What Is Your Interpretation of the Proverb, A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss?

This is a controversial proverb. Generally it means that the people who change their occupations often do not obtain a particular professional skill. The other interpretation is that people who pursue new challenges never get old and dull, but stay young and fresh. We have never known a proverb that has such different interpretations. The Japanese version of this proverb, in its negative form, is same as the English version. Most likely, the Japanese version was translated from the original English. The version with a positive meaning in Japanese is, "When the stream of a river is fast, the water does not go bad."

Hanako was a dreamer. She had many dreams. She wanted to be a window decorator. She hoped to have a job in a Web creation business. Sometimes she thought simply marrying a person whom she loved would not be a bad idea. She graduated from college and started working as a secretary for an executive in an electronics company. She liked her job, but she could not give up her dream of having a creative job. To this end, she attended design school after work.

Hanako had a friend named Minori. She did not consider herself clever. After finishing her study of English literature, Minori continued to study English, and became an English-Japanese translator. Her translation speed was not fast, but she worked with attention to detail and made few mistakes. She did not take more work than she could handle, but for the jobs she did take, her translations were detailed and thorough. She gradually became popular. She began getting offers for jobs in the academic translation field.

As a one of the leading professionals of the age, Minori was interviewed by a TV program. Hanako watched Minori receive VIP treatment in the program and envied her. Hanako had been unable to get a creative job. She had changed her job several times. She found herself lacking professionalism in many things. Well, she thought, if nothing works, I will find a partner and marry him.

Minori did not look very pretty on TV. She was wearing a dark-colored suit like a man would wear. Her suit was dark gray and did not match her shirt. Her hair was not well styled; it was just tied back on her head. Hanako thought herself more attractive than Minori.

Which woman do you find more attractive? The bottom line is that everybody is different and everybody is attractive, as long as they live their lives to the full extent.





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Can Passion Overcome Talent?

People often talk about talent. Someone can be talented in many areas, such as business, design, language, math, martial arts, writing, or negotiation. However, it appears that people do not talk about passion as much as talent. We tend to categorize anyone who is successful as talented and ignore his passion and effort. However, both effort and passion are key factors for success. Which is more important, passion or talent? In other words, what is the most critical factor for success?

Minoru has a friend named Takuro. Minoru and Takuro met while attending junior high school in downtown Tokyo. They lived in the same neighborhood and became very good friends. They walked to school together, played together, and studied together. Soon, Minoru discovered that Takuro was talented in many areas. Takuro received high scores on examinations in almost every subject. He was also a good athlete who could run fast, swim fast, and jump high. In addition, Takuro was good at many kinds of ball games, such as baseball, basketball, volleyball, or football.

Minoru's academic achievements were not poor. However, he needed to study hard in order to get a score above average or higher. He was not very good at sports and played poorly in all ball games. He hated running, because he was always last. In contrast, Takuro did not seem to need any extra preparation or hard work to attain high scores. Minoru had never seen Takuro practice the skills or techniques of ball games. He thought Takuro was simply talented. No matter how hard Minoru tried, he could not perform better than Takuro.

Minoru, however, liked English. He was not so good at grammar and his vocabulary was still poor, but he loved watching American movies. He tried to copy the expressions used in the movies. His pronunciation was terrible, but he tried to use his new idioms with foreigners whom he happened to meet on the street. In junior high, Takuro's score in English was higher than Minoru's. It was the end of their senior high school days; Minoru's grade started to pick up slowly but steadily. By the end of senior high, Minoru was one of a few who could use English to communicate with foreigners. Minoru and Takuro graduated from the same high school and entered the same university.

Minoru majored in academic debate in English. Although he had lost many matches earlier, he would win second prize in the All Japan English Debate tournament during his last year at the university. Takuro would no longer be superior to Minoru in English. Takuro needed Minoru's help for his English exam. There were few who could compete against Minoru's English at his university any more. Looking back, Minoru thought that he could do it not because he was talented in English, but because he was passionate about the language. He even thought that he would not be able to achieve it if he were merely talented.






