Goodbye February!

The second month of the year 2022 has now officially ended. As I conclude this month by a review of what I’d done, this blog will show every update on my progress. From my selflove plans up to social media target, all will be tackled here as part of my assessment and feedback on my goals. I believe that the best way to know the status of one’s goals is to plan for it and at the same time make an assessment after putting all what you’d planned into action.

“All successful people have a goal. No one can get anywhere unless he knows where he wants to go and what he wants to be or do.” – Norman Vincent Peale

Doing this review of my goals for the second time, greatly helped me in so many ways. I became more dedicated compare before and I can see how I became more focus. Thinking of the journey that I’d been through, I always feel awe on how I was able to make it. From starting my first job alone in abroad, and how my position escalated within almost six years, I can’t believe that I surpass all the challenges that God gave me. That path was never easy, I remember myself crying over a cut and tiredness from 18 hours of work, I remember how I hold back my cries every time I call my parents during holidays and I remember how I repeatedly stood up from failing so many times. There’s a lot of things happened and here I am living my life to the fullest. Even if I’m still in the process of achieving my goals, I still feel grateful on who I become today.

A stronger, fearless and confident Lea Pearl.

Everything that I have today, is indeed worth of all the sacrifices. As I continue what I started, these monthly goals will be a part of my journey in discovering myself more. I will continue to set monthly goals in order to achieve those big goals that I’d been aiming in my life right now. This blog will serve as a guide and motivation for me to do my best and prevent me on wasting this precious time in unnecessary things. In this moment, it will be entirely me. I will work on myself until I reach the highest point of my potentials. I will never restrict nor limit myself on the things that I’m afraid to do so.

“People often say I have so much energy, that I never stop; but that’s what it takes to accomplish your goals.” – Curtis Jackson

2022 will surely be my year. And I will own all of the goals that I am aiming for this year. I manifest that this year will be the great start for me and no one can stop me. As long as God is with me in this path, I will not fear anything that will come in my way. There will be no rooms for a “NO” because I will do what it takes for me to develop myself and learn to conquer all my fears. With this assessment, I believe that it will be my lead towards my goals for this year.

Before assessing everything, let’s make a review on things that I planned for the month of February by checking out my previous blog about it:

Now that you have an idea on what this blog will be all about, let’s now check my progress and accomplishments for the month of February!

As you can see from illustration above, I failed to do some of it due to the rising Covid cases and at the same time when I got sick for three days. Another challenge this month is when they require to get a booster vaccine starting on February 1. This will inhibit those people who are not yet vaccinated to roam around since some establishment requires it. Upon waiting to our company’s next move, gladly they arrange their staff’s booster appointment on the first week of February. Despite of these challenges, I still continue to work on my selflove plans in order to achieve it. Although there are things I failed to do, I can still make it happen on the next month.

Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”- M. Scott Peck

Now let’s carefully review the things that I successfully achieved for this month.

UNHEALTHY HABITS FOCUS: EXCESS MOBILE USAGE

Last January, I failed to work on my unhealthy habit which is the excess mobile usage. I decided to fix it because it compromises a lot of my time. Rather than doing something productive, I tend to carelessly spend it using my mobile. Due to this, I hardly work on it in this month and I can say that I am gradually improving. What I did is I divert it in some other things that are considerable than it. Here are the following:

1. Have my usual 30 minutes workout plus additional 20 minutes for jogging or meditation.
2. Watch funny movies that will lighten up my mood.
3. Stick to my sleeping schedules.
4. Make an advance update for my social media accounts.
5. Strictly focus on the current task on hand by taking out unnecessary things that will divert my focus.

In these coming months, I will continue to work on the things that I need to improve in myself. Whether it’s my attitude or habits, as long as it greatly affects me, I should get rid of it. Getting rid of this first habit will only be the first thing that I’ll do for this year. Even if it will take time for me to work on each, I believe that it’s ok because the important thing is not about how fast I develop myself, it is all about how I totally improve myself for the better.

TRAVEL: THEME PARK/HORSEBACK RIDING CLASS (January/February)

The two things that made this month very memorable is when I achieved these two goals that I set for January and February. As you remember, I failed to do it on January because of the rising case of COVID and when I got sick as well. Now that we decided to pursue it this month, we ensure that we’ll go as we originally planned. Let’s just say that these are part of my birth month celebration. Although I spent money for it, the experiences I gained are really worth of the price we paid. Here are some of the pictures that we took to see how we enjoyed those days.

