Japan as Only 1

I often come up with random ideas while I'm reading or doing other activities. Ideally, I should write these ideas down in a personal notebook, but often I just post them in a Teams chat for my coworkers as a quick note. Sometimes, I forget these ideas by the next day, but since my coworkers see them, we can talk about them later. I find this really helpful, although I realize it might be a bit annoying for my coworkers to get these messages at night or on weekends. If I don’t record my ideas right away, I usually forget them. I might think an idea is so good that I won’t forget it, but then I completely forget about it by the next morning. This shows that it's easy to think of ideas, but harder to act on them. Just thinking something isn't very valuable. Not every idea is a good one. Sometimes, after thinking it over, I realize some ideas won't really work. Acting on every thought could waste a lot of time for me and my team. However, sharing an idea doesn't tak...

  It's often said, "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times." But are we all making proper use of primary, secondary, and tertiary information? Primary Information → Information and experiences directly encountered through your own senses. Secondary Information → Indirect information obtained from a specific source, like stories heard from acquaintances or from books with clear authorship. Tertiary Information → Information from unspecified sources, like information found online or through rumors. This is the general idea. I make it a point to trust primarily firsthand information. The reason is that secondary and tertiary information is invariably colored by someone's perspective. For instance, "I was treated so badly by so-and-so!" Hearing this alone might make it seem terrible, but the original context could have involved rude behavior towards that person. There's a lack of objective information. "It's the norm in society" or ...

  The world is both much broader and much narrower than we think. These may seem like contradictory statements, but I believe both to be true. First, let's consider the breadth. Success in my city Okazaki doesn't mean recognition in Japan, and even less so on the global stage. Even if you reach the top within your company, to the multitude of enterprises in Okazaki, you might still be unknown. If you're complacent about being the proverbial "big fish in a small pond," you limit your chances of success in the larger world. Thus, the world is vast and going beyond our comfort zone to elevate and grow ourselves is crucial. Now, the narrowness. We live in a world brimming with potential, yet on average, how many people do we interact with daily? Fewer than a hundred, I'd wager, and often they're the same faces, day in and day out, weekends included. In essence, we live within a micro-community that significantly impacts us. Out of the world's eight billi...

  I enjoy days filled with changes, not just the good but also the challenging ones. This might be because of my position as a CEO. Had I been in a different role, it's possible I would have found change more daunting or frightening. The worry of not succeeding with a new approach or failing to say something clever could have filled me with anxiety. However, the reality is that I'm not in a position where we're protected by others, fulfilling given duties in exchange for compensation without the need for change. There's no guaranteed revenue, and without adapting, there's no assurance we can continue to thrive tomorrow. Not all changes lead to positive outcomes. To bring about good changes, we inevitably encounter many that aren't beneficial. A person who seeks to induce change in the company cannot do so without also being open to personal transformation. We can't change the past or other people. Those who try to change others inevitably create distortion a...

  Lies and deception follow a similar pattern; what starts as a minor indiscretion, an insignificant lie told in the moment to evade trouble, can quickly escalate. Success in these small deceits often emboldens further lies or embellishments to make the original falsehood seem more plausible. Eventually, one might find themselves comfortably lying about almost anything, becoming a person who effortlessly spouts falsehoods. This underscores the importance of not telling even the smallest lies or making inconsequential excuses. Nipping such behaviors in the bud ensures they don't grow into larger issues. With narcotics or gambling, the easiest state is zero involvement. Once you start, the desire to continue grows. That’s why it’s crucial to avoid even small lies and always keep even the smallest promises. Building up such actions day by day, every day, is what truly matters.