Skip to main content

Gokongwei's 12 Secrets For Long Life


What are the 12 longevity secrets of John Gokongwei, Jr.? Here are some, which I’ve observed through the years that I’ve had the great privilege to have known this business genius:

1. Never retire. Gokongwei has retired from top posts in his many companies, but he is still chairman emeritus and de facto supreme leader like a Deng Xiaoping or Lee Kuan Yew.

2. Exercise every day. He does the treadmill daily like his younger brother James Go and he likes to swim too. He is also a golfer.

3. Marry a good wife. Gokongwei has advised me that one thing I still lacked to be a true success is to marry a good wife, like he did Elizabeth Yu Gokongwei, and he said I should hurry because he wants to be a godfather in my wedding. He told me that having a good wife is not only good support for life and career, it’s great to come home daily to good rest. He revealed that ever since he got married, he has stopped going out to parties and stayed at home every night with his wife.

4. Raise good and obedient children. One reason Gokongwei is very happy is the fact that he and his wife Elizabeth have raised six children — Robina, Lance, Lisa, Faith, Hope and Marcia — who are all obedient, hardworking and humble. No blacksheep, prima donna or spoiled brat among their kids, so no big headaches or stress!

5. Have a good sense of humor. Learn to laugh. Humor is a Gokongwei family trait.

6. Do not smoke or drink too much liquor. Gokongwei many years ago quit drinking liquor and he quit smoking the day after the 1983 assassination of Senator Ninoy Aquino due to shock at that tragic event, then he realized that he could live without smoking.

7. Take a nap every afternoon right after lunch. Gokongwei revealed that ever since his days as a young, struggling trader in Manila’s Binondo district after World War II, he always took a nap after lunch. Before, he’d just put a newspaper to cover his eyes and nap in his office chair. Years later when he became more successful, he had a small bed hidden beside his office in his former Libis factory.

8. Travel at least once a year. One of his hobbies is to travel at least once a year, looking at new places, visiting museums, getting new business ideas.

9. Never stop learning. Gokongwei is forever studying something, he is an information junkie. He always asks me stories, facts. Just before his 85th birthday, he half-seriously told his former executive assistant that he wants to study to become an archaeologist!

10. Continue venturing into new projects and new ideas. At his “retirement,” Gokongwei is still involved in thinking up new businesses and expansions for his diverse companies in eight industries. JG Summit is now among the Philippines’ top five conglomerates, but still dynamic and entrepreneurial due to Gokongwei’s drive.

11. Eat whatever you want, but have a good wife guarding your diet! At his 85th birthday party, the menu served a rarity for Chinese lauriat or Western sit-down dinners — Gokongwei’s favorite dish lechon. His wife Elizabeth also revealed that his favorite is also humba and patatim pork dishes, humba is from the Chinese hongba. He still eats pork, steak, etc., but of course with his wife often admonishing him to lessen those kinds of foods. Once when he saw his bodyguard snacking on chicharon, he said he wanted to eat that too.

12. Read everyday. Gokongwei told me he reads the Philippine STAR every morning, plus other publications, books, most especially biographies, history and on business topics.

[SOURCE: WILL SOON FLOURISH By Wilson Lee Flores of The Philippine Star | Updated August 14, 2011 12:00 AM]

===
AMISA PRIVATE RESIDENCES TOWER 3 - Mactan Island, Cebu :: ON PRE-SELLING!
AMISA PRIVATE RESIDENCES TOWER 2 - ON FINISHING STAGE! = AMISA PRIVATE RESIDENCES TOWER 1 - READY FOR OCCUPANCY >>> RESERVE NOW!

To Schedule Site Tour / Viewing - CALL NOW!!!

For any questions, clarifications, computations, unit availability, reservation and site tour/viewing, please don't hesitate to keep in touch on my contact details provided below. Looking forward to hear from you soon. Have a great day ahead.

============
Best Regards;

Mr. Federico "RICO" F. Pandagani III
Account Manager
Robinsons Land Corp. - Cebu Sales Force
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Real Estate Broker License # 2009-1678(N)
WebChat:
YM ID | SYPE ID: rico.robinsonsland
Website:
Visit Us here: Philippines Property Listings
Call/SMS:
Local: 0917 646 8418 | 0933 158 3958
International : +63 917 646 8418 | +63 933 158 3958
E-mail:
Gmail: rico.robinsonsland@gmail.com | Hotmail: rico.robinsonsland@hotmail.com
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JG Summit among Forbes’ top 50 Asia-Pacific companies

JG Summit among Forbes’ top 50 Asia-Pacific companies By: Doris C. Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer 2:57 pm | Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 MANILA, Philippines—Gokonwei-led conglomerate JG Summit Holdings landed on Forbes Magazine’s list of 50 “best” publicly traded companies in Asia-Pacific, the only company from the Philippines that made it to the Chinese-dominated roster. In a recent special report, Forbes Asia included JG Summit in its list of Asia’s “Fab 50” companies, an annual ranking that the magazine has been making since 2005. JG Summit had a market value of $3.9 billion and an annual turnover of $2.7 billion, the report estimated. China produced 23 or the biggest bulk of the companies on the list. “The story of Asia is increasingly the story of China and this year’s list of the 50 best publicly-traded companies in Asia-Pacific certainly reflects that,” the report said. In 2010, China claimed only 16 slots but as the country’s real estate, construction, auto-maki...
1 comment
Read more

Robinsons Galleria Residences along General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City

Name: Galleria Residences Cebu  Location: General Maxilom Avenue, North Reclamation Area, Cebu City, Philippines     Project by: Robinsons Residences - Robinsons Land Corporation   Price Range: Php 2.9 Million - Php 10.5 Million HLURB Temporary License to Sell No. 0059, 0060, 0061 Galleria Residences Cebu Facade Artist's Perspective Amenities beyond compare, life above the ordinary. Welcome to your new home in Cebu; Galleria Residences. Robinsons Galleria Cebu Complex Robinsons Galleria Mall and Residences Artist's Perspective A master-planned mixed-used development sits on 4.6-hectares of prime land, designed to be the next landmark lifestyle destination. The complex consists of these developments: GALLERIA RESIDENCES 3 Residential Towers 752 Units One Full Floor of Amenities   ROBINSONS GALLERIA CEBU Four-level full service mall Over 300 tenants SUMMIT HOTEL 221 Rooms (Average Room Size of 34 sqm) Almost 500-pax Grand Ballroo...
Post a Comment
Read more

JG Summit Earnings Surge by 77% in the First Quarter

PROFITS OF JG Summit Holdings, Inc. surged by 76.7% to P4.91 billion in the first quarter of the year, propelled by the strong performance of subsidiaries and gains from its stake in the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), a disclosure to the local bourse yesterday showed. “[This] includes the net income from discontinued operations of Digital Telecommunications Philippines, Inc. (Digitel) of P397.76 million,” the disclosure read. “Dividend income from our investment in PLDT amounting to P1.90 billion mainly contributed to the higher net income for the period,” it added. Regulators last year approved PLDT’s takeover of Digitel, which operates Sun Cellular. Consolidated revenues went up by 13.9% to P33.48 billion from P29.41 billion “due to the strong performance of all business units.” Food and beverage arm Universal Robina Corp.’s net income attributable to equity holders more than doubled to P2.2 billion in the first quarter on the back of strong domestic and i...
Post a Comment
Read more