How Can I Succeed In Life

Learn the fastest way to succeed in your life

Smart Goal Settings – Always Pay Voluntary Attention

Smart Goal Settings

The Kyocera Group makes printers and copy machines that use light-sensitive amorphous silicon drums. These drums are far harder and, consequently, have an exceptionally longer life span than conventional products. They can be used continuously without needing to be replaced for the life of the machine (10 times longer than conventional drums), which makes them much better for the environment.

 

Kyocera was the first company to mass-produce these drums. They are made by applying a silicon film to the surface of a polished aluminum tube. The film must be applied evenly to achieve the necessary sensitivity, but doing so is extremely difficult. Any unevenness, even a discrepancy of 0.001 millimeter, is unacceptable. Three years after we began research and development of the drums, we succeeded in evenly applying the film just once but were unable to repeat the process. This meant that the technology was not suited to mass production.

Continue reading

Personal Work Objectives – Listening To Voice Of God

Personal Work Objectives

God inhabits the workplace. There are times in our work when despite many attempts, we hit a brick wall and feel we have exhausted our every effort. When we approach these dead ends, however, we are actually arriving at the true starting point. Dead ends give us the opportunity to stop and regain our objectivity, to reassess our circumstances.

 

I once met Kohei Nakabo, a Japanese lawyer who argued for the plaintiff in many high-profile cases. Nakabo's cases included the suit lodged by victims of arsenic-tainted baby formula against Morinaga & Company in the 1970s and the case brought forward by investors who had been swindled out of over 200 billion yen during the Toyoda Shoji gold transaction fraud in the early 1980s. When I asked Nakabo what he thought was most essential to doing his work successfully, he responded, "All the keys to solving the case are there at the scene of the crime. God is there." Although our fields differ, the same is true for me. Nakabo's statement reaffirmed my conviction that dedicated attention to the workplace and careful observation are essential if we are to find career success.

Continue reading

Team Goal Setting – Repeated Effort Makes Ordinary Extraordinary

Team Goal Setting

Kazuo Murakami, professor emeritus at the University of Tsukuba and a recognized authority on genetics, gives a very simple explanation for the "inhuman" strength some people are able to muster in emergency situations. An extraordinary potential for strength exists within human beings, but because the gene that governs that strength is switched off, it is usually dormant. When it is switched on, however, we can access extraordinary strength even at ordinary times. Moreover, he claims that positive thinking and a constructive mental attitude greatly increase our ability to activate the switch that governs our innate yet dormant abilities. Genetic research thus validates the concept that one's attitude has the power to expand one's potential greatly.

 

But what is our potential? From the perspective of genetics, anything we can imagine, anything we think we want, is within the realm of possibility. In other words, we possess an innate ability to realize our aspirations. It is essential, however, not only to set our aims high but also to strive to reach the goals we set through consistent, steady effort.

Continue reading

Smart Goal Writing – Destiny Depends On Your State Of Mind

Smart Goal Writing

Fortunately, I was cured of tuberculosis and returned to school, but I continued to be plagued by setbacks. I failed to gain entrance into my university of choice. Although I entered a local university and did well in my studies, the country suddenly plunged into a recession after a decline in the Korean War procurement boom. I had no connections, and my job applications were repeatedly turned down. Few companies were willing to let a graduate from a new rural university even apply for a job, and I cursed my bad luck and the unfairness of the world.

 

Why, I wondered, am I so unlucky? If I buy a lottery ticket, the persons in front of and behind me may win, but I never will. If I'm just going to fail anyway, what's the point in trying? My thoughts grew increasingly pessimistic, I had done some karate and was moderately good at it, and I began toying with the idea of joining the yakuza. I even hung around for a time in front of a gang office in a busy shopping district.

Continue reading

Setting Goals For Business – Success Requiries Effort

Setting Goals For Business

When you attempt something new, something that never has been done before, you are bound to meet with opposition. If, however, you attempt a new venture while maintaining an inner conviction that it can be done and can visualize its successful realization clearly, you should be able to move ahead boldly and develop your idea. Ideas should be based on an audacious optimism that spreads the wings of inspiration. To do this, it is helpful to surround yourself with optimists who will encourage leaps of the imagination.

 

During DDI's infancy, whenever I had an inspiration, I would call the executives together to get their opinions. I found that the more elite the university a person had graduated from was, the cooler his or her reaction was and the more likely he or she was to lecture me on how rash my proposal was. Of course, there was truth in what they were saying and their analysis was astute, but if every new idea is greeted with a cold barrage of logical reasons for why it can't succeed, in the end, even a good idea will wither, and even the possible will become impossible.

Continue reading