May 18: A simple observation from life today

Wow, can't believe it's been 2 days from 1 years since I last posted on my blog.  So sad, but it's okay because business is so good over at Handshaking.  I supposed it's okay to neglect most of the things in your life to do a good job on 1-2 things.  Anyway, I experienced something I wanted to share with my American entrepreneurial friends, so this one is for you. 

​This evening, I was working alone on my laptop on a restaurant at the beach. There's a table of Filipinos having buckets of beer on the other side of the sand (all the tables and chairs are on the sand right next to the water).

When suddenly...

The guys take of their shirts, grab their dates, and they all slowly make their way into the low tide, shallow ocean and continue socializing in the water.  For probably at least an hour.

They didn't worry about towels, they didn't worry about wearing swimsuits or not.  I even saw one of them walk a few dozen meters away to pee, right into the water, and of course it's allowed.

Going home in a car or Uber isn't a concern since most can just walk or take a scooter/motorcycle.  PS Here's an unrelated pic of the scooter I used for the many weeks I stayed here:

Check out more on my Instagram, @handshakin.

​So like I was saying, things like this help remind me of a very important take away.

You can live whatever type of life you want at anytime.  Your age, location, surroundings... none of it matter the moment you decide to take control. 
​

When I return to the US in two months, I know one beautiful thing I've learned about Filipino culture (after living here from March 2020 to what will be July 2021), is that I won't stress about 'doing things by the books as much.'  Like self-made entrepreneurs who are way further along than me, they take action.  They dont' worry about the books or guide or what someone else said on how you should do things.  And, even outside of business, traveling the world and living abroad has taught me the very same lesson. Here's some other takeaways I've learned:

-It doesn't need to be perfect to try something you want to try.
-You don't need to have a towel to swim in the ocean.
-If you're worried about acting a certain way because of who might see you in your city, you most certianly need to try life in a new city.

In conclusion:

Don't let your environment shape you, shape your environment.