You Can Do This!

Women who believe—and more so, act as if, and proclaim—that they are beautiful (in colloquial speak, Gandang Ganda Sa Sarili) are still looked down upon as conceited or self-absorbed by society. Especially when their looks do not conform with conventional and deeply ingrained colonial beauty and body standards. And especially in the Philippines, where the tall, skinny, and fair Virgin Mary beauty ideal has pervaded since 1521.

In this episode, top content creator, host and podcaster Ayn Bernos helps us unlock the power of believing in our beauty. At 5’3”, she broke beauty pageant ground when she joined Ms. Universe Philippines in 2021 and placed in the Top 16. During the pageant, she was bashed for looking “too common,” and for daring to join—even if she looked like the majority of Filipina women. Ayn speaks against colorism and advocates for empowerment through education through her content on confidence, education and empowerment. The entrepreneur behind the Morena the Label statement shirts for the kayumanggi community which is now a non-profit organization, she is also the author of the children’s book My Name is Morena.

Who could ever believe that a hustler-since-childhood selling whatnots to her classmates in Pampanga and college dropout hawking ukay-ukay clothes, soap, and eventually, makeup could build a cosmetics empire now worth over $2 Million? Ten years ago, not many people did, and often, the only one who believed in and rooted for Colourette Cosmetics CEO Nina Dizon was herself.

Her journey from a one-girl team no one took seriously to a celebrated venture capital-funded entrepreneur and almost 2 Million-follower social media influencer is a testament to her unwavering self-belief and determination to succeed. Get inspired to become your own biggest cheerleader as she shares her experiences, epiphanies, and advice. Nina is also the co-author of her memoir Rooting For Me: Breaking Boundaries as a Businesswoman.

Why can't everyone just get along? Indeed. Whether it's at work, with family, or among friends, we all face challenges in getting along with others that can affect our harmony, productivity, and even our mental health.

Coach Andrea See offers practical advice to help you thrive in any team setting—from handling disagreements with coworkers to navigating family conflicts and maintaining peace in your friend group, discover how you can transform your relationships and become a better team player or team leader, no matter what group you find yourself in.

Once a tough boss and challenging colleague herself, her wisdom and insights fuel her passion for helping her clients lead with more authenticity and effectiveness. A Professional Certified Coach of the International Coaching Federation and a Certified Action Learning Team Coach of the World Institute of Action Learning, she has worked for nine years with countless teams and leaders to evoke transformative clarity, achieve breakthroughs in performance, and sustain shifts in culture.

We already know we need to save and invest money for the future. But, it's one thing to know it and another to actually do it. This episode focuses on motivating you to bridge that gap between between knowledge and behavior by adopting the essential habits aimed at securing your financial future. Plus, what to do if you’re the breadwinner of an overly dependent family, causing you to neglect your own financial happiness.

Helping us do this is the award-winning journalist and author of Why Financial Literacy Alone Does Not Work (a crash course in Behavioral Economics) and FQ: The nth Intelligence, The Emotional Cycle of Investing.  An investment banker turned full-time homemaker, writer and speaker on money and family using Behavioral Economics principles, she has an Economics degree from the Ateneo and completed an Executive Course on Behavioral Economics at the Harvard Business School. She is the president of Investing For Everyone Management Advisers, Inc., a family business that helps others attain financial wellness.

Hello, my Can-Do Crushers! This special solo episode is my gift to all of you for my birthday month. Here, I reveal the tips, tricks, and tools that have worked for me in my many careers, incarnations, and life stages, including a candid admission of some mistakes and mishaps I went through and learned from. Think of this as an intimate convo with a confidence coach!

But first, a disclaimer: You cannot cheat or short-cut your way to confidence, because it will take time and practice. What I can do for you in this episode is to jumpstart the confidence you desire by giving you a framework/toolkit/roadmap a.k.a. “cheat sheet” you can follow in order to get there faster. “ASAP” in the title does mean “as soon as possible,” so the sooner you get started on the baby steps I’ve outlined, the more confident you will be. Let’s do this!

