How to Enjoy a Good Cup of Coffee & Still Arrive Early for That Morning Huddle with your Team

Every coffee drinker has a preferred brewing method. Me, I love brewing coffee in my Moka; it’s the perfect way to start my day. It takes around 30 minutes to prepare and enjoy my morning fill, and more if there’s good company at hand for small talk and laughter. 

But like everyone else, I turn off the alarm and go back to sleep only to wake up in a frenzied panic because I’m already late for an important meeting. Of course, I can always schedule meet-ups at a good coffee house, but that isn’t always the case.

Coffee Invitation

I was invited to a product launch at the Parc Royale Building, in Ortigas, last November 29. Hesitant at first because “product” means that I must endure long, boring talks about something, which I’m not remotely interested in and with people who are maniacally passionate about it and trying to convince the audience to automatically share the same excitement as if it was as easy as copy-paste.

Lest I be rude and walk out of my hosts, I’m a prisoner for the duration of the presentation. But it’s coffee, so I braved the incorrigible Metro Manila traffic in the pursuit of caffeine. Luckily, there were no long, boring talks and zealous speakers asking us to cough up a couple thousand bucks and register as a member, so kudos to the organizers for this.

Drumroll….

Introducing the New elcafé. Bursting with Exciting 5 in 1 Taste.

In this world, full of coffee and network marketing, I’ve been invited to, and have tasted, coffee plus, plus, plus…. 3 in 1, 5 in 1, 7 in 1… These “products” tastes ranged from good to bad. Fortunately, elcafé fared well in my taste-test.

I’m not exaggerating when I say exciting 5 in 1 taste. I told MJ, the organizer, that it didn’t taste like gamot (medicine). I genuinely liked it. Sure, it had that weird, funky aftertaste, maybe because of the Ginko Biloba or Ginseng, but it was tolerable, for sure. I’ve had far worse.

Verdict.

All-in-all, I enjoyed the Elken elcafé 5 in 1 Coffee. It’s a welcome surprise from the direct selling world that sells pungent-tasting, healthy coffee that people would never trade for their grande at Starbucks. I highly recommend it as a healthy substitute for your home-brew when in a hurry, or something to bring to the office to avoid the stale coffee at the pantry.

Brewing Time

You only need 150 ml of hot water, stir in the coffee mix, and voila, a nice cup of coffee to wake you up on a cold morning. It takes less than five minutes to prepare; less if you already have hot water (preferably 85-90°C).

With that, I'd like to give a shout-out to MJ Catriz for the invite and to Elken for the welcoming atmosphere. 

In case you’re interested, you may go to their office at the Ground Floor of Parc Royale Building, Julia Vargas Avenue Corner Emerald Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City. For more info, please visit their website http://ph.elkenglobal.com/.

2014 (Philippines) ASUS Zenfone Delivered Right At Your Doorstep

I've recently signed up with Lazada* Philippines' Affiliate Program. Aside from the possible financial rewards, a modest hope comes with it: that this blog becomes a channel where readers may find special discounts, exclusive offerings, or just reliable information on the latest gigs and gadgets. Simple goals, which I hope can be achieved with your (readers) help.

For my first time at bat, I will be promoting the ASUS Zenfone, which will be released on July 17, 2014, at 7 PM in a special sale, exclusively on the Lazade site.

Please click on the ad image to place your order.

 
Bang For The Buck Smartphone
With its ASUS ZenUI, 2GB RAM, Corning Gorilla Glass, and expected less than PHP 10,000 price (priced lower than the Xiaomi Mi 3), this smartphone gives great value for your hard earned pesos. An Engaget reviewer gave it a score of 9 (view here), which I think will go down a little (to average out as other reviewers' scores come in). But, from the reports I've seen, this phone lives up to moderate expectations. It's a steal for a dual-sim smartphone.

*Lazada is one of the largest and most trusted shopping sites in Southeast Asia.

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The Facebook For Bloggers

Photo Credit: Kris Krug via Compfight cc

Bloggers and online freelance professionals have a world of their own on the internet. In this world, anything is possible. You can even earn from sharing your thoughts and ideas.

One of the best sites where this can be realized is on Bubblews. It's a site where members share posts, photos and images, ideas, recipes, news, etc. Much like Facebook, one can comment, like, dislike, on the posts. The only difference: members earn from the advertising revenue generated by the site (50/50). Each like/dislike/comment/post has a monetary equivalent! :)

To become a member, one simply needs to register and start earning right away. As newbie on the site, I'm extremely happy with the community. It is positive, helpful, supportive, and fun. It's a great blogging site for new and experienced bloggers alike.

It's easy to become a member, just click ---> here. For me, it's a great site that we can all learn from and harness our writing and blogging skills.

Thanks for the read. All the best to everyone. :)
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P.S. The links are referral links which means that I earn a few cents for the first post you will make.:")

To learn about Bubblews founder and CEO, Arvind Dixit, please visit this article.

Extra Income For Writing Articles Online

Photo Credit: Irene Becker via Comfight cc

Stay-at-home moms, freelance writers, students, and working professionals often look for ways to augment their income using their free time. Searching online, one may find the proverbial, "needle in a haystack", true to form.

A quick Google search on the term "online jobs" will literally turn up millions, nay, billions of results, which can be disheartening to newbies. Picking legitimate opportunities might take forever and you don't want to be scammed, as many of us have been, before finding the right opportunity.

If you have the knack for the written word, why don't you try writing articles online?

A good place to start is at ExpertsColumn. This site accept articles and pays authors based on the number of times articles have been read. Articles can be as short as 300 words, except for poems and recipes, and 1,500 words at most.

Earnings vary at ExpertsColumn, but you can get around $1 to $1.50 per impressions (i think you can get more, if you have more readers from the US, Canada, etc. -- i still have to explore how this works, though). You will need to provide your Paypal account to be able to register and withdraw earnings with a minimum payout of $5, which you can get through Paypal.

A nice thing about this site is the referral program where users can earn extra from other writers who have signed up using a special link, such as this: register at ExpertsColumn.

If you want to get started on ExpertsColumn, please click on the following link ---> sign up here and start posting excellent articles. Send me a message once you've started and I will help promote your articles in my blog.

If you want to learn more about ExpertsColumn before signing up, please check out their FAQ page.

P.S. About the affiliate program: while signing up using my referral link gives me extra income, it won't affect your earnings. Signing up on their website without using my referral link will let them keep the revenue from the ad clicks.

Update: As of May 2013, ExpertsColumn.com will end the revenue sharing scheme due to the low number of visitors and declining earnings.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

More than ten years ago, I read the book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People". Written by Dr. Stephen R. Covey, this book has helped influence the way I look at myself and the world around me. It's a classic that teaches timeless principles. Principles that, if one adheres to, can create abundance, harmony and peace in all areas of life.

The seven habits, enumerated below, teaches us about private (mastering self) and public (a more meaningful connection with others) victories. It underscores the importance of one's worldview, or how we see the world, and differences in perception. It also introduces the concept of the "paradigm shift" and how to align our paradigm with principles based on the character ethic.

Moreover, one finds a chapter devoted to each of the habits, which ends with a discussion of the inside-out approach to personal effectiveness. The inside-out focuses on the character-driven person responsible for his own actions and motivated to become a man of integrity.

The habits:
1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think win-win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw.

Dr. Covey, who passed away in 2012 after a biking accident, continues to inspire people everywhere to become a better person; to take a look at one's actions, thoughts and beliefs, and its impact on other people. I still find nuggets of wisdom every time I skim through its pages.

By and large a good read, I've included it in my top 5 business books entrepreneurs must have and learn from .