Author: Satoru Hirose

 

Ask why.
「なぜ」を尋ねよう。

 

Doing something without asking why will lead us to chaos.

I often design a business card for businesses and individuals, and it is surprising to see that quite a few people want to make their business cards like a brochure or catalog.

“Well, I want to add my title and my mission statement. I need my email address, the URL of my website, and links to all social media accounts I currently use. It also would be better to add my photo. Oh, why don’t you add a picture of my family as well so that people think I’m not only an outstanding business person but also a family guy?”

The above is a bit exaggerated, but also shows more or less what people request me at the beginning; they expect too much without knowing why they need a business card.

A business card can never be a substitute of a website, catalog, or CV. The information we can add to a business card is quite limited, but there are thousands of ways to make it useful—as long as we know why we design it.

It takes time to start from ‘why’ questions. But it will eventually save time, and more importantly, it will prevent us from going somewhere we don’t intend to go.

 

 

Be likable.
好感を与えよう。

 

It’s hard to sell something—products, services, or ideas for example—to someone else if you are not likable.

In my childhood, I thought I was not a likable person because I was not a handsome guy. How silly I was. Being likable does not mean that you have to be good-looking. There are millions of unpleasant people who are good-looking, as you might already know some of them.

The first step to being a likable person is to like yourself. If you don’t like yourself—or part of yourself—you have to conquer the feeling of self-disgust before trying to be likable.

There is no other person like you. You are the only one. Embrace who you are and how you are. Even if people around you don’t like you, don’t hate yourself; somewhere on this planet, there are thousands of people who will like you.

 

 

Feel connected to the world (because you are).
世界とのつながりを感じよう（つながってるから）。

 

I love talking with my customers, no matter where they are. This morning I’ve exchanged email with one of my customers, who lives in Namibia. It’s quite exciting for me to connect with people around the world through my work.

However, I have to admit that I was afraid of talking to my customers in the past. Precisely speaking, just until a few months ago.

I was scared. Even when my customer satisfied with my work, I was skeptical about it—because I didn’t believe in myself. It was clear that I had a problem with my self-esteem. And it just didn’t happen; I lived with the problem for decades.

Now the problem has gone. You might wonder how I overcome it; in fact, I just stopped thinking about it. I just realized that doing my work with my maximum effort—without being scared of something or skeptical about myself—is always the best thing I can deliver to my customer.

My customer might not like my work. But that’s fine—because the work gave me a chance to grow further. I know I will be able to do it better if the customer gives me a second chance. Even if my customer doesn’t, I can use the experience for the next work—for someone else on this planet.

No matter what you do, you and your work are part of this world. You are always connected to the world. And some people wait for you and your work—it may take a while, but you’ll eventually find them if you keep searching for them and improving yourself.

 

 

Look at things the other way round.
モノゴトを逆の視点から見よう。

 

Everything has two aspects at least. Good or bad. Right or wrong. Like it or not. Fit or doesn’t fit. And whatever have you.

And every one of us has a different view. It is up to us to choose the viewpoint that seems appropriate for us.

The challenge for all of us is to change our view when people around us stick to a particular perspective and reject other ones. Or when our brain adheres to a certain idea and disregards other ideas.

One of the ways to get out of such ‘brain freeze’ is to have time to play devil’s advocate by yourself. You would get upset if someone else did play devil’s advocate, but it just helps you to look at things more holistically if you play two different rules—angel and devil—in your brain.

 

 

Survive. No matter what.
何が何でも生き延びよう。

 

We have to focus on surviving—literally—at some point in our life.

When you get sick or hospitalized. When your boss is notorious for being difficult and cruel. When your business runs out of money.

If you come across such situation, you will find out the most important thing to you and figure out how to protect it. You will be tested by adversity; it can be quite tough at times, but knowledge from such experience is a true gift for your life.