Flashback to a children’s party in the Green Meadows Clubhouse in Quezon City in the 1990s: everyone’s having a grand time when Panchito — the late, great comedian popularly known as Dolphy’s sidekick — approached the emcee-clown, Ronald “Sugus” Legaspi, and admiringly said, “Alam mo komedyante ako, pero ‘di ko kaya yung ginagawa mo (You know, I’m a comedian, but I can’t do what you’re doing).”
Fast-forward to the year 2018: Manulife Philippines financial advisor Ronald “Sugus” Legaspi earns his sixth Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) award and first Court of the Table (COT) qualification. (A COT qualifier producesthree times the base-level production of an MDRT member. In 2018, the base production amount in Manulife Philippines was P2.5-milion in first year premiums, so to be eligible for COT membership, Legaspi generated a minimum of P7.5-million.)
Indeed, this former children’s party emcee is one special person who ultimately found success by discovering his greatest strengths.
“I graduated with a Business Administration degree, major in Marketing Management, from the College of St. Benilde – De La Salle University. I was a summa — as in summasampung taon na sa (took ten years in) college when I graduated,” Legaspi jokes. “I started my freshman year at the Ateneo in 1984. I did everything but study. I admired women, got my heart broken, drank to my heart’s delight and even joined rallies in Mendiola. So not surprisingly, I was a college dropout by 1985. After that, I dabbled in computer programming, charcoal portraiture, Nihongo and theater acting. I didn’t pursue (these trades) professionally because I decided to go back to college as a working student.”
As young man, he hadn’t yet discovered his strengths — but at least he knew what he didn’t like. “After college, my first job was selling training programs for MS Office. Word, Excel and Powerpoint,” says Legaspi. “Life has a sense of humor, because even as a marketing major — with many sales subjects — I didn’t like sales. But right after college, my first job was in sales! When the company was absorbed into the mother company, which was UCPB, I became a recruitment officer who had to connect with college placement officers so they could promote UCPB among their graduates. This was, basically, sales all over again! But then again, I never saw myself as a salesperson. I was a solutions provider. My next job in UCPB was money market trader and treasury marketing officer. After the excitement of the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s, I got bored with banking and went into theater.”
Legaspi spent five years with the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), one year with the Tanghalang Pilipino (“Philippine Theater”, the resident theater company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines) and freelanced for another four years, acting in theater, TV series (teleseryes), films and TV commercials.
In several teleseryes, Legaspi acted in scenes with stars like Maja Salvador, Christopher De Leon, Celia Rodriguez, Roderick Paulate and the legendary Dolphy. “When I taped for ‘Home Along Da Riles’, we weren’t provided a dressing room and resting areas. During a lull, I laid down my costume bag and took a nap on the “riles” of the set,” Legaspi reminisces.
Legaspi’s longest job was being a party and events emcee, starting out as “Sugus The Clown” in children’s parties. He then expanded to emceeing debuts, weddings and corporate events. “I did that for 29 years. I did parties for children of showbiz personalities, grandchildren of tycoons, taipans and three former Philippine Presidents,” says the veteran while sipping 18-year-old Macallan single-malt whisky in his dining room.
“In my 29 years of doing parties and events I only missed three parties.” Legaspi recalls. “I had a car accident two weeks before my wedding. It was my first (car accident), so I was a bit shaken. I called for a replacement for my party that day. There was a time I had chicken pox and obviously this was a danger to the children. Another time it was flu and I couldn’t get out of bed. Again, I called for a replacement, for the children’s safety.”
When he finally retired as a party emcee in 2015, he was already with Manulife as a commissioned financial advisor. He recalls the decision to join Manulife five years ago — while still at the top of his game — upon realizing he was getting too old for the profession. “I knew that if I didn’t find a source of income to replace (emceeing) while I was still at the top of my game, it may be too late when I finally decide to retire. So, I moved before I had to move,” he says. “In business, you always have to be aware of your own situation and adapt to the changing landscape. Otherwise, you may find yourself obsolete and irrelevant.”
Legaspi has been a multi-awarded financial advisor for 10 years, and traveling extensively, thanks to the company’s incentives. “Being a Manulife financial advisor is basically having a sales career. So, again, life presented her sense of humor and irony,” says Legaspi. “Early in life, I already knew I was not handsome. So I channeled my efforts to another asset: my sense of humor. I’m ok with simply being charming. Kaya nga may Prince Charming pero walang Prince Handsome sa Disney (that’s why there’s a Prince Charming but no Prince Handsome in Disney).”
Legaspi possesses Chartered Wealth Manager (CWM) and Chartered Trust and Estate Planner (CTEP) certifications from the American Academy of Financial Management (AAFM). He also received a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC) certification from the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC) and has been an outstanding financial advisor with Manulife for close to a decade. He’s been an MDRT member from 2014 to 2020.
Aside from his financially rewarding job with Manulife, Legaspi’s helping others lead better lives by providing life coaching. “As a life coach, I help my coachees through what I learned in my certification process, as a neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) practitioner, and practical wisdom gained from personal experience with my own struggles. I know how it feels to be in their situation. I know how to help them get out,” he says.
Legaspi recalls a recent intervention with a client who had been exceedingly stressed with her business situation that was negatively and hugely impacted by the pandemic. “I was also her financial advisor. In the course of our discussion about her investments, I was able to weave life coaching into our conversation. Long story short, I helped her clarify her life situation, determine the options before her on whether to continue her business or close shop, and reduce the issues that were causing her stress professionally and personally,” says Legaspi.
A notable NLP intervention occurred during the early days of the ECQ. “A teenage boy was referred to me who, according to his sister, was so stressed he couldn’t sleep for days,” he says. “Since we were in lockdown, I could only help him out through an online session. It was only the second time I applied NLP techniques online. Turns out he broke up with his girlfriend, his first, and he felt betrayed and embarrassed by his barkada who posted on social media what he told them confidentially. Using NLP during our session, I helped him overcome his trauma and his broken heart. For a few days after the session, he’d text me to ask questions. But he said his sleep pattern improved and he was able to get a few hours of sleep at night — which he couldn’t do before the session.”
On July 17, Legaspi (a.k.a. Coach Sugus) will conduct an online workshop entitled “(Side) Business Not As Usual” for those who lost their livelihood during the pandemic, as well as homemakers who would like to help their family breadwinners, teachers, government employees and those who are employed but want to earn more to increase their financial security and peace of mind. Details of the workshop are in the Coach Sugus Legaspi FB Page.
For certain, his professors at the College of St. Benilde, where he finished “summa”, would all be proud.