CHRIST once told his disciples, and now us, that we should be the salt and light of the earth. (cfr. Mt 5,13-16) In other words, we should give the proper flavor and provide the proper light so all of us can be led to our proper destination.

This basic truth about ourselves gives rise to the duty that we have to help one another spiritually more than anything else. It is in our spiritual bond that actually gives rise to all our other relations with everybody else according to the different aspects of our nature.
This means that we should always give good example to others even to the point of inspiring them, i.e., giving them the proper spirit, the spirit of Christ. For this, we really need to have the very spirit of Christ ourselves, to be “another Christ” if not “Christ himself.”

Hopefully, we can echo St. Paul’s words: “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2,20) This is the ideal to aim at, because Christ himself said, “I am the light of the world…the man who follows me will have the light of life.” (Jn 8,12) This can happen if we would only know how to be truly receptive and responsive to God’s initiative to make us like him through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

We have to realize that we are not only meant to live a natural life, but rather also a spiritual and supernatural life. God has created us in such a way that we have the capacity to receive and to respond to God’s will to make us sharers of his divine life and nature. That is why we are endowed with intelligence and will, so we can know God and his will for us, and choose to love him and to be like him.

We need to find practical ways to learn how to be receptive and responsive to God’s grace, to his sharing of his life and nature with us. Like, right in the morning as we wake up, the first thing that we should try to do is to address ourselves to God, offering ourselves and everything that we will be doing for the day to him.

It’s important that right from the beginning of the day, we get strongly focused on God. He should be the center of our life, of our thoughts, desires, words and deeds. And all throughout the day, we should try our best to keep this awareness alive.

Thus, we should avail ourselves of some effective plan of life to drive this kind of awareness going. Some practices of piety like periods of mental prayer and contemplation, spiritual reading, receiving the sacraments especially the Holy Mass and Communion, and other devotional means, would be helpful.

The ideal is that the whole day should be spent with God who, in the first place, is always around. He is in us and around us. He is wherever we are, and his presence is actually active, full of solicitude for us. We need to perceive this reality and act according to it.

Let’s hope that we can end the day convinced that we have spent it with him and for him. In other words, to be receptive and responsive to God’s grace is for us to be true contemplatives even as we immerse ourselves in our earthly and temporal affairs.

Effective marketing strategies are essential for businesses to thrive and succeed. You cannot expect your business to instantly grow without doing something to let the customers know about it. With the ever-evolving digital landscape and changing consumer behavior, businesses must adapt and employ strategies that cut through the noise and resonate with their target audience. From defining your target audience and building a strong brand identity to leveraging content marketing, social media, and targeted advertising, the right marketing strategies can propel your business forward. In this article, we will explore key insights and actionable tips to help you master the art of effective marketing and achieve your business goals.

Here are some key strategies that can help businesses achieve their marketing goals:

1. Define Your Target Audience: Identify your ideal customers and understand their needs, preferences, and demographics. This will enable you to tailor your marketing messages and tactics to effectively reach and engage with your target audience.

2. Develop a Strong Brand Identity: Build a strong and consistent brand identity that resonates with your target audience. This includes creating a compelling brand story, designing a visually appealing logo and brand elements, and maintaining a consistent tone of voice across all marketing channels.

3. Utilize Content Marketing: Create high-quality, valuable content that educates, entertains, or solves problems for your target audience. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, case studies, and more. Distribute your content through various channels to increase brand visibility and establish your business as a trusted authority in your industry.

4. Leverage Social Media: Utilize social media platforms to connect with your target audience, build brand awareness, and foster engagement. Identify the social media channels that are most relevant to your audience and create a content strategy that aligns with each platform. Engage with your followers, respond to comments and messages, and use social media analytics to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.

5. Implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize your website and online content to improve your visibility in search engine results. Conduct keyword research to identify relevant keywords and incorporate them into your website copy, meta tags, and headings. Create high-quality backlinks from reputable websites to increase your organic search rankings.

6. Run Targeted Advertising Campaigns: Utilize online advertising platforms such as Google Ads, social media ads, and display ads to reach your target audience directly. Develop compelling ad copy and visuals, and use targeting options to ensure your ads are shown to the right people at the right time.

7. Build Relationships through Email Marketing: Implement an email marketing strategy to nurture relationships with your audience and drive conversions. Collect email addresses through lead generation tactics and segment your email list to deliver personalized and relevant content. Use email automation to send targeted campaigns, such as welcome emails, abandoned cart reminders, and promotional offers.

8. Collaborate with Influencers: Partner with influencers or industry experts who have a significant following and influence over your target audience. Collaborate on content creation, product reviews, or sponsored posts to increase brand visibility and credibility.

9. Monitor and Analyze Results: Regularly track and analyze the performance of your marketing campaigns. Use analytics tools to measure key metrics such as website traffic, conversion rates, engagement, and ROI. Adjust your strategies based on the insights gained to optimize your marketing efforts.

10. Stay Updated on Marketing Trends: Continuously stay informed about the latest marketing trends, technologies, and consumer behavior. Attend industry conferences, read marketing publications, and follow thought leaders in the marketing field to stay ahead of the curve and adapt your strategies accordingly.

Remember, the effectiveness of marketing strategies may vary depending on your industry, target audience, and business goals. It’s important to regularly evaluate and refine your marketing strategies to ensure they align with your business objectives and deliver the desired results.
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If you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts on the column, feel free to send an email to jca.bblueprint@gmail.com. Looking forward to connecting with you!

Without due process, they were eliminated. The death was painful perhaps and the fear before the death was more painful than the actual death, perhaps. But then again , they died and still dead up to this day.

Mortui dicuntur, the dead had spoken and in the dead of the night I was awaken by the nightmare that it is, they want me to write a piece about them, thousands of them. Those that had perished in the last Administration’s War on Drugs.

It was this viral video of a classroom presided by a balding Englishman Professor who at the get go send a lady out of his classroom without any warning. Then afterwards he asked the class about their definition of justice and they give a wide array of intellectual definitions. Having all these notion and description the Professor asked why the class did not raise protest when the professor sent the lady out with no reason at all? The reality came crushing in , the people do not really care about what is happening around him or her, not until he is part of the victims and the person is actually hurt by these chaos!
The figures look and felt sad. The 6,000 police estimated dead of the Duterte’s Drug war and the United Nation estimates of 27,000 dead. Modestly we can say that there had been thousands of deaths and very few accountability, very rare redemption on this very horrid reality of deaths and killings of mostly POOR suspects.

Yet after the Marcos Administration came with the new approach of winning the war on drugs the people perhaps used to the blood thirsty approach cried for more blood. However as time goes by when the smoke cleared and the drug war with a new approach focused on the apprehension of BIG drug dealers , it was not well applauded but the tons of drug haul was a very welcome development.When the House of Representatives came up with the idea of conducting a separate and prompt Probe and Hearing on Extrajudicial Killings, I was happy.

Late one evening in a deep slumber, I heard the voice of the victims, shouting in loud voices , write for us, write something for us , something about us !
These are loud yet clear mortui dicuntur. it is the dead that shouts! They need justice, the dead needs final resolution.