From City To Bukid: This CEO Turned Farmer Explains How Farming Can Make You Happy

City life can be exhausting and overwhelming. Especially if you work in an industry where you need to surprise people with something new all the time.

“‘Yung farming kasi, believe it or not, it’s relaxing,” Third Domingo, CEO of his own advertising agency, told Summit OG in an exclusive interview. When he is not creating campaigns for brands, he goes to the province to tend his farm.

“It’s a different kind of respite from the hustle and bustle of advertising,” he said. 

The world of marketing and advertising can be very competitive and draining. Domingo knows that well. “Usually that sort of thing, it takes a lot from you,” he explained. “It can sap your energy if you’re not careful.”

“You have to find ways to somehow replenish your energy,” he advised. He found that farming is one of the best ways to do just that.

From city life to bukid life

Although there is a stark contrast between farming and advertising, the two provide the right work-life balance for Domingo.

“Sa advertising, kahit gabi na, hindi mo mapipigilan ang sarili mo na mag-isip ng mga konsepto,” he explained. “Sa farming, alam mo kung kailan ka magsisimula at kung kailan ka magtatapos, which is a discipline that is somehow very hard to learn when you work in advertising.”

“When you’re in the city, when you’re working, when you have a career, sometimes you only take it day by day eh,” he said. “Farming forces you to think kind of long-term. You learn to plan because you have to work with nature.”

Domingo said farming means working with forces you cannot control. “It allows you to have a more complete perspective,” he said. 

“Habang gumagalaw ka... lalo kang nabibigyan ng energy.” 

The young CEO gets asked where he finds the energy to pursue farming despite the demands of his job in advertising. “May energy na nalilikha ng movement,” he shared. “Habang gumagalaw ka, habang kumikilos ka, habang nagsisikap ka, lalo kang nabibigyan ng energy.” 

Relaxing isn’t just doing nothing or spending time in silence. For Domingo, doing something can also be a form of relaxation. “I think you actually need to do some active form of stress,” he said.

Domingo takes farming as another form of adventure. He recalls that the most exciting times of his life were the moments his parents would take him to the province to help in the farm.

He shared that they were neither rich nor poor, but being a son of a public school teacher has taught him the value of education and hardwork. That's why the trips to the province, despite the physical work, was among his favorite childhood memories.

Being able to touch, smell, and hear nature replenishes his energy, which in turn helps him create campaigns and strategies that would benefit the brands he handles and the clients he works with.

Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that have the most impact.

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