Warning: Theres a Conspiracy of

Grace at Work in This Universe &

Heaven Is Scheming to Bless Your Life
BO SANCHEZ
#1 Bestselling Author of How to Live a Life of Miracles
My
Conspiracy
Theory
My
Conspiracy
Theory
Warning: Theres a Conspiracy of
Grace at Work in This Universe and
Heaven Is Scheming to Bless Your Life
BO SANCHEZ
#1 Bestselling Author of How to Live a Life of Miracles
Other Books By Bo Sanchez:
Inspirational
How to Live a Life of Miracles
40 Stories of Passion
Dont Worry, Be Happy
How to Turn Thoughts into Things
How to Win Big!
Personal Finance Series
8 Secrets of the Truly Rich
8 Sikreto Para Maging Tunay na Mayaman
Simplify and Live the Good Life
Simplify and Create Abundance
Kerygma Collection
How to Be Really, Really, Really Happy (1st Collection)
You Can Make Your Life Beautiful (2nd Collection)
You Have the Power to Create Love (3rd Collection)
Fill Your Life with Miracles (4th Collection)
Inner Healing Series
Your Past Does Not Defne Your Future
7 Secrets to Real Freedom
Singles & Relationships
How to Find Your One True Love
How to Find Your One True Love, Book 2
Ebooks
My Conspiracy Theory
Take Charge of Your Life
Fire! 5 Steps to Bring You Closer to God
Bos Websites:
Read Bos Blog at www.BoSanchez.ph
Watch Bos Videos at www.PreacherInBlueJeans.com
Get Daily Bible Refections at www.KerygmaFamily.com
Gain Financial Abundance at www.TrulyRichClub.com
Receive Daily Messages at www.GodWhispersClub.com
Join Bos Social Site at www.BoPlanet.com
INTRODUCTION
I Have a Conspiracy Theory
and Its Out of This World
I wrote my frst book at age 20.
I founded my Catholic community at age 14.
I began preaching at age 13.
I had my conversion at age 12.
I was toilet trained at age one, but that has nothing to do
with this book.
After seven bestselling books, 40 thousand audio teaching
tapes, and millions of inspirational magazines and Bible refections
in print a lot of people know me.
I dont mean they know my name.
I mean, they know me.
You see, its my writing style.
I dont like writing nice theories foating in the air. That
bores me, and I fgured it would bore most readers as well. When
I write, I delve deep into my heart and share whats there the
gunk, the blessings, the darkness, the beauty, the fuff
Especially the fuff.
For example, my readers know that I make fun of my nose.
That my favorite food is peanut butter (organic, unsweetened
for those who are thinking of giving me a birthday gift.)
That I didnt get good grades in school.
I major in the fuff of ordinary humanity.
And when I share my fuff, people see themselves in me
that Im not much different from them. So that when I share a
spiritual message, they no longer see me as a writer. Nor for that
matter do I see them as readers. Were friends. We like each other.
(Okay, a few dont like me, but Im not talking to them.)
Sometimes I share deeper stuff.
That as a 13-year-old boy, I imitated St. Francis by giving
away my clothes, and that I refused to wear deodorant because it
was worldly.
That I now have two wonderful kids, and that my eldest
son (at age fve) had a bangus business because of my belief in
entrepreneurship.
That I was sexually molested as a child and I became a sex
addict in the process. And had a rampaging approval addiction
and that God continues to heal me to this day.
Because of this, people open up their lives to me as well.
Every day, I receive a mountain of letters from readers, and I read
them all.
In other words, weve become a family.
And that family is growing. (Its now all over the world. Check
it out for yourself at www.kerygmafamily.com and be blown
away by how I care for my family. I provide every member of the
KFAM a complete spiritual support system thatll keep them
connected to the Lord through daily Bible refections, my audio and
video talks, and through a borderless, non-physical community
of friends. Its the frst and only virtual faith community I know
of that does all these things. Check it out at www.kerygmafamily.
com so youll know what Im talking about.)
But gosh, Im going ahead of the story here.
How did it all begin?
Ill try to piece together different parts of my life in
chronological order.
Here they are
My Childhood: Being the Most Ungifted Kid in the Whole
Wide World
My Conversion: How God Became More Real Than the
President
My First Preaching: How I Learned to Say Sure to God
My Growth in Love: Learning to Hug
My Search for a Partner: How I Found My One True Love
My Children: Being the Greatest Dad on the Face of the Earth
My Work: Enlarging My Territories, Becoming an Entrepreneur
and Enjoying Every Minute and Peso!
Its the only way for me to show you Gods Conspiracy of
Grace. (Yes, I have a Conspiracy Theory. Here it is: Every part
of Gods spiritual and physical universe is conspiring, plotting and
conniving to bless your life with massive abundance. All you have to
do is say YES to that reckless love.)
So be patient as I retell my life story to you and how
at different times of my life, I gave my struggling, faltering,
incomplete YES to that massive abundance.
By the way, a fair warning: If youve been reading my works
these past years, youd recognize some pieces lifted from my
different books. (Of course, I could have avoided that by creating
another childhood and writing about it, but wouldnt that be
calleduhlying?) Anyway, reading them again wont do you
harm.
In fact, I bet itll bless you powerfully.
May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez
P.S. Get a mountain of spiritual nourishment for FREE at www.
KerygmaFamily.com now! And join our borderless, international,
non-physical community!
P.S2. Download my FREE Ebook, How to Know if Your Dreams Are
Gods Dreams, at www.BoSanchez.ph now.