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Is There Justifiable Anger?

Anger does not help solve problems. Throughout my life, I have heard my father, my mother, my teacher, and my mentor tell me this many times. I agree with them and believe it is true. I have talked, taught, discussed, and written about it. However, I still get angry sometimes. It is not easy to manage one's emotions, especially anger, which arises instantly. Some people are angry for no reason. Other people get angry because of misunderstandings. Some people become angry because others do something to make them angry.

Suppose you are walking down a street alone in the middle of the night. If someone steals your wallet from behind and runs away, you will be angry at first. There are some people who have lost family members through accidents, war, murder, or as a result of terrorism. These people must be terribly angry. A long time ago, I had a discussion with my friend about whether or not there is such a thing as justifiable anger. My answer had always been, "Yes, there is." However, recently, there was an occurrence that made me reconsider my stance. As a result, my conclusion today is that there is no such thing as justifiable anger, no matter what wrongs have been done.

Carlos was a happy-go-lucky person. He was friendly, open-minded, and joyful. However, he had a problem. As many cheerful persons are, he was emotional. When he got angry, no one would be able to calm him down. Unfortunately for him, his wife was even more emotional than him when she became furious. Whenever they had an argument, the situation would become out of control. There were often broken cups, dishes, glasses, or saucers to pick up after the fight.

One day they started arguing over their difference of opinion. However, afterwards they both did not remember what the cause of their argument was. The arguing increased, and they were shouting at each other. Carlos' wife broke several dishes and he was upset about it. His wife said that she was tired of fighting and she wanted a divorce. Still extremely angry, Carlos accepted his wife's request. His wife was still resentful the next morning. She drove to the local court and filed a divorce claim. By that time, Carlos had calmed down and regretted what had happened. He was no longer able to stop his wife. He could not handle the situation properly, simply because he was angry. He was not sure why they needed to divorce.

Why is there no justifiable anger? It is because anger makes one confused, uncontrollable, unreasonable, and illogical. Anger locks one's brain, fogs one's eyes, and deprives one of the ability to think reasonably. People cannot properly handle situations when they are angry. When I last had an argument with my wife, it cost me my favorite mug and a hole in our wall.



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Do You Look at the Head or Tail of a Coin?

There are many people who throw away a single yen coin in the Narita airport. It is understandable, to some extent, because it cannot be changed into their original currencies. Its value is too small for exchange, and it is not pretty enough to be kept as a souvenir for their children. However, the coin will take up space in their pocket and can be confused with other countries' coins. Therefore, it is natural for people to decide that one yen coins are of no use. I had a similar experience with the penny coins in U. S. currency. When I returned to Tokyo from New York in 1986, I had many pennies. During my time in New York, I kept pennies in a jar, which was full after a year. Prior to my departure, I donated them to a local humane society that helps abandoned and abused animals. Almost 15 years have passed, and I still receive seasonal greeting cards from the organization. When I later returned to the United States, they sent me a welcome back letter. I believe those pennies did their work.

Mr. Kawabe worked for a marketing company that plans, schedules, promotes, and hosts events. He was in charge of a professional wrestling event in the suburban outskirts of Tokyo. However, he had a supervisor who was extremely difficult to work for. His supervisor did not like Kawabe making mistakes with scheduling, advertisement leaflets, contacting sponsors, or introducing the event to the local communities. All Kawabe did was complain about his supervisor over drinks at night.

Mr. Hirose worked under the same supervisor as Mr. Kawabe. Hirose drank with Kawabe and listened to his complaints about their supervisor. However, Hirose did not simply complain. He wanted to know why his supervisor was stricter concerning the promotion of the event than the event itself. He later discovered that their supervisor's responsibility was to recoup operating expenses on the event itself and make a profit by gathering sponsors for it. This technique was used to reduce taxes. In addition, while it was difficult to get one sponsor who could spend a large amount of money on the event, it was rather easy and effective to obtain many sponsors with less spending on advertisements. Later, Hirose started his own event promotion business based on the knowledge he acquired from his experience. However, poor Kawabe continued to work for the same company and grumbled.

