The shortcut to enlightenment: Philosophy “ Devote yourself to your work.”

This time, Inamori* spoke about the above motto in Kyocera philosophy.

What Inamori said is quoted with “”.

“ Working hard means being diligent and always being sincere in your work attitude. The fulfillment that we can truly experience is obtained only through our work. If you neglect your responsibility in your workplace and try to find something interesting in the sports or hobbies, you can enjoy for the time being, but you will never get fulfilled.

If you don’t feel fulfilled in your work, for which you must spend a great deal of your lifetime, you will end up losing fulfillment in your life. Only when you work diligently and sincerely and achieve a certain goal, will you be able to feel the ultimate fulfillment that cannot be replaced by anything else. ”

The reasons why Mr. Inamori had stressed this motto of hard working are as follows:

Let me explain one by one.

1 To fulfill your life

“`Masters and experts are not only people who are good at their work, but also have a very sublime state of mind and spirit. Just creating something good doesn’t mean they ultimately got enlightened in their professionalism. Those who have just good skills can not be masters or national human treasures. Of course, their skills are excellent, but their state of mind is reflected in their works, and masters’ work must have something that deeply impresses others. Therefore, we call them “masters”. That’s something you can’t do unless you’re completely dedicated to your work.

Some people say that life isn’t all about work; you also need hobbies and entertainment. But in my opinion, it’s just people who can’t devote themselves to their work and instead try to find fulfillment in their hobbies. ”

→ I believe that if you master something and reach a certain level, you will be able to impress people. I don’t know if I will be able to reach that level, but I want to do my best to keep thinking, analyzing, implementing, and improving little by little to reach that level.

For instance, only from the top of the mountain can you see the scenery below. If you are at the bottom, you will never be able to see the view at the top. I would like to keep climbing the stairs little by little to see a wonderful view of my life.

2 To be a person of noble character

” For example, there are many cases where a person who used to be a hard worker and humble becomes arrogant once he/she gets into a position of power, and this results in destroying his/her personal career. On the other hand, there are some people who had lived a hard and antisocial lifestyle in the first half of their lives, but after something happened, they changed their minds, endured many hardships, and finally became people of great character in their later years.

I believe that character can be improved through daily work, not by stuffing yourself with a lot of knowledge. In other words, we believe that by working hard, we can not only earn something for living, but also improve and polish our character. ”

→There is a mindset in the world that working diligently and hard is the job of so-called blue-collars, and that the intellectual class should not be involved in the labor and should enjoy their leisure time. However, if we think about the nature of humans, we find that we are naturally born to work for the group by making use of our own characteristics and doing our best for the group and other individuals.

I believe that humans can feel true fulfillment by working for others. I would like to reconsider the way I work and approach toward my responsibilities. People look for self-development methodologies, and I believe that hard work is the best way to develop ourselves.

3 To develop a beautiful mind

“ In Zen Buddhism, younger monks perform all sorts of tasks, from preparing meals to cleaning the gardens and the halls. Zen Buddhism places great emphasis on each of these tasks as training. This is based on the idea that working whole-heartedly and devoting oneself to one’s work is the same as meditating, or mind-training, to unify one’s mind and elevate one’s spirit.

Working hard means devoting yourself to something and making a frantic effort, and Buddha believed that such effort makes a person very admirable, so he said this at the beginning of his training. He is talking about `devoted diligence.’ ”

→ No matter what you do, I think it’s very important to do it with all your heart and spirit. Our company is in the real estate business, and since it is an industry where large amounts of money are involved, various kinds of people participate in the market. There are some people who have malicious intentions. However, even under such an environment, we will always do our best with the motto of “sincerely and with all our souls and spirits.” By doing this, I would like to refine my mind and soul.

* Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera, KDDI (one of the top tele communication companies in Japan) and the top of revitalization project of JAL. As a well-known Japanese entrepreneur, he has been sharing his experiences and management know-how with managements of small to middle companies in Japan.

Further queries or doubts, please email to ytomizuka@abrilsjp.com

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