by Anne Krystle Chua Mariposa
It was not always plain to me that pursuing God’s glory would
be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these
paths are two and not one.
Waste a day? a BIG NO NO to me. What more wasting a lifetime? Productivity and efficiency is one of my core values. This also came out when I took a test to find out my personal chazown, which is God’s unique purpose that’s solely mine to fulfill.
www.chazown.com has offered a free online test which allowed me to form my life’s purpose statement:
Before I was able to form this, I had to connect my core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences and environment.
To lead a God-centered fashion business that strives for excellence and efficiency while maintaining a harmonious relationship with my coworkers and other stakeholders that is brought about by transparency, collaboration, diversity, teamwork and concern for people and the environment.
Before I was able to form this, I had to connect my core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences and environment.
I grew up with Chinese parents who like most Chinese families would train their child how to do business as early as 7 years old. At that young age you would already see me in our TERRIE boutique at Virramall or Greenhills doing sales talk to customers.
My business sense was also seen in school. I pioneered the selling of stickers and handmade paper envelops when I was just grade one. During Christmas, I would sell TERRIE accessories and clothes to my classmates.
My whole mother side was all in the fashion RTW retail business. I always wondered why they didn’t just form one brand, so that with their combined efforts there will be more fruits.
This explains why teamwork is such a big motivating factor in my life. I get most inspired to work when I’m working with committed and passionate people all working to achieve one goal.
From here you can see that fashion is one of the seeds that grew in me. When exposed to something so much, it’s either you will hate it or love it. In my case, it became my passion. As young as seven years old, I told my mom that I wanted my own department store someday, but I knew that I couldn’t do this alone. I had to have a partner. I have to collaborate with others.
And then, there it was. God gave me Jacinto & Lirio. God also blessed me with a partner whose so into collaboration. A partner named Noreen, whose strengths are my weaknesses, whose weaknesses are my strengths.
It’s so funny because I just realized then that my connection to an eco-fashion company like Jacinto & Lirio was the fruit of my inclination to recycling back in my elementary years. This was mostly seen in my artworks at school or my newspaper/old magazine pages gift wrappers for Christmas presents I give out to my friends during Christmas. As a matter of fact, they used to call me “Ms. Recycle.”
My innate love for recycling can also be seen in my “need” to create something out of garbage. Whenever I see broken accessories or other objects that would be considered as trash, I always try to fix it and make a new product out of it that I can use. Usually the new product I create has something to do with fashion products.
With Jacinto & Lirio, I am indeed creating something stylish out of a pest. I am the Creative Director of the brand, so my main task is to design products out of the water hyacinth and turn it into something of value. Value, not just to the eyes of the end consumers, but value to the lives of the less fortunate.
Right now, I cant say that I have fully fulfilled my God given purpose in life. But one thing is for sure, I am confident that God is continually molding my passion, to be in line with His dream for my life.
#LiveAStoryWorthTellingWe all have a story to tell. Sometimes, we find it in the unexpected. Little do we realize that what we think is meaningless, can actually bring us great value. We only need to start looking at things differently. Seeing the extraordinary in every day, and believing in the possibilities of what could be. Soon we’ll find ourselves with an empowering story—a story worth telling. A story worth living out.If our story inspired you, inspire others as well! Tell a story on how you are empowered to live the life you choose to live. We want to know what makes you unique and most importantly, how you embody your style in your everyday life. Share your story with us on facebook and twitter or email us at contact@jacintoandlirio.com.
