THRIVE MANILA | October 17 to 25, 2015 | Click on the image to visit the THRIVE Facebook page and learn more about this inspiring event

(Originally published in Inquirer.net on October 16, 2015) It’s a curious kind of convergence, happening in one of the world’s most complicated cities to navigate and live in. Artists and designers will get to hang around startups, who’ll also get to meet social media mavens and social enterprises, who’ll most likely be enjoined by bike advocates and environmentalists to support their causes. There will be art, music, green and healthy food, bikes, left and right brains, and more conscientious shopping. Welcome to THRIVE, a first-of-its…Continue Reading “THRIVE: Where Manila’s cool changemakers converge (Inquirer.net)”

DON’T BE SCARED. “Skull 3”, pencil on smooth Bristol paper. Illustration by Sara Blake

(First published on Rappler.com on February 12, 2014) MANILA, Philippines – What does it take to live a life less ordinary? At the recently held Graphika Manila 2014, luminaries from the creative world shared the stage to talk about their creative process, their best work, the mistakes they’ve made, and lessons they’ve learned along the way. We saw from their individual journeys that whatever the speakers’ backgrounds—whether they hailed from Barcelona or Bacolod, were a newbie or a veteran, worked freelance or in a studio—they…Continue Reading “Feeling uninspired? Wise words from top creatives (Rappler.com)”

(Originally posted in the blog, Out of the Universe) Thanks to this great playlist by TED, we can watch more videos related to the birth and spread of new ideas, the discovery and cultivation of creativity, and other videos that are sure to inspire creativity, innovation, or at least the challenging of the status quo. This next video I’m featuring on my blog is a TED talk by Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert on our “elusive creative genius.” One line that struck me during her talk is when she pointed…Continue Reading “TED Talk: “Your elusive creative genius” by “Eat, Pray, Love” author Elizabeth Gilbert”

Published on February 7, 2013 in Homegrown.ph To make a dream come true, some action is required. Creating a visual plan may be what you need to help you achieve your success goals. / by Niña Terol-Zialcita / Much has been said and written about visualizing your goals in order to make them real. The late great Stephen Covey, whose Seven Habits of Highly Successful People has guided millions of driven individuals on the path of success, said it best when he said, “Begin with…Continue Reading “Dreamboarding: Cutting and Pasting Dreams onto Reality (Homegrown.ph)”

In the movie The Secret, based on a book by the same title by best-selling author Rhonda Byrne, a man relayed his astonishment when he realized that the new house he had just bought was the same one whose image he had clipped from a magazine and tacked on a corkboard several years earlier. In Chicken Soup for the Soul, actor Jim Carrey was said to have written a multi-million dollar check to himself as a way of affirming his aspirations to someday be wealthy. This was years before…Continue Reading “Dreamboarding and “The Power of Cut-and-Paste””