Erwin Benedict Valencia

Your NETwork might be worth more than your NET WORTH. 👀

And the older I get, the more I believe it.

Because some of the greatest wealth I’ve accumulated can’t be found in a bank account.

It’s the people.

The friendships.
The conversations.
The introductions.
The tables where strangers became friends.
The random “You two NEED to know each other” moments that turned into something bigger.

And maybe there’s a reason I’ve always been wired this way. 🇵🇭

KAPWA. We belong to one another.

BAYANIHAN. We carry one another.

Two Filipino concepts that I don’t just believe in. I live and breathe them. It’s in my DNA.

It’s also why I tell every new business owner:

BUDGET FOR COMMUNITY.

People might show up because of what you sell.

But they come back because of how they FEEL when they’re there.

Maya Angelou said it better than any of us ever could:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maybe the richest person in the room isn’t the one with the highest net worth.

Maybe it’s the person who helped everyone in the room find each other. ❤️

My newest Substack is live.
🔗 LINK IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

And here’s my challenge to you:

Tag ONE person who has made your life richer simply because they’re part of your network.

Then tell them WHY.

Let’s give people their flowers while they can still smell them. 💐

RUN IT BACK… Mindvalley University 2026 closing party was truly 💜 filling.

There are places that ask you to fit in.

And then there are places that remind you who you are.

This weekend, I thought I was shopping for sneakers.

Turns out, I was searching for a version of myself that hadn’t had much room to breathe.

It’s funny how a pair of shoes (or 3!) can make you realize you’ve been craving something much deeper…

Not more stuff.

More self-expression.

Maybe that’s why I keep coming back to Mindvalley University every year.

Not just because of the conversations.

Not just because of the friendships.

But because it’s one of the few places where I never feel like I have to shrink parts of myself.

No judgment.

No labels.

Just appreciation.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I turned that reflection into this week’s Substack ✍️

I’d love for you to read it.

Question for you:

Where is the place that makes you feel most like yourself?

👇 Drop it in the comments.

My favorite photo from this year’s Mindvalley University

Captured by Kika Kralikova 📸

What I love about it is that it doesn’t show the big gesture.

It shows the moment in between.

The breath before the next sentence.
The pause before the next story.
The reminder that presence can be just as powerful as performance.

Over the years, I’ve been known for bringing energy to the stage.

But the older I get, the more I understand that real energy isn’t always about volume.

Sometimes it’s calm.
Sometimes it’s grounded.
Sometimes it’s simply being fully there.

That’s what this photo feels like to me.

A little less proving.
A little more being.

And maybe that’s the evolution.

Grateful for another year of learning, sharing, connecting, and bringing my own little bit of sazón to the Mindvalley.events stage. 💜

Every year someone asks me…

“You’re going back to Mindvalley University… again?”

For years, I thought the answer was easy.

The learning.
The speaking.
The hosting.
The dancing.
The friendships.

This year reminded me that those are all part of the story…

But not the whole story.

The greatest thing I’ve ever taken home from this community isn’t another notebook full of ideas.

It’s the feeling of BELONGING.

It’s finding people who celebrate your growth, challenge your thinking, remind you of your gifts, and somehow make you believe a little more is possible.

This is Reflection #1 from my week at 2026 💜

Over the next week or two, I’ll be sharing more stories, more photos, more lessons, and a few moments that I’ll probably never forget.

The full essay is now live on my Substack (📸: sarah dewald )

Link in comments below ⬇️

As always…

Welcome To The NOW.🤍

I MISS THIS.🥺

The true feeling of belonging. Knowing that you’re supported by the collective. Being in a city that is not only beautiful (castles and cobblestone streets), but walkable, with many hidden places that perk a sense of adventure and mystery for those that seek it.

Mindvalley UNIVERSITY is back in Tallinn, Estonia 🇪🇪 and I, for one, am SUPER EXCITED to be back “on campus”.

Forever grateful to Vishen and his team for bringing LEARNINGS, EXPERIENCES, and especially MAGIC year in and year out. Honored to watch this “school” grow from an experiment to an establishment.💜

Can’t wait to reconnect with my people and create connections with new ones.

See you soon, FAMILY.🙏🏽

New York is loud.

It’s traffic that tests your patience.

Coffee that somehow tastes better because you’re walking while drinking it.

Buildings that make you feel impossibly small.

Rain that changes your plans.

Friends who somehow make the entire city feel like home.

This trip reminded me that New York isn’t just a place. It’s an emotion.

One moment you’re sitting in traffic wondering why anyone chooses this life.

The next you’re laughing with people you love.

Then you’re walking into a hidden speakeasy, surrounded by vinyl records, unexpectedly reconnecting with the part of yourself that once spent nights behind the DJ booth.

That’s New York.

It overwhelms you.

It inspires you.

It exhausts you.

It wakes something up inside you.

Love it or hate it, there’s nowhere quite like it.

Maybe that’s why we keep coming back.

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of New York? 🗽

Back on the 🚌 to NYC & BOS….

Back to two cities that helped me grow professionally and personally.

Back at a different point in my life, my career.

Excited for the memories to come flooding back.🥹

What’s one place I need to check out in each city for a super quick catch up? Drop in the comment below ⬇️

Almost 40 years of friendship in one photo.🙏🏽

Life moves.

We move.

Across cities. Across countries. Across careers. Across marriages, families, losses, wins, and entirely different versions of ourselves.

But somehow, the real ones remain.

Forever grateful that life gave me the chance to spend my high school years in the Philippines—and even more grateful for the incredible humans I met there who, nearly four decades later, are still among my closest friends, my confidants, and the people who knew me long before the world did.

And there are others who aren’t in this photo but remain just as close to our hearts—kept connected through random, ridiculous group texts, inside jokes that somehow survived decades, and meetups whenever life and geography allow.

We may not talk every day.

We may not see each other every year.

But real friendship has never been measured by proximity.

It’s measured by the feeling that no matter how much time has passed… you can pick up exactly where you left off.

Almost 40 years later, still here. Still laughing. Still us.

Some friendships aren’t for a season.

They’re for a lifetime.🇵🇭

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Tag the friend you may not see enough, may not talk to every day—but when you reconnect, it feels like no time has passed.

The real ones deserve to know they’re still the real ones.💪🏽