Be a source of _____.
源（みなもと）になろう。
You can be a source of anything if you choose to.
Inspiration. Encouragement. Motivation. Creativity. Gratitude. Innovation. Fairness.
Or…
Destruction. Discouragement. Obstacle. Boredom. Hatred. Stagnation. Discrimination.
Or…
Choose to be nothing, and blindly follow authority or someone else.
It’s YOUR choice.
Use will.
意志を使おう。
Thinking about “IF” can do both good and harm.
If you focus only on the past and keep thinking about IF, that’s regret. You should’ve done that, could’ve done that, or would’ve done that. But you didn’t. Thinking about these IFs won’t take you anywhere except the bottom of a deep hole you’ve dug for yourself.
If you focus on the future and keep thinking about IF, that’s simulation. If that happens, then you WILL do this. It’s a vital part of any planning process that you can’t ignore or neglect.
But there’s still one more thing to have: your strong WILL to make things happen. Thinking about IF can do good for you only when you have these two WILLs—things you will do and strong will—with you.
Choose people.
人を選ぼう。
We all need to make a living. But if what you do to make a living leads you to low (or loss of) self-esteem, it does more harm than good. And the reason of that is almost always people around you.
Your life is too short to be with people who look down on you. They treat you badly, but it’s not because you’re inferior; it’s just because they want to feel good about themselves. Stay away from them whenever possible. If you can’t do so whatever the reason is, let go of a sense of inferiority that those people try to implant in your mind. Never lapse into mental slavery.
Your mental, emotional, and spiritual health are as equally important as your physical health. Do whatever you can do to spend more time with the right people—even when you just try to make a decent living.
Be renewed.
蘇ろう。
We can start fresh whenever we want to. This is one of the easiest things to forget in our life and business.
Some people intentionally avoid starting over, especially after they get old. It’s because they have to replace what they already have, at least partially, with something new.
A new pattern of thoughts. A new eating habit. A new policy of our everyday life. A new strategy of our business. A new belief system in ourselves.
Whatever it is, some people—again, especially old people—feel that their identity is denied by accepting something new, and become obstinate in their refusal to start fresh. They also tend to criticize new things and do whatever they can do to justify and continue their (old) way of doing things.
Don’t be petty-minded like them. Accepting new things don’t do anything to belittle ourselves. In fact it’s completely opposite; it just helps us be better and stronger.
A milestone is not a destination.
道標は目的地じゃない。
My creative pursuit started from desperation. Before giving up on everything in my life, I wanted to do what I loved most in my childhood: drawing. And now I’m still doing my daily creative practice, and creating my 300th doodle card. It is a milestone, and the daily practice has showed me a whole new world. But I’m still in the midst of my journey.
Our ultimate goal, or goals, should be big enough that we can’t even see the whole picture of it at the beginning. Every day we move toward the next milestone, which is visible, hoping that it will lead to a path to our ultimate goal. Sometimes it does, and we begin to see a clear image of our goal. Sometimes it doesn’t; instead, it poses the question of whether we should keep doing what we’ve been doing.
The road to our goal will never be straight. Going back and forth is inevitable; in fact, it is necessary to reach our real goal. So always be yourself, be honest with yourself, and enjoy the ride.
