Tag: God at work

Release Your Inner Kraken: The Folly of Hidden Talents

Peter Cauton

kraken release

For as far as I can remember, I’ve always loved writing.

I enjoyed paragraph writing in grade school. There was always a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when I felt a paragraph was complete, when I felt every word I used was the right one. It was simultaneously art and science for me.

This love for word construction continued throughout my high school and college stints. Writing assignments wouldn’t feel like homework. I would volunteer for writing tasks across my different subjects, projects, and the clubs I belonged to.

In my first year after graduation, I taught english for a year in my alma mater and loved every minute of it.

Then I went corporate. Suddenly, my love for writing had no outlet.

I would get chances to write – typically copy for recruitment materials or job descriptions or disciplinary memos. I would get to write a lot of academic reports, too. But this wasn’t really writing for me. It was…work. There was no soul nor creativity involved.

From 1998 to 2011, I buried my writing. It became a hidden talent.

In my mind, it wasn’t really a big deal. It wasn’t practical in a sense that it didn’t put food on the table.

But I would feel a thorn on my side when I met with writers. I would feel all existential when I would read something that would resonate with me.

After my great leap and the euphoria which followed when things started to fall into place, there was a strong feeling that I should give something back.

The first medium I automatically thought of was, you guessed it…writing.

And so I wrote my first Juan Great Leap post.

It has been amazing ever since. I had reconnected with my lost love.

This reacquaintance has led to such amazing things.

This blog has been such a blessing for me. It has introduced and re-introduced me to people that are now significant parts of my life. It has broadened my horizons. It has blessed me by letting me into the entrepreneurial journeys of some extraordinary people. Though I have not made a centavo off of the blog, I have been introduced to investors and business partners by the blog. And I just cannot explain the joy I feel when someone emails to say that a particular piece has helped them. I don’t think there’s any greater joy for a writer  – or any type of worker, for that matter – than when their work is appreciated.

Let me tell you about my friend Mela.

Multiple people were telling me: “Have you seen her dance? Maiiyak ka!”

I found that statement peculiar. To the point of tears? Really?

Finally, I had my chance to see her in action.  In one Living Hope concert, she did a beautiful interpretative dance. Now mind you, I have no special appreciation nor eye for dancing, but there it went.

My tears.

But I guess that’s what we feel when we observe someone tap into her God-given gifts and isn’t afraid of showing it to the world.

We feel awe. We feel alive. We feel inspired. 

My theory? We feel God.

I feel all of us are blessed this way. We each have been blessed a “super power” of sorts, which, if we aren’t afraid of using and developing, can just MOVE people. Even to tears.

Alas, society, “practicality”, and fear can prevent us from exercising it.

I remember writing about Ope.

She was a Psychology graduate looking for  “HR” work. So we hired her as an HR practitioner. Soon though, we saw that she was volunteering for all the design work that was available (and doing it for no extra pay) – brochures, websites, posters…

Quoting from my previous post:

While she would do good work with her HR-related responsibilities, her design work would always elicit oohs and ahs from everyone in the workplace. It was plain to see what her passion was.

She’s now the young CEO of Rocket Concepts – a design company.

And readers – please don’t let your college course dictate what you do in life because you need to “exercise what you learned.” We selected our courses in our teens – a time when most of us were still confused as to who we are. Follow your heart. Pray and discern.

Tapping into our hidden talents always lead to great things.

Can you paint? Act? Build things with your hands? Do you speak well? Can you counsel well? Design well? Can you cook? Design cakes? Carve wood? Write plays? Play an instrument? Speak different languages well? Teach well?

More importantly, when engaged in this hidden art of yours, does the time just pass by like the wind? Do you feel an inner joy?

In each of us, God has instilled incredibly moving, tremendous, awe-inspiring gifts.

Don’t let them be hidden under the water, away from plain sight. This not only robs you of opportunities, it also robs others from being beneficiaries.

Release the Kraken.

The opportunity cost of not doing so is incalculable.

 

 

Flipping the Script: My Inspiring Interview with Peter

Flipping the Script: My Inspiring Interview with Peter

Peter Cauton, Founder of Juan Great Leap, sharing a father-son moment with his son, Wakeen
Peter Cauton, Founder of Juan Great Leap, sharing a moment with his son, Joaquin

This past Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, I sat down with Peter to experience Startup Saturdays first-hand. Initially, my initial vision for the interview was to ask as many thought-provoking questions as I could to get the insider’s scoop on the person behind Juan Great Leap. I sought to reveal a different side of Peter that showcased him as not just the inspiring founder behind Juan Great Leap, but also as an ordinary fellow.

However, as I was playing back the interview and transcribing his words something really clicked (it sometimes takes me a while to process things), I realized that Peter isn’t ordinary, and that we already know him. He’s already poured out his heart and soul to those that follow Juan Great Leap, and it shows in his honest and compelling answers.