P.S3. Do you want to gain fnancial abundance? Try for FREE 2
months exclusive membership in my TrulyRich Club and Ill send
you monthly talks in audio CDs and DVDs, plus other loads
of great stuff to help you reach fnancial abundance. For more
information, log on to www.TrulyRichClub.com now.

P.S4. Get a unique, inspiring, powerful, personalized message
from God each day. Itll blow you away. Sign up at www.
GodWhispersClub.com now!
1
My Childhood:
Being the Most Ungifted Kid
in the Whole Wide World
My Crazy Childhood and How I Learned That
Failure Doesnt Have to Defne You
Where are you here, son?
I was fve years old.
I had just showed Dad my kindergarten class photo a
free-for-all scene where kids were elbowing each other for more
photo exposure.
Where was I? At the back of the pack, peeking over someones
shoulder. You could only see one-fourth of my face.
Oh yes, I was small. I was thin. And I was also terribly shy.
Sheepishly, I pointed at myself in the photo.
Dad blurted out, Bo, why dont you be like this boy here in
front?
Ouch. I felt his words slice through my little heart.
He was referring to this mestizo kid who was big and
boisterous, his arms waving wildly, his face seemingly three
inches from the camera.
That day, I remember feeling very sad.
I told myself, Yes Bo, theres really something wrong with
you.
(Parents, if you get anything from this story, I hope its this:
Never compare your child with anyone else. Not with other kids,
not with his brothers and sisters, not even with yourself when
YOU were a kid)
There was a lot of things wrong with me.
First, I was a poor student.
In Grade 2, my grades were plummeting. I remember getting
73 percent in Math. So my mother got a tutor to teach me twice a
week. Because of this, my grades improved: I got 75 percent. Not
because I fnally learned Math but because the tutor Mom hired
was my own Math teacher in school.
When I was in Grade 4, I discovered I was also bad at sports.
My classmates would grab a basketball and fy. I would grab the
basketball and would fall under its weight.
In every game, my classmates laughed at me. Even my
teachers ridiculed me. At the start of every game, my classmates
would ask me, Join the other team! Please Bo!
No one wanted me. Because of this, I kept to myself most
of the time.
I was a loner and didnt mingle well with others.
After grade school, I took the entrance exam for the Ateneo
high school.
A few weeks after, I got the results.
I remember that day very well.
I was on the front porch of our home when the mailman
arrived. One of the envelopes came from the Ateneo. I excitedly
ripped it open and read the one-page letter. I read the frst line,
Dear Mr. Sanchez, we regret to inform you I didnt fnish
reading the short paragraph that followed. The letter dropped
from my hand.
At that precise moment, I felt a veil of darkness cover me.
And I felt I was the dumbest kid in the universe.
I was devastated. How could I tell my parents? But I
eventually told them the sad news and they had to scrounge for
another high school for me at the last minute.
As we searched for a school, I remember Ariel, a classmate
of mine. He was the frst honor in our class. At the same time, he
was also the schools basketball star and baseball star. One day, I
thought about him and wondered, Lord, why did you give all
the talents to Ariel and none to me?
It would not be unusual for our P.E teacher to fnally force a
team to accept me. And everyone would throw up their arms in
the air and say, Were doomed! Lets not play anymore
As if these werent enough, I was not only a poor student,
and poor at sports I was also literally poor.
I had another classmate named Anthony. He wasnt the
smartest kid, but at least he was wealthy. How did I know? While
I was receiving 0.50 centavos for my daily allowance, Anthony
was receiving P50 a day.
I remember going to the school canteen, clutching my
precious 0.50 centavos in my hand.
I asked the saleslady, How much is a Coke? It was so
depressing to hear the answer. Sixty centavos, she said. Do
you want one? I shook my head.
I looked around the other stuff in her shelves and eyed the
Cheeze Curls. How much is that? I asked. Sixty centavos, she
said again.
At that point, my world was crumbling slowly. I asked her,
feeling very pathetic, Uh, what can I buy for ffty centavos? The
saleslady would look around and point to the Marie biscuit.
So Id pay her and she would give me the biscuit. At that
exact moment, Anthony would appear right beside me as if
to intentionally taunt me and he would say to the saleslady
as if he owned the store, I want to buy one Coke, one Cheese
Hamburger, and two Cheeze Curls Double ouch.
During moments like this, I would ask myself Why was I
dumb? Un-athletic? Poor?
Heres a fourth thing that was wrong with me: I was ugly.
Yes, I was. This may be hard to believe now. Thats why I
emphasize was. Past tense. (And please imagine my nose getting
longer by the second right now.)
And my friends? We were the most insulted, most ridiculed
creatures in school. We looked like nerds, but we only appeared
like nerds. At least teachers respected nerds because of their
intelligence. But we werent bright at all. Can you imagine how
horrible that was?
Friends, I thought all about these things yesterday.
Because every month, I receive emails from many countries
in the world: Australia, US, Singapore, Hongkong, China,
Malaysia, Canada. All of them wanting me to speak to their groups
and events.
The same guy who funked tests and got the lowest grades.
The same guy who was unwanted and rejected and ridiculed
by everyone is now the desire of the nations. (Haha!)
Oh, let me share with you this little bit of history: Ten years
after funking that high school entrance exam in the Ateneo and
receiving that We regret to inform you letter, do you know what
happened? Ten years later, I was having lunch with the Dean of
the Ateneo College and the Dean of the Theology Department,
and both of them said, Bo, how can we convince you to teach
Theology in the Ateneo?
Gosh, I didnt even have the brains to be admitted in their
high school and they now wanted me to be their college professor!
