By Lesley Anne Jumao-as Pino
“You have been granted an innate gift
before you were born; it is your power to unlearn the fear of discovering it.”
Numerous people have invested towards the growth of the real estate industry and had this vision to break the walls of impossibilities. I, personally, had the chance to sit down and talk with Ms. Gelyn Gregorio Valenzuela, a woman who'll inspire you to go out and make millions.
Her business with sales started 6 years ago when her family declared bankruptcy. She was the middle child born from the bloodline of a grandfather who’s a politician in Masbate. They were left with money more than enough to support their family business and basic education.
“The lending business didn’t work. We were losing money, and little by little, we lost almost everything. I was a senior student in New Era University and was forced to leave school. I landed on different jobs and our house was given up to back up our financial situation”.
She admits it was a hard work and the change turned her life around. The wealth that never failed to buffer their luxurious lives closely disappeared.
“It wasn’t easy seeing customers coming in and out of a public restaurant day and night; cleaning dishes but end up getting 28pesos per hour.”
Her family moved in a small room in one of the slum areas of Metro Manila. At a certain point of their lives, they could hardly see food on the table. If she earned and a meal was served, everyone had to go out under the street’s light post. They had nothing to pay for electricity. She also recalls kneeling and begging for a 500peso bill because she couldn’t afford to see her brother suffering from asthma and dying slowly on the hospital bed.
When asked what motivated her to quickly rise, “Lechon Manok became our favorite, but, money was so scarce, we couldn’t even buy sardines. At the age of 19, I was introduced to selling properties. I was naïve and didn’t know exactly what I was into. All I knew, I wanted to get rich.”
Ms. G, as most would call her now, had to spend her time out in the busy streets handing leaflets to passersby with the hope one might get interested and consult. It eventually became a routine. Her clothes were borrowed; she wanted to look smart and presentable, even pretending she was on a diet when in fact her pocket was penniless. She walked from home every day to the company site.
“It was definitely a long journey. Months have passed and we were still living in poverty. I decided to defy the odds when John Calub, a well-known mentor and motivational speaker visited and conducted our company seminar. He said it is possible to become a millionaire in 21 days. The words came in so fast that at one moment, I assumed I was a millionaire.”
Most of the time when she voluntarily joins their company events and functions, clients always seemed to be uninterested with her proposals. Nobody wanted to talk to her about business not until one night when fate tested her luck. She was about to go out but took sight of a man, plainly dressed; he was glancing and looking for somebody inside the hall. She decided to usher him and realized he was an acquaintance to one of their guests. The activities for the entire event were nothing new to her, to say the least, she went home without making even a single sale.
Shortly 2 weeks after, Ms. G. got a call from their Vice President informing her a client was waiting and wanted to see her presentation. She thought twice of coming over; it’s nearly impossible. She has not spoken to anybody the past weeks. She was called up again and this time, she heard a familiar voice on the other line. The office seemed to be in a glow as she stepped in. Without realizing the man she saw that night, stopped his car to hand her calling card perhaps he could recommend her to his boss, and insisted he hands his, was the President of one of the biggest gasoline companies here and abroad.
That day marked the calendar of her life; the day our Lord has blessed her more than 55M pesos worth of sales. It wasn’t just a minute head start. After numerous referrals here and there, she became redundant. Meeting the seniors from major companies in the Philippines; she never thought it was relative to her way in becoming successful.
“I made a leap and was promoted Senior Sales Director at the age of 22, the youngest I should say. When I tried to look back, my dream was to travel to Baguio. The Lord gave me the whole world to conquer. I am now representing the Philippines in the International Real Estate World.”
I also took the opportunity to ask what has kept her persistence in overcoming those tough challenges. She clearly answered, “I had this vision in mind to help and always believed in the law of giving. It has become my mantra. All successful people have different stories to tell but, one thing common about them is their strong-willed personality to be the masters of their dreams.”
There are young minds who look up to her. She consistently visits the orphanages she sponsors in the Philippines; one of which is Casa Miani located in Minglanilla, Cebu. Still, she works hard for them and for her family.
Ms. G. has graced hundreds of mentoring sessions all over the Philippines and foreign countries. Rich or poor, she has earned their respect. On one of her seminars here in Cebu where I was given the opportunity to attend to, she branded herself with two seemingly unrelated yet, meaningful words: Mountain and Pure.
“I started at the foot of the mountain, climbed, stumbled and fell; yet, I managed to climb again and again. I reached the top because my heart founded pure intentions. Those were well-guarded by inspired actions. And now, I can see the universe in front of me.”
The 25 year-old multi- millionaire itched a persona on a variety of people over the years. The six aspects of her life: career, love, spiritual, financial, health, and her relationship with people kept her wealth in balance. She humbly stated that being truly wealthy is being great. She is busy thinking how to love people even more with all that she has been blessed of.
With everything you have now, what is it
that a Ms. Money Magnet has never done? “Giving up”.
How much is Ms. Gelyn Gregorio
Valenzuela’s worth? “You are priceless, I am priceless.”
And her message to everyone, “When you eventually get there and you are soundly asleep at night, ascertain that those people wide awake and busy, are happy because of you.”
