You Can Do This!

“Empowered women empower women,” but sadly, there still exists a phenomenon called the “Pull Her Down” Syndrome, as coined by OG feminist Gloria Steinem. Perhaps women were taught to be competitive with one another because there was such a scarcity of jobs at the top.

It’s time to reverse that stereotype and encourage women to support each other instead of tearing each other down. Let’s tap into our collective power and trade the old mentality of  “You can’t sit with us” for “A rising tide lifts all boats!”

In this special #ListenToWomen collaboration, I am joined by my fellow podcasters and media veterans Bianca Gonzalez (Paano Ba ‘to, Anima Podcasts) & Ceej Tantengco-Malolos (Five Minutes Lang, Go Hard Girls, Pumapodcast) in an insightful conversation about this and other challenges women face—in the spirit of amplifying women's voices and  fostering empowerment. Because women who speak also know how to listen.

“If love truly is enough, why aren’t there more people in relationships? And why aren’t people happier than they appear to be when they're together?” asks relationship coach Nikki Porter, whose mission is to help women and men pursue a deeper, more grounded love for themselves and their romantic partners.

So, yes, cliché aside, learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all. It’s not easy, and takes a lot of work—inner work, but not doing it can negatively impact the quality of your relationships, especially your romantic ones. In this episode, Nikki helps you get started in doing the work so you can become a better partner and better you in relationships, just as she does in her podcast Nuggets of Nikki. She is also a radio jock for Monster RX93.1, where she hosts two shows, GoodVibes and Heard On Thursdays.

The quality of a couple’s intimacy is one of the most significant predictors of the relationship’s health and stability—it’s the glue that holds a relationship together. But when couples get   caught up in their day-to-day problems and responsibilities, they can lose track of each other, resulting in the decline of passion and intimacy as time goes on. The lack of intimacy is one of the most common causes of relationship distress and a top reason for divorce.

Getting intimate with intimacy in this episode is award-winning sex and relationships therapist, educator, and broadcaster Dr. Rica Cruz. She has a PhD in Psychology and a Diplomate in Clinical Sexology from the American Board of Sexology, the only Filipino to be a part of the editorial board of the Journal of Sex Research.

It’s that time of year when we see red, literally (hello, Valentine’s Month) and figuratively, when those who are unhappy about their relationship status are prone to bouts of FOMO—especially amidst societal expectations on finding, falling, and feeling in love as prerequisites for happiness.

But are romantic relationships necessary to lead a happy life? They shouldn’t be, says Cat Triviño, co-founder and Chief Product and Data Officer of global mental health organization MindNation which provides mental health services such as talks, training, and therapy to businesses here and abroad. Her personal journey and struggles with anxiety and depression have led her to a lifelong commitment to fight for mental healthcare accessibility and affordability. Whether you're single, taken, or navigating the “It’s complicated” state of something in between, this episode is all about embracing and celebrating life. It's time to be happy with your life, right now!

Make sure you finish Part 2 of our fun (and factual!) conversation about what you need to know about dating today and the strategy and skills you need to develop so that “finding love becomes easy,” as Coach Vee says.

Listen, learn, and let love through with Vanessa Antonio, the first and only US-Certified Matchmaker and Dating Coach in the Philippines. The founder of Singles Events Manila, the only dating organization in the country that inspires successful single professionals find true love, she has an M.A. in Sociology, studied at the famous Gottman Institute, and teaches men and women the science of dating, flirting and confidence in interacting with the opposite gender. She has helped over 100 singles find love in the Philippines and abroad.

Raise your hand if you (or so many people you know) are attractive, accomplished, and amazing—yet seem to be “unlucky in love.” But, does luck really have anything to do with it? Or does it require quite a bit of effort, or a strategy?

This episode’s guest expert says you can find love effortlessly, and in fact, that is her mission. The first and only US-Certified Matchmaker and Dating Coach in the Philippines, Vanessa Antonio is also the founder of Singles Events Manila, the only dating organization in the country that inspires successful single professionals find true love. She has an M.A. in Sociology, studied at the famous Gottman Institute, and teaches men and women the science of dating, flirting and confidence in interacting with the opposite gender. She has helped over 100 singles find love in the Philippines and abroad. Listen, learn, and let love in!

Vacation over. Back to life, back to reality, and back to the frantic pace of everyday life. And if there’s one thing that will never change in life, it’s  change—and challenges, and chaos! Wish you could give your mind the peace and quiet of a vacation anytime, anywhere, having to go on holiday?

Riza helps us achieve just that, just as she guides the listeners of her Heal & Flow meditation podcast where she addresses disruptors of inner peace such as Overwhelm, Getting Triggered, and Envy as she encourages them to Find their Truth, Nurture Softness, and Meet Themselves Where They Are (titles of some of her episodes). She’s been practicing yoga asana & meditation since 2014 and teaching them since 2016. An aspiring devotee on the path of Bhakti yoga, she has also been a Reiki master since 2020.

Since we interviewed her in Ep. 23 (“You Can Stop Yo-yo Dieting & Hating Your Body”), the message of this registered nutritionist-dietitian (RND)/social media star has become even louder and clearer: Life’s too short to keep saying no to wonderful experiences while being trapped in the vicious cycle of torturing ourselves to attain the “perfect” body. This realization has been the turning point in her journey from former ballerina/master dieter/binge eater to BS Community Nutrition graduate of UP Diliman, founder of HEAL, nutrition coach, content creator, and podcaster whose goal is to make nutrition fun, easy, and accessible while focusing on having a healthy relationship with food and the body.

Her hundreds of thousands of followers devour her content showing herself eating whatever she wants, and see every real and un-posed inch of her body—including her cellulite, bloated food baby, and other wobbly bits, in addition to her impressive muscles and toned physique that inspire them to be as active and strong as she is as well.

Watch or listen to us unpack all the body image/binge-eating baon and baggage in this eye-opening convo and learn how to practice what Jo preaches: “Balance, nourishment and respecting your body.”

“They say money is the No.1 cause of stress in the world, but it doesn't have to be,” says financial coach and financial literacy advocate Alyanna Pabalan. Starting with “no money at all,” she now coaches people on removing their money blind spots and creating the right mindset and proactive and sustainable habits, behaviors, and strategies. Her mission is to help Filipinos take control of their finances, make sound decisions consistently, and expand their minds to what’s possible—using money as a tool to live their best lives.

The CEO and co-founder of Born2Win Philippines Forex trading education provider is also a Certified Executive Coach, a Certified Life Coach, a Certified Master Practitioner in Neurolinguistic Programming, and a Certified Master in Business Management.

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything,” Dwight D. Eisenhower once said. This might explain why New Year’s resolutions really don’t work! This episode might finally unlock the key to how to make our goals and dreams come true, and all it takes is strategic planning. Think about it: We do strategic planning at work, why not do it for our own lives?

Darlyn Ty Nilo (who taught us how to do a personal year-end review in the previous episode) has made a career and an empire out of personal strategic planning and has helped thousands of Filipinas achieve their goals and dreams. The creator of the famous Belle de Jour Power Planner and other cult favorite journals, notebooks, tools, and products is the CEO of Viviamo, Inc. and the president of the Iconic chapter of Business Network, Inc. She says, “Time is not something you find, it is something you create.”