Author: Satoru Hirose

 

Give 120% every time.
いつも１２０％を出そう。

 

Give 120% on everything; it’s a bit tricky concept. No matter what it is—focus, creativity, passion and so on—it’s impossible to give more than 100% because 100% is the maximum. So where does the additional 20% come from?

It’s a combination of two or more elements. For example, when you have to focus, add a bit of creativity to your effort. Move to a different place and turn off your phone so that other people can’t interrupt you. Or shut off all notifications, close all messaging apps, or turn off a Wi-Fi connection if you work on your computer. A distraction-free environment can often multiply your productivity.

For another example, when someone tells you to do a certain thing, don’t just blindly follow an instruction; have a strong sense of purpose about the task. If you are not sure about it, ask the person who told you to do the thing. If the person doesn’t even know why (or tells you not to even ask why), create your own purpose. It makes the task more meaningful to you, allows you to be fully engaged in it, and helps you grow faster.

Be resourceful to make the most of your talent, skills, and effort. A small thing can make a big difference in your output.

 

 

Be your own master.
自分自身を操る人になろう。

 

All things are temporary. Over time, you change. Your environment changes. Other people change.

While we can’t control what other people do or how they change, we always have control over how we change and how we perceive our environment.

Our life on this planet is also temporary, but we have to remember that we are the master of a vast part of it.

 

 

Live your life.
自分の人生を生きよう。

 

The whole life can be a mistake if you don’t live your own life.

You just follow someone’s expectations and live other’s life. You don’t pursue what you love; you don’t even know what you love. You only expect that something good would happen to you, and do nothing. And on and on. Compared to these, it would be much better to be completely brainwashed and live a whole life without noticing what our own life is.

Once we begin to notice our true self, here’s what happens:

“You are constantly invited to be what you are.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

And it’s quite hard to refuse this invitation.

 

 

Disconnect & concentrate.
ネットを切断して、集中しよう。

 

Here’s a cold fact: we can’t generate great ideas while we type away at a keyboard. Or when we fix our eyes on our phone.

Great ideas only come from our brain. And we have to actively go offline so as to make the most of our brain functions. Otherwise we are exposed to unlimited distractions and linear thinking, which prevent our brain from thinking deeply and exploding its creativity.