HEALTH & FITNESS: ARMS/BACK WORKOUT

For this month, I successfully did my workout routine which is focus on my arms and back.  As I consistently follow the two workout routines of Madfit, I can see how my arms feels lighter than before and at the same time helped me to enhance my sleeping habits. Although there are times that I skipped my routines due to some tasks I need to do, I still made it sure that I ate healthy and follow my required calories intake. Another reason that helped me to stick to my selflove journey is the monthly assessment that I do for myself. It became a means for me to You can check my blog by clicking the link below:

Upon doing these workouts as part of my selflove journey this year, I slowly feel more confident on myself and at the same time feel productive. I believe that I am making most of my day and living a well balance life by means of checking my finances, working by heart, hanging out with my loved ones and taking good care of myself. Now, I can say that it’s true when you focus on the positive things, you will also attract good things. That’s what happening in my life right now.

A very busy yet memorable month indeed. My finances turned 360 this month and I almost experienced hitting that 0 balance! Gladly I didn’t compromise my leisure and it helped me before I go insane. Kidding aside, although it was a big decrease in my current cash on hand, I just assure myself that it’s an investment that will greatly help me especially in my future. There will surely be a return of investment especially in real estate, so as long as I can push myself to invest more of it, I will surely live a very happy life with no financial stress in my future.

“A budget is telling your money where to go, instead of wondering where it went.” — John C. Maxwell

Like what I keep telling to myself, slow but surely and with no pressure. I need to enjoy my time in the present and invest as well for my future. It may look unattainable, but I’m the living evidence of it. Investing is hard but one thing that will assure you is it will always be worth the risk.

IDEAL BUDGET GUIDELINES

In my blog February goals, I mentioned that I only have a total of 700 Qar to use for my leisure and needs. By the end of the month, I failed to achieved it because I exceed with a couple of hundred which is intended for my leisure. The excess is due to the location of our last leisure activity which is too far and we paid a total of PHP 1,624 just for the transportation. Even though I failed to do it, I just borrow the excess amount to my boyfriend so that my budget for the 3^rd phase of our renovation will still be intact. Gladly, my boyfriend is so supportive and he lend me his few rials.

INSURANCE: SECURE 1^ST INSURANCE PAYMENT

Another successful thing I did for this month is when I finally paid my 1^st insurance. I sent the amount together with the budget for our renovation and my mom settled it on the third week of February. To sum up my payment for this first insurance, I successfully completed four years of payment for it. I’m so proud of myself because even though I started with less salary, I can still made it happen up until this day. The responsibilities is quite heavy to tell you honestly, but without pushing myself today, I can have a lot of regrets in my future. That is why, I wanted to make use of this period to save and invest more for my future.

This insurance is only one out of four financial responsibilities that I’m currently settling at this time. It may take years for me to settle it and I believe that although it’s hard, I can slowly work on this until I am financially free from obligations. Time passes by so fast and as long as I’ll be committed on my goals, I won’t see it as an obligation but a good investment for my future.

FAMILY & LOVED ONES: RENOVATE 1^ST RENTAL HOUSE

Finally! One of the things that made this month very special is once we finally started the renovation of our first house rental. As soon as I sent the budget, the renovation started. I just had a short of budget in the end of February but gladly my parents helped me out until I sent the balance amount. My budget was actually not enough but as per the conversation with my parents, they’ll just fill up the remaining needed amount so that I can focus on our next target renovation. If you will see the supplies and items needed, the amount will be more than enough, but what made it short is the labor cost which cost P130,000.00. Now that we already have the idea on how much does a renovation usually cost for a 32-35sqm house, we can now set an amount that we need to save on our next project.

Assessing all the things that happened during this renovation, I can say that one must at least have an amount of P350,000.00 before deciding to renovate a 32-35sqm house. It will also vary according to your designs but if it’s for business purposes, that amount will be sufficient. So, for me who’s planning to have a real estate business, I need to prepare at least P500,000.00 in purchasing a foreclosed properties and also renovate it. This is the main reason why I need to increase my cash flow for the next year since I planned to purchased my own property on or before 2024.

Just by thinking of this goal makes me very excited. I feel so motivated and excited to pursue it even it will still be two years from now. Nevertheless, I will take this opportunity to save more for this dream of mine.

