
Are we ready to be great?
For the next few weeks, I will be asking some of our Angelpreneurs — Francis Kong, Josiah Go, Ping Sotto, Pax Lapid, Ardy Roberto, Henry Tenedero, Andy Ferreria, and Anthony Pangilinan, — on “How can we be the best that we could be?”, “What is success?”, and “What do we mean by being great?”.
I visited South Africa sometime in 1998. There was a prospective company named Tiger Oats that wanted to invest in RFM. South Africa is a beautiful country. It even has a lot of similarities with the Philippines.
Our new political leaders must bring together unity, even with the new opposition. We cannot achieve greatness for the Philippines if we have a divided country. While an overwhelming mandate was given to President-elect Aquino, all groups must be brought together and inspired to work towards a common vision.
In a way, Nelson Mandela and Ninoy Aquino had a similar faith. One of them was exiled and the other was jailed. In the case of Ninoy, his dream for the Filipinos was to be executed by his wife Cory and now his son Noynoy. God gives man a chance, but then again, it is through proper attitude and hard work that greatness can be achieved.
PGMA excelled in building and laying a strong starting point in our economy. We do not have racial discrimination as a problem, unlike in South Africa. Our problem is really the crab mentality and the cynicism that are still prevalent in many Filipinos. We hope that this changes.
Noynoy needs to continue to inspire Filipinos to achieve greatness. This can be done by highlighting the many small and medium entrepreneurs who continue to fight and beat poverty. We need to make them icons of hope and inspiration. It is also important to bring to light the political and social leaders who continue to excel and make a difference in helping give a better chance for others.
How many among our Filipino brothers and sisters are hungry for success? I am sure that there are many. That is why they seek greener pastures by working overseas to provide a better education for their children and to improve the lives of their family. There are a lot of Filipinos out there who need inspiration.
The Philippines has come a long way from a dictatorship to a full democracy. Now, the engines of our economy are starting to rev up. It is time for a leader to inspire all to greatness.
PLDT SME Nation and Go Negosyo continue to present entrepreneurship icons. We need good role models — people who pursued their dreams and held on to their passion. With the right positive and enterprising attitude, skills and creativity, any Filipino can also reach their dreams.
I was told that together with other “Business Bossings”, I will be part of the launch as “Bossing” of my own little pizza resto concept Joey Pepperoni. We hope we can have more of these empowering activities to rally the Filipino people towards a change in mindset.
Congratulations again to the team of Manny and Eric, as they continue to be the enabler that will help make Negosyo as the nationwide key to progress and solution to poverty.
Tags: