Recommendation to Be Natural

When Taro was a university student, he took a kendo (the Japanese art of using the sword) class as an easy credit. He was a second degree black belt. There were many beginners who wanted to take the university's kendo lessons. Most of them followed the teacher's instructions; however, one student, Yasushi, disobeyed the teacher and began to violently swing the bamboo sword around. Taro needed to fight him. As Yasushi continued swinging his sword, Taro could only watch him for the first 10 to 20 seconds in order to determine when to attack. Taro discovered there was no regularity to his opponent's swings. Yasushi simply followed a rhythm that his body produced. Taro counted the rhythm and noticed that the sword was over his opponent's head every six to eight beats, which meant that Yasushi's body was unguarded at that moment.

However, Yasushi was not swinging the sword slowly; therefore, Taro knew he had to be quick to defeat the other student. Taro counted the rhythm and moved forward in a short, but sharp move. Taro thrust his sword into the front of Yasushi's throat and hit his throat guard, which caused him to fall backward. Taro might have used other tactics, but the thrust to the throat was effective. Taro's opponent could not swing his sword as before; therefore, it was easy for Taro to beat him.

After the class, someone called Taro. It was Yasushi, his opponent from class. Yasushi praised Taro's skill and said there is a difference between a black belt and an amateur.

He wanted to know how Taro had decided to use the thrusting technique and when Taro had decided to begin his attack. However, Taro did not have an answer to these questions. It was not a big secret, and Taro wished to answer Yasushi's question. Taro had allowed his mind to determine the most effective attack against his opponent. Thrusting as the most effective form of attack simply came into his mind naturally. It was not logic, intuition, or the result of thinking.

It seems that the word 'natural' is the key factor. In "The Book of Five Rings", Musashi Miyamoto, a master of ancient swordsmanship, wrote that being natural is the best way to live life. He explained that one should not overextend or underestimate oneself. In addition, one should not be either too optimistic or too pessimistic. Furthermore, Musashi wrote that one should always be totally natural: "It is like walking a main road of a city. If a swordsman came, you would meet the swordsman. If a woman came, you would meet the woman. If a thief came, you would meet the thief."





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Thank you all for "315 likes" to my FB Page, "CrossCultureSquare"

I am glad to report that my Facebook Page, "Cross Culture Square", based on my website "Cross Culture Square", acquired 315 "like"s today.  I provide links and image of the page below, but you can easily search in Facebook by keyword of "CrossCulturalSquare".

The purpose of this page was to promote and sooth the communication between different cultural background.  I hope it would help promoting not only communication, but also understanding, further the spirit of helping each other in cross-cultural community.

I am widely targeting cross-cultural relationship in individual base, company base, and society base.  My primary focus is on individual base, since all organizations including companies or societies based on individual consciousness.

Although I had prepared this page for months, it was officially launched and shared in my own Facebook wall last Wednesday, June 8th.  The third day from the launch, 25 people liked it, and could formally named it "CrossCultureSquare".  The page has  gathered 25 "likes" in 7 days.  Now I am pleased to inform you that people who "like"ed this page were counted to be 315.  I was deeply impressed with the people in the world today conscious about communication over cultural difference and gaps.

I cannot thank enough to the people who gave me "like" on the CrossCulturalExchange FB Page.  Also deep gratitude for people who have written on the wall and gave me messages.

I will continue to do my very best not to disappoint you on my operation in CrossCultureSquare.

Link:  http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare

My "zi" iFrame Link: http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare?sk=app_229239457102605






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I Told You Not To Do It

Mikio had just been promoted to Section Manager. At his company, the Section Manager's job is to explain the hands-on project to senior management for general approval. Mikio's project was an overseas alliance with an American company in the semiconductor business, and a large investment was involved. There were no operation risks, but it was obviously a matter that senior management had to approve. Mikio prepared a document and executive summary, and then called an assistant regarding the senior executive schedule. An executive meeting was set for the following week. Mikio was tense, but excited about his first experience.

The executive meeting went fairly well. The executive director was friendly and open-minded. There were several questions that Mikio was able to answer. The executive director's final comment was "Carefully proceed." The financial figures of the company's partner candidate were not so good. After the meeting, Mikio returned to his office. For the next three months, he worked non-stop on the project, his life work. Mikio needed to travel back and forth between the U.S. and Japan for face-to-face meetings. Management from the partner company also visited his company. Finally, the joint venture company was 90% complete, or at least Mikio thought so.

