Have you ever wondered if you can mix travel with work? Before, Americans could only dream of going to Europe, Asia, or the Middle East for longer periods at a time without losing their job along the way. In today's global market, you can. Studies show that 91 percent of big American companies are eyeing on the global economic regions for expansion. As a result, they need some of their employees to move to these places for some periods of time to kick start the business in the region.

To spark your enthusiasm on having a career outside the country, consider the following facts. The United States has about 300 million strong consumers, but there are 6 billion strong consumers more to have from the 193 foreign countries. It's really a pity not to tap this market for expansion.

The promotion of equitable international trade spurred perhaps the greatest leap in the global economic environment: the growth of international free trade. Asian brands such as Honda, Mitsubishi, and Sony dominated the automobile and the home appliances global market to the demise of some U.S. brands. The relatively cheap and sturdy international brands trampled some U.S. manufacturers resulting to record high job losses.

Absorbing the lessons learned from the mistakes of U.S. manufacturers and incorporating the ingenious inventions by the German, Japanese, and U.S. producers, Asian countries like China and South Korea and even Mexico in the Americas developed a way to produce cheap but good quality products. The low minimum wage in these countries also added to their boom. However, the financial crisis that hit many Asian countries in the 1990s taught the global market a bitter lesson. If a globally significant region sneezes, the rest of the global market could catch the flu.

The United States refuses to throw the towel on the international market arena, however. Many successful U.S. companies took the best business practices from other countries around the world and incorporated it to their own model. Paired with novel technologies, best U.S. education system and training, and state of the art equipment, the U.S. did not just caught up with the rest of the world, it even surpassed the achievements of other countries. But, there's a new wave of doing business in the global market today, and it's resting on the spirit of inclusion, not exclusion. Many internationally recognized brands know that to stay on top, they have to change the way they look at their competitors. International businesses now adopt the spirit of international cooperation, instead of competition. The challenges, however, are not defeated, but the spirit to conquer them runs high.

The spirit of mutual cooperation among nations couldn't be felt stronger than in the groceries. It's now second nature to see products from Japan and China in the grocery shelves of Wal-Mart; and Middle Eastern, European, and some Asian shoppers are now waving their plastic wand named American Express when they shop at their local malls, too. Will Smith, Mel Gibson, and Bruce Willis have become household names among foreign families, while the NBA, NFL, and the Major League are wowing sports enthusiast in foreign stadiums.

These facts are pointing to only one thing: the global market is here to stay. Any prudent individuals and companies know that the challenges are now global, and nothing short of careful preparation can save them from vanishing into the background.