The breakfast that started this

I was in Manila in February, sitting down for breakfast with two businessmen I’d never met before. One of them, Rufi Parpan, posted a photo of the three of us afterward. His caption was simple: Show up. Step up. The opportunities are there. It’s really on us.

That message stuck with me because I see it playing out everywhere I look. I see it in the Filipino software engineers I’ve spoken with, sharp, talented people doing incredible work. I see it in the craftsmanship of Filipino artisans and designers. The talent is undeniably there. And yet, when I look at opportunity meeting readiness, something shifts. There’s a gap between capability and action, and that gap is costing people more than they realize.

What I’m observing

Let me be direct about what I’m observing. When I’m hiring for my company, I reach out to roughly twenty candidates at a time. About half respond. Of those who respond, I schedule interviews with them. Only half of those confirm. And from that group, some don’t show up or cancel last minute. Why’d you apply if you weren’t planning to show up? Each time someone doesn’t follow through, a door closes, not just for that one moment, but for every conversation that could have happened after, every introduction they might have made, every opportunity that could have come from that relationship.

This pattern shows up elsewhere too. I contact vendors, reach out through their websites, send emails, make calls, leave voicemails, connect on LinkedIn. Nothing. No response. Not even a courtesy message saying they’re busy. Para ako pang manliligaw, as if I’m the one doing the courting. That’s not laziness, these companies are active, they’re operating. But there’s a disconnect between someone reaching out and someone deciding that reaching back matters.

An introvert’s lesson

Here’s what I want you to know: I’m an introvert. I’ve always been one. As a kid, I was a computer nerd, and I still am. Being introverted doesn’t disqualify you from stepping through doors. In fact, over twenty five years of engineering leadership, I’ve learned that showing up, literally and figuratively, is what creates momentum.

Not every door leads to success. But if you step through enough doors, if you respond to enough opportunities, if you show up when you commit to showing up, you will find your path. If you don’t step through any, you won’t get that chance.

What showing up actually looks like

Showing up means different things depending on where you are.

If you’re a job seeker, it means responding to that recruiter message, confirming your interview, and actually being there at the scheduled time.

If you’re a vendor or service provider, it means getting back to someone who’s reaching out to you, even if it’s just to say you’re busy and will follow up next week.

If you’re in a role right now, don’t think that’s your ceiling. Look ahead. What’s the next position, the next challenge, the next opportunity for growth? Seek it. Apply for it. Talk to people about it.

I’ve seen Filipino leaders encourage their team members to apply for stretch roles or promotions, and the response is often: I’m not ready, I’m not capable. But that’s self-limiting before you’ve even tried. When you strive, opportunities emerge, sometimes from places you didn’t expect. And when they do come, don’t reject them because you think you’re not ready. You won’t know if you’re ready until you try. Even if you don’t land that role, you’ll learn what’s required. You’ll see what’s possible. You’ll expand your own sense of what you’re capable of. That’s the real growth.

None of this is glamorous. It’s just consistent action.

The Lacoste shirt

But here’s something else I’ve noticed. Many Filipinos set goals, but they set them too small.

I was just out of college in the Philippines when I walked past a Lacoste store and saw a shirt, you know, the one with the crocodile logo. It cost three thousand pesos, roughly a hundred dollars during that time. At my first job, I was earning around four thousand pesos a month in take-home pay, so that shirt was nearly a full month’s salary. And I made it my goal to buy that shirt. At the time, it felt like a lifetime ambition. Now I see it for what it was: a self-imposed ceiling. I was thinking in milestones when I should have been thinking in horizons. That shirt was never meant to be my destination, it was just a checkpoint on the way to somewhere bigger.

The problem is, many Filipinos stop at that checkpoint. They reach the goal they set, and then they think that’s it. That’s as far as you can go. That’s your ceiling.

The cycle that keeps us small

And then something happens that reinforces that ceiling. They step up, they try, they hit a barrier. The system doesn’t support them. A door slams. And instead of trying again when the next opportunity comes, they think: this is too hard, the system won’t let me through, why bother?

One bad experience becomes the reason to stop trying. And then that becomes your reality. You don’t step through because you’ve already decided you can’t. The system wins because you’ve done its job for it.

Speak up when the system fails you

But don’t let that be you. When you hit barriers, and you will, that’s when stepping up takes on another meaning. Speak up. If the system is making it harder for you to act, if bureaucracy or outdated processes are slowing you down, don’t just accept it. Make noise. Push for change. But don’t let one closed door convince you that all doors are closed.

Because the talent is there. The opportunity is there. What’s missing sometimes is the visibility, the access, the removal of unnecessary friction. And sometimes what’s missing is your willingness to try again.

My commitment

I’m fifty three years old, and I’m committing the remainder of my professional life to building pathways for Filipino talent in software engineering, industrial design, and artisan crafts. I’ve seen where the gaps are. These are the fields where Filipino capability exists but visibility and access don’t. I’m focusing my efforts here because that’s where I see the opportunity to make a real difference.

I’m opening doors. But I can’t do this alone. I’m asking Filipino Americans already here in the US: help me create these opportunities. We have the knowledge, the networks, the resources. We have a responsibility to the next generation coming up behind us.

Rufi was right. The opportunities are there. It’s on us. Show up. Step up. I’m opening the door. Now step through it.