BO SanCHeZ

Be Happy,
HealtHy,
and WealtHy
today
How to Be Richer
with Life Lessons
from the Teacher
and the Preacher

dean PaX LaPId, Phd

 Be Happy,
Healthy, and
Wealthy Today
 Be Happy,
Healthy, and
Wealthy Today

How to Be Richer with Life Lessons

from the Teacher and the Preacher

BO SANCHEZ
Dean Pax Lapid, PhD
Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today
How to Be Richer with Life Lessons from the Teacher
and the Preacher

ISBN 978-971-007-202-6

Philippine Copyright © 2017 by Eugenio R. Sanchez, Jr. and

Francisco Estrera Lapid
Published by Shepherd’s Voice Publications, Inc.

Address requests for information to:

SHEPHERD’S VOICE Publications, inc.
#60 Chicago St., Cubao, Quezon City, Philippines 1109
P.O. Box 1331 Quezon City Central Post Office
1153 Quezon City
Tel. No. (632) 725-9999, 725-1115, 725-1190, 411-7874
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E-mail: sales@shepherdsvoice.com.ph

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, except for brief quotations, without the prior
permission of the publisher.

Cover design and layout by Rey de Guzman

Cliparts by iStock.com and presentermedia.com
 Table of Contents

Preface i

Introduction 1

Part One by Dean Pax Lapid 9

Chapter 1: Dreams and Drivers 11

Chapter 2: Expressions from the Mind and Heart 31

Chapter 3: Actions that Achieve 45

Chapter 4: Nuggets of Financial Wisdom 67

Chapter 5: Snippets of Business Success 95

Chapter 6: Living in Significance and Trust 123

Part Two by Bo Sanchez 139

Chapter 7: Wish 141

Chapter 8: Work 153

 Table of Contents

Chapter 9: Wonder 169

Epilogue from the Teacher 185

Epilogue from the Preacher 189

About the Teacher 191

About the Preacher 193

 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

PREFACE

How to Make Your

Own Life’s List
by Bo Sanchez

It takes one simple truth to change your life forever.

And those simple truths are contained in this book.

But do you know why people usually don’t get these simple
truths? Because we always look for complicated solutions.

Take the case of Gella (not her real name). For years, she took all
sorts of expensive medicines for her yet-to-be-defined disease.
Pains all over. Body weakness. Tingling nerves. Wherever she
goes, Gella was a walking pharmacy. Because she had to take
a second pill to counter the side effects of the first pill, and a
third pill to counter the side effects of the second pill. You get
the picture.

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 Preface

One day, Gella met a healer who looked at her condition and
said, “You know why’re your sick? It’s fear. Your body is caving
under the poison of worry. Get rid of fear and you heal your
body. Aside from that, go outdoors more often. Serve. Walk
under the sun every day. Go to the beach. Laugh with friends.
Eat more fruits and veggies. Drink lots of water.”

At first, she dismissed his

advice as too simple. She was
used to doctors who told her
to take this expensive test
from America, or swallow this
expensive pill from Germany.

But the pain in her body was

too much. At that point, she
was willing to try anything.
With the help of spiritual
friends, she began to open up
and identify her fears. One by one, she surrendered them to
God. She began to volunteer in ministry. Did some gardening.
Spent more time enjoying life. And one by one, her painful
symptoms disappeared. And Gella was healed.

Friend, do you want to change your life?

Stop looking for complicated solutions.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

Look for simple truths instead.

This book contains a number of simple truths from my dear

friend Dean Pax Lapid and myself. But in essence, all our
Life’s Lists are an invitation for you to create your own life’s
list. If you’re semi-old like me, leaf through this book with
a little notebook beside you, so that you can jot down the
simple truths that will transform your destiny. But if you’re
young and prefer to use your phone, do that. The key is not to
read passively, but to constantly write both your reflections and
resolutions.

Two Reasons Why You Need to Listen to the Dean

Forgive me for being biased, but to me, my co-author, Dean

Pax Lapid, is the best teacher on entrepreneurship in the
country. I say this because of two distinct qualities about him.

First, he’s grounded. Dean Pax is not just a professor, he’s a

practitioner. His expertise doesn’t come only from research,
it comes from experience. He doesn’t just teach from a
book, he teaches from life. He started businesses in multiple
industries—from IT to farms to fuels to retail to power plants.
For years, Dean was establishing one business a year—until he
transitioned and started helping his mentees start businesses.

Second, he’s a genius. Why? The sign of a genius is making the

complicated simple. And Dean Pax does this every time he

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 Preface

speaks. In his desire to help

others, the most complicated
concepts are simplified right
before your eyes.

This is our second book

together. (The first one was
Turn Your Passion into Profit.)
It’s my profound honor to co-
author this book with the Doctor Dean Pax Lapid.

