“The Chow Dynasty of China mentioned our country in their record books of 722 B.C., making the Philippines at least 2731 years old. Our culture of success, wealth, prosperity, honesty, and respect was already established before Magellan’s supposed discovery. (A)s a people, we were branded as good! We were thought of as being trustworthy.. We were praised for our honesty, zeal, and our respect of other people… We enjoyed a stature unequalled in Asia. Foreigners enjoyed coming and doing business with us.”
“…My vision for our country is this—(the Philippines) is the new financial giant and the gold standard for success, decency and prosperity in the whole world… I know we can (do it) because a long time ago… we were branded as a good people and a good country. What we are in our hearts of hearts and what we will become is not the new and improved Philippines—it’s the old and classic brand that we have always been.”
Yes, I’ve read the book, because I found the title interesting and intriguing, especially the subtitle, and also because yes, I am a Filipino and like most, I dream to become rich and help this country become a great nation again. A book of only 113 pages, I finished reading it in more or less three hours with intermittent spawning of inspiring thoughts and conjuring up of plans of applying the lessons I picked up from this book. While reading it, I kept on telling myself, I hope many people get to read this. In fact, I wanted to share its message so much that one idea from it already landed as a post in my facebook account: “The problem of Third World Countries is not poverty or corruption—it’s leadership.”
The book is not your ordinary step-by-step guide on becoming rich but is a rich (pun intended) source of facts and concepts that convince readers that yes, Filipinos are born to be rich not only in wealth but also in admirable character. It has chapters that remind the readers to dream because it gives a road map of life, to have the right attitude, to become responsible, to be a giver, to take risks, to have determination, to make a change, and to take action. It also tackled the issues on failure, luck vs. opportunities, and crab mentality.
A few days after reading the book, I can still feel that surge of pride and patriotism brought about by learning the admirable attributes of the old Philippines and the nobility that runs in the Filipino veins. I felt a little ashamed to realize that I sometimes get swayed with some other people’s opinion—that our country is a hopeless case. I think now that perhaps, the reason why I always see us fall short of our own expectations is because I don’t trust enough that we can succeed. But after reading the book, I realized that all along I was thirsting to know something like this, something so heavenly about ancient Philippines. Maybe, the rest of the pessimistic Filipinos just need to be informed, too, that we are not merely a country that was colonized—that 300 years of colonization is just a short break in our 3000 years of history. Our history was obscured by the colonizers but the truth will always come into light as is happening now. For example, as recounted in this book, the first mass in Philippines was celebrated not by a Spaniard in Limasawa in 1521 but by an Italian Priest named Father Orico in Bolinao, Pangasinan in 1324.
I also learned new perspectives on poverty. Dr. Enriquez cited an article from The Wall Street Journal… “Stop thinking of the poor as victims, or as a burden, and start recognizing them as resilient and creative entrepreneurs, who have remained dormant only because of suppressed dreams and lack of nurturing and mentoring.
I think this book will capture the interest of aspiring social entrepreneurs whose goal in putting up a business is not only to earn profit but also to help the country’s economy, create jobs and help other entrepreneurs, as well as aspiring politicians and teachers who really want to serve the country. But surely, even ordinary readers will appreciate this book because its themes are universal— pursuing dreams and loving the country. Generally, I believe this book can help its reader continue to dream despite the challenges in his/her life or that this country faces.
This book is also very easy to read. The language is relatively simple and thus easy to understand, but the words are phrased craftily in a way that makes sentences memorable and quotable. In fact, some idiomatic expressions seemed familiar to me because the great Mr. Alejandro D.Padilla, our senior editor and editorial adviser, edited the book.
The book ended with a discussion on crab mentality, telling the readers that love is the antidote to crab mentality. But if I were to choose for the author, I would have the book ended with the chapter on responsibility. This way, readers will be armed with the desire to become responsible. Thus, I will end this review with a passage from Chapter 6, Responsibility. And so it goes:
A person has the power over his circumstance and his future. Attitude determines whether one becomes productive and a treasured member of society or a liability to the community. To be responsible is to be accountable to the family, the company one works for, or the community one lives in. You are not just an innocent bystander or an inert statistic…Everyone has a different definition of responsibility but to me it is doing the right thing at the right time, and at the right place, even in the absence of authority. Eventually, one is responsible to God for what he does.
