What is My Passion?
PERFORMING
I am passionate about performing in the sense that I want my actions to be amplified, to be noticed, to matter. At a very young age, my family already introduced me to the stage. I started singing when I was four years old. I already danced in local school events at seven and spoken in public through declamation when I was eight. Some of you might think that this is too shallow for a passion but this has helped me network, reach out and touch lives. Performing isn't just about getting on stage and entertain people. It is something more. It is our ability to face a crowd, say our piece, get responses from them and build relationships. It is a strength that when developed may widen our horizon and make us do great things.
How is it reflected in you work, daily life, and life's journey?
DEVELOP MY LEADERSHIP SKILLS
My passion for performing developed my confidence and made me do the things I never thought I can. Back in my younger years, my love to be on stage and get noticed made my teacher put me on priority list on every school activity because there is always a 99% chance I will say yes. On our first discussions of the origin of leaders whether they are born, made or created by circumstances, I must say my confidence really played a great part in me being, by confidence, made into a leader. I can say straight that I am not the most brilliant in class but I can fearlessly face the crowd and do it. These attitudes taught me to believe in myself, bet on my strengths and turn my weaknesses into mere words. My embarrassing moments, defeats and other failures gave me the lessons only they can give. All these, made me the leader I am today – fearless, strong but with a heart.
EXCEL ALWAYS
In addition, my drive to perform and excel on every instance I get on stage contributed for my strong reputation as somebody that never fails. This gave me the upper hand in leading teams because they know I am made to win. People believe easily to people with a good track record. With somebody who had competed in all the categories of literary-musical contests and others, getting support is a breeze. There are a lot of instances that some of the audience I came across with ignore me at the beginning of the talks I do but I can easily get there attention after the moderator gives that killer introduction. Bragging aside, Filipinos are hard to please and we love personalities. Titles are fool-proof starters. Also, being a performer also teaches a person to still have grace under pressure and adjust as to the unannounced problems that may come. This is very handy on some occasions when people need somebody who has a lot of plans after the Plan A fails.
BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
I love performing because I love the applause and appreciation of others but on top of it, I also make use of the opportunity to network with key people that may help me in my advocacies. In college, my aunt introduced me to the local Lions Club in Iloilo wherein I performed ever since until they adopted me to be part of the organization. This organization gave me the chance to network with the most powerful people in the city government and the local business sector which made it easier for me to ask for help when we had our leadership camps.
GROW AT WORK
I landed my current job because of my passion. My boss saw in me that my zest in public is the best fit for the Organization and Talent Development role. I can just be placed in a room and I can deliver a training without fuss. My confidence to raise the difficult questions and talk to difficult people gave me the advantage to get the most candid feedbacks which HR usually works with. My command of the stage made me the default filler in any company event – scriptwriter, host, singer, facilitator, organizer and any other they might need along the way.
CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT
Finally, my passion to perform led me to the study again. I can say that my heart to serve is now there but I already exhausted the stories I can share, the concepts I have learned before and the drive to push further. Being in school again brings me back to the moments when I need to perform everyday in front of my classmates and learn. I am glad that my first class has been about Leadership because it reminded me of the reasons why I love to perform. I love to perform because of that selfless heart to serve in whatever way I can. I love to speak, sing, act in front of a crowd because that is the way God wants me to touch lives – that is the way I can be MORE of myself. Thank you, Prof. Saguinsin for the time for me to self-introspect. I needed the kick to have my desire to continue my passion, push my advocacies further and build myself to the best that it can be.
Regards,
Engr. Tristan Val L. Leonida
HR | Organization and Talent Development
TI (Philippines), Inc.
+639175127654
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