I had gone a long way, baby.
So I cleared my throat and spoke with the solemn voice
of an undertaker, I regret to inform you Just kidding. I told
the two distinguished gentlemen in front of me that Id love to
teach there! But at that moment, my hands were full: Founding
four organizations, writing bestselling books, preaching around
the world, publishing the widest read Catholic literature in the
country
This is the story of my life.
I was a failure. Many times over.
And along the way, I opened myself to this Conspiracy
of Grace. I said yes to the sheer abundance of blessing in this
universe.
My message?
You may have failed yesterday.
You may have failed today.
You dont have to fail tomorrow.

2
My Conversion:
How God Became More Real
Than the President
My Spiritual Beginnings
When I was 12 Years Old
Please Mom. Id rather not go.
I was only 12 years old at that time.
It was another Friday night, and my mother was inviting
me to their prayer meeting for old people. I explained, Mom,
Im too young to give my life to God.
Gosh, I havent yet puffed my frst cigarette, havent
tasted my frst bottle of beer, havent had a girlfriend to put my
arms around. Perhaps when I get older, Ill attend your prayer
meeting.
When Ill be 70 years old, I mumbled under my breath.
Now dont get me wrong. I was a more-or-less good kid. I
even got 95 percent in my conduct and religion grade (though
Math was 72 percent). With my family, I went to Mass on Sundays
and prayed the rosary each night. So getting more religious was
simply out of the question.
My father however was a stubborn man. He said, If Bo
doesnt want to go to the prayer meeting, well bring the prayer
meeting to Bo.
I didnt know what he meant by that.
After praying the rosary one night as a family, Dad stood
up and said, Were going to have a prayer meeting right
now!Jeepers, Dad. Its Starsky and Hutch on TV! (Yes, thats
how old I am.) Sit! my father commanded, and so I did. He
then asked all of us to close our eyes and hold our hands together.
Naturally, holding hands with my elder sisters was a nightmare
for a 12-year-old boy. Clowning around, I only closed one eye,
curious at what my father will do next.
I was expecting another barrage of formula prayers, like
Our Father and Hail Mary, but Dad began to simply talk to
God from his heart. I looked at the peace on my fathers face and
realized he actually believed God was listening to him!
Was God really there in front of him? Didnt the Almighty
have more important things to do than be in our living room?
I didnt want to admit it, but watching him made me feel
warm and fuzzy inside.
However, lest my family would discover that I was being
touched, I tried to make my face as stiff and angry as possible.
That was when the most unpredictable thing happened
an experience I will never forget. My Dad saw my stony face,
stood up and casually placed his hand on top of my head. He then
screamed at the top of his voice, In Jesus name, Devil, get out!
What did he say? The Devil was in me?
As if reading my thoughts, everyone in the family stretched
their arms towards me and shouted in unison, Amen!
Actually, Dad didnt know what he was doing. He just
wanted me to get closer to God and he was willing to try anything
including imitating TV evangelists in their exorcisms.
But because he really was very new in this whole thing, he
started committing mistakes.
In Jesus name, Devil, get out! hed say again and again.
And then the big blunder came when he said, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
get out! Get out! Get out!
My mother was the frst to discover the great heresy that
was happening, so she elbowed him hard, and said, Your prayer
is all wrong! Youre asking Jesus to go out!
My fathers face turned white, and in panic, said to the
family, Quick! Lets pray again... lets pray again!
Jesus, he implored out loud, come back!
On that day, I believe that devil went out, and Jesus came
back.
After that funny event, I talked to my father and said, Dad,
you didnt have to drive the devil out of my life. I was already
being touched by your prayer. And Dad, I said, what happened
to you?
He laughed and said, I came to know God personally! He
paused for a second as if searching how to explain himself, and
then asked me, Do you know Ferdinand Marcos?
I frowned. Of course I know him. Hes the President of the
Philippines.
Dad shook his head. Nope, you dont know him.
Yes I do! He lives in Malacaang and comes from Ilocos and
his wifes name is Imelda
If you really know him, my father smiled, do you pick up
the phone and dial his number and say, Ferdie, are we playing
golf today?
I got his point.
He went on, You dont know him. You know about him.
And thats what happened in my faith. There was a time when I
knew about God. Today, I know Him.
He smiled.
Until my father died at 88 years old, he continued to know
God.
3
My First Preaching:
How I Learned to Say Sure
to God
I Was 13 Years Old and Was Still Singing
Voltes V in Japanese
Yesterday, I met her again after a long, long time.
Aida.
A mother of six children, loving wife and pure Ilocana.
1
A leader of a small prayer group.
Perhaps 20 or 30 people.
I visited her again, and was struck at how so many things
have not changed. I went to the living room where I used to sit as
a 13-year-old boy. The plastic leatherette chair felt small now. But
the old brown piano was still there and at once, I could hear
the old charismatic songs of years gone by. This is the day and
Oh what a mighty God we serve and Come Holy Spirit I need You.
Funny how everything started to come back.
I remember how I had a big crush on Aidas eldest daughter.
She played the piano so gloriously, I wanted to do the same. Well
yesterday, I met her there already a doctor, married and with a
wonderful baby.
Everything was coming back.
The walls. The picture frames. The windows with old-
fashioned curtains.
1
A person from Ilocos, a northern province in the Philippines
The past started coming alive.
It happened one fateful night.
Aida announced to our tiny group, I received a message
from God last night. The Lord said that one of you will receive the
gift of wisdom and he will preach the Gospel all over the world.