Have a beautiful life.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

Introduction
by Dean Pax Lapid

I’ve been an entrepreneur since 2001. Over the last 16 years of

my life, I’ve built businesses across diverse categories—from
petroleum, IT, agribusiness, convenience retailing, musical
coaching, training, to even a power plant. I shared the ideation
of these opportunities (either serendipity moments or “inis1
to business”) through my book, 21 Steps on How to Start Your
Own Business, which became a bestseller in 2009. Its Filipino
translation hit the charts in 2013.

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irritation

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 Introduction

In 2009, I met Bro. Bo Sanchez during a GoNegosyo Youth

Summit where we both spoke. We became good friends since
then and wrote a book together entitled How to Turn Your
Passion into Profit, which became a bestseller in 2013. We
both shared how the head (written by the teacher) and how
the heart (written by the preacher) can turn profitable business
through the hands.

I retired successfully from corporate life at the age of 43 and

escaped the rat race early in life. Twenty-two years of executive
life and a hefty retirement package made me a rich rat. This
was the journey I shared in How to Become a Happy Retiree,
which became my fourth bestselling book in 2015.

Did you know how all four books became bestsellers? Maybe
because I have a lot of relatives!

Time to Give More

This fifth book you now hold contains the Dean’s list and the
Preacher’s list of life lessons. Imagine the lessons gained from
living and learning through two thirds of my life at 60 years
old while Bro. Bo has lived and learned half of his life at 50
years old.

My three sons are all professionals (one married and is the

father of my first granddaughter) while Bro. Bo has two
sons—his eldest is in his teens—discovering their own worlds.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

We have common mentors, especially in what we call our

Mastermind group.

Two of my mentors (Edward Lee and Bo Sanchez)

In this book, we share with you our life lessons to make your
life richer. The inspiration, information, and instruction in this
new book are real, recent, and relevant in our lives and in yours
as well.

Dean’s List Is a Lesson Plan

The Lesson Plan is made up of actual life learnings gained and

pained through my life. They were gained through the mix of
mentors that I have and had. They’re pained because of the
struggles and successes that I have personally experienced.

These pain and gain lessons, as well as valuable insights from

my mentors, have made me who I am today. They have also
become the strong foundation for me to become a sage on stage
and yet still the wise on the rise.

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 Introduction

What’s in the DEAN’S List?

The DEAN’S List is an acrostic for valuable lessons organized

in six chapters that were taken from my newsletters, lectures,
and bestselling books. My desire is for you to get the gain
without necessarily taking the pain of the experience. So with
St. Paul, I pray:

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too

great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete
with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
(Ephesians 3:19, NLT)

D: DREAMS and DRIVERS to be

successful

Dreams are free but there are costs to turn

them into reality. Your dreams must be your
own (not your parents’); they must be clear
without fear (not covered in clouds or anxiety);
you must work for them. In other words, if you
dream it, you must cream it.

Drivers are what keep you waking

up every morning. It’s the fuel
that speeds up your vehicle of
success.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

E: EXPRESSIONS from the Mind and Heart

All of us have our own set of vocabulary and quirky statements

and affirmations that accompany us in our everyday activities.
It follows that your sayings often are consistent with your
doings.

These expressions become the force within. They can make you
either Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader. In my case, these are
my “old man’s thinking” or “the corner barber talk” to inspire
my mentees, students, and myself.

A: ACTIONS to Achieve

What do you want to be when you give up?

Nope, that’s not a misprint. It’s a question when you don’t act
consistently. As the head thinks and the heart believes, your
hands and feet must follow.

If life is a box of chocolates, then someone must be good

enough to make the chocolates and the box. It’s even better if
it was you. Through actions we can live life to the full, not as
a fool.

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 Introduction

N: NUGGETS of Financial Wisdom

While I was still a young business

executive for a multinational
oil company, the exposure I had
in the treasury department of
managing billions of cash
receipts made my financial
literacy solid. It was through this
exposure that I learned the different aspects of:

Cash Know – Having a positive money mind.

Cash Flow – The importance of having a balance of

passive and active income.

Cash Grow – Growing hard-earned savings through safe

investments.

Admittedly, the money that I earned through my career and

the retirement windfall has grown into blessings that I could
not imagine. But more than that, the greater lesson is, “If you
yearn to earn, you need to yearn to learn.”

S: SNIPPETS of Business Success

Pursuing a Masters in Entrepreneurship (eventually becoming

an adjunct faculty at the Asian Institute of Management),

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

plus the many businesses that I have created, paved the way
for me to become a business mentor of GoNegosyo and the
TrulyRichClub (TRC). I’ve written and given tons of advice
to students, mentees of TRC, and even the public on business
setup and business grow-up.