It was Monday afternoon when Mikio received a phone call from the main manager of his partner company, telling him that it had received a hostile takeover from its competition. He received details in an e-mail from his counterpart one hour later. The party offering the tender bid was a fierce competitor of his company. It did not make sense to proceed further in the formation of the joint venture. Mikio and his team reluctantly stopped their project.

Mikio needed to finish an unpleasant task, which was explaining the result to the executive who had approved the project. He visited the executive floor once again to report the result of the project. However, the director was neither friendly nor open-minded this time. After his explanation, the managing director made an incredible statement. He said, "That was why I told you not to do it." Mikio could not believe his ears. Was this not the same person who had said to proceed carefully? However, he did not raise this question with the director. Later, he talked to his boss about the statement. His boss told him that the statement "carefully proceed" was tricky and could be interpreted as either yes or no. The boss also told Mikio that he had learned a valuable lesson, but Mikio did not think so. Several years later, he resigned from this company and started his own.



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That Is Why It Works

It was the first story of the movie "The Matrix". Neo insisted to attack the military building to save Morpheus when all his team gave up. Neo goes back into "Matrix". Trinity follows. In the preparation stage, Trinity asked, "Nobody has tried this." Trinity meant they would not succeed. Neo answers, "That is why it works." "The Matrix" contains a lot of useful advices for life. This one gives people idea how people can take different opinions viewing the same thing. One was negative. The other was positive.

Quite recently, a good friend of mine started his business. He wanted to get into English Teaching Lessons. He had a unique idea. He explained his plan to his friend. He hoped to have his friends' opinions on his. His friends' reactions and answers were 90% negative. He should stay in his employment. His idea will not work, because nobody appreciates his way. Nobody knows his start-up company. He does not have enough money to open his school and continue running the school. Hi friends gave him many negative opinions. He became depressed. Then, he heard this Neo statement that it works because nobody has tried it, yet. He decided to go ahead for his original plan and started his own business. He does not know if he could be successful. He did he could do and launched his plan to the limited investor people. He could get a favorable response from one of investors and he could get funds.



There was another friend of mine, who started a consulting business for large enterprises. The most of his friends were pessimistic about what he was doing. He remembers that 95% of phone calls he received were negative opinion. All of his family tried to stop him. He did not change his mind. He told to himself that all these negative opinions are a good sign of his plan works. He thought if his plan was lousy people would have ignored it. An off shore electronics company sponsored him. He runs a profitable consulting firm, now.

It is necessary to listen to others' opinions. One should not ignore their opinion. The important is what he will do after listened to these opinions. Will he follow other opinions? Will he get the essence of other opinions and digest to nurture his own idea or plan? It is not so easy to keep identity of one's opinion when the one receives rejections and opposition. The most important, it seems, is that he keeps his faith to his own ideas and opinions. This is the most crucial to be successful. Do not be shaky by rejections and opposition. Keep faith on what is believable. It is not what one thinks and does. It is one believes himself.


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FB Page "CrossCultureSquare" acquired more than 200 "likes"!

My Facebook Page called "Cross Culture Square", based on my website "Cross Culture Square", has passed 2 weeks since its launch, last week.  I provide links and image of the page below, but you can easily search in Facebook by keyword of "CrossCulturalSquare".

The purpose of this page was to promote and sooth the communication between different cultural background.  I hope it would help promoting not only communication, but also understanding, further the spirit of helping each other in cross-cultural community.

Although I had prepared this page for months, it was officially launched and shared in my own Facebook wall last Wednesday, June 8th.  The third day from the launch, 25 people liked it, and could formally named it "CrossCultureSquare".  Although the page has short history of about one week and still not so many posts, it gathered "likes" in 7 days.  Now I am pleased to inform you that people who "like"ed this page went over 200.  How are people in the world today conscious about communication over cultural difference and gaps.

Actually, the number of people who "like"ed this page continued to grow and it is over 226, today.  I would like to express my hearty appreciation to the people who gave me "like" on the CrossCulturalExchange FB Page for past 1 week.  Also deep gratitude for people who have written on the wall and gave me messages.

Still the most impressive message the "CrossCulturalSquare" received stays the same.  It is from John. He wrote "I think we can be living in a peaceful world while understanding each other.  I think this intercultural exchange will become a very important theme with among each other when we want to build the sure peaceful world from now on. "  The message came from John Sunlinix.  Thank you, again, John.

I cannot thank enough for your help.  I will do my very best not to disappoint you on my operation in CrossCultureSquare.

