As the saying goes, opportunity presents itself to those who are prepared.
For last week’s episode of CHiNOY TV’s Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart, Fredley Group of Companies CEO Avin Ong shares his experiences and thoughts as a Chinoy entrepreneur raised by a hardworking single mother.
Here are the lessons that viewers have taken away from it:
1. Take a risk.
Ever since he was a young child, Avin Ong has been raised with the mindset to pursue his goals. Even at the mere age of seven, he decided to diligently set up a fruit shake stall for himself in front of his family’s kitchenware store, despite the endeavor showing minimal promise in results.
“One day, I told my mom and my sister, ‘Is it possible to allot a small space in front of our store just so I can sell something?’ They immediately said yes. I bought some ice, and then I started purchasing powders: chocolate powders, vanilla powders, all these things from Divisoria. So every day, at around 2 PM, I would start setting up my kiosk, and then I would start selling fruit shakes. Business did not turn out well, and I did not earn money from that business.
“What I did learn was that it encouraged me, or it pushed me to become a risk-taker. So every day, in the Fredley Group of Companies, I have to make very risky decisions. I have to make very aggressive moves. It’s because of all these experiences over the past years that made me a risk-taker,” shared Avin.
“I love his story! So inspiring. When you learn to take risks for yourself and for your dream, you will grow. You learn to have faith and believe in yourself,” commented Jo Marquez.
2. Self-discipline is key to believing in yourself.
As everyone knows, the path to success is never an easy one. In order to get to where he is now today, Avin pushed his way through different obstacles and difficulties, from making hangers at midnight as a child to retaking his college entrance exam for De La Salle University to eventually running a restaurant while pursuing an MBA degree at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.
Avin believes that if you truly believe in the potential of your success, then you need to follow through with a promise to achieve it. “We live in a world full of distractions. When you reach home, [or] when you go to the office, there might be Facebook notifications and Instagram notifications — there are so many distractions around us, and no one is going to discipline you except yourself.
“Self-discipline for me is very important because as soon as you wake up, you have to list down the things that you wanted to do today — that you want to achieve today. Self-discipline for me is very important. I actually called it ‘tough love’ because being tough on yourself is a lovely gesture. You just have to be tough on yourself. You just have to be hard on yourself to live the life you want in the future.”
Jaymar Nicasio Francisco posted: “Mr. Alvin Ong’s story was so inspiring. Believing in yourself and accepting your setbacks and failures make you even stronger. I learned that hard work and perseverance are a must and [that we should] do the right things at the right time. And the right time is now. Better to take a risk than do nothing. #1CH1NOY.”
3. The right time is always now.
Chasing your dreams can be scary, and that’s probably why many of us are hesitant in choosing the right time to pursue them. But, at the same time, if you keep putting that opportunity off, when will you be able to achieve success?
According to Avin Ong, the key ingredients to success are hard work and perseverance. “Do the right things at the right time. When we talk about the right time, there’s no such thing as perfect timing. Because I have a lot of friends. They would always tell me, ‘Avin, I admire you a lot. How to be you po. I want to also establish my own business empire.’
“But the problem is [that] they keep talking about it, they keep sharing about it, but they are not taking actions to achieve all those things that they want in life. There is no such thing as perfect timing because the perfect timing is actually right now.”
Maria Alessandra Dalisay said, “Avin Ong has inspired me to make a move and to not wait for “the right time.” I admit that I’m a person who is hesitant to do big things because I’m scared that I’m going to fail. I always think, ‘It’s not the right time. I have to wait for a while. Maybe next time.’ Those are the thoughts that run in my head always. But the courage that Avin has to take risks and to bounce back from failures is truly inspiring and really worth emulating. I hope that I can have the courage to pursue my goals too. Thank you, Avin.”
Don’t miss the replay of this week’s episode of Chinese by Blood, Filipino by Heart this evening, November 6, at 6:30 PM. Catch the next episode on Sunday at 8 PM. Both episodes will air on CNN Philippines.
