I remember when I was 13 years old, I used to tag along with my parents whenever they went visiting some of their friends. One day, we went to visit a very successful trader at his house. As they chatted in the living room, I wandered around until I ended up in the garage. There was a beautiful Mercedes Benz auto parked in the garage.

I was instantly dazzled, and hurriedly rushed over to admire the car. My mother noticed the commotion and looked out. She then lovingly admonished me, reminding me not to look at things that I could not afford. My mother’s friend who overheard the conversation rebutted and said, “ you should not discourage your son, but you should instead encourage him to dream, so that he will work at achieving his dreams.”

A good friend and a highly visible successful entrepreneur often talks about the magic of the word “Aspiration”. Wikipedia defines aspiration as “means hope.” Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “a strong desire to achieve something high or great.” Don’t we all want to hope? Don’t we want to achieve something high or great in our life? Lets pause for a moment and reflect on that question.

One of the best stories of aspiration is that of a security guard who had a dream. Jacinto was born in Bohol to a brood of seven children of a firewood dealer. He studied at the Ubay Elementary and High School. He moved to Cebu and enrolled at the college of Law at the University of San Carlos. In order to survive, he did household chores at the houses of his different relatives in exchange for board and lodging. For pocket money, he worked as a stevedore at the pier in between classes.

When he was at his fourth year of the College of Law, he faced a personal crisis. He received news from home telling him that his father wanted to sacrifice the schooling of his other siblings in order to give him a chance to finish law. His father who barely earns enough to feed his family, could no longer give his children equal chances of success. He had decided to hedge his bet on his son, who has shown promise to be a lawyer.

Jacinto didn’t take the news well. He worried about the future of his younger siblings. He decided to do something that would change the course of his life forever. He ran away.

He fled to manila as a stowaway in a boat. While in Manila, he began work as a security guard. After some time, his older brother, who was in the army, decided to assist him in his studies. He returned to Cebu and in 1956 finished his law degree. He then passed the Bar the following year. After passing the bar, he discovered the opportunities were scant and ended up initially working as a security guard again in order to make ends meet. He never stopped aspiring, believing in himself that he can make his dream come true. He continued to work even harder.

Fast forward to today, Jacinto now owns and operates the largest two security agencies in Visayas and Mindanao, which collectively employs almost 2,000 guards. His security agency has been awarded Ten times as the Best Security Agency in Region 7, awarded nationally three times as the Most Outstanding Private Security Agency of The Year , and two times as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Private Security Agency Of The Year.

Confused on who Jacinto is? That’s because he is now more popularly known as Atty. Jack Mendez of Centurion Security Agency fame. When asked to look back, Atty. Mendez has this to say: "Certainly, my humble beginnings have spurred me to succeed in life. It had always been my aspiration to improve the lives of my family and to provide for them. “ He adds “I attribute what I am now and what I have acquired to hard work, perseverance, honesty, dedication and faithfulness and trust in the goodness of our God.”

John Maxwell said ,"Successful and unsuccessful people do not vary greatly in their abilities. They vary in their desires to reach their potential." Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at
stirspecialist@gmail.com