Dr. Mark Muñoz. Photo courtesy from Millikin University/website
CEBU CITY, Philippines — When we were kids, we all had dreams and aspirations about what we want to become. Others dream of being a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a policeman, and the list of those dreams goes on.
But as we grow older, circumstances test us for who we really want to be. Later, we won’t know what we are capable of until we try something new because sometimes, taking a leap can unveil our utmost potential.
Dr. Mark Muñoz, 58, a published author and US-based professor, proves that accepting it would take us to the highest places when a door of opportunity opens.
Published author, editor
Muñoz is a business professor, author, consultant, and entrepreneur who has authored and edited over 30 books. He told CDN Digital that these books were published by top US and European publishers.
His first book, ‘Land of My Birth,’ was published in 2005. It was a socio-political critique of the Philippines. According to newspaper accounts, he said, “It highlighted the challenges faced in an emerging nation such as the Philippines and offered pathways towards success.”
“It was somewhat like Jose Rizal’s Noli me Tangere but under a newer style and format,” he said.
He added that the book received a ‘Calatagan Award,’ a literary and cultural award given by the Philippine American Writers and Artists Association.
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Throughout his career, he received multiple awards, from “smaller” to “larger” that he lost count of.
These awards include the International Book Awards, the ACBSP (Accreditation Council for Business Schools Program) Teaching Excellence Award, the Distinguished Business Dean Award, the Global Academic Excellence Award, and the runner-up and People’s Choice Winner of the Triple E Male Entrepreneurial Leader of the Year—Education Champion for the Americas.
The recent award he received is the “honor” he received just this month: the Lifetime Achievement Award in Global Business, given to him by the Academy of Global Business Advancement on July 9, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I feel blessed that my hard work has been continually appreciated and recognized,” Muñoz said.
A photo of Dr. Mark Muñoz when he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Global Business, given to him by the Academy of Global Business Advancement on July 9, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand. | Contributed photo from Dr. Muñoz
Mark Muñoz: Early years in Cebu
“In my youth and even as a young man in Cebu, I never envisioned myself to be an author.”
That is what Muñoz shared with CDN Digital. Although he was originally born in Zamboanga City, Muñoz is proud to have grown up in Cebu, the place that witnessed his successes and failures.
“Many years ago, Cebu, for me, was a hub for learning and developing as a business executive. I had successes, I made mistakes, and I made it a point to learn from all of them.”
He completed high school at the University of the Philippines-Cebu, and finished his Master’s in Business Management and PhD in Management at the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City.
But Muñoz left Cebu around 2000 to work for a market research firm in the United States because he “wanted to learn new skills, grow, and challenge” himself “in a new environment.”
An opportunity opens
Muñoz said that shortly after he migrated to the US, a publisher he met suggested that he write a book about what it’s like to live in a country other than America.
After that encounter, “a window of opportunity opened.”
He said that he prepared a book proposal, and soon, three publishers expressed interest in publishing the book. He then selected a publisher for the project and poured his heart and soul into the manuscript.
“I didn’t know I could write until after I completed my first book project,” Muñoz revealed.
Within two years of completing his first book, he was able to complete two more: a memoir about his life as an immigrant in America and ‘A Salesman in Asia,’ a book about finding success in sales in the Asia-Pacific region.
“After those three books, I realized I could write and actually enjoyed it,” he said.
Passion to educate
No matter where the opportunity takes us, our passion will always drive us farther. Muñoz’s flaming passion for education made him who he is today.
He loves to educate people through all available mediums, whether in classrooms, his books, conference halls, boardrooms, or virtual sessions.
He believes “we need to put our abilities to good use and utilize our strengths to help others and make the world a better place.”
“Albert Einstein once said, ‘I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.’ To a large extent, I have lived my life this way. I am an ordinary man with an extraordinary desire to gain knowledge and to share what I’ve learned with the world. I leveraged what I gathered through research and real life business experience and used them to help others through teaching, consulting, mentoring and through books”
His areas of expertise are International Business, Management, Entrepreneurship, Technology and Innovation, Geopolitics, and Leadership.
He said he built on this expertise and integrated what he had learned in research and business experience in his book projects.
Muñoz likes his books “to be of value to a broad audience including academics, researchers, business executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, and policymakers worldwide.”
Dr. Mark Muñoz posed for a photo with his award in 2023. Photo from Millikin University/website
What can leaders learn from his books?
To those readers who seek a “balanced approach that blends academic research and real-life business experience,” Muñoz’s books might interest you.
He said his books have “a strong practical angle that appeals to a wide range of readers.”
For example, a book he co-authored entitled, “The AI Leader: Mastery of Humans and Machines in the Workplace,” featured extensive academic research along with interviews with CEOs of several companies from around the world.
The book aimed to provide readers with fresh business insights that would help them in their workplace and their professional careers.
“I like my books to be meaningful in the classroom, the boardroom, and even the shop floor,” he said.
In the case of the books he edited, he works with chapter contributors from all over the world, as he loves “diversity of thought and talent.”
“It is not uncommon in each of my edited books to have contributors from 20 or more countries. The shared insights from several international contributors have often led to the creation of a unique and fresh body of knowledge never seen by readers before. This new knowledge opens doors towards the appreciation and discovery of novel business ideas,” he said.
Moreover, Muñoz likes to pursue “pioneering books” or “books with topics that few or no one has written about.”
He also likes to write books that are a step ahead of an emerging trend.
“For example, I did my book titled Contemporary Microenterprise: Concepts and Cases because I couldn’t find a good book on the topic. As a result, the book became a pioneering book on the subject and it helped many researchers, academics, entrepreneurs and policy makers worldwide advance their thinking on the subject… My approach of focusing on pioneering topics has made the books valuable to readers and impactful to industry,” he explained.
Advice to aspiring authors
Muñoz laid out three pieces of advice for aspiring authors of all ages: Don’t be afraid to try. You’ll never know if you have what it takes unless you do; focus on value, think about what readers would want to learn more about; and be patient. The hardest book to get published is your first. Publishing will become easier after you complete one and have a track record.
Recognizing the richness of Filipino talents, Muños encourages aspiring authors “to dream big and pursue an exciting book project.”
Aside from his advice, he also suggests that aspirants try different mediums first, such as blogs and academic journals, to sharpen their writing skills, then proceed with a book project.
“Reach out to publishers in different parts of the world. Book publication has become a borderless phenomenon. Most importantly, once a unique opportunity presents itself, seize it,” he said.
In life, there may be times when we think like Sylvia Plath, an American writer who once said in one of her literary pieces that she can never be all the people she wants to be, live all the lives she wants, or train all the skills she wants.
But even if we cannot become the people we want to be or learn the skills we desire, the opportunities out there are limitless. We just have to take that leap and see how far we can go by choosing to look ahead and never letting fear drag us to regret the chances we didn’t take.
