“Self-belief and hard work will always earn you success.” - Indian cricketer Virat Kohli

Do you know what’s the hardest thing to deal with?

Yun sarili mo kasi sometimes you can be too critical and harsh on yourself.

It’s easy to give up on your dreams or goals in life when you believe that you can’t do it, you’re not qualified, or you don’t deserve it.

It’s easy to set goals but taking action and remaining committed is very challenging.

You and I can be very quick in justifying our actions or lack thereof that led to failures.

Remember.

Self-limiting beliefs can prevent you from achieving success in both your career and personal life.

Easier said than done but you can get rid of these beliefs.

Reflect on them and check out their roots.

Replace them with positive beliefs.

Think of ways to overcome them.

Recite positive affirmations.

YOU are in charge and you can turn things around.

Meet Sheena.

She used to work as a customer service personnel and risk assessment/governance manager.

She wanted to use her knowledge to help other people but she was scared of going into it 100%.

But focusing on her goal, herself, and the community she’s building really helped her.

Fast forward to today.

She’s able to make 7 figures in a year.

Boom!

Be inspired by her hard work, persistence, and victories, on this replay.

Introduction

She was in the call center industry for 10 years.  And stayed in the U.S for 12 years.  She is currently in a management position for governance and oversight. 

Learn how she overcame all of her challenges and how they strengthened her resolve to become a freelancer.

Notable Quotes

• People look at me like I am really strong because of the things I went through.  As a child, I got molested.  I am a product of violence.  It’s just something that a lot of women go through.  And I think that going through that and overcoming it before, it would make me cry.  And I was able to learn, who else will help me out.  It’s just myself.  I’m sorry that I had to divulge that but I want other women to know, coz they message me and they say “I am going thru this situation”, and that I never interfere with where they are at in their life, and I tell I’m not going to give you pieces of advice but I’m going to tell you what my story is.  Because at the end of the day, it is your time.  I can tell you to get out of that relationship. But at the end of the day, if you still want to be with your husband, with your boyfriend, you’re not gonna get out of it.  But I’m gonna tell you that I went thru that situation and I had to realize that what if my daughter grows up and she goes thru it and she doesn’t tell me anything just because she thinks okay lang magkaroon ng ganong klaseng relasyon that’s the time that I was I already, like caught in my mind…I need to find a way to get out of this situation.  Those are just a few stories that I have that I can share.  There are things that I went through that makes me who I am right now.
• Delegating work is very important. Delegating work and that helps out other people to become responsible and become a good leader and all that.
• One has to be emotionally intelligent. Being able to evaluate your emotions and find the solutions.  Being proactive instead of reactive.  Focus on how to make this better.  Sit down, talk to yourself all the time, talk to my heart, talk to my mind before I react because you're going to make a fool out of yourself.  If you have to cut-off people in order to move then that is what she is going to do.
• When you're so drained, itulog mo lang.  It's gonna be better the next day.  Palagi mong isipin na ngayon lang ito, wag mong damdamin at may darating na solusyon the next or sa ibang araw.  Pag pagod ka ngayon matulog ka, umiyak ka...move on.  It is what it is.
• Don’t be afraid of tough times.  In freelancing, there are rejections, downfalls, pitfalls, failures and those are just part of your adventure as a freelancer.  This will harden you up and make you tough and strong and be able to face your problems without the "aray".
• When you gather your skills it is up to how to put your spin to it. Take a look at what works for you.  Apply what you have learned.

Sheena Romero’s Journey to Freelancing

• A 38-year old mother who graduated from The University of Sto. Tomas, Manila.
• In 2010, she moved to the United States in search of greener pastures.
• When she was in the real estate industry in the U.S, she was able to sell a house. Using the money she earned here, she purchased a course that was more business-related and also a freelancing course.
   

• She searched for someone from Facebook and a girl posted her voice along with 3 other women from the Philippines. which caught her interest, messaged them but they did not respond at all.  She  persistently searched for them on LinkedIn but could not find them. 
• She decided to look around finding groups like virtual assistants. She saw that they could offer her service.  She got her first VA there which was phenomenal. 

• From there, that was the time she realized that she can be doing VA work and at the same time help someone as well.  She collaborated with that person and had great ideas but they separated ways. 
• She joined VABootcamp through Simon Robinson.  She compared VABootcamp with other courses.  And she found out that VABootcamp has good quality compared to the high-priced courses that were offered in the US.  It was awesomely detailed.  The content was very helpful and helped her out to have other ideas.  The Community is not judging and has a good support system.
• She started the Pinay Virtual Assistance at this time and she got the group for her but didn’t know where to go from there.  The first thing she did was post a video and say she wanted to help out.  Amazingly, a lot of people commented on her video and had to stop the video. 
• She was able to talk to Filipinas and found a way to help them with the assistance of 2 other women and grew it to 12,400.

Question and Answer

What does it take for a Filipino freelancer to be known?

Got interviewed again and she was up against people who were Certified Blackbelt 6 Sigma and/or Americans.  People in the US will pay more for your methods than for your labor.  One should have the numbers to back up what you claim to have as a skill.  Build the value of what you are offering. 

Never neglect your small wins.  When you build up from those that small wins, you will never know that small success will become great.

What is the advice you can give?

One has to be emotionally intelligent. Being able to evaluate your emotions and find the solutions.  Being proactive instead of reactive.  Focus on how to make this better.  Sit down, talk to yourself all the time, talk to your heart, talk to your mind before reacting because you are going to make a fool out of yourself.  If you have to cut-off people in order to move then that is what one has to do.

She is focused on helping other people...she is sharing her experiences...her stories.  Don't interrupt with someone else's struggles because they will find a way how to swim.