It took me time to finally decide to look for another job. It was a difficult decision because of course, I need to go on with that long process again of applying, processing the requirements, adjustments and a lot more. The red flags, situations and realizations helped me to derived in the right decision. I believe that this is the high time for me to be fearless in taking every opportunity that is present right now. As I turned 26 and I’m near to reach that marrying age, I think that I need to make most out of this period. I need to see uncomfortable situations as an opportunity for me to develop myself. Although there’s a lot of things that may happen, trying won’t compromise anything rather than it will be a means for me to take more chances.

The only challenge in this time is that most of my background is culinary, so I have a less chance on being accepted if I pursue administrative jobs. To sum up my experienced, I have a total of one year and six months doing administrative jobs while I have a total of four years in culinary field. Because of this reason, I think that a job in line with both culinary and administrative is suitable for me. By looking for those position, both of my experienced will be counted and I won’t start in zero.

I was assessing myself before on what I really wanted to pursue, and thinking of the situations that I was which compromised my health, I just decided to stick in administrative support jobs. Some may see it as a waste, but for me, I looked at it as a gateway for me to explore more of my capabilities. This current job that I’m in is a good indication that I am also doing well and great in this field. I believe that I can be more than who I am before. In this new path that I decided to pursue, I have a positive feeling that I will grow and exceed all the bars that I set for myself. This will only be the beginning of everything.

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Wishing is not enough; we must do.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: UPDATE CV

One thing that I finally decided this month is to finally apply for my next target job. In the first week of the month, I work on making quality resume and cover letter that will give a nice first impression on me. I used a unique template that I saw in the Canva app in order to caught the interest of recruiters. There’s a lot of free templates there that anyone can choose from and I highly recommend it for those who want to upgrade their CV, resume and cover letter. While doing that, I also registered in different hotel career websites and check every now and then their vacancies. I also tried to applied through my linked in account to expand the opportunities that will be suitable for me.

Here’s the status of the things that I need to ready before I apply in any job opportunities:

1. Updated LinkedIn ACHIEVED!
2. Updated and Quality resume that can live a lasting impression. ACHIEVED!
3. An attractive cover letter which has the same layout of the resume. ACHIEVED!
4. All certificates should be ready for submission. ACHIEVED!
5. Interview ready! ACHIEVED!

On my first goals review, I stated the factors that I should first consider before deciding the offer. I believe that within the years that I experienced in the industry of hospitality, this is the right time for me to demand things that I deserved. It will not only guide me but also will set the standards of the things that I deserve based on what I can offer to the company. Like one of the general managers that I talked to, as per him, applying a job is all about your determination and qualification to fit for the role. If you know that you’re equipped enough, then go for it. Don’t let anybody stop you from getting what you deserve. Without trying, you will never know.

Because of this, despite of the fear that maybe I won’t be accepted, I will always trust the process even if it will take time. I just took the first step towards the career goal that I’m aiming and I still have a lot of time to make it happen. This month will only be the initial start of something great that will happen to my career.

“Risk something or forever sit with your dreams.” — Herb Brooks

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT: APPLY FOR COORDINATOR

After I readied all of the requirements for applications, I slowly assess the positions that will fit in my qualifications. Without overwhelming myself in applying since I still have a lot of months to go, I just carefully review the vacancies and also the background of the company. I shared in my previous blog that I consider working in a pre-opening property since it will be an added edge for my credentials. Now that there’s a lot of pre-opening hotels due to the FIFA world cup 2022, I wanted to take the chance to apply for it. I already applied to some of the companies that I’d stated before while I still wait to the rest of openings. The status of my applications is stated below:

1. Raffles & Fairmont Hotel- APPLIED!
2. Rosewood Hotel- No Coordinator Vacancy Yet
3. Waldorf Astoria Hotel- APPLIED!
4. Le Meridian Doha- No Coordinator Vacancy Yet
5. Corinthian Hotel- No Coordinator Vacancy Yet
6. Rixos Qetaiflan- No Coordinator Vacancy Yet
7. Century Marina Hotel- No Coordinator Vacancy Yet

Other than these vacancies, I also tried applying in other luxury hotels, private companies in Qatar and also overseas.  I just wanted to expand my chances so that even if I’ll fail in other hotels, I can still hope for a positive response to the rest. I think that this period is also ideal for me to apply so that I can still be part of the pre-opening since mostly of the hotels will open on or before the month of October. I just hope and pray that I’ll get a good opportunity where I can learn and grow as an individual. Whatever the result it will be, I will continue to look for opportunity this year and will never give up until I achieved my goal.

