“I believe that all success stories begin with a single step. This step may at times be so hard to start with or to keep from moving. However, with determination, perseverance, passion and a clear goal, success can be achieved.”
For Ellen Dalawampo – Danila, EXCELSA branch manager, every award is meaningful because it means one has overcome great challenges. And when she won the Sales Manager’s Cup, it felt extra special because the success and recognition were not hers alone, it’s the whole team’s.
If not for her co-advisors’ contribution, she wouldn’t have delivered their target, she explains. “This pandemic has truly tested our perseverance and determination to help many people secure their future. Yet, we were able to finish the race with flying colors because we were not shaken by fear. Instead, fear made us stronger. We worked as a team. We uplifted one another whenever we felt down.”
Even now as a branch manager, Marilyn, fondly called Ellen by her friends and peers, continues to be a financial advisor with a “mindset of a tiger,” as she describes. “Whenever it sees a gazelle, it says, ‘let’s do it.’ Never have the mindset of a gazelle, which whenever it sees a tiger, it says, ‘let’s go’.” For her, opportunities are not given to people all the time, so we better grab it while they are offered to us.
At home, Ellen is a doting mother to Dria, aged 3. She is grateful for the industry that has given her family the privilege of enjoying a truly brighter life. As such, she’s also able to prepare for her precious daughter’s future.
Ironically, among the many challenges she has encountered, is convincing her relatives to believe in insurance. But she won’t tire of encouraging them.
“As a financial advisor, I advocate financial independence especially among the people whom I love so much. I find the meaning of my life whenever I make my family and the people who work with me happy and successful. Seeing them grow professionally and financially gives me a satisfying feeling that no amount of money can buy.”