Life doesn’t need to feel like you’re always catching up.
One day you’re fixing your finances. The next, you’re drowning in deadlines. Then suddenly, you’re drained emotionally, mentally, financially. You’re not lazy. You’re not pabaya. You just don’t have a system that works for you yet.
The truth?
No one taught us how to design life. We grew up with diskarte and sipag but no real direction. So we keep pushing, surviving, guessing… and burning out.
It’s time to stop going in circles. There’s a better way and it starts with building systems that actually fit you.
Hi, I'm Ria Cortez.
I help Filipinos like you build life systems with purpose starting with money. I call this way of thinking Telicism, a school of thought rooted in your telos or your purpose. It’s about designing a life that makes sense to you, not just copying what everyone else is doing. And for many of us, peace starts with having money to sustain that life.
Start with your Personal Financial System (PFS)
This isn’t your typical "tipid tips" or savings advice. Your Personal Financial System is a step-by-step session where we check your current financial situation, talk about what matters most to you, build a simple, clear system for your money, and explore insurance only if it fits your goals. No pressure.
Note: Limited slots weekly. Applications are reviewed for fit. Approved sessions receive a confirmation email.
Still figuring things out? Sige lang.
You don’t have to commit agad. If you’re still figuring things out, start with The Telic Life, my weekly email series where I share how I personally build systems for my life, finances, and peace of mind.You’ll also get my FREE Telic Starter Kit, a simple guide to help you get clear and steady.
What’s next?
Kaya Pala: The Podcast
Launching soon. Previously called The Boost Up Podcast. Real talk about Filipino life, culture, and beliefs.
Youth G
A youth-led volunteer movement built on structure and service. Stay updated on our upcoming community projects.
1K Design
Global creative marketplace to help Filipino creatives earn through their skills. (Launching October 2025!)
© Ria Cortez. All rights reserved. 2025.
Who is Ria Cortez?
Ria is a Gen Z Filipino philosopher known for helping Filipinos build personal systems for peace, purpose, and financial protection. She combines design thinking, life strategy, and Filipino values to help creatives, leaders, and professionals exit survival mode and live with structure.Her signature philosophy, Telicism, is a modern school of thought that teaches:
“To live well is to live in alignment with your telos — your higher purpose — through systems that move your mission forward.”

Ria graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, which deeply shapes how she approach systems thinking. Not just as a strategy, but as a way of living intentionally. Philosophy trained her to think critically, connect ideas meaningfully, and build frameworks that are both reflective and practical. Exactly what effective systems require.
Her work spans across 4 core pillars:
If you'd like to invite Ria to speak on a topic related to any of her four pillars, feel free to send an email to [email protected] or message her on Facebook or Instagram @wiaacortez.
Build systems that move people and missions forward.

A Telic Life
If you met Ria Cortez today, you might call her a modern-day philosopher, someone who speaks with clarity, builds with design, and sees structure as an act of service. But long before Ria founded Telicism, she was simply a young girl who moved with purpose even before she had the words for it.She began leading at just ten years old, not because anyone asked her to, but because something in her already knew: “There’s something to be done. You can do it.” She wasn’t driven by medals or praise. She was following a sense of alignment.

In elementary school, she found her voice, literally, as part of her school’s Filipino radio broadcasting team. She joined singing competitions, played sports from volleyball to basketball, badminton, and table tennis. She represented her school in the City Meet and her city in the Regional Festival of Talents. She later led the Pupil’s Government Federation as President. These weren’t just extracurriculars. They were early signs of telos, that inner pull toward meaningful action.

In high school, that pull grew stronger and sharper. With the support of her peers and mentors, Ria became President of the Student Government Federation (SGF) and created the SGF Volunteer Corps, a structured system that gave students real ways to serve. She also served as the Scribe of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines – University of Saint Anthony in 2018. She graduated with High Honors, ranked Top 2 of her class, and Top 1 in the Humanities and Social Sciences Strand. She was President of SCHOLAE, received the Best Student Paper award, and was named the Outstanding Senior High School Student of 2020.

Then came Philosophy. Ria took a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in college out of a natural interest. She was hungry for understanding. She wasn’t drawn to intellectual showmanship. She was searching for frameworks to make sense of the world.As “Philosopher Queen” or President of the Bicol University Young Philosophers’ Society, she helped lead the organization to earning the title of Outstanding Department-Based Organization in 2023. She graduated Magna Cum Laude, Top 1 of her program, and was awarded Most Outstanding Graduate of the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy in 2024.

But behind every honor was something deeper: a system. Behind every breakthrough, a structure. What held her up during the moments of uncertainty wasn’t chance, it was the system she built for herself. That realization didn’t just support her, it transformed her.

In 2021, she co-founded Youth G, a youth-led volunteer movement grounded in a single belief: Filipino youth deserve more than encouragement, they need systems to lead with clarity and serve with real impact. What started in one city is now building its national volunteer system, brick by brick.All of this grew from the same personal philosophy she lived by. One that now she calls Telicism. Inspired by the ancient Greek concept of telos meaning “end,” “purpose,” or “goal.” Telicism invites people not just to dream, but to design. It teaches that systems aren’t meant to trap you, they’re meant to carry you. They aren’t limits. They’re bridges to your real potential.

At this phase of her work, Ria is focused on the system that often holds the key to someone’s clarity: money. As a Licensed Financial Advisor under PRU Life UK, Ria guides Filipinos through their Personal Financial System (PFS), a 60-minute session to clarify their money flow, protection plan, and financial purpose. These aren’t hard-sell insurance talks. They’re thoughtful conversations that leave people feeling seen, steady, and in control of their next step.
She is also preparing to launch Kaya Pala: The Podcast, where she’ll explore Filipino culture, mindset, and self-awareness through deep, relatable storytelling.Her creative marketplace 1K Design, set to launch this October, will offer digital tools and templates for creatives who want to turn ideas into income, with systems at the core.And she continues to lead Youth G as National Chairperson, developing its volunteer system so youth across the country can contribute meaningfully with structure, not burnout.Through every role, Ria stays true to one rhythm: she leads to build, builds to serve, and serves to help others design lives grounded in clarity, direction, and peace.She still receives messages from former teammates because she helped build the structure they were missing. Sometimes, she simply held the belief for them until they could believe in themselves again.That, for her, is the reward. Not the spotlight. Not the stage. But the quiet moment someone says: “I finally feel like I know what I’m doing.”This is not just her story.
This is her invitation.To the student who doubts herself.
To the creative who feels stuck.
To the leader who’s tired.
To the Filipino who’s been told to hustle harder, but never how to rest, design, or realign.There is another way.
A telic way.
Ria Cortez is here to help you build it with clarity, structure, and all her heart.