Link:  http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare

My "zi" iFrame Link: http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare?sk=app_229239457102605









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How to Accomplish Something

There are many authors, including myself, who have written on how to be successful in business, relationships, or life. All of these things are useful advice. However, most of them magnified one aspect of the entire process to accomplish something. Also, based on my own writings in the past, I wanted to put down the whole picture of the process on how to accomplish things. The keys of being successful could be put in the three categories. They are: Do's, Don'ts, and Emotional Attitudes.

I) First, let me list some Do's to accomplish something:

1. Set the final goal and make it as concrete as possible.

2. Set the time schedule. Set the target on how quickly one can accomplish it.

3. Set goal milestones. Celebrate whenever you reach your milestones.

4. Keep finding and filling your missing links.

5. Listen to others' wisdom.

II) The following are Don'ts to accomplishing something:

1. Do not do what you cannot be comfortable with.

2. Do not do what you are skeptical about.

3. Do not do what you cannot be sure of doing.

4. Do not copy what someone else has done.

5. Do not be influenced by someone's opinion. Instead influence them.

III) Emotional Attitudes:

1. Be relaxed, confident, and stable about your final goal.

2. Be positive about the achievement.

3. Do not be influenced by others; influence them.

4. Do not go panic when things do not go as you expect.

5. Accomplishing something is a journey and you should enjoy the entire process.

Let me explain some key issues here. The above is an important process. By setting milestones, you can visualize your progress of accomplishment. It is terribly difficult for us to continue to make an effort without knowing how much progress we have already made. Celebrate and commemorate when you reach your milestones. The fourth step is an ongoing effort. Striving to accomplish something is like filling something that is missing to achieve your goal. Do not be afraid of finding out that something is missing.

On the second category II, I would like to explain more on the fifth step. Even though you think you are confident, comfortable, and sure about your final goal, sometimes you will become skeptical or uncomfortable. You would not be as confident as before. Do not listen to the negative opinions of others. Instead, attempt to explain what you are trying to do to others.

In the last category, the most prominent item is the fifth step. Rome was not built in a day. Building Roma must have been great fun. Understand that it is a journey to accomplish something and you should enjoy it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6023177





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Do Not Listen to Hypocrites

Some people say that people who are successful are decisive. In contrast, we also hear people say that successful people listen to the opinions of others and adopt such opinions with flexibility. Is decisiveness more important than flexibility? This is a paradox. Which is more important, flexibility or decisiveness?

Since individual capacity and time is limited, those who want to be successful need help from others. They must interact with people, listen to people, and learn from people. Successful people are good at these interactions with others. However, if one only listened to others and obeyed what others told him to do, he would never be successful.

In the movie "The Matrix," when Neo was first brought to Nebakanezer, the hovercraft ship of Morpheus, Mouse, one of Morpheus' team members, told Neo not to listen to those hypocrites. While it is essential to listen to others in order to form or shape one's own opinion, plan, or schedule, once such a plan is set, it is more crucial to stick to the plan.

When Japan was in the war against Imperial Russia in 1905, the Russian Baltic Fleet cruised to Japan for a grand attack. Heihachiro Togo was the Japanese admiral general commanding the Japanese navy. The Japanese Chiefs of Staff could not decide which route the Russian Baltic Fleet would take to invade the Japan Sea. There were three possible places for the fleet to invade in Japanese territorial water. Soya, Tsusgaru, and Tsushima were regarded as possible invasion points. Tsushima was the furthest from the Russian base, but the easiest to invade Japanese territory.

There were three possible invasion points. There was a heated debate to decide which strait the Japanese navy should send their main fleet to in order to stop the invasion. Should all three be covered? Just two? Or even one? If one strait should be covered, which one?

General Togo argued they should focus on only one strait. He insisted the strait to be defended was Tsushima. He was stubborn and inflexible and stuck with his own opinion. Others criticized his stubbornness and uncompromising position, but he did not change his mind. He told his colleagues he did not care what others said, he would not change his position because he was the one who commanded the Japanese Navy. Emperor Meiji also agreed with Togo.

In the meeting of the Chiefs of Staff, the decision was made to focus only on the Tsushima Straight. The Russian Baltic Fleet appeared in the Tsushima Strait as Togo had predicted and the Japanese navy defended against the invasion. Togo's story tells that, once decided, one should not change his position so easily.








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Say Yes First

Do you not have a friend who rubs you in the wrong way? You like him or her. He or she is an intelligent, knowledgeable person. You two have much in common. However, if exchanging opinions, you always ended up arguing. If you have this kind of friend, you may be able to improve your relationship.

First, let us check your responding pattern. Pay attention to the first word you use when you respond to your friend's opinion. When either agreeing or disagreeing with your friend, you tend to say "no" right away, don't you? If not, that is good.