Upon hearing her words, everyone was happy, but my
mother was ecstatic. Why? Because the pronoun she used was
he will preach. You see, there were only two men in that group.
Her husband and her son.
So she rushed to Aida and said, Praise God, my husband
will preach!
Aida shook her head. Oh, its not going to be your husband.
God told me its going to be Bo.
My mother almost fainted.
She said with hysterical shrieks, It cant be Bo! Hes 13 years
old. Hes still reading Superman comics and watching Voltes V on
TV. He even memorizes the theme song of Voltes V in Japanese. If
you want, Bo can sing that song, but he cant preach!
Aida shrugged and said, I dont know why God chose Bo.
Lets just obey.
So Aida walked towards me and said, Bo, can you give a
talk next Friday?
Sure, I said in my pre-puberty, high-pitched voice.
I went home that night and excitedly prepared for my talk.
It was true that I was still reading Superman comics and watching
Voltes V, but slowly, I was already falling in love with God and
prayer and the Bible So I got all the Bibles at home, laid them on
my bed, and prayed, Lord, what talk do you want me to give?
I picked one Bible, closed my eyes, shuffed the pages like
a deck of cards, opened the book, and pointed my fnger on one
page. I read the words I pointed to: Eternal Life. So I closed the
Bible, got my high school pad paper, and began writing everything
I knew about Eternal Life. I wrote about heaven, hell, purgatory,
John 3:16, John 3:3 and John 14:6 (So you see, I memorized other
stuff aside from the Japanese theme song of Voltes V). When I was
through, I wrote down 20 pages, and boy, was I ready.
The following week, Aida introduced me to the expectant,
smiling crowd, Brothers and Sisters, Bo Sanchez will give our
talk today.
The 13-year-old walked in before a joyful, applauding group
of people.
Wow, Bos going to give the talk! Isnt he the youngest
among us?
But their excitement didnt last long.
After a few minutes, as I began to drone along through
my 20 pages, people started acting like chickens. (Heads were
bopping back and forth.)
In other words, it was a disaster. When I saw someone
almost falling off his chair, I quickly jumped to the last page of
my notes and said, Thats all, Brothers and Sisters. Thank you
and good night. I was so humiliated, I sat down and told myself
I will never give another talk in my life again. Ever!
After the prayer meeting, Aida walked towards me again
and said, Bo, can you give another talk next Friday?
So with the frm resolve of a hurt, shamed, humiliated 13-
year-old boy, I looked at her in the eye and said, Uh sure!
For the past 27 years, Ive been saying Sure to God.
Which is really the secret to serving Him.
As they say, its not ability, but availability, that counts in
the Kingdom.
By the way, saying Sure isnt an original. I imitated a 14-
year-old girl. A brilliant creature appeared to her and told her
how she was going to serve God, and she said, Sure. Actually,
she was more poetic than that. She said, I am the handmaid of
the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word.
In other words, Sure.
In your life, have you learned to say that word?
P.S. Believe in Someone Else Especially When They Dont
Believe in Themselves
Aidas belief in me was unfinching. Even when I didnt make
sense or when I was the most boring speaker in the universe, she
smiled all through my talk. She laughed at my jokes when others
yawned. She said Amen! when others wanted to leave.
Today, I have reached millions of people with Gods Word
all over the world.
Why?
Because one woman believed in me.
One woman who to this day leads a small group of 20
people.
As I look back, I sometimes have tears in my eyes thinking
what would I be now without an Aida in my life.
May you fnd one in your journey. (We need a handful of
them around us.)
People who believe in you so much, theyll be willing
to accept the early disasters that will fow out of our budding
greatness.
Ive got another idea.
Be an Aida to someone else.
There is always one person out there that you know who will
bless so many others if only someone will believe in them.
The way God believes in us.
4
My Growth As a Lover:
How I Learned to Hug While
I Could
Simple Steps That Changed My Life and My
Relationships

My father wasnt the expressive, sentimental type.
He wasnt the hugging, I-love-you kind of guy.
But I recall as a young boy, he showed his love to me the
only way he knew best: He spent enormous time with me. My
father was my best friend.
He was a simple man who gave his time to his family.
Dad was an assistant vice president at a humongous
company, yet I didnt feel like I was a rich mans kid. Because
my parents made it a rule to live below their means.
A millionaires son rode a sleek Benz. I rode our 16-year-old
Toyota that sounded more like a drum and bugle band, with its
cacophony of bangs, rattles,and whams. Oh yes, our neighbors
had cars with a little bit of rust. But we had rust with a little bit
of car. An heir of the moneyed class was chauffeured to school,
but as early as Grade III, I was taking the public jeepney sitting,
standing or swinging from its handrails like a fapping fag.
The wealthy dined on gourmet meals every day. But the
culinary highlight of my whole week was when Mom bought
Coke for our Sunday lunch the only time we tasted the stuff.
Im not kidding.
Rich kids wore outfts from America, England, and Paris. I
wore clothes from Avenida, Escolta, and Pasay.
2
The mansions of the rich and famous are veritable furniture
showcases, complete with 16 Egyptian jars from the Nefertiti era.
I learned that one of those monstrous fower vases was equal to
the price of our entire house. But naturally, we too had our own
fower vases. If my archeological knowledge serves me right, they
came from the Nescafe era.
Their estates have playrooms with life-size Barbies and
Power Rangers. But the way I played with expensive toys was by
admiring them from the store shelf and using my imagination to
the hilt. That way, I owned all the toys in the world.
Youll be shocked by what Im going to tell you, but in all
these, I recall never feeling deprived in anyway.
