[vc_row][vc_column width="1/3"][vc_empty_space height="32px"][/vc_column][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_empty_space height="32px"][vc_column_text]Another year is in the bag. We said goodbye 2014 and welcome 2015 all at 12 midnight of December 31st.

Many people believe that this is a promising year. Yes, I agree. But is it not true that every promise goes with pain, sacrifice and hard work? I guess promise and challenge go together and one can't exist without the other.

That said, 2015 will be a challenging year in business. This is the time when the Philippines is no longer for the Filipinos as Asean integration starts this year. The open Philippines has widened its doors that will create an even more competitive business environment.

2015 will be a challenging year for Filipino workers as well when people from Asean member-coutries are set to take our jobs. If they are more able, they will probably get hired and we will get fired. Unfortunately, no rally can stop it and our legislators may be too busy preparing for 2016 elections to focus on protecting our workers from those imminent threat.

But the promise of 2015 is rewarding if and when we are able to surpass all the challenges happening this year. And the key is preparation.

The only way we can get the promise of a great 2015 is through preparing our selves for the challenges that lie ahead. That's why we need more information, skills, talents, knowledge, wisdom, strong spirit. We need to level up our thinking process. We need to analyse the situation. We need to study and research.

We can't just stand here and wait while we watch other nationalities taking over our businesses and careers. We have to fight back and the best way to ensure our win is by investing more on our selves.

This year, let's go back to the basics. The challenges will stay and the question is not when it will end because it probably won't. The questions is, are you up to the challenge of taking that pen and paper and experience the pain of starting to study once again.

All the best.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]