What does “Helping Others” mean for Maurine?
I’m Maurine, a Virtual Assistant and Coach with 5 years of experience in the BPO industry and 4 years as a Virtual Assistant. I specialize in Social Media Management, Graphic Design, Lead Generation, CRM Management, Appointment Setting, AI tools, Sales Account Management as well as Calendar and Email Management.
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When we use language, we often mean different things because of different life experiences and life stories.
Maurine
For me, Darryl, HELPING OTHERS is like... because, you know, I am a spiritual person. I mean, I believe that there is God, and there is someone out there that we cannot see, but I believe that if you help others, it, it fills our heart with that good feeling. You know, this is also a learning journey for me. So it's not that I only help my trainees to learn how to become a VA, but it also gives me motivation to work everyday, to have a purpose in life, to wake up every day, not just being a mom, but also have something that motivates or inspires me.
Darryl Lim
You mentioned that you are "SPIRITUAL".
Maurine
I believe that there is God, that there is what you call, if you serve others good, you're serving God, right? That's what I mean when I say spiritual. Because it fills my heart with good feelings when I help others. It doesn't satisfy my financial needs because I don't charge them a lot, but it satisfy my heart, because I love to help others as well.
Darryl Lim
When did you realised that you love helping others?
Maurine
Since I was 19 years old, I already helped... I already started helping my siblings. You know, I helped them financially. I work and I love it. I love helping my mom financially, my siblings. It. I don't really see it as a responsibility, but I see it as a good thing. It actually goes back to me. It's like a good feeling, a satisfaction when you help others. I'm thinking like, if I'm rich, you know, I will help a lot of kids out there who need food and clothes. And I always dreamed to be rich, to help those poor kids in the Philippines. You know, that is our one problem here in the Philippines. There's a lot of malnutrition or malnourished kids. So that's actually one thing that inspires me a lot.
Darryl Lim
What specifically inspires you to help others?
Maurine
What inspires me to help others is the happiness that I gave them, for example, Darryl, when I help trainees to learn knowledge about being a VA, it inspires me when I see the results from them, you know, for example, I give them an internship or something like that. It inspires me if I see that it helps them as well, you know, I did something. I did something good for them, or that helped their lives or transformed their lives, because sometimes they want to be a VA because they want to avoid the nine-to-five job. They want to avoid traffic. They want to be with their family more often, and that is what I'm always saying to my VAs and that is why I'm helping them. So that's what drives me the most: it's to help them experience what I have experienced in being a freelancer.
Darryl Lim
You mentioned something about transformation. What does "TRANSFORMATION" mean for you?
Maurine
Transformation is when you realized that there are other ways to live your life. And I mean, for example, there are other ways to be happy in life. I want them to discover that as well: to have quality time with their family, for example. So that is just for this training, but when I say I wanted to help those kids that [are malnourished], I want to see that transformation in their lives, but I know that just giving them food will not have a great impact unless I give them the full support like what parents do. I cannot transform their lives that much, but I can make a difference to these kids, so that's why I'm working hard.
Darryl Lim
When did you start realising that you can do something to make a difference for people?
Maurine
Yes, I realized that when I was very depressed, I was always like waking up feeling not motivated. I think there's no reason for me to live sometimes. Sometimes that's what I'm thinking. You know, I'm not always like this. I wasn't an enthusiastic person. Sometimes I feel like the world is too harsh. But I read something that made me realize that to be happy, Darryl, you have to be thankful or grateful of every little things in life. You need to find your purpose in life, your motivation to work, even in just working alone. Sometimes we are too lazy to work if we're working from home, right, but I just sit in front of my computer, start working little by little, and that helps me to be motivated at work. So it makes me happy working for someone and giving a good service makes me happy. Just being thankful of everyday blessing makes me happy. So there it is. There are the small things that makes me happy every day, and not just wake up and survive daily and just looking forward for another day, but I believe that being happy every day is what living your life is. The meaning of Life.
Darryl Lim
What actually happened for you that made you start looking forward to those little things in life?
Maurine
Okay, Darryl, I have a personal matter, actually, that happened to me. I had bad news recently, in January. It's about my health, so it's not yet confirmed, but the doctor said that I might have a thyroid cancer. So that happened. The symptoms started in December. So I was depressed. Actually, I was depressed, and my mind made me stop, made me paralyzed, and everything, and I didn't want to live anymore. But one day I woke up, and said, "No, I will not waste my time. God gave me another day. It means another day to be motivated, to push forward, to think positive, so I don't want to waste my time thinking that, you know, that I should be depressed about my situation." "There is a chance for me," the doctor said. There's a chance. So I will not focus on the negative things. So since I realized that, after that, I think my life has never been happier. Maybe that's the reason why I received that news.
At Split Arenas, we believe professional communication should be rooted in personal stories. When we look at the words people use, and the stories behind those words, we understand who they are, and we can build better relationships. To learn more about what we do, click here. If you wish to experience this conversation, where you’ll discover a word that means a lot to you and the stories/memories behind that word, book an appointment here.
