Moneyfesting

A year ago, I took a shot at building my own empire. I knew nothing about business. Not to mention, I had no background in finance or wealthy parents to back me up.

But I did know that I had manifested a million pesos in 2020—just by using my imagination. It was a fun little exercise that took only ten minutes a day. Seeing money materialize in my bank account was a surprise I never expected.

So, if I could do that, building an empire shouldn’t be so hard.

It’s not just about quitting the 9-to-5 rat race. It’s about stepping outside the box, leaving my comfort zone, and doing something I’ve never done before: quitting being an employee and starting projects that align with my soul.

When I made my first million, I was lousy at keeping it, let alone multiplying it. I had no business or financial skills. I had zero skills in financial literacy. And so, that million slipped through my fingers like running water.

It was only last year that I decided I no longer wanted to be an employee. Within a matter of months, I found myself unemployed and starting one business after another.

I created a superfood that no one else was making. My family members and neighbors started taking it. After experiencing its effects within just a week, they began buying it regularly.

It was a gut-health superfood featuring an ancient bacteria associated with oxytocin production—the love hormone—and reported benefits ranging from healing and regeneration to age reversal and increased sex drive.

More potent than chocolates, this was food fit for the gods.

When I moved to El Nido last year, I also started sharing my obsessions: practicing yoga and meditation in beautiful places, teaching art therapy and poetry writing, and connecting with like-minded people.

This wellness business surprised me beyond my expectations. Every guest who booked a session left me a five-star review. Before I knew it, luxury island resorts were reaching out to me to provide wellness sessions for their guests.

I was supposed to host my first week-long retreat too, but the war got in the way, and it was rescheduled for next year. I still feel a little anxious about it. I’ve never hosted a retreat before. I’ve organized major hikes and trips, though, and I suppose the principles aren’t all that different.

Then, while moving apartments this year, I sold my furniture and received a flood of inquiries on Messenger. Before I knew it, I was designing furniture pieces and shipping them from abroad to homes across Palawan. Unexpectedly, this became my biggest venture.

It’s only been ten months, yet I feel as though five years have already gone by. I had no idea I had so many skills lurking in the dungeons of my brain.

I was inspired by the owner of Van Gogh Is Bipolar, a restaurant I came across. He reportedly built one lucrative business every year.

He was insane, and he was insanely good.

It’s been just ten months, and I already have four businesses. It helps that I have the work ethic of a she-beast with eight arms.

If I were an empress with plenty of capital, imagine how many successful projects I could drive—projects that actually make a difference in the world.

On a side note, beyond the actual skills of performing poses and teaching yoga, there’s one thing far more important: the transformation that can happen in just one session.

Something shifts inside us. Somehow, our inner space becomes more expansive, more peaceful, and more blissful. With daily yoga and wellness practices, we can reach a heightened sense of being alive.

That’s what I share with my guests. It’s not just about the gorgeous locations, the sunsets, or the yoga poses. It’s about the shared experience of life, beauty, and community.

So many of my guests have cried during my wellness classes—including me.

I feel as though I’m touching that liminal space where the unseen resides, where angels, light, and hope live.

Perhaps this is one reason I survived the darkest chapters of my youth: to help others navigate their own dark journeys and discover the bliss of living on the other side.

It’s that place where this avatar called my body becomes a temple, holding an extraordinary power to create. I am an artist and this world is my canvas.

Perhaps I’m only beginning to discover what I can do.

// 30 Oct 2026