Mr. Kawabe only looked at the head of the coin. However, Mr. Hirose wanted to see both sides of the coin, which allowed him to discover a good money-making mechanism for his industry.






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Look Inside of a Box

It was a while ago people were talking about "think outside of the box." It recommended changing the way of thinking, and thinking in the ways others would never think. Though I agree with the importance of thinking outside of the box, there is one other theory as important as it. It is "look inside of a box."

When we are working in an office environment, information is supplied in various forms. Some comes with e-mail. Some others come as a formal letter. Handwritten memos can be good information. You can also look for the information you need on the Internet, today. Facebook and any other Social Networks can be good informational sources. Although a beautiful new envelop or a neatly packaged letters tends to draw our attention, we may need to pay attention and be aware of the information contained in the package or decoration.

Hiroshi was working for a Japanese electronics company. One day, he received a letter in a brown, cheap envelope placed on his inbox tray. The envelope was dirty with fingerprints and other stains. It looked as it was sent not by airmail, but instead by sea. He did not feel like touching it at first glance. When Hiroshi took it in order to open the envelope, his boss called, and he did not open it. The envelope was sitting on his desk for another week, untouched.

He went to his office one weekend to working. He picked up the letter and opened it. The 2-page letter was inside of the envelope. The paper used for the letter was thin, and some parts were torn. He was finally reading the letter. The letter was an invitation to a tender offer for electronics components used for the next government project from a third-world country.

The project cost $200 million. The contents of electronics components were mostly those that his company could supply. Surprised, Hiroshi turned to the offer deadline, the tender closing date expired two days ago. He faxed a hasty note asking if he could still offer. He received their reply the following Monday stating that the tender was closed. Hiroshi lost his opportunity on the $200 million-dollar project.

I remember that the handwritten, almost illegible memo was on a torn off piece of paper from the president of my former company. It did not even have a package. We should not be too influenced by the decoration of the package. We must keep our eyes on the information contained within and try not to make the same mistake Hiroshi did.




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Three Mirrors to Check Ourselves In

Buddha once said that there are three mirrors to watch and check ourselves in as listed below:

1. Mirrors we own
2. Mirrors others own
3. Mirrors of a Higher Power

The first one is how we view ourselves; we all have our own self-image. The problem is that sometimes our view is subjective and may be different from what others see. A Japanese story states that once upon a time, the queen of the ocean asked a fish what color the crystal ball she had was. A fluke answered it was brown. A snapper said it was red. A blue fish said it was blue. The queen told them that the crystal was transparent. It did not have any color. They saw the crystal ball as being the same color as their own.

Our own image is quite subjective reflecting his own color on the transparent crystal. When we look into the mirror from a distance, we may think we look okay. When we take a closer look, we may have a beard growing, have small scars on the skin, or eyes that are not clear. As long as we are using just our own judgment, we in the mirror might be the illusion we created.

The second is how others view us. We need to be careful on this second mirror. When an ancient Chinese general became an emperor, he was congratulated by the crowd who shouted out the name of the new emperor in great delight. When a close subject praised him, the new emperor told him that the people's voice could not be trusted. Once he lost a war, they shouted to kill him. He knew their nature. Others love us because they have reasons to love us. If we do not have a reason to be loved, they do not love us, anymore. It is selfish, subjective, and changeable.

The third one is the spiritual mirror. The Buddhism doctrine teaches people that they need to train themselves that they can reach and use this mirror by a higher power. Buddha told his principles that Buddhism itself is a mirror to reflect the truth.

