jakedg

Writing & Teaching

The journey always starts with a call

Discovering our purpose is a journey of integrating who we are, our significant experiences, and the challenges of our external environment.

The journey starts with an inner calling. What moves and excites you, paralyzes you and energizes you at the same time? What good would you like to give to the world?

The Call to Lead: Ignatian Wisdom and the Journey of Leading guides readers through their own journeys with the questions, ideas, exercises, and stories from the MBA leadership class I taught at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

“So how do leaders become leaders? They reflect on their lives and use their significant experiences to frame their passion and purpose. They are authentic and act from their values, passions, and purpose. They don’t come fully formed or born that way or have experiences others cannot have. They grow in skill and learn and reflect on those.”

Jake de Guzman, The Call to Lead

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The Call to Lead won Best Book on Humor, Sports, and Lifestyle at the 43rd National Book Awards in the Philippines.

Coaching

The journey is difficult because it’s transformative. You don’t have to do it alone.

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Some feel stuck. Some feel lost and cannot find a way. Most encounter resistance — inner and outer voices that tell them it’s impossible or not worthwhile. Most feel small and the challenges ahead too big. Many have tried and failed or lost something important to them. But something inside undeniably moves them.

Steve Jobs, reflecting on being fired from Apple at 30 years old says,“I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the Valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.”

These are calls. The difficulty is an invitation to personal transformation. Leadership author, Chris Lowney writes, “Harvard Business School professor emeritus Abraham Zaleznik once observed that ‘leaders are twice born individuals who endure major events that lead to a sense of separateness, or perhaps estrangement, from their environments. As a result, they turn inward in order to reemerge with a created rather than an inherited sense of identity.”

Imagine the person you become after this cycle of your Hero’s Journey. Imagine what great good this person can do.

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Producing

Stories help us on the journey.

There are places in our hearts only stories can reach. When we hear stories of those who have journeyed ahead of us, we tap into timeless universal epiphanies that help us understand where we are and inspire us to move forward. From environmentalists to athletes, impact entrepreneurs to artists, and travellers, we met people making a difference, and learned what inspired them and kept them going. Through their stories, we saw what it means to live a meaningful life.

Deepak Chopra said, “If you speak to the mind, you speak to the level of the mind. If you speak from the heart, you speak to the heart. But if you speak through your life, and your life is the story, that’s how you change things. That’s what mythic beings do.”

This was the WHY behind every show we produced at Tripleshot Media. Watch our show reel below.

Tripleshot Media won eight awards for its factual entertainment shows in the Philippines, New York, and Portugal

Talks, Stories, Conversations, and Reflections

An Ikigai of Calling

To find clarity and alignment in pursuing your calling, evaluate the intersection of four life dimensions: your skills, inspirations, relevant problems, and available opportunities. Reflect on what moves you, what you excel at, the issues you care about, and the market trends to identify actionable steps toward your goals.
A Hero’s Journey for a 13-Year Old

Reflecting on my high school journey for the commencement address of the Multiple Intelligence Middle School Graduation, April 2019. Dr. Joy Canon Abaquin, Mrs. Cecil Canon, Mr. Francisco Manaois, graduates, parents, teachers and staff… Good afternoon. Intro First, I’d like to thank you for the honour of delivering this commencement address. I was told former…
Calls and the Inner Journey of the Two Halves of Life

What if the disruptions in your life were not problems to be solved but a deeper inner calling of your Self? In this interview with Jungian depth psychologist, Rose Yenko, I ask about the role of calls and the milestones we all take in life’s journey but ended up getting understanding and wisdom on the…
What are your calls?

“What is my calling? What do I do with my life?” That question has driven what I’ve done in my life as a TV producer, teacher, and company founder. In this conversation with long-time friend and TV host, Paolo Abrera, I talk about how I learned to hear my own call to lead — and…
Rapa Lopa & His Call to Lead

Rapa was my boss in a small accelerator company where I did finance and planning work. Rapa can be seen in halls of government, corporate board rooms, and on the ground with NGOs.
If You Don’t Know What You’re Passionate About

There’s also a lot of expectation when it comes to talk about passion. It’s supposed to give us meaning, a sense of purpose, even so, much happiness that we don’t feel like we’re working a day in our lives — and maybe even the expectation that it’ll lead us to a job or business that’ll…

Jake de Guzman

Award-winning author, TV producer, and journalist. Educator and Coach.

Jake is a Filipino in British Columbia. He designed and taught the MBA leadership class at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business in Manila, eventually writing The Call to Lead: Ignatian Wisdom and the Journey of Leading. The book won Best Book on Humor, Sports, and Lifestyle at the 43rd National Book Awards in the Philippines.

He founded and led the award-winning media company, Tripleshot Media, producing pioneering solutions- journalism shows in the Philippines. His work today lies in the intersection of leadership and wisdom work, practiced in writing, speaking, coaching, and teaching.

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