He wanted to be a Priest; thus, he went to Christ the King Mission Seminary in Quezon City. Advised by their family Doctor to rest for a year, instead of going back to the Seminary, he stayed in Bohol and formed himself a fave member of The Roundels, a band with gigs all over the province. This changed his plan. Enrolling at Divine Word College, he finished BSC, taught in Tubigon, his hometown, and was employed as a Encyclopedia Salesman in Cebu City. A stint with Sustagen brought him to Butuan City, and BPI. The United States beckoned and he became an Instructor at St. Mary's School in St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands. California became his next based where, from being a timid and shy boy, he conquered his fears and became top-notch honcho at the Surety Life Insurance. Under him were Filipino expatriate celebrities (Gabby Concepcion, Amado Cortes, Gloria Sevilla, Eddie Mercado), etc. He garnered awards in the Insurance business, earning more than P10,000 a month. He transferred to Florida and was affiliated with Excel Telecommunication. In four months he conquered Florida, and other States, with thousands of marketing experts he personally trained. He was on top of the Networking world.

Florentino Basio Arcamo, Jr. (FBA) is back in Bohol and is now a resident of Panglao where he built his latest home. He has realized that Godliness is the dominant influence in his life. He tends to young boys and girls, feeds them, and teaches them how to be Good Christians. This interview took place in “Nangutana Lang,” DYRD-ZD, April 3, Thursday.

LMP: Kon imong ikomparar ang kinabuhi ngadto ug karon, unsa ang deperensya?

FBA: Well, in terms of technology, karon daghan nang available nga hi-tech gadgets, like cellphones, computers, etc. Sa aspect sa marketing and selling, that brings a point that Jesus is the greatest salesman of all time, even without these gadgets.

LMP: You would like to say that Jesus Christ is, was, will be the greatest salesman of all?

FBA: Yes, that is correct.

LMP: How did He do it? What I mean is, wala man siya'y mga gadgets, but how did He succeed?

FBA: He became my model that is why I became successful. If your model is Jesus, how can you go wrong? I made it a point to copy His style, which is belly-to-belly, face-to-face with a live prospect, the breathing human being. We know that Jesus was rejected for so many times, was slapped and humiliated, but He did not stop. That taught me a lesson, that if you want to be a salesman or saleslady, you have to be ready to face rejections. Because Jesus did, yet He managed to convince twelve people.

LMP: Therefore, you consider that perseverance, persistence, is very important in the marketing world?

FBA: Yes, you have to embrace it in order to survive. Anybody without persistence will be annihilated along the way.

LMP: I noticed when I read about your life, you became established when you were already in the States, but not here in the Philippines?

FBA: Yes, because I did not know that I have this gab, talent in selling. That is why, I was asked to write a book about my success in the US. In one of my topics in that book (not yet published), I said that the limitation is only in my mind. If you break the shell, then it becomes limitless. If your mind is barren, there would be nothing in there, nothing in, nothing out.

LMP: Sa ato pa Junne, bisan ang usa ka tawo nga manggi-ulawon, nga mora og dili kaayo gustong makighugoy-hugoy sa mga katawhan, there is still a tendency to become successful in the marketing world.

FBA: Yes, and that is me.

LMP: How did you conquer your own fears?

FBA: Well, God works in strangest ways, because I did not know that I can sell. But all of a sudden, I was reading this magazine in Sunnyvale, California, and in one of the pages were the motivational tapes, and it intrigues me. So, I bought these tapes, made my car a university on wheels as I listened to the topics, and learned a lot from it.

LMP: Let's start with your insurance business in San Francisco, how did you become successful?

FBA: At first, I worked with AT&T and on weekends at AMD (Advanced Micro Devices). I had two full-time jobs at that time, and gigs on the evening during weekends because I was a member of a band. My schedule was really tight, until I got this phone call from a friend, saying that she wanted to see me. She came into house and ended up, selling insurance to me. After that, she asked me if I could do this as part-time. But I refused, because I was not a sales person back then. When I found out the commission structure, it could pay my monthly credit card bills. I got a license to become an Agent and started selling life insurance.

LMP: And you became successful, to such an extent that you were able to gather groups. In this kind of business, mas daghan ka ug mga tawo, mas daghan ang imong commission. That's the way it works.

FBA: That is correct. With Surety Life Insurance, the scheme is networking. In networking you need to do two things, sell and recruit insurance agents.

LMP: Usa ka punto, mibalhin ka from California to Florida. What was the reason?

FBA: When I joined the insurance business in 1984, four years later, I became number one all over the States. But an earthquake struck California in 1989. My wife was so petrified and scared, so we decided to leave the earthquake belt California, and moved to the hurricane belt Florida. (Laughs)

LMP: But even then, you were still very successful. What company did you affiliate with in Florida?

FBA: Well, this is a very nice story because I was already at the height of my success at that time. I became number one in 1988 all over the US, when the earthquake struck. I flew to Utah (headquarters of Surety Life Insurance), to inform our President that my family and I were moving to Orlando, Florida. At first, he was hesitant because Florida is a retirement State, and I was already number one in California. To make the story short, I was able to convince him, and I managed the two States, California and Florida.

LMP: So, even if you were not based in California anymore, you are still managing the business?

FBA: Yes, that is why, I appointed team leaders to man my group in California. When I started to put up the branch of Surety Life Insurance in Orlando, Florida, Excel Telecommunication (a phone company) came our way. At first, I was adamant because I wanted to focus on my insurance business. But later on, I realized that it was easier to make money in the phone business, than selling life insurance. When we were featured on the Excel magazine, my wife told me that it was time for us to retire. But I told her, I won't retire. This is not about the money anymore. God is using me to help people make money. He don't want me to become a Priest, instead He made my brother a Priest. But with this income that we have, it will continue to grow, without us doing anything. I wanted help the people financially, and I succeeded in helping them.

LMP: Approximately, how many did you have in your group?

FBA: They are about fifty to sixty thousand people scattered all over the US. I don't even know 90% of them. Every year we have our convention in Dallas, Texas, the headquarters of Excel. These people looked for me, and they treated me as a friend.

LMP: Your parting words?

FBA: Success have different dimension. For me, true success is living a life that is God- centered. I am happy and fulfilled living in Panglao, and I can die anytime. I have reached the summit of success, I am ready, ug wala nako'y gikawilihan. I have met so many wonderful people in my life. Success is all about being fair and equal to one another. I always tell my friends in Panglao, don't call me “Sir,” because there is division. Instead, dismantle the title, just call me Junne or Nong, that is fine with me. (Laughs)

Junne Arcamo now looks back and can only smile, remembering how he transformed himself as the Top Salesman in USA. As a Networking expert, no other Boholano could hold a candle to him. Yet, at the peak of his career in Marketing, after winning the rat race, he realized that money is not everlasting... that it is only an instrument for man's needs, but not the end-all of existence. Junne is convinced he is ready to face hi Creator. He has a lot in the Panglao Catholic Cemetery, where he will build his tomb, after he has been cremated. Morbid? Definitely not. The Good Christian in him is a precedence above anything else. There's nothing wrong with being prepared when he crosses the path bordering his mortality.

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(Website: www.loypalapos.com ; Email: loy.pal@gmail.com ; Cellphone: 09981701129)