Raising three girls is like having cupcakes and extremely spicy kimchee everyday. Last Saturday, was day 1/21 days of Christmas Vacation and the first activity on the list was an early afternoon visit to Santa Claus! Our wonderful Community Officer (for the US diplomatic community) and her staff organized a meet and greet with Santa, along with formal photos and snacks!

We arrived there and instantly, the girls ran away, so we took another awkward Santa picture, but hey, I’ve accepted that this is parenting, I’m just glad we were able to go. The little one, however, was amazing, she kept saying “Saaaantaaa, hi. Saaaantaaa, bye.” So cute. The twins, on the other hand, ran straight for the stack of chocolate chip cookies and fruit punch Hi-C juice boxes in the kitchen, came back out with cookies in their mouths and stood next to me for a photo. And Voila!

About ten minutes later, we were making holiday bracelets/designs with red, white, and green pipe...

Carol and I just celebrated our seven year anniversary! I can't believe how fast the time goes...and three daughters, five countries later...we're still going strong :) 

Here are my quick three lessons:

1) Have a sense of humor;

2) Compliment one another; and

3) Communicate often (date night is key!)

Last night, the ambitious mother in me asked my wife, “Hey, let’s go attend the school play with the kids, it starts at 7pm, it should only be for an hour.”

We get to the bus stop and drive for an hour in Seoul traffic, with the twins high off life, squiggling, arguing, and dropping things every five minutes. My wife and I look at each other exhausted, but happy because the girls are happy.

We get to the play and the twins run for the popcorn machine, show is starting in 2 minutes, we rush to get the popcorn and find our four empty seats in the front row. We take them.

10 minutes in, one daughter needs to use the restroom. 20 minutes in, popcorn ran out and Madi is taking Elise’s popcorn. They start quarreling and shoving each other. I’m trying to balance a few drinks and tell them subtley “Stop fighting, we’re at a show girls.” Halfway through, my wife needs to head back to the office.

Then an eternity of time passes, and what I...

I'm taking this Happiness Coach certification course with Happittude  and it was our last class this past weekend. The instructor answered the question "What is the Purpose of Life?" with a very simple statement - "Life has no purpose, you just LIVE." 

Wow, I was floored and so were some of my classmates. Is it really that simple? Yes. And the beauty of this statement is that it liberates you - YOU GET TO CHOOSE HOW YOU WANT TO LIVE. All the things we are taught - all the things that society wants us to be - all of the things our families and communities and institutions teach us as "the way" - you don't have to choose that way, you can create you Own Way. And when I say this, you can pick and choose and throw out all the beliefs and values that you were raised on - if you have another idea of HOW TO BE in the world, and it FEELS MORE LIKE YOU...go do it. 

I am a Filipina American woman, lesbian, mother, entrepreneur, wife, daughter, international...

You are an awesome human being. You've been through a lot this year...and 2018 is coming to a close!

Last week, I spent some time reflecting on my life and also some time just being PRESENT with family. It is hard for me...because I'm always on the move. As I get older, slowing down is beautiful. There will be fast times and slow times, medium times, and do nothing times, but the best thing for you, especially in this age of everything needs to be done NOW, is to take a break and slow down and appreciate, value, and marvel at all the things you have already done this year. 

Keep being awesome, and keep moving forward...no matter how fast or how slow, every day is a new day. Everyday you can smile at yourself for all that you do, for yourself and in service to others. 

• Monday: Submit workshop description to two new clients
• Tuesday: Korean class for one hour, coaching session, and business partner call
• Wednesday: Lunch/Networking event, business call 
• Thursday: Business call, go to Korean DMV to get car registered
• Friday: First Workshop - Intro to Personal Development, coaching session
• Saturday: Swimming class with the kids and Happiness Course
• Sunday: Buy one daughter new shoes, spend time with kids

What happens when you start living your dream life? What starts to change? What kinds of feelings do you have...what is it really like to feel completely open to the unknown and to work  everyday towards building your life masterpiece?

PEACEFUL.

EXCITING.

SCARY.

LIKE YOU’RE IN FREEFALL, BUT KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO LAND SOMEWHERE BEAUTIFUL.

A month ago today, I was preparing to go to the Growth Summit to get inspired into action and to be around other people with big dreams in life. I was blown away by the Speakers, Les Brown, Rachel Hollis, Trent Shelton...and as I would listen to them, I felt this tiny voice tell me “Get in a room and INSPIRE PEOPLE!” I never saw “motivational speaking” as an option - but after watching these incredible souls speak their truths and share their most vulnerable moments in life...the failures, the rejection, the NO ways, the sorry - go somewhere else, I realized that the only difference between these...

Welcome to the AWESOME Series, where I share with you my weekly inspirations, tools and strategies for success, and my journey of becoming an entrepreneur. 

One takeaway from this video - GO BE YOUR AWESOME SELF - and don't care about what other people think. The most successful and driven people I've met take risks, put themselves out there, experiment, fail, and get back up, and do it all over again. Whatever dream or BIG AUDACIOUS GOAL you have in life - OWN IT, and LIVE IT. 

I believe you can take the LEAP and become your BEST SELF. 

Live in Your AWESOMENESS!

Dom (PhD - Positivity and Happiness Designer)