Focus on curiosity.
好奇心に集中しよう。
“Focus on one thing, otherwise you won’t make it.”
My professor told me. Then I picked up one of ten ideas for my thesis. I finished writing by the due date, but the thesis was one of the most boring stuff I have ever made in my life.
Around the same time, in 1994, I was curious about the Internet and computer programming. I thought they might be THE thing I explore after graduation, however at that time there was no job opportunity in that area. My major was accounting and finance, and there were decent job opportunities in this field. I focused on looking for an accountant job and successfully got one. But I missed the huge opportunities and excitements that the Internet created in this world. I might have failed to make a fortune in my twenties as well.
In 1998 I happened to get an opportunity to work in the United States. I was extremely curious about things in the States, although I did not speak English at all. I went to New Jersey and worked there for seven years. The job itself was the most horrible experience in my life, but living in the U.S. helped me learn English as well as diversified culture and people in the States. That changed my life forever.
It’s not the matter of choosing either focus OR curiosity. We have to focus ON curiosity so that we can discover something we have never expected. Focus without curiosity only takes you somewhere you are familiar with. Facing unfamiliarity does not make us comfortable, but that’s the way to keep stimulating your creativity and producing something new.
“Focus on curiosity, otherwise you will be bored to death.”
This is the advice you should’ve given me, professor.