Let me tell you why.
I remember my father coming home every night and wed
go jogging together around our old car parked in the garage.
Then Id sit on his lap and wed talk about how to solve the
problems of the universe. After dinner, wed read the comic pages
together. Tarzan was my favorite, until I reached puberty. From
then on, it became Jane.
Almost every Saturday afternoon, it was father and son
time. Wed walk to the shopping center and Dad would buy me
a hotdog. Then wed walk back home, bringing some small thing
for Mom, usually a chocolate bar. To add sentimental value to our
token gift, I forced myself to take a few bites from it.
I guess being with Dad and Mom was all that my little boys
heart ever wanted.
And I got it, every single day.
And then it happened.
One afternoon, Dad was trying to fx a light bulb in our
garage. Standing onto a chair for greater reach, he lost his balance
and went crashing down. His head hit the concrete foor and
immediately, blood spurted out like water from an open faucet.
(Thats why I tell people above the age of 70 to never stand on
chairs!)
2
Local sites in Manila
Because of the impact, there was like a dripping faucet
inside his brain as well. Blood clots started to appear in his X-
rays, and he began to experience paralysis in his body. Even after
brain surgery, he lost his language ability because of a new blood
clot, found even deeper than the others too deep for another
surgery to reach.
The gravest blow was severe pneumonia, an infection that
developed after a few months of staying in the hospital. His lungs
were now flled with fuid, and that was when the crisis hit.
He was hooked up to a respirator, and the long wait began:
The doctors told us frankly that he could go anytime. At that
point, he was only absorbing 20 percent of the oxygen they were
pumping to him. Someone doesnt last too long in that state.
I looked at Dads hands and face, and they were bluish in
color. I whispered to his ear, I love you, Dad.
That was when he regained consciousness for a few minutes.
He looked at me with so much sadness in his eyes.
Then he did something that he never did in my entire life.
He raised his hands towards my face, and clasped me on both
cheeks. Then he brought me down towards him, and gave me a
hug.
My father gave me a hug.
He was telling me that he loved me too.
He was also probably bidding farewell.
My emotions were running wild inside me.
I was both grieving and joyful and angry.
Joyful because for the frst time, my tough, unsentimental
father gave me a hug. Grieving because he was going away. Angry
because it might be the last hug Ill ever get from him. Most of all,
I was angry at myself. If my father was not the hugging type, why
didnt I hug him?
I actually knew why.
Its because of the meanest fear in the world: The fear of
sentimentality.
This fear robs us of incalculable joy and love and depth from
our relationships.
Dad, we should have done this a long time ago, I muttered
to myself.
After a few minutes, his arms collapsed beside him.
I took three steps backward as the nurses and doctors
attended to him.
My mother was there beside me and we clutched onto each
other, waiting for Dads last breath.
But 15 minutes later, the doctor smiled at me and said, Bo,
you can go home now.
Why?
Your father is out of danger.
We went home and returned the next day. And Dad was
even better.
From that time on, every time we met, even if we would be
in the middle of a busy mall with lots of people around us, we no
longer cared: We hugged each other.
I believe embracing and being embraced is one of the
greatest joys in the world.
Hug someone today, while theres time.
5
My Search for a Life Partner:
How I Found
My One True Love
I was in Grade Five.
One of my teachers (female, of course) was young and
pretty, and I thought she liked me too. Why did she look at me
every time I looked at her?
After extensive research in the faculty room, I found out
that she was only 24. Aha! Can she wait for me until I grew older?
I was only 11, but what was 13 years if our ferce love would
conquer all that stood between us?
She still had problems remembering my name, but I fgured
this tiny problem would be solved once my name was inscribed
on her wedding ring.
But later on, I realized it was rather silly for me to fall in love
with a teacher.
Especially if she kept giving me low grades.
That was when I met Cedz and Dina.
Cedz was nice. She was the brightest in our class, and she
had the cutest dimples.
And Dina giggled a lot, and had the longest eyelashes in the
world.
Now the big question: Whom should I marry? Dimples or
lashes?
Well, my problem was fnally solved when I met Tintin.
Oh yes, I was wrong the last time. I was young then. Those
were childish crushes. But now, this was true love. I was 15 now.
Tintin and I were totally meant for each other. How did I know? I
loved the way she covered her mouth when she laughed...
Through the years, Ive had a thousand other crushes with
other dimples, lashes, braces, smiles, giggles, hair-clips, winks,
laughs, scents, teeth
I had my frst girlfriend at 17.
We broke up, made up, broke up again, made up again
Please repeat sequence 3000 times.
(Note: Thats why Im one of those freaks that encourage
young people to have boyfriends or girlfriends only after their
college graduation. Their time and energy can be spent in more
life-expanding activities than breaking up and making up 3000
times.)
I courted another young woman when I was 25 and
waited for her yes.
I gave her roses, chocolates and serenaded her with love
songs. I really had a super-duper fantastic time. Except for one
slight tiny problem: She didnt like me.
On that fateful night when she fnally told me in the nicest,
sweetest, most loving way, Bo, get out of my life, I cried buckets of
tears.
But I wondered, What is the lesson here? Can my tears be
used for good?
Because of the water shortage, I used my bucket of tears to
fush the toilet.
The waiting continued and it was excruciating.
What did God want me to do with my life?
At the age of 28, I met a beautiful young woman at my offce
applying for work.
But at that time, I was seriously considering becoming a
priest or becoming a celibate layman, and waiting for Gods go
signal.
