
gives you a glimpse of the quality of the family life that they have at home. It is
very evident that they get to spend quality time and the parents are able to be
intentional in imparting values on their children while relating well with each
other.
The biblical family may look very ideal for a lot of people. Thus, it is important to
know that making your family into one involves your personal dealings with God.
It will always be a case to case basis. Going to back to the plumbline that is
previously discussed, as you little by little align your life to God, He will release
blessings that aren’t necessarily brought forth by hardwork. That is why they are
called blessings.
25. Bukas-Palad (Open Hands)
As I write this presentation (August 2015), though I sound very positive, I am
actually experiencing a “dungeon-like situation” that Joseph had. So many things
are stagnant and I feel like I cannot do anything but just take one day at a time and
wait for the promises that God has impressed in my heart.
In the mornings, I began spending a lot of time with some of our boarders and San
Mig. We would have very long brunches everyday and talk about just anything
including the books that they borrow from me. I must say that there are times
when all that you can do is just enjoy whatever your day brings because the things
that you hope for seem to be out of your hands. It’s like those times when I read a
lot of self-help books and see very little progress in my life no matter what I do.
Coming from a severe material drought, I said to myself that I think it is wise if instead of saving as much money as I
can, I would use most of my money to invest in relationships. I noticed how people would respond to inexpensive
tokens of appreciation like the earrings that I buy in Quiapo. If they see your generosity in material or simple
kindness, they will also be bukas-palad to you. So, during breakfast, we would have a “potluck” of all that we have,
usually just dried fish, pasta, cookies, and we are not at all calculating when it comes to what we give and what we
will receive in return. I know that in some communities and offices, it is like this.
26. Another form of being Bukas-Palad is that despite your so many concerns,
you come to realize that being too concerned with your concerns and
talking about it too much doesn’t help that much. I realized that it takes a
lot of grace to be the kind of person that would sincerely say, “How are
you?” to most of the people he or she meets. Having visited so many
offices in my years of career, I saw how desperate a lot of people are to just
have someone that they trust to talk to and feel empathy.
I am writing this because I realized how this can change one’s perspective
about what a meaningful life is all about. I am not a perfect example of
this at all. And I just want to say that there are people to whom you can
reach out to, but I hate to say that they are too ego-centric that they just
take and take.
Like most of my friends, our boarders may not have very high ideals like
me, and I have tried to point out things and reach out to them, but it led to
some resistance. I realized that what was really necessary was seeing
genuine concern about the simplest concerns that they have. Since I
started having brunches with them, they borrowed more from my library
and started watching less TV because they were more preoccupied with
reading.
27. My Library
I am the type of person who has worn out things that needs replacement, but doesn’t care much. Yet, as I often
look at my library, I feel so rich. Even my mother doesn’t understand why according to her, I need that many books,
even if I say that I use it as references for my writings. I have not even read ¼ of the whole collection, but I just get
from the “buffet” as I please.
Given the money, I hope to make my library as big as possible, to be shared with many people. It’s just that most
people are not gracious enough to return once done. Thus, it is my dream to one day go to the United States and fill
balikbayan boxes with books that are not available in the Philippines. I will buy volumes of Dr. James Dobson books,
among other authors to give away to families, leaders and influential people.
I cannot say enough how books have changed my life and shaped my world
view. They are very high-yielding investments.
I just want to share an idea that I got from a celebrity while watching TV.
She said that she and her husband pay their child for every book that he
reads as motivation. Their child now has a lot of money which they help
manage. I intend to do the same for my nephew, Andrew and my future
children.
28. Recommended Authors and Resources
1. Website Articles – www.janicempayoyo.com
Teaching Children about Genuine Happiness
Some Thoughts on Family and Money
2. www.intouch.org - For me, this website is reliable for its bible study tools.
http://www.intouch.org/read/content/how-do-i-accept-jesus-as-my-savior
I really like this: search 30 Life Principles by Charles Stanley on Youtube.
3. Dr. James Dobson and Gary Chapman
4. Ang Mommy Kong Titser by Bessie A. Rios
5. Lord, I Want to be Whole by Stormie Omartian
This book teaches about emotional healing and deliverance.
29. LIFE IS NOT JUST ABOUT ATTAINING
(OUTWARD) SUCCESS.
If this is the case, then we would have
prevented the suicide of so many
superstars.
I hope that this presentation has helped you
answer this BIG QUESTION –
WHAT THEN SHOULD I LIVE FOR?
Thank you for reading! =)