The highlights in this chapter may or may not make you an

instant entrepreneur. Not everyone can become an entrepreneur
but everyone can have an enterprising spirit. I guarantee that
you’ll be interested in looking at entrepreneurship as an
option beyond corporate life.

LIST: Living in Significance and Trust

If you live your life to tick a bucket list,

you’ll never complete it. Human nature
continuously craves for more.

The temporary leash we have can only be meaningful when

used for the purpose that God has planned for each one of us.
After all, we are made by God, through God, and for God.

Lessons with Pun and Fun

Expect a lot of play on words expressed via acronyms, acrostics,

and alliterations in this book. It has become my unique style as
I conduct seminars and talks. Acrostics make lectures engaging,
fun, and easy to learn.

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 Introduction

My wish as you read this book is to open your mind and heart.
Only then can each of you see that achieving a full and filled
life is possible today.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

Part Oneby Dean Pax Lapid

9
Wow plus work plus
worth will give you
fulfillment.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

Chapter one

Dreams and Drivers

Life Lesson #1: Time and talent, through
trials, turn into treasures.

Real treasures are your time and talent—that will

make you cruise.
If misused or abused, sooner than later you’ll blow
your fuse.
Real treasures are things that will keep you going.
Turn these into elements that will make your heart sing.
It’s guaranteed that it will make you swing or even king,
It’s work you’ll do your best even without cashing.

I’ve met many people who have dreams for their lives. Some
people wish and keep wishing until they
wander. There are others who wait
and keep waiting until they
whine. And then there are
those who work and keep
working until they win.

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 Dreams and Drivers

People who just wish are confused. The reality is that they lack
a sense of purpose and so they’re unfocused. (A lot of people
die without ever discovering their purpose.) People who stop
at wishing drift and cannot reach their potential because they
have no idea what to shoot for. They forget the skills that
they’re good at.

People who wait are those who know what they like to do but
don’t go after it. They wait and get frustrated because they’re
caught in the “whine” trap of where they are and where they
want to be. They are paralyzed by the fear of the unknown
and the “uncomfortable” situation of relearning. They are not
willing to pay the price to learn, grow, and move closer to a
“better me.”

People who work for growth know themselves. Most successful

entrepreneurs I know fall under this category. They are fulfilled
because:

• They possess a strong sense of passion;

• They are focused on the purpose; and

• They grow in their profession that help them get closer to

their goals.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

Did You Ever Dream of Becoming a Millionaire?

If you own your house and your car, then you’re already a
millionaire! God didn’t give me the family dream house or the
cars or the businesses that I have. God only gave me time and
talent to create these treasures to enjoy the pleasures of life
with family and friends.

He gave each one of us the same amount of time and unique

talents to use, not refuse. As I recognized my God-given gifts
and accepted them with gratitude, I made sure that these are
not misused (through laziness or fear) or abused (for selfish
motives or to harm others).

“But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who
is giving you power to make wealth, that he may confirm his
covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
(Deuteronomy 8:18, NASB)

Life Lesson #2: Life is short. Work at it

heartily.

Our life on this earth is just a temporary lease,

It’s presumptuous to just make a list.
Because God is only giving us a short leash,
It’s wise to find what matters in your life at least.

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 Dreams and Drivers

Right after I retired from corporate life, my golfing buddies

asked me, “Pax, what’s in your bucket list after getting a hefty
sum of retirement money?”

It took me almost two weekends to write

down a wish list of what I wanted to do
in my lifetime. From around 50 things —
including crazy bits like running nude along
Bondi Beach in Sydney (he, he)—I cut it down
to 15 items. Let me share some of them:

• Tandem sky diving in Dubai

• Caribbean cruise with the family
• Beach wedding for our 20th anniversary
• Audience or selfie with a head of state
• Several businesses across diverse industries
• Master’s degree at AIM for myself and my sons

But one day, as I was playing golf, I had a freak

accident.

My partner’s ball hooked on his second

shot while on the fairway. It hit a
sprinkler head and then ricocheted into
my face. I got hit at the right corner of
my upper lip, just below the nose. There was
blood all over and I was rushed to the clubhouse. During all
the commotion, I passed out.

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 Be Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy Today

I had a dream or vision that I was a schoolboy who got lost

during the first day of classes. I couldn’t find my classroom and
was eager to enter any classroom that would let me in.

The kids with sparkling white shirts were singing and smiling
while trying out their small pairs of wings. These kids were
assisted by pretty, young teachers in their light blue robes with
white wings.

I started to cry and one of the teachers was kind enough to

accompany me to the principal’s office. I saw a distinguished
man with a white long beard carrying a big book.

He asked me why I was crying and I immediately told him

that I didn’t know where I was supposed to go. The old man
patiently looked at his book and, after some time, he said that
my name was not yet registered there.

As he instructed me to go back to my family, I insisted that I

wanted to stay. He plainly asked me if I was ready. My answer
was, “I do not know.”

