Judy Ann Santos has been a well-known figure in the Philippine entertainment industry for decades. She started out as a teenage star and worked hard to become an award-winning actress, producer, and restaurant owner. People remember her for her famous parts and box office hits. Some young people now know her for her funny, viral videos. But it's the ideals she's lived by—kindness, self-awareness, and keeping true to herself—that make her a role model outside of the screen.

In this interview with Manila Bulletin Lifestyle, Judy Ann, the newest ambassador for Tala, talks about what she's learned from her own successes and failures. She gives the next generation of dreamers honest, heartfelt guidance to getting through both work and life.

Looking back, I used to think, I wish I did this, or I wish I knew it was going to be like this. But now that I’m in this position, I can’t really say I regret those heartaches. Maybe because at that time, I was always on set, every single day, so it was easy for me to believe in things. If there was a heartbreak, I went through the process of feeling it, but I limited it to a day. The next day, it was gone because I’d change my number and move on. If there’s one thing I wish I knew then, it’s that not all people who show good intentions to you actually have good intentions.

Probably when I was younger. At that time, my regret was that I didn’t have the voice to tell my manager that I really didn’t want to do a certain project, but I allowed it. That was my fault, and I learned from it. I learned a lot growing up with those regrets.

I mean, my career growing up was very colorful. Even if I didn’t like what I was doing, I made it a point to enjoy my job—going to the set, cooking on the set—even if I didn’t like my colleagues. It was still an experience. Probably, I can’t say they were regrets because I learned a lot from them.

They just have to own themselves. Be genuine. When I say be authentic, I mean you should be you. People will love you for you. You don’t have to pretend—it’s hard to stick to something you’re not. If you know your talent, your skills, and how to build genuine relationships with people around you while respecting them, that’s a real investment. Start there.

Be yourself so you can have fun. When you’re having fun in whatever you do—whether in the corporate world or somewhere else—as long as you’re happy, you know what you’re doing, and you believe in it, you’ll get through all of it. You’ll also be able to save money for your future. Yes, you’ll cry during difficult times, but you’ll know you have a solution because you love what you’re doing.

Explore. Do your research. And while you’re exploring, make it a point to have fun so that early on, you can identify what you really want. Don’t pressure yourself into following what society says. If you depend on that, you might end up doing something you don’t actually like just because society says you should, and that won’t make you happy.

Whatever they want to do in the future, they have to make sure they know what they’re doing, they know how to do it, and they know why they want to do it. For me, these are the key aspects of building yourself and having a dream. You need to have a plan. What is your plan in life? Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

My mom’s advice: Don’t forget the people you’re with as you go through your career, from the smallest role to the biggest. Because those are the people you’ll meet again when you come back. Don’t measure the respect you give based on someone’s position—be a good person. Kindness will really go a long way.