So I brushed romantic thoughts aside and decided to look at
her the way I looked at a piece of furniture. So to me, she was one
of the monobloc chairs in the offce.
This strategy worked.
But sometimes, I found myself secretly gazing at this
monobloc chair for no apparent reason.
I gave myself two years to discern if celibacy was my call.
So no dating. No romantic actuations. No girlfriends.
At age 30, I went to a retreat on a mountain top with no one
else but God, my Bible, and a wise Jesuit priest, to fnally decide
what I wanted to do with my life.
One week later, I went down from the mountain with a
mandate from the Almighty to get married.
And so I remembered that lovely monobloc chair in the
offce.
So I courted her.
I begged. I pleaded. I stalked her like a predator.
And when all that didnt work, I quietly said, Im your boss.
Ill fre you if you dont agree to my proposal. She called my bluff and
submitted her resignation papers the next day. In desperation, I
closed my eyes and stretched my hands towards her and shouted,
IN JESUS NAME, you will fall in love with me! Shalalalala.
Okay, thats not how it exactly happened either.
Before I continue the story, let me do a sidetrip here.
Once upon a time, I believed that being wed was the height
of insanity, the most ludicrous commitment, a totally illogical
decision any human being could fall into.
Tell me. Why will I commit myself to be with one woman for
the rest of my life and thereby reject 3.2 billion other females in
the world? Along the way, Ill meet a girl wholl be more beautiful,
or more intelligent, or more charming, or sexier, or holier So
why nail myself down to one choice, permanently and suffer
the agony of watching beauties simply pass me by?
And in western countries, one out of two marriages end
up in divorce. That blows my mind. Thats a pathetic 50 percent
failure rate! I wont buy a car, a stereo, a shaver or even a nail
clipper if theres a 50 percent chance that itll conk out on me. I
simply wont!
And why stay with one person in sickness or in health, in
riches or in poverty, till death do us part? Is my mind fried? If my
shirt shrinks on me because I eat too many pizzas, dont I just
throw it away and buy an XL? (That will be the day.) And if I
outgrow my ancient computer, dont I just look for an updated
version?
And then theres the catastrophe some call kids. I mean, do I
really want to wake up in the middle of the night to entertain a self-
centered, bald, toothless tyrant in diapers? Do I really want little
rampaging monsters to break the most expensive furniture in my
house? Do I really want juvenile creatures to stay in the phone for
six hours straight, listen to noise they call music that you believe
come directly from hell, and mope around uncommunicative,
catatonic, and depressed because another demented juvenile
creature (called boyfriend) hasnt called for the past 30 minutes?
Why should I go through the torture? Marriage is insanity.
But a few years ago, on my 32
nd
birthday, I gave myself a
special birthday gift: I got married to a lovely woman and
committed myself to insane living.
Marowe is her name, the one person I chose out of 3.2
billion females. Yes, we even already have a second tyrant, and in
the near future, we will have little creatures from outer space that
we will call teenagers.
Why?
Because of three reasons.
FAITH. We believe that God calls us into marriage. And if
He called us there, that means Hell be there to meet us. We will
suffer all things just let us be with our God.
HOPE. We confdently expect the best blessings
immeasurably much more than all the hardship. God will bless us
beyond our wildest dreams.
LOVE. Oh, yes, there will be other females wholl be more
beautiful, or more intelligent, or more this and more that. But
theyll only be just that females like fowers in the feld of a
million hectares of fower felds.
But not this woman my Marowe the one beautiful
fower I have personally chosen, personally picked from her roots,
personally planted in my own clay pot, personally watered every
day, personally watched every day, and personally loved every
day. Because of my love for her, there will be no one like her.
In my heart, she will eternally be the most beautiful fower
of them all.
Because in the end, there will only be faith, hope and love.
And the greatest of these is love.
6
My Children:
Trying to Be the Greatest Dad
on the Face of the Earth
I was like a 5-year-old boy about to rip open a huge birthday
gift.
Thats how I felt the eve of January 1, 2006.
Why? Before 2005 ended, I sat down and wrote down my
2006 Goals in seven areas of my life: (1) Spiritual, (2) Family, (3)
Work, (4) Service, (5) Emotional-Physical, (6) Financial, and (7)
Intellectual.
It was exhilarating!
I wrote down simple goals like the amount of water I will
drink each day (eight to 10 glasses), the exercises I will do (muscle
toning through chin ups), the profts I will earn through my
various micro-businesses (I wont tell you!), and the expansion of
our ministry of sharing Gods love to as many people as possible
(well bless millions of people!)
But there was one goal that made my heart leap like a
gazelle.
I wrote down that in 2006, I will bond with my eldest son even
more.
Boy, just writing it down here makes me feel powerful and
warm and ecstatic all over again.
My son was then six years old, and I felt that I should spend
more time with him.
So I wrote down under my Family Goals, Have a weekly
date with Bene.
I then got my calendar and plotted our weekly dates for
the entire year all 52 of them. I also wrote down the possible
things we can do together: go to a mall, camp at our backyard,
visit an ice cream factory, distribute leafets house-to-house for
his Bangus business (yes, he has a business), or just bike around
the village
Our frst date happened in a very unexpected way.
I went home excited, mentally planning our trip to the
mall.
As I stepped down of the car, my phone rang.
Bo, are you already at the wedding? my friend asked me.
What wedding?
The wedding of Amina
Wham. It was like being hit by a bat on the head. I totally
forgot about the wedding! How can I tell Bene?
When I entered the house, I greeted him and said, Ive
got a problem about our date I told him about the wedding.