Our own image could be distorted due to our subjective nature. How others view us could be variable and changeable based on who and what we are. Since we recognized the subjective nature of the first two mirrors, it would be worthwhile to keep trying to reach and use the third mirror of spiritual being or of Higher Power. It would take us some time and training to become able to reach and use this spiritual mirror, but it is worth trying to reach in order to learn the truth.



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Set Your Expertise and Build Confidence Around It

Many people dream of becoming independent by starting their own businesses. In the current economy, even large, established companies cannot be relied upon as safe and stable sources of income. They may downsize to reduce costs or even close down. Being employed by a large, established company once was a status symbol. It meant safe and stable earnings and the ability to make a living. In contrast, starting a small business was regarded as risky and unstable. This no longer appears to be the case. Being employed by any company right now seems as dangerous as running one's own business. If the risk factors are the same, I would rather be self-employed.

Upon realizing this, however, most people become fearful and back off the idea of self-employment. I have listened to people say they did not have the right level of expertise or the necessary skills, abilities, qualifications, or licenses. They were not confident about running a business. They seemed to force themselves to draw negative conclusions. They would list all the reasons they could not, in their minds, run a business.

From the ages of three to eight, Hitoshi was always terribly weak and sick. He had a high fever about every five days. When he had dinner away from home, he was always sick to his stomach the next day. He could not do any physical education in school. In running competitions, he always came in last.

He worried about his health and became depressed. His doctor sent him to get some fresh air in the seaside village for one month.

Because he was born in downtown Tokyo, Hitoshi's experience in the village was something totally new. He enjoyed swimming with local boys and could not have time to be sick. Occasionally he had a fever due to too much playing, but he gradually regained his strength. He loved swimming with his new friends in the village. By the time his stay was over, he could swim as well as his local friends could.

He came back to school. His physical conditions were still not as good as those of others. He had changed, however. He no longer took days off. He went to school every day and took part in physical training. One summer, he was selected to be a representative for his class on a swimming team, competing against other classes. On the day of the competition, Hitoshi surprised his classmates with his fast swimming. Thank to Hitoshi, his class won first place. He successfully built his confidence around swimming.

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How Does an Airplane Keep the Sense of Direction?

Why does an airplane reach its destination? When we drive, we all have references. These references include a sign for the road name, building, restaurant, park, or trees. In the air, however, there is no such reference. There is nothing but blue sky and clouds. No matter how long it flies, the scenery does not change. In comparison with the wide-open, huge sky, the destination airport, or even the city, is exceedingly small. So, how does a plane reach its desired destination?

There are some intelligent devices. Compass is the classic one. There is computer-aided direction equipment with a map reference in the screen. We have heard of automatic cruising control system. Are they enough? This was a question that had puzzled me for a long time.

One day, a friend of mine told me that she had a conversation with a pilot of an airplane at an airport. The pilot told my friend what flying an airplane was like --- constant correction of the flight direction of the airplane, because an airplane continuously gets out of the correct course. Since there is no visual direction reference, an airplane constantly digresses out of the right route. Thus, pilots need to regularly correct the deviation of the flight route and fly their airplane to the destination. They use compass, devices, and screens equipped in modern airplanes. However, the most influential correction comes from communication with ground crews. Pilots communicate with ground crews continuously throughout the entire flight to avoid any major deviation from the flight course.

The pilot said that despite all the advanced modern equipments, the most valuable information is the fact that pilots are aware that flight route will be deviated, and they need to correct it constantly with ground crew support.

This story relates to our lives.

Our lives are full of mistakes like the flight of an airplane. It appears there is no way to avoid mistakes. Mistakes play a vital role in the learning process. It is not so critical to make a mistake in our lives, but it is essential that we continuously correct our mistakes. In this way, we will be able to reach our destination as an airplane that never misses its destination airport. It appears that making mistakes is not a big deal as long as we have a correction mechanism. We should not be afraid of making mistakes. But if we do, it is important to correct them so that we will be able to reach our destination.