Peter is many things: an entrepreneur, boss, teacher, mentor, husband, father, friend. This interview didn’t reveal any “different” side to Peter. It was simply inspiring. This is the Founder of Juan Great Leap, Peter Paul Cauton.

Juan Great Leap is known for the coffee talks you have with entrepreneurs on Startup Saturdays. What are the most interesting observations from your talks with entrepreneurs?

Peter: Well, there are several things. First, no two entrepreneurs are alike. Each entrepreneur has a compelling a story, with an emphasis on the word compelling. It’s not just that each person has a story, but every entrepreneur’s journey is a compelling one because there’s always a leap that’s involved.

When I get to talk to people, I always make it a point to ask them,

“How did you end up doing this?”

And there’s always a very real story behind it.

Secondly, and this is related to the first, I’ve experienced people really opening up about their stories, and you see how personal it becomes. It’s not just a job. There’s something of themselves that they pour into their venture. It’s a reflection of who they are as a real person and what they’re going through in life. For example, I met with someone who came to me about a problem he’s been having with his dad about inheriting the family business. It was a problem that’s always hung over his head and has been bogging him down in doing things.

Or a person who’s completely torn between his passions and what’s practical – which might sound pretty common.   But this time, I get to hear what his wife is like, and see a picture of his son. I get to hear what his startup idea is. I get to feel his passion directly.  Suddenly, his story is completely personal, unique, and I daresay, beautiful.

What is your opinion on taking the leap based on passion?

Peter: When you’re passionate about something everything else follows much easier. For example, if you have a hobby…let’s say you love following the NBA, you spend time on it, research about it, you know the players…it’s not work for you. You actually create competence from the sheer time and devotion you pour into it. In a sense, you get to learn the business side of it- the intricacies and details- because you spend more time on it…because you love it and it’s not work for you. If you’re passionate about the business and you’re pouring your heart into it, everything flows much faster.

Passion begets time, which begets competence. Without passion, it’s drudgery.

A few months back you met with a group about social enterprise. What interests you most about social enterprise?

Peter: A few weeks ago we were driving along Katipunan we saw a poor family literally living on the island in the middle of the road. Joaquin, my five-year old son, said,

“Dada, they’re having a picnic!”

When you’re exposed to seeing that and you really feel the gap between what you have and what they don’t, you can’t help but feel like something has to be done.

I see a very clear role between entrepreneurship and nation building and poverty alleviation.

When I talk to entrepreneurs, like earlier with Rex, even if it’s a more technical talk, I see a very clear link between entrepreneurship and the development of the country. Social or not, I think all entrepreneurs are crucial to building this country. If we can get more of our people – our very gifted people –  to take those leaps and build great startups, we could dramatically improve the economy and make a positive impact on lives.

What are some of your favorite things about JGL?

Peter: Definitely the diversity. I get to meet and hear the stories of people I wouldn’t otherwise have bumped into working in my other startups. In the community, you have people like Raquel who is doing a startup focused on teaching.  You have people who want to do tech and you who have those who are setting up service-based startups like a yaya academy.

How do you see Juan Great Leap as a Filipino Startup Movement?

Peter: There is a ton of value in letting people know about the tools and resources about doing a great startup. More than that though, I’d like to think that in JGL, there are heavy doses of passion and a certain spirituality mixed in. I’d like to think you can feel this a bit going through some of the posts in the blog. I want to help people find their mojo and place, and usually, finding one means finding the other. The usual result is that you get create something beautiful. Something that’s yours, too.

So it’s not only the technical part, the tools, but also the spirit of starting something that you love and the journey to make a living out of it.

What are you most excited about for 2013?

Peter: Lahat. Meeting more people. Getting to hear more ideas. Helping people out. Doing bigger and more events that touch more people. Setting up some sort of a school because I love teaching. Trying to bridge and connect people.

I love it when I see startups get the right mix of people with the right idea. It’s extremely fulfilling.

What are your top 5 books?

Peter: Very tough question.

1. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling– this book got me into reading. Prior to reading Harry Potter, I didn’t read many books. Instead of appreciating books in school, the system of teaching made me hate reading. Rowling started my love affair with reading.

2. Reality Check by Guy Kawasaki- the first “business” book I bought. The book is very irreverent, unlike the business books I read in the past, which were pretty dry and scientific.

3. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries –

4. Tribes by Seth Godin  – Actually, any Godin book post All Marketers Are Liars. I’m a fanboy, and it’s not just the hair style.

5. Bible– It’s a cliché, but I read this book the most, this is the book I often go back to.

If you had the choice to live in the life of any NBA player, who would it be and why? 

Steve Nash because I like the assist. He scores, too, but helps other people on and off the court. This is different from my current favorite player, Kobe.

What inspires you to take the leap everyday?

God.

My own leap was such a profound experience for me. It changed me. I learned not to rely on myself too much. I’ve learned that the best way to make decisions is to truly discern – asking God what He wants for you.

