MANILA, Philippines – As ABS-CBN’s Chief Content Officer, Charo Santos-Concio has had a long and storied career in entertainment, from producing movies to acting in them, to working her way up the network’s ranks. (READ: Charo Santos-Concio on the ‘most painful chapter’ in her career)

None of it, however, was by chance, Charo said at the launch of Olay’s reformulated products, which have been changed, based on studies that say that 10% of women have a genetic code for naturally beautiful skin.

Charo, as the brand’s slogan says, made her own luck, and her rallying cry whenever times were tough were words from her father: “Suntukin mo!”

When she was a young girl living in Mindoro Oriental, Charo recounted to Rappler after Olay’s product launch on September 12, she and her 4 sisters and brother would ride a boat to Manila every summer.

On one of their trips, one of the stevedores had come onto their boat and scared her, but when she asked her dad to come over and help them, he simply told her, “Suntukin mo (punch them)!”

They got home unharmed, but Charo’s dad said a few words that resonated with her: “When we got home, my father sat us down and told us, ‘You know, I will not be around for you all my life. And you’re girls. And therefore, you have to learn how to fend for yourself and learn not to depend on any man for your well-being and your sense of independence. So believe in yourself and learn to fend for yourself,” she explained.

Her lowest point

Charo did fend for herself throughout her career, facing many ups and downs. In her conversation with Rappler, she spoke about ABS-CBN’s ratings drop in 2004 as her lowest point.

“We were number one for 17 years and we dropped to number two, and I felt the whole world rejected me. I mean, the rejection of Channel Two was like a rejection of my person. I really took it hard, I took it personally, and I had to quit work for a while and really get my bearings back,” she said about the incident.

How did she overcome it? “I did an inward journey, wherein I stopped looking at the world, I stopped pointing fingers at anyone, and just looked at myself and grappled with my own demons. So that was the lowest point, but that was also the most liberating moment for my person, for my being.”

And for millennials who may go through the same ordeal in the future, Charo has these words of wisdom: “Don’t run away from your truth. Face up to your truths, no matter how ugly, no matter how painful, no matter how hurting it may be. That’s the only way we’re gonna grow up.”

She added: “Adjusting to an imperfect situation is all about the lens that we keep.” – Rappler.com