No BS Review of The Rise of the Pinoy by Mike Grogan

If you’re in the Millennial Who Needs Inspiration profile, you might find this book helpful.

Each book strikes a different chord for each reader. I’m here to make a disclaimer that your opinion may vary with mine. As such, it would be fair to discuss my expectations of The Rise of the Pinoy by Mike Grogan.

The Kinds of Millennials Today

Most millennials today are “lost”. Talented as we are, most of us wanted to choose the best possible way to make use of their smarts while having fun. This subtle perfectionism leads to loose experimentation phases. No wonder most of us travel extensively and try a variety of hobbies. It’s to answer that question: “What am I supposed to do?!” If they’re lucky, these millennials will soon find that much-awaited eureka moment.

And then, there are the lucky millennials who seem to know what they were supposed to do from birth. They may be influenced by their parents’ profession, a recurring childhood dream, or a particular skill they excel in. This leads to a path more focused. But since life is unpredictable, they may soon realize their dream won’t make them happy. Or encounter a defeating failure. So they venture forth to find a new dream. Who knows!

The Kind of Millennial I Am

Admittedly, I started out as the first kind of millennial who excelled in random things but with no predictable trajectory. Fortunately in one of these encounters, I learned about “social entrepreneurship”. Years later, I turned into the second kind of millennial and tweaked my vision. Instead of building a business from the ground up, I wanted to learn how great companies work and help NGOs function the same way.

In short: This book was not for me anymore.

If you’re in the Millennial Who Needs Inspiration profile, you might find this book helpful. Here are things you need to know about “The Rise of the Pinoy: 7 Powerful Lessons of Success from 21 World-Class Filipinos” by Mike Grogan:

It’s primarily a self-help workbook

The title might fool you into thinking it’s a historical narrative of the emancipation of Filipinos. But The Rise of the Pinoy is more of a personal workbook to find the “What now?” of life.

There are seven chapters that speaks of finding inspiration, overcoming challenges, and sharing words of affirmation. Mike also shares some of his personal experiences. At the end of each chapter are activity pages for people to reflect on their own experiences. The book caps off with a 40-day challenge.

The Rise of the Pinoy is primarily for millennials who wanted inspiration. Naturally, it’s not the book that turned my life 180 degrees. Nor did it present new ideas that I don’t intuitively know. Most topics are general in nature, and a bit too comforting to my taste. In order to make its full impact, readers are encouraged to unearth a part of themselves and put their reflections on paper.

It features stories of Filipino entrepreneurs and freelancers

The Rise of the Pinoy puts the spotlight on Filipinos who have the initiative to do something out of the usual. Weaved into the workbook are testimonies from social entrepreneurs, freelancers, and inspirational speakers. You’ve probably heard of some big names featured in the book — Tony Meloto, Francis Kong, Vince Golangco, even Kuya Benj of Karinderia ni Mang Urot. They narrate various chapters of their lives that followed the theme of finding inspiration, overcoming challenges, and sharing words of affirmation.

I love that in this book, Filipinos have taken the spotlight of “success”. Lots of our success role models are too unrelatable. In our culture, success role models are the celebrities. But the Filipinos featured at The Rise of the Pinoy have started with more or less the same resources. They showed their human side that have felt drained, disillusioned, and doubtful at some point — like us.

I have to note though that the term “world-class” Filipinos is a bit unnecessary. Truth is, some people featured here may not become rockstars at the international level. But maybe we only need to be “Filipino-class” and it would be perfect.

Kudos to Mike Grogan

Finally, what surprised me more about Rise of the Pinoy is the author himself. Mike Grogan fervently expressed his faith in Filipinos. He saw something in the Philippines more than the beautiful beaches. He saw potential. So let me end this blog with words of gratitude. Thank you Mike for your efforts to uplift the Filipino spirit.

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