Next, let us examine your friend's opening statement. I have the same question. Does your friend, when answering your questions or responding to your opinion, tend to say "no" right away?

If you tend to start your statement with "no," you might want to be careful. Either your friend or a general listener tends not to listen to what you say after they've heard you say "no." Your "no" gives the impression that your statement denies their views.

If you do not use "no" at the beginning of your response, and if your friend usually starts his or her response with "no," with or without denial contents, you should carefully listen to what he or she says, regardless of what you heard at the beginning of the statement. You may find that your friend's statement does not actually have a context of denial.

There are some people who always say "no" at the beginning of their statements. Even if they cannot say anything else, they always say "no" to begin. If you think you are one of these people, I suggest saying "yes" or another statement of agreement at the beginning of your speech.
By consciously doing so, you will notice how you make changes. You will review carefully what your speaker has said to find agreeable points. You will be able to build friendly logic for your listeners. This will come naturally since, at the beginning of your speech, you agreed.

If you find that your friend's speaking style always sounds negative in the beginning, you will be able to advise your friend that his or her behavior is not beneficial to him/herself or others. Nobody wants to hear such negativity. In this way, you can benefit your friend, making your relationship better.

There are no rules, without the exception: You may use negativity in your speech opening if you hope to impress your audience. It may be useful to open your speech with denial to catch their attention. However, you should use denial only by intention, not unconsciously.






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Cross Culture, Fill the Missing Link, Internet Business, Internet Marketing, mental strength, mental training, San Francisco, Shaw Funami, Traffic, Web Traffic, webtraffic

New Facebook Page on Cross Cultural Exchange Launched

Based on my New Website, on "Cross Cultural Exchange", I launched and published Facebook Page called "Cross Culture Square".  I provide links and image of the page, but you can easily search in Facebook by keyword of "CrossCulturalSquare".

The purpose of this page was to promote and sooth the communication between different cultural background.  I hope it would help promoting not only communication, but also understanding, further the spirit of helping each other in cross-cultural community.

Although I had prepared this page for months, it was officially launched and shared in my own Facebook wall last Wednesday, June 8th.  The third day from the launch, 25 people liked it, and could formally named it "CrossCultureSquare".  Although the page has short history of about one week and still not so many posts, it gathered "likes" in 7 days.  It proves that people in the world today is conscious about communication over cultural difference and gaps.

I would like to express my hearty appreciation to the people who gave me "like" on the CrossCulturalExchange FB Page for past 1 week.  Also deep gratitude for people who have written on the wall and gave me messages.

I also wanted to share the most impressive message the "CrossCulturalSquare" received. He wrote "I think we can be living in a peaceful world while understanding each other.  I think this intercultural exchange will become a very important theme with among each other when we want to build the sure peaceful world from now on. "  The message came from John Sunlinix.  Thank you, again, here John.

I cannot thank enough for your help.  I will do my very best not to disappoint you on my operation in CrossCultureSquare.

Link:  http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare

My "zi" iFrame Link: http://www.facebook.com/CrossCultureSquare?sk=app_229239457102605





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Nice Surprise Discovering Herbs in Our Garden

I cannot blame the place where I have grown up, but living in Tokyo did not provide me of opportunities to learn much about flowers, plants, or vegetables.  It was natural that I ignored some plants in our back and front yards.  My wife is interested in fruit trees, but has not shown interest in the greens as well.  Our constructor who repaired this house called us last week and asked us if we did not mind to give him some herbs he found in our garden.  Next day, he stopped by and told us which ones are herbs.





This is Mint.  He believes this is Spare Mint.  He found Pepper Mint and Green Mint, as well.  We were talking to get rid of this because it surrounded our rose.













The right side is Pineapple Balm.  We finally found it is very good to be used in cooking with soup.  My wife and I bit the leaves.  It really smell and taste like Pineapple fruit meat.













We were told that the left is called "Rue".  Slight bitterness make sweet desert to be sweeter when used with a desert such as cakes, ice creams, or Chinese style hot dessert.  This was the one our constructor wanted.  He told us he cannot find it in market place any more.  He was so glad that he found it in our back yard.











The right is a kind of Sage.  It does not give out smell too much when we picked the leaf, but when boiled with soup, it adds fresh flavor.

Almost everybody but my family knows the left is Rosemary. It gives nice flavor to meats.  It is good for broiled or BBQ style cooking of any meat.


My wife wanted to get rid of those to plant more fruit trees, we were glad that our constructor was knowledgeable about herbs.  We were also glad that he told us before we remove them.  Thank God!












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Fill the Missing Link