I was in First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (FAITH) in Tanauan, Batangas yesterday afternoon for a short talk in poetry. In front of me was a good listening audience of around 70 college students under Carlo Peña, a good friend and former student of mine.

The event was brief I had to make sure they got something really straightforward from our encounter. Surely, poetry isn’t news writing, but for the beginner’s sake, I listed down 5 steps on how to write a poem:

1. Establish a dominant theme.
2. Build your primary image or images.
3. Build your poem’s environment using secondary images.
4. Complete your poem by projecting it outwardly.
5. Leave the rest to the reader.

You may want to post a reply below if you want me to explain each step. What I am about to discuss is not poetry. I want us to talk about something that really matters to everyone: getting what you want.

I told Carlo to really think about what he wanted in life. Like me, he was not raised to become a teacher. He was a communication major and aside from what he does for a living, dabbles in poetry and film making. Creatives such as writers, artists and filmmakers often thought that the academe was the best place to be, until they found out that it was simply a comfort place, a hideaway, or something else aside from what they actually dreamed of for themselves.

Two years ago, when I decided to leave the life of a commuter to become a telecommuter (as we used to call online workers), I thought I needed something to prop me up and help me manage my time and get more things done. You really need to achieve self-discipline when you work from home. Becoming your own boss also means you must be strict with yourself, most especially with your time. I stumbled upon what at first seemed a funny term, “simpleology,” coined and developed by Mark Joyner, a leading authority on Internet Marketing.

Joyner defined Simpleology as “the simple science of getting what you want.” The book description says: “Success is simple, and scientifically reproducible, if you know the 5 Laws… Simpleology proves that success and happiness are easier to achieve than most people think they are. In fact, people can almost guarantee their own success simply by following a few simple rules… Throughout history, these 5 laws have helped the world’s greatest minds amass fortunes and forge new paths… Applicable to any challenge or goal and irrefutably commonsense, these 5 laws form the basis for almost any successful person or endeavor.”

The 5 Laws of Simpleology are:

1. The Law of Straight Lines
2. The Law of Clear Vision
3. The Law of Focused Attention
4. The Law of Focused Energy
5. The Inescapability of Action/Reaction

If you want to understand these laws in depth, I highly recommend reading Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want. You may also want to sign up free for Simpleology 101 and get access to a wealth of materials, including the Simpleology Software to keep up with your short, medium and long-term goals and finally achieve your “Ultimate Life.”

I love task management programs and keep trying each one that I can find on the web, but it is always Simpleology that I turn back to whenever I want to bring sanity to my day. For only 5-15 minutes of doing your “daily target praxis,” you will get more things done and you will be amazed to realize that the way to get what you want is really that simple.

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Web development and web programming skills remain to be the most demanded. So I will be virtually “schooling” again starting June (following the academic school year) to address my weaknesses on certain web-related skills. I want to make sure that I will have the expertise to be able to compete with other providers worldwide in these high-paying online jobs.

If you are particularly interested in languages, demand for translation is on the rise. Localization is increasingly becoming a trend, so you may want to find out which language you can take focus on. Find out the trend and learn the language that you think will be in high demand in the next few years.

As evidenced by many job posts recently, US buyers favor homeshoring or hiring providers in the same time zone. Online work is seen as a means to curb unemployment, as more and more Americans are into it and competing with providers from countries they formerly outsourced to, like India, Philippines and Ukraine.

Contrary to what others may have thought, online work is not as easy as it sounds. There is a lot of preparation involved to be competent and to become an expert in your chosen field. You compete for the right price and skill with other providers worldwide and ought to deliver what the buyer hired you for.

To view complete statistics pertaining to online jobs trend, download the Online Jobs Report courtesy of oDesk.

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I remember asking if this was possible: at least to have an on-demand virus scanner in my USB drive. I even searched for the application to download from the Internet, but found none. This was in connection with a slow notebook that I was using for some time (now converted into a “light gaming” station, instead of throwing it away — who’s gonna buy it, anyway?). I had a feeling then that this would be possible, and the flash drive as we knew it would not be the same again.

Even as I work from home, I still have to leave my home-office to routinely visit the Providers Hub or PH, as we like to call our Remote Reliance headquarters, to fulfill my duties as head of its business development team. The changes in the desktop environment when I transfer to another PC really affect me, as far as work continuity is concerned. And as my present budget don’t allow me to buy a new laptop yet, how I wish I could bring my programs and documents in my USB drive and just plug them into any computer wherever I go.

Now my wish has become a reality with my recent find — PortableApps. I am really an avid fan, though not a thorough user of open-source and lightweight applications. The basic programs that I use are part of PortableApps. That means I can carry my favorite computer programs along with all of my bookmarks, settings, email and more with me, and I can use them on any Windows computer. Best of all, the platform is free and the programs don’t leave any personal data behind. It’s really like I carry my computer around dangling on my neck from a strap.

“PortableApps.com provides a truly open platform that works with any hardware you like (USB flash drive, iPod, portable hard drive, etc). The entire platform is open source built around an open format that any hardware or software provider can use.”

Visit PortableApps.com to download your own copy. I’ve been using it for days without any trouble. The programs surprisingly don’t slow down even from a USB drive, including Mozilla Firefox portable, and yes — it does come with a portable virus scanner. My old notebook even begins to find a new life, as I do some light data entry work on it from my home-office to the bedroom.

“It isn’t a limited or trial version. There is no additional hardware or software to buy. You don’t even have to give out your email address. It’s 100% free to use, free to copy and free to share.”

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