I’m 100% sure that if it were just based on my own desire, I would still be in corporate. I allowed God to lead me to the decisions that have brought me to this place in my life and really, there is no place else I’d rather be.

The Dangers of a Fragmented Life, Part 1

The Dangers of a Fragmented Life, Part 1

Peter Cauton

In grade school, I used to be deathly afraid when my parents would pick me up from school. For some reason I couldn’t understand, I was ashamed of them. I didn’t want my friends to see me with them.

One funny result of this was when people would call me at home (yup, we used the landline to chat then) and look for “Peter,” the people at home thought they were calling the wrong number. You see, at home I was called “Pitpol” or “Popo.”

I was deathly ashamed of these nicknames.

It sounds funny in retrospect, but perhaps the funnier thing is, it turns out I wasn’t the only one who was like this! Turns out a lot of people hide their “home” names, in an effort to separate family life from school life.

Perhaps its not that surprising.  After all, weren’t we all trained and raised to separate the different “areas” in our lives?

Aren’t we so used to saying things like:

“how’s your love life?”

“trabaho lang yan”

“my spiritual life’s been dry”

The connotation is telling. A lot of us live our lives in silos and fragments.

So fast forward to 2005-2006, and upon analysis, my life consisted of these very defined circles:

So, wait…

You know what? Part of me actually liked this set-up. It’s additive. I could check stuff off. I could even mathematically deduce how happy I was in my life!

This month I’m 5/6 happy!

But I’d so hate it when my worlds collided.

When my wife went to a corporate function with me, or when my family would ask me how work was, or when the people in my different circles would meet in a party , I’d feel like my grade school self. There was this weird, uneasy feeling of something like “being discovered.”

The thing was, I DID have something to hide. When I think about it, I was a slightly different person in each world. 

I think this is dangerous because:

1) The anonymity results in lack of accountability, which results in the temptation to be “someone else” in each circle. This lack of accountability can lead to awful choices.

2) Existential angst is created because the question, “who am I” suddenly is difficult to answer

3) There is an uneasiness, a heavy restlessness when the other parts of our life are not in conjunction

Is life truly meant to be lived in such fragmented fashion?

Do we really mean what we say when we say things like:

“I’m really happy. Work really is depressing and demotivating, but, you know, that’s just work! So I’m really happy.”

I think not.

We need to get rid of our horcruxes.

(Continue on to part 2!)

Desperation For Daily Prayer

Desperation For Daily Prayer

Peter Cauton

It is a bit odd that I write this now, when my prayer time has been a bit inconsistent. Perhaps the silver lining is that at this moment, I can better explain how much life just is much better when I pray consistently.

At my best, I pray in the morning. (praying early in the morning is just refreshingly different) I grab my Bible and I proceed to my designated sacred space. I set the phone timer for 30 minutes. I usually listen to a praise song first and then read the Gospel reading for the day. Then I close my eyes and try to silence myself.

God is in the stillness, after all.

I then offer up those 30 minutes to my God. In silence. Listening. Conversing.

Sometimes, God reveals amazing things to me – and the feeling is wonderful.

Sometimes, prayer is dry. I have since learned that God uses the desert experience to reveal even more things to me.

I know sometimes we ask ourselves, why doesn’t God talk to me? Perhaps we only need to quiet down and listen a bit. When I started doing this consistently, I realized God has been talking to me all the time. I started seeing His Hand in my life more. He is in the everyday. But without prayer, I would never have been able to see and realize this.

30 minutes, everyday. Cadence.

Don’t we talk everyday to the ones closest to our hearts? A day wouldn’t be the same for me if I don’t get the chance to talk to my wife and kids. Shouldn’t it be the same – much more – with the One who gave us everything we have? The One whom we should love above all other things?

I have always said I believed in God. I have always said I loved Him. So how come I barely talk to Him? How come I never built a relationship with Him? Prayer is a gift which allows me to do that.

I can now FEEL IT in my life when I don’t talk to God consistently. I end up trying to control everything (the entrepreneur’s curse). And of course when things don’t fall my way (which is bound to happen very often), I feel frustrated and angry. There is no peace. I worry about things I shouldn’t be worried about. I get overly consumed with stuff I shouldn’t: like money, or winning, or reputation.  These are traps.

There are much better things in life.

I said earlier that prayer makes life better. Does it make it make life easier? No. The usual problems life will throw at me will still be there. But prayer allows me to handle things so much better. It’s like having God in my corner in a boxing match. I can get pummeled – but I know God is there to support, guide, encourage, and even heal me.

But prayer is much more than balm. It can lead to breakthrough. 

who’s in your corner?

It is only through consistent prayer that we can know what His wills in our lives (discernment). There is no greater source for career, love, or life advice better than prayer. Through prayer, I can say that God has truly directed me into a career I am excited with, a family I adore, and a life I cherish and love every minute of.

If you have God in your corner, He will tell you what you need to do. There is no problem too big (or small) for Him to help you with.

How can you get Him to be in your corner?

Easy.

Just talk to Him.