Whatever field you’re in, whether you’re an entrepreneur or employee, want to advance your career, improve your professional image, close more sales, or just make people like you more, having “good PR” is more essential than ever In today’s competitive world. 

Unlocking these skills is a 25-year PR veteran and the CEO of Greenbulb Communications and RedTorch Communications whose top clients include Adidas, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Mastercard, Nestle, McDonald’s, Monde Nissin, Ortigas & Company, AG & P and many more. She is also a proud member of the Philippine Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (PBCWE) and a founding trustee of the Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines.

Mid-year alert! Have your New Year’s resolutions to work out and eat healthier fizzled out? How do eternally fit people do it? How do they keep consistent at their fitness efforts, come what may? It’s always easier to de-prioritize working out when work, stress, celebrations, couch potato-hood and “real life” get in the way. The good news is, it's not too late to hit your fitness goals this year—once you listen to this episode.

Unlocking the key to building a long-term exercise habit is Lay Mijares, a renowned fitness coach of coaches. She became passionate about fitness at age 13 as a means of battling insecurity, and at age 20 built her own personal training company. Laystrength Inc., is a fitness, nutrition, and wellness company that serves top corporations in the country, provides virtual services here and in the US, and is changing how home service fitness is being delivered.

Meet the Q&A Queen whose words now proliferate in cyberspace in the form of quotable quote cards and memes capturing her quick wit and humor. Now nicknamed the “Flammable and Limitless Queen of the Universe” after her memorable quip at the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines, first runner-up Stacey Gabriel is considered small in stature (for beauty pageants) but her big voice, big thoughts, powerful words and huge ambitions she was unashamed about declaring made her tower over 52 giants in the competition.

Her intelligence, charismatic presence, and unwavering conviction and drive to bring to attention to important issues made it so impossible to ignore her that she made it all the way to the top, missing her goal by just a hairline. Inspiring each of us to make a change in our own corner of the universe, she embodies the confidence and eloquence we all aspire to achieve. In this episode, the actress and sustainable swimwear entrepreneur shares her secrets and strategies to help us think on our feet better and sharpen our public speaking skills for the nerve-wracking situations in our own lives.

Unless you’re a hardcore theater fan, you might think Kiara Dario is an overnight success. But it took 20 years of countless auditions and rejections before she would get her first lead role in local theater, and after just a few months, the biggest break any Filipino actor could dream of—the role of Gigi Van Tranh in the Manila run and international tour of Miss Saigon.

She started theatre training at age five with Repertory Philippines, where she made her professional debut at the age of 14 in Disney's Camp Rock. Her first lead role in Snow White and the Prince last year got her a nomination as Best Performer in a Musical in the BroadwayWorld Philippines Awards. Previous theater credits include Mrs. Potiphar in Joseph the Dreamer, ensemble in A_ng Huling El Bimbo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,_ and Annie.

She was also the Philippine representative at the 2015 World Hip Hop Championships in California, and an actor in iWantTFC series Lyric and Beat. A songwriter and recording artist, she is a member of the self-produced Philippine pop girl group Daydream, nominated for Favorite Group at the 2022 AWIT Awards.

One of my top performing reels on Instagram and TikTok is called “Hiya: Malaking Hadlang sa Pag-Asenso” or “Big Obstacle to Success.” It resonated with so many, and I was particularly struck by one comment that read, “Opo, mas takot pa kong mamatay sa kahihiyan kaysa mamatay mismo” or  “I’m more afraid of dying of shame than dying itself!” So when I came across an Instagram post on @‌_sikodiwa_ discussing the concept and manifestations of Hiya, I knew it definitely merited an episode and sought out the expert behind the account.

Carl Cervantes is a psychologist and researcher focusing on transpersonal and indigenous psychology. He has a master’s degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, where his research focus was inspired mainly by the psychospiritual studies of Fr. Jaime C. Bulatao. He is currently a senior lecturer at UP Diliman. Sikodiwa (from Sikolohiya, or Psychology, and Diwa, or Consciousness) is the name of his blog, podcast, and Instagram account where he shares his research and insights.