Trainers and consultants, James and Cynthia Fantone, were guest speakers at a special self-reliance presentation in Wan Chai, Hong Kong where they entertained and educated a crowd of Filipina domestic workers. Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Fantones’ presentation was both timely and timeless. Their gems of wisdom about self-reliance were embedded in a presentation punctuated by homespun humor. The audience laughed often as they recognized themselves in the Fantones’ stories about economic challenges common among people in the Philippines and elsewhere.
The Fantones focused on four principles of self-reliance: living within your means (a lesson on budgeting), living beneath your means (a lesson on savings), learning to increase your means (a lesson on knowledge), and sharing your means (a lesson on charity).
At one point, James Fantone offered some advice he had heard from a wealthy businessman, “I am wealthy because when I make $5, I only spend $3, maybe $2.” Expanding on the advice, Fantone told of another successful friend who declared the original advice to be incomplete. As Fantone described it, the other friend offered, “Yes, it is true about the wealthy, that 'when we make $5 we only spend $3, maybe $2' but you’re missing the other part of the formula. The other part of the formula is--when we start to make $7 or $8, we still only spend $3, maybe $2.”
The LDS Church promotes self-reliance in many ways. The Fantones’ visit was well received by the Church’s members and others in attendance. President Ganzon, a member of the Church’s Hong Kong China District presidency heard from several church members following the fireside. Commenting on the feedback, President Ganzon said, “A lot of these women have said [the presentation] changed their perspectives on life. It will make a big difference for many of them.”