That was when my wife said, Son, can you go with Daddy to the
wedding? Thatll be your date. (Thank God for my wise wife.)
In a few minutes, my son and I were riding the car in our
matching barong tagalogs. It turned out that we were early for the
wedding, so we walked to a coffee shop beside the church and
talked and laughed together as he ate his favorite cinnamon roll.
The wedding was superb! It was also a wonderful time for
me to give mini-lectures to my little pupil in whispers at the
back pew on marriage, family, state-of-life and love.
After the wedding, the reception was at the exclusive Polo
Club.
While waiting for the dinner to begin, we had a phenomenal
time sitting down on the grass (yes, still in our barongs) under the
canopy of stars and chatted the night away.
I dont want to be a cowboy anymore, Daddy, he said.
No more? This was a shock to me. It had been his declared
dream ever since he was two. In fact, his frst word wasnt mama.
It was horse. (Im not kidding.)
He piped up, I dont want to be a cowboy anymore. I just
want to ride horses for pleasure.
Okay. What do you want to be?
A businessman. (Six-year-old kids have a way of declaring
their dreams as though its as sure as the planet is round. I wonder
at what age we lose that confdence?)
Thats great. You can own a ranch. How many horses do
you want to own?
About 10, he grinned.
How will you earn to maintain the ranch? I asked.
Kids can ride my horses for P20 each
Uh, isnt that a bit cheap?
They can also feed my rabbits if they pay something.
And Ill sell my customers snacks and have a restaurant in my
ranch.
Thats fantastic.
My ranch will also have an imaginary forest.
A what?
An imaginary forest. Parents will be afraid if their kids
go to a real forest with real animals. So Ill make an imaginary
forest with robotic animals even some legendary creatures like
dinosaurs, unicorns, mermaids,...
Mermaids?
Yes, because therell be a lake in my ranch. With a shipwreck.
Kids can also visit the shipwreck.
After planning for his future, we got our plates and stood in
front of the buffet table for the entire evening. Because the food
was so fabulous, we didnt bother to sit down. That night, he
ate seven sticks of barbecue and I gobbled up 50 percent of the
European cheeses there. (Sorry, Amina and Rafael. But I loved
your wedding. Please invite us again for your 10th anniversary.)
In other words, my frst date with Bene for 2006 was a ball.
If I didnt have a weekly date with him, how will I know
about his dreams? I would have missed hearing that he didnt
want to be a cowboy anymore, that he wanted an imaginary
forest, robotic animals, a lake and a shipwreck for kids to visit
and have fun
I was even more convinced of my family goals when I read
the frightening statistics from David Perdew about fatherless
kids. According to statistics, children from a fatherless home
are:
Five times more likely to commit suicide
Thirty-two times more likely to run away
Twenty times more likely to have behavioral disorders
Fourteen times more likely to commit rape (this applies to
boys)
Nine times more likely to drop out of high school
Ten times more likely to abuse chemical substances
Nine times more likely to end up in a charitable
institution
Twenty times more likely to end up in prison for a long
period of time
Fathers, your kids need you.
David Perdew says we either pay now or pay later.
And when you pay later, it always costs more.
I suggest you pay now.
7
My Work:
Expanding My Territories
Preacher, Entrepreneur, Family Man
Im a preacher.
But Im also a businessman.
Does that lower my dignity before your eyes?
Let me lower it even further: I sell totally unspiritual stuff.
I sell ice cream. Bangus. Vegetables. And apartments.
Some people dont understand why I should be involved in
making money.
Bo, you should be doing only holy work. Dont dirty your
hands in business.
Gosh. In my book, dirty hands means great dignity.
And hands that dont get dirty mean great shame!
Jesus ran a tiny business, building farm tools as a carpenter,
and selling them to his neighbors for a proft.
St. Paul owned his own business too, weaving tents and
selling them in the market for a proft as well.
Listen to me: Proft can be holy!
Do you know why I think our country is poor?
Weve got crazy ideas in our brain that say that proft is bad
and business is for crooks and rich people are cheats. So we avoid
all that by just becoming employees.
So weve become a nation of employees.
But if we want this country to rise from poverty, theres only
one way to go:
Weve got to become a nation of entrepreneurs.
Because a nation of employees will be totally dependent on
politics.
But a nation of entrepreneurs wont even mind the political
clowns around us.
Let them make fools out of themselves if they want to. We
however will be busy growing our little businesses.
Let me defne politics in the Philippines: Poli in Latin
means many and tics means bloodsucking creatures. (Sorry
to all the good politicians out there. I dont mean you.)
Friends, keep your day jobs, and start a part-time business.
And parents: Stop telling your kids, Study well so you can
get a job.
Start telling them, Study well so you can start your own
business.
Some people will tell me, But Bo, I dont have time!
I challenge you expand your territories!
Can I give you an idea of my responsibilities? (Warning:
Some people actually feel tired just reading this list, so take a
deep breath)
I lead nine ministry organizations.
I speak in a daily radio show and a weekly TV program. Each
year, I churn out three books, produce four audio/video teaching
series, and write more than 200+ articles. I publish six magazines,
maintain an army of websites, send out my online newsletter and
daily Internet video show at www.preacherinbluejeans.com.
I lead a virtual community called the Kerygma Family and a
physical community called Light of Jesus. I also travel extensively,
preaching 300+ times a year all over the Philippines and around
the world leading retreats, seminars and prayer rallies. I also
am proud to say that I read all my email!
As if these arent enough, there are a few personal things
that I do
I run a homeschool center to help parents learn how to
homeschool their kids (If youre interested, log on to www.