It’s time to start living the life we’ve imagined. —Henry James

YOUTUBE:PUBLISHED 3^RD TRAVEL VLOG

Another successful thing happen in our channel is when we officially published our third travel vlog which we took in Souq Waqif. I can say that our vlog is becoming more better after taking in consideration the advices of the people around us. Now, we are more motivated to shoot more and share travel destinations here in Qatar. Although we failed to reached our target subscriber this month, we still feel delighted that we surpass the total views that we set.

We just had one concern this month which is the subscription that we made for our music. We were temporarily inactive due to some issues and we’re hoping that it will be sorted out before we published another vlog.  Here’s the list of our vlogs that we already published.

1. CINEMATIC 4K | EXPLORE QATAR: Msheireb Downtown Doha
2. QATAR 🇶🇦| [HIS VLOG] Learning to Rollerblade for the FIRST TIME!
3. QATAR 🇶🇦| [OUR VLOG] Sisig Cravings at night!

You can also view it by checking out our vlogs below:

INSTAGRAM: 1100 FOLLOWERS

My Instagram account has been doing well due to the increase of engagements from my uploaded reels. Now that I’d seen the impact of it in growing engagements, I make use of that opportunity and continue to upload more quality post. I was able to reached that target before February 21, and it’s all because of the reels that I uploaded which gained almost 3500 views. Since I usually upload the same videos in Tiktok, it is easy for me to upload it as well in my Instagram. I just need to continue capturing quality videos and at the same time upload post actively.

I will continue to set monthly target because it helped me to be more motivated in making quality updates. I will also challenge myself more by setting up higher targets for the next month.

Here’s the current updates of my Instagram as of today.

WORDPRESS:6-7 Blogs

It’s another successful month for my blog because I reached my target uploads which is to have a total of 6-7 Blogs. I also start to actively share it in my Pinterest and Facebook account in order to gain more readers after assessing that I loss visits after not doing it for a month. The only catch for this year is most of my blogs is concerned with my personal growth and assessment and because of that, I can see that some may not relate into it. Hopefully this month I can also focus on self-care and financial blogs which I did last year so I can share more of it in my other social media accounts. Here below are the things that I planned for my blog last month and it’s status

1. 6-7 Blogs ACHIEVED!
2. Share it in Instagram post & Stories ACHIEVED!
3. Published it in Facebook ACHIEVED!
4. Share it in Pinterest ACHIEVED!
5. Share some in LinkedIn (Live to Inspire) ACHIEVED!

Here below are the blogs that I shared for the whole month of February:

TIKTOK

Last month, I set a 900 followers’ target that I need to achieve before the month of February end. Within the mid of the month, I finally achieved it after one of my uploaded videos hit 1000+ views. It was followed by other videos which also gained a minimum of 200 views and before the month ended, I reached a total of 915 followers. I can say that my account is doing well since I’d been reaching my goals consistently. Here are the top videos I uploaded in the month of January.

As long as I can ready the videos in advance, I believe that I can eventually reach more followers. I also decided that I’ll entirely focus on travel videos in order to have a fix target market. I also think that I need to show more of my face since I rarely do it now after I shift my videos from dance to travels. I will continue to work on aesthetic video feels so that I can soon increase insights and engagements.

This month has been a busy yet memorable period for me. I gained a lot of experiences and memories as I work on the goals that I set for February. I observed how I gradually change and develop now that I turned a year older. My priorities and focus are now turned into more meaningful goals. Although I still have a lot to learn and experience, I have this confidence that I am ready on what the future will give me.

I know that these simple achievements will soon be piled up and will help me to reach all of my life goals. It may still look blurry right now, but I have faith on myself that I can make it happen even if it’s hard. I will surpass all the challenges and come out stronger than yesterday.

Though February 2022 already ended, I will always remember all the things and realizations that happened. This will only be the first step towards my goals and I still have a long journey ahead. It was a productive month indeed, and to officially sump up this month, all I can say is,

“FEBRUARY 2022 MARKED AS AN IMPORTANT PERIOD OF MY LIFE.”