The old man finally said, “By the time

you do good and do well, you’ll be
ready.”

The golf ball hit me hard, but the message in

my vision hit me harder.

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 Dreams and Drivers

I learned that when a person puts faith in the back burner, he is

deprived of God’s protection, power, guidance, and leadership.
A nation, business, family, or individual without God is bound
to fail sooner or later.

Life Lesson #3: Dreams are free but success is

not.

Your life dream must be a labor of love. It starts with

you and it’s up to you.

I’ve seen many dreams serve themselves. It’s just to

pass the time. These are called daydreams.

On the contrary, daring dreams are what you must work at

with your best so you can serve and touch others with your
skills. Daring dreams give meaning not only to yourself but,
more importantly, to others in the process.

What’s a daring dream? What’s a daydream?

Knows good discipline Knows good luck
Self-discipline No discipline
Sees the journey Sees the end
Seeks long term Short on cost and terms
Works hard Hardly working
Manages problem Avoids problem
Makes themselves responsible Makes others responsible

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When it comes to your dreams, are you hardly working,

hardworking, or working hard? Hardly working is a person
who is lazy in mind and action. Hardworking is trying hard at
something that’s not within your core gifts, so you’re exhausted
every time. Working hard is working at your best to be at the
top of your league. You’re excited every day. Working hard is
intentional.

It’s shocking that some young adults today just eat-play-sleep

because of the notion that growth is automatic. This kind of
mentality was brought about by overprotective parents. Aside
from providing for food, water, shelter, and education during
their children’s baby boo-boo days, they also shielded them
from pain and hard work.

Unfortunately, overprotective parents continue to give this

tender loving care process to their babies even as they’ve grown
into professional adults. They end up becoming rich, lazy idiots.

Working Hard Leads to Growth

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 Dreams and Drivers

Working hard means stepping out of your comfort zone into

your courage zone. (You’ve heard this many times from Bro.
Bo.)

Many fall into the trap of the good life because it’s already
comfortable. What if I tell you that there’s a great life? But
to move from good to great needs grit—meaning, mental
toughness and courage.

When I was choosing a university back in the mid-’70s, I had

four choices: UP, DLSU, ADMU, and UST1. I was lucky and
smart, ahem, to have gotten into UP Engineering. Otherwise,
I would have had to pay more for DLSU (Di Lumusot Sa UP)2
or ADMU (Ang Dream Mo UP),3 or UST (UP Sana Tayo).4
None of the Masterminds, except me and Rex Mendoza,
graduated from UP, so for harmony’s sake, I say, “There are two
great universities—UP and others.” My point is that in life,
there will always be good—which is OK and comfortable—
and great—which is better but needs courage to attain.

Working hard is now here; if you delay, it becomes nowhere. So

ask yourself the following:

First, where do you want to grow?

1
University of the Philippines, De La Salle University, Ateneo de Manila University, and University of
Santo Tomas

2
Didn’t pass UP

3
My dream was UP

4
I wish we were in UP

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Second, what do you need to learn?

Third, who do you really, really want to be?

Life Lesson #4: Dreams are seen in 3D.

Dreams are endured with “eyes on the prize”

Despite some frustrations and painful cries.
Only the brave show commitment with more tries
Even spending a whole lot of money and fries.5

When it comes to our dreams, 3D is the formula that

means:

Direction (goals and focus) + Determination (perseverance)

become Destiny (your cocktail of dreams fulfilled).

Direction will drive, not deter, who you can

become. You’ll encounter detours and
difficulties along the way, but with clear
goals and focus, you will achieve your
dream.

Deepen your dreams with

determination because delays are
inevitable. With time, it will define the
best in you.
5
Prize = Goal. Cries = Struggles. Tries = Perseverance. Fries = Burned Time and Money.

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 Dreams and Drivers

Remember that the success of your dreams is not final—it has

to be sustained for it to be considered successful. So failure
along the way is not fatal. You may fail today but press on to
succeed tomorrow.

There’s a rare disease that blurs your dream. It’s called

“excusitis.” When we were young, my parents warned us about
appendicitis, but not about excusitis. According to old folks,
you get appendicitis when you rush your meal then hurry back
to do a strenuous activity.

Excusitis is acquired when you rush your dream then hurry

back to fear or laziness. It’s a mental disease that generates
dozens of reasons you will not and cannot do the task. Excusitis
are the many won’ts and can’ts trapped in your mind.

As the Filipino saying goes, “Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan.

Kung gusto, maraming paraan.” (If you won’t, there are many
reasons; if you want, there are many ways.)

Have you fallen into these mind traps?

Knowledge trap: “I don’t know how to….”

Timing trap: “It’s not the right time to begin.”

Mistake trap: “I’m afraid of making mistakes.”

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