Doodle Card

 

Challenge the obvious.
「当然なこと」を疑問視しよう。

 

Asking “why” is easy yet very powerful. Even 6-years-old kids can use the word like a weapon. However, gaining insight from the answer to the “why” question is not easy.

In this world, there are thousands of things that are considered as obvious. But many of them are not — they are only the perception that currently dominates this world.

We often face situation where we need to challenge the obvious — to live well, make our life or work better, or (maybe every once in a while) save the world. Of course it is not easy — we also need to gain insight on why people consider these things as obvious. We just can’t keep asking “why” like a kid.

So when challenging, be well prepared — learn the subject in advance as much as possible. Pretend as if you knew nothing, be humble, and ask many “why” questions. See how the opponent reacts to the questions. Examine the answers. You might be able to — in many cases, will — find cracks in the obvious.

 

 

Keep building up.
築き続けよう。

 

If we stop learning, that can be the end of our career — as well as our life.

But, surprisingly enough, not a few people around my age — in their forties — hesitate to learn something new. They don’t work harder on that. They often think that learning intensively is only for younger people. Even though this world keeps changing and developing a set of diversified skills is required to be competitive on a global stage.

Instead of developing themselves, they rely upon what they accomplished in the past. They try to get respect from others by their past victories. It might be true that they worked really hard and got admirable results. But we don’t live in the past. Old tales are useful only when these stories help us move forward at this exact moment — not to admire someone.

To live in the present and future, we keep building something meaningful for us as well as others. No matter how old we are. Learning is just the first step to build something new.

 

 

Break down your boundaries.
自分の境界線をなくそう。

 

The question like “What do you do for living?” can be very peculiar at times.

On the other day, I was called a “Business consultant and graphic artist.” While I enjoyed the mismatch between these two titles, I wondered why people tend to put a narrow definition on others — as well as themselves.

Our life has no clear-cut boundary. We can be anything — like a jigsaw puzzle without the edge pieces. Our life is like assembling pieces without knowing the end. The same applies to any business — we have to keep changing the shape of our business to compete, survive, and deliver more value to our customers.

If you think you have a clear picture of what you are going to be, reflect where it comes from. It might be implanted by someone else — along with a narrow definition on yourself. Even if it comes from deep inside you, don’t even believe it remains unchanged — because it will change as you grow as a human and businessperson.

It doesn’t matter how people describe or define you. It is up to you to define and describe yourself. And only the value you deliver to this world matters.

 

 

Create your new horizons.
新たな展望を創り出そう。

 

There are millions of places to see in this world. And, perhaps more importantly, there is a lot to discover in our mind.

We can find our new self when we visit a new place. But it won’t happen if our mind is not ready — like I was. I was not exactly thrilled when I visited Manhattan first time — because I was too immature to embrace its myriad diversity and opportunities that could change my life completely.

This world is still full of the unknown. So is our mind. Be ready to explore them. Accept whatever you find. Never stop exploring the things that are not indicated on a map — nothing would make us more excited.

 

 

Your productivity shows the structure of your life.
あなたの生産性は、あなたの行動様式を示す。

 

Here are my random thoughts about productivity:

Live close to your workplace. While there are things we can do during commute time, it’s much better to sit tight and focus on getting things done.

Reduce meetings and business trips. It’s the same as commute. Just showing up doesn’t mean anything. You are investing the scarcest resource of yours — time. If you show up, get what you want, need, or deserve. If you won’t be able to get them or don’t know how to get them, just sit tight and focus on getting things done.

Manage your billable hours. This “billable” concept might not apply to the people outside service industry, but it is quite vital to maintain any type of businesses. Set up effective and efficient workflows to increase your leads, revenue and/or profit. Maintain them when needed. Then spend your time in creating values — working on final deliverables — as much as possible.

Focus, focus, focus. Don’t just do things in a hurry — always be laser-focused on what matters most. Hustle without focus is just a panic.

Sleep enough. This would be the most important thing to all entrepreneurs and solopreneurs like me, because our body is our business. If you want (or need) to work hard, sleep long enough to get you fully reenergized. If you feel tired — even slightly — when you wake up, you don’t sleep enough. Even if you are an employee, don’t let your employer or boss reduce the sleeping hours you need. If they tried to do so, it would be the time to consider changing your job — because what they do is literally killing you.