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Think Again Before Becoming Emotional

Managing our emotions may be our lifetime work. Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher, said people become free from vacillation when they turn 40. Considering this advice when I look at myself, I regret that I am still resentful, fearful, and remorseful. I need to admit that my mental situation is far from free of vacillation. Some older friends tell me are even more resentful, fearful, and remorseful now. How we can manage our emotions?

Although it is not simple or easy to manage our negative emotions, as one gets older, he starts to learn some methods to repress public displays of emotion. He may have to drink to curtail his emotions in public. I found that the ways we all hide our real emotions contain some common practices. The man who needs to control his emotions follows these steps:

1. He accepts he is emotional.
2. He gets himself some time to control his emotions (at least for a while).
3. He thinks about why he becomes emotional.

Following these steps allows the man the opportunity to become calm. The first step can be the process of detaching himself from the emotional state, separating himself into two halves, the emotional half and the calm half. Then at least half of him would be able to remain calm.

The second step is not easy. Some people slowly count to five in their heads, while others go to 10. My friend said he repeats, "I am emotional. Do not show it," in his mind at least five times. This is a hard process.

I see real value in the third process. It would bridge the gap between pretending to be calm and real calm. In this step, you must consider why the other person became emotional. Why is your wife so angry? Did you tell say something that is rubbing her the wrong way? Did your boss upset you?

It helps to imagine you were involved in the process. If someone felt cheated, deceived, or mistreated, he would consider whether he played a role in your counterpart acting like that. Your wife would be angry because you made her upset. Your boss was upset because you did not do a good job.

Think again. Think about whether you are causing their upset emotions. If you understand your own involvement in making others emotional, you can see it might be reasonable for your counterpart to be upset. In this way, you calm yourself down.





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Do Not Underestimate the Power of Childhood Dreams

Do you enjoy reading? I like reading, but I try not to devote too much of my time to reading since I have a tendency to not stop reading until I finish an interesting book. Reading is excellent in many ways. It is entertaining. It is inspiring. Reading gives us knowledge, wisdom, hints for solving problems, and advice on how to live. My wife and I like the library in San Mateo, because it has a Chinese and Japanese foreign book collection. There is a Japanese book that inspired me quite recently called "Story to Steal a Castle." The story was entertaining and interesting. I spent all night reading and finished the book. However, it was not the story which inspired me. The author mentioned the reason why the hero wanted to "steal a castle". He said it was his dream.

The author stated that people should not underestimate their childhood dream. He analyzed that the people who accomplished great works in human history were the ones who did not lose their childhood dreams. He continued to say that they were the ones who devoted their lives to seeking their dreams.

We all have dreams in our childhood. There are innocent ones, such as "I want to be like my mother or father", or "I want to be a policeman and protect good people from bad people." Some of them are big dreams, such as "I hope to be like Julius Caesar." Grownups do not deny children's dreams. Almost all adults do not deny children's dreams and tell them that their dream would come true some day.

However, after growing up, people started to be negative to other's dreams. They started to think negatively about dreams in general. People often do not want to discuss others' dreams. "You must be dreaming," they say, "You are daydreaming." If I say, "I want to unite the world like Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and Ieyasu Tokugawa unified Japan," you may not talk seriously with me the next day. I just listed three people who unified Japan in the 17th century. Oda was a small, local lord in central Japan. Toyotomi was the son of a farmer family. Tokugawa was a hostage in his enemy country. If they did not dream of unifying Japan, they would not have been the people who did so. The 20th century's great scientists, including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Albert Einstein, were driven by their dreams, not by their calculations.

When I think of myself in the past, the real reason why I wanted to stay in San Francisco, despite of my Japanese nationality, was not because I had a good job opportunity, or for family reasons, but because I had grown up watching American TV programs, such as "The Combat," "The Mission Impossible," "Time Tunnel," and "Twilight Zone." My vague childhood dream was to one day live in the United States. It seemed to be my driving force to obtain an international job and station myself in the United States. We should cherish and respect our childhood dreams.









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