CatholicFilipinoAcademy.com) and I lead a fnancial consultancy
organization to teach Filipinos how to save for their future. I
operate a tiny organic farm, a real estate business and manage
a few more small businesses. (Plus, when my son was six years
old, he started a Bangus business, and hes hired me to be his
marketing consultant.)
Of course, Im fanatical about spending time with my
family. I play with my sons every day and still bring my beautiful
wife once a week in a romantic date. We also have four family
vacations every year, and two of those vacations are long 2-week
trips!
And each year, I read three books a week, listen to the
same number of audio books, and each year read thousands of
magazine and Internet articles.
Oh, before I forget, let me mention that I hop on a stationary
bike one hour a day.
How do I do all these things?
Let me share with you fve principles
Key #1:
Believe Youre Bigger
Its common fact that we only use 10 percent of our brains
capacity.
Can you believe that? Were wasting 90 percent of what God
has given to us!
I believe God has given us more capacities than we think
we have.
The ultimate crime is that we belittle ourselves.
We think were insects, so we live an insect life, but actually
were giants!
Because of this, I believe you can earn 10 times more than
whatever youre earning right now. You can help 10 times the
number of people youre helping now. You can serve 10 times
more than whatever service youre doing now.
Dont limit yourself.
Youre bigger than you think you are.

Key #2:
Focus on Your Core Gift
I have very few talents. Honest!
I dont know how to cook, how to dance, how to write a
computer program and how to solve the Rubiks Cube. I dont
know how to do geometry, trigonometry and calculus. Im totally
lost in chemistry, physics and biology. I also cant fx a leaking
faucet or do carpentry or repair my car.
But this is what I can do very well: Communicate.
So I focus my entire life on that one thing.
I write well and I speak well. Period.
And I delegate everything to people who are better than I
am.
Key #3:
Build Your Network
My wealth isnt my money.
My real wealth is my network of friends.
Because I cannot do anything without my team.
So I surround myself with a bunch of people who have
impeccable character and fantastic skills. I network with
Mentors, Preachers, Administrators, Accountants, Programmers,
Lawyers, Financial Wizards, Multi-millionaires, Media Experts,
Businessmen, Architects, Engineers, etc
And every day, I constantly expand my team.
Key #4:
Create an Autopilot System
Every time I enter into a project, I always do it with a team
around me. Never alone.
And together, we create a system for the project thats
replicable and duplicable.
In other words, its got to run on autopilot without my direct
supervision.
Heres my ideal leader: I appoint someone to be project
head (or organization director or business manager), and after
six months, I dont want him to bother me anymore except for
major directional issues. If he still bothers me for tiny matters,
Ive chosen the wrong leader or I trained him wrongly.
Key #5:
Allow Love to Stretch You
Love is limitless! It has no boundaries.
I do what I do because I want to love people.
Each morning, I wake up and ask myself, How can I bless
people today?
And so I stretch. I go just a teensy bit beyond what I think is
my limit and my capacities expand because I want to bless
the world.
FINAL WORD
Open Yourself Up to
Extravagant Grace

I dont know how to explain this.
I really dont.
But in my life, Ive seen how the universe conspires to give
me what I need.
It could be as simple as a parking space. For years now, Ive
noticed that when I need a parking space, it just appears in front
of me.
I believe we have the power to attract anything in our
lives.
We can attract a parking space.
We can attract money, joy, love, holiness.
How?
By openness.
Ask and you shall receive
By opening yourself to blessing, by working on it, pouring
your energies into it the conspiracy of grace begins to work in
the background. I repeat: God created a universe that will conspire
to give you what you need.
You can of course attract misery, debt, anxiety and confict
in your life as easily. How? By what you do, how you think and
what you say. Its really a choice!
But let me get back to my Conspiracy of Grace theory.
I believe God brought them into my life because I searched
for them.
Seek and you shall fnd
Theres a Buddhist saying, When the student is ready, the
teacher will come.
Two years ago, I wanted to get into real estate.
After being a fedging entrepreneur for three years, I was
itching to become an investor. And I also learned that the best
investment was in real estate. But how?
So for one year, I read everything I could on real estate. And
for that whole time, I prayed that God send me a mentor who
would teach me how I could earn passive income from real estate.
(Passive income means money that you earn while youre playing
badminton or swimming in Boracay or doing missionary work in
Africa.)
One day, I bumped into Larry Gamboa, an old friend I
hadnt seen in a long time.
I asked, What keeps you busy these days?
As if he was casually talking about the weather, Larry said,
Oh, I buy foreclosed properties and earn passive income.
KABOOM! It was as though lightning had struck from the
heavens, and I immediately recognized it as one of those pivotal
moments in my life. I somehow knew I was entering into a new
world.
Knock and the door will be opened
I could go on and on.
Grace happens everyday. And I cannot explain it.
My dear friend, open yourself to extreme, excessive,
extravagant grace.
I remain your friend,
Bo Sanchez
bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com
P.S. Do you want me to write you regularly? Im not kidding. I can
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encourage you, to bring you closer to God. Ill write you stories
and messages to nourish your soul. Log onto www.bosanchez.
ph and subscribe to my absolutely free SOULFOOD Letter. Dont
delay! Get your inspiration regularly.
P.S2. Get special whispers from God at www.GodWhispersClub.
com twice a week, absolutely free. Youll love this.
P.S3. Do you want to gain fnancial abundance? Join my www.
TrulyRichClub.com Try it out for 2 months free (just pay postage).
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P.S4. If you want daily Bible Refections to inspire you, join www.
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