WBW 23: "Never Work a Day in Your Life" Find Work that's Not Work and Find Success

“It’s just another manic Monday.” Popular culture has demonized Monday so much symbolizing the unending cycle of work. The end of another weekend means that the beginning of the workweek is at hand. And so most people the world over hate Mondays with a passion. But not for those who do what they love. To them, any day is the same, because simply doing what they enjoy provides them happiness that no financial reward can buy. And with only 28,000 days in the average human lifespan, why hate those 4,000 Mondays when it is just as good as any other day to do what you love, and in so doing, not do a single day of “work” in your life?

Who Is Leo Castillo?

Leo Castillo once got excited about being accepted in De La Salle University's acclaimed BS Computer Science. He then graduated 4 years later knowing that he didn't pursue what he really wanted to. Yet like all new graduates, he took a very tempting job at IBM, and with 4 successful years and a lucarive job offer, everything was riding high for him. Until one day, his older brother suddenly passed away, and finally he took a step back to pursue this childhood nagging voice to pursue film.

His first stint in film landed him as assistant director for reknowned Direk Raul Ona at Workstation, eventually landing him lead filmmaker for Maestro Studios. On one of his filmmaking days, he asked Direk what essential skill did he have to learn to become great at his craft and the answer was "photography".

Thus, after taking a side course in photography while taking up his formal education for film in New York Film Academy, he made a decision to shift to photography in 2001, making his first photo exhibit in the same year. Soon after, with much encouragement from his friends, he created the much acclaimed Photoworks photography classes, which has now morphed into Photoworks Academy.

To date, Photoworks has continued to more than 70 classes, producing more than 1,500 hobbyists, professionals, as well as photography instructors.

In capitalizing more on his talent as a great communicator and trainer, Leo is also a freelance organization development and training consultant for Management Strategies and Roadmaps & Beyond.

Leo is happily married to Christina Otero and proud father to Diego Alejandro Castillo.

*On a side note, some of the Buffs have attended Photoworks and is totally recommended. Seeing how Leo teaches, it simply is a true testament to the philosophy of "never working a day in your life."

When asked what's his greatest failure?

When asked what's his greatest success?

Show notes:

Never Work A Day In Your Life

• My dad is a big name in local advertising, but the secret to his success was because he never complained about work. He enjoyed what he does. People feel that energy from him.
• All of us siblings got that from him. And for you to really enjoy life, you should not work a day in your life.
• It doesn’t mean you stay at home and do nothing. It means that if you’re gonna live your life, you might as well take advantage of it and do something you really love and enjoy.

28,000 Days

• How many days does the average human person live? The average human person lives only 28,000 days.
• When you think about it, and you realize how many days you’ve already spent from infancy, what are you gonna do?
• In the 90s, when I was going to college, I didn’t know what to take. So I took up Computer Science. You know, it was the 90s, it was the hardest to get, and I was going to La Salle, which was known for Computer Science.
• On my second year, I realized that it was not what I wanted to do. I wanted to do film. I also wanted to be a pilot but that’s another story.
• I talked to my parents. They wanted me to graduate first. So I did. Then I talked to them again. They wanted me to work first. So I did. I worked for four years.

Trying Out Film

• My brother died when he was 27. He died of aneurysm. And I was feeling sick too. So my brain was checked and there was a possible aneurysm. So an operation was done. Good thing it was negative.
• It was because of that that I started thinking of these things: what do I want to do with my life?
• So I gave myself two years to try film. In the worst case, I can always go back to IT.
• At the same time, I got an offer to be a regional “boss” for an American company that was going to bring in their product here in Asia, and they needed someone with my experience. But I decided not to take it, because I felt I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I never tried out film.
• So in 1999, I went into film. I had my own editing studio. In 2001, I went to New York to study film.
• I worked with Direk Raul Ona, one of the country’s top commercial film directors. He’s an architect, but he ended up in film. He said, among the things I need to learn to get into film is photography. So I went to the U.S. to study filmmaking and photography.
• I realized that photography was faster to do. Film entails a lot of time, a lot of effort, but doesn’t pay as much. But photography didn’t need that much time or effort, and paid about the same. So I figured I’d do it first.
• But it started from there. I had my first exhibit, had more photography projects coming in. So I started to be known more as a photographer than as a filmmaker.

Teaching Photography

• A friend approached me and asked if I could teach him photography. I did, and he said that I teach well. So he wondered if I could teach photography formally.
• Again, because of my dad, I’m very good at presentations. I’m good at simplifying complicated things. And that helped me to be a very good communicator.
• And so I created a photography class called Photoworks. Graduates from my first class told me that I should create a second and third class, and I did. I’ve been doing it since 2002.
• Now I’m about to launch Photoworks Class 50, a big milestone for me.
• This doesn’t include the classes I’ve done for Ateneo. I think I’ve done almost ten there. And I’ve done at least five for corporate. And then I’ve done smaller classes.
• I’ve probably taught 70 classes in all. And with 20-25 students on the average, I have almost a thousand five hundred graduates, many of whom are also working in the industry. Some of them even have their own workshops already as well.
• Even if those classes took a lot of effort, energy and time to create, I never worked a day in my life, teaching those classes. They were always fun to do. It was something I’ve always wanted to do and enjoy doing.
• So when I do a new class, I’m not scared. I’m happy.

Work Should Be Business and Pleasure

• When I worked at IBM, I started asking myself – do I want my boss’ job for myself? No. Do I want my boss’ boss’ job for myself? Neither. Do I want to head IBM? Not at all.
• So I asked, what was I doing here? I figured I was still young, so I tried something different.
• This works for me, but maybe not for everyone. Sometimes, rather than focusing on what’s not there, you should focus on what’s there.
• My other career is in training development, so I also look at these things. What are you good at now? What are you enjoying now?
• People just tend to focus on what they want to do, or that “something else” that they want to do. But they don’t have an answer to what it is exactly that they want to do.
• The answer is not to get away from what’s not working. You need to ask yourself – what is it that you really enjoy doing? Then you make that into a business.
• When I teach photography, I say the same thing. Some people in my photography classes think the same way – that there is a “proper” subject to take pictures of.
• Same thing happens with working people. They leave corporate, and they think, “what business can I do?” And then they fail because they just focus outward. You should start with what you’re good at and what you enjoy.
• You don’t go out there and find something and get yourself to love it. You have to start with what you enjoy and what you love and make it grow. If you don’t do that, even if you have a business of your own that you just forced yourself to love, that becomes work.
• I never thought that photography was going to be this big. I never planned to have 50 classes in seven years’ time. It’s good to have a vision, but base it on what you like, love and enjoy.

Lessons

If you’re gonna spend the same energy anyway, if you’re gonna spend one of the 28,000 days that you have, why not spend it on something you really enjoy? And then just find a way to make it profitable. There is a way. It will be profitable.

"The Board" message: