Yataro Matsuura is a famous publisher, maverick thinker and pioneer of the aesthetics of life. He opened the Japanese antique bookstore “Cow Books” and served as the chief editor of the old lifestyle magazine “Life Handbook”. “The Man Who Knows Best About Life in Japan”. Yataro Matsuura proposed 100 basic tenets for a good life, here are 24 of them.
- Take responsibility for everything yourself, and blaming others won’t help.
Good things, bad things, we experience all kinds of things. No matter what happens, I believe that “the cause of everything is oneself. I don’t put the blame on others or on society, and I don’t blame others, and I don’t blame society. No matter what happens, deal with it yourself and take responsibility for it yourself. In general, you can take responsibility for everything. Only with the realization that the key to convince yourself is yourself, can you walk on with your own feet without depending on others.
Live simply. Keep a little of what you have to do.
After thinking about it briefly, choose a small number of “should-do’s.” If there are complicated things, keep them simple. If there are complicated things, simplify them and do your best. If you meddle in everything, you’ll end up doing everything half-assed. If you want to wear both red and blue, you’ll just look out of place. As long as there is the idea of “wanting that and wanting this,” it is impossible to achieve everything. If you don’t have a clear goal, you’ll only be able to do a little bit of everything.
Don’t lie about the past.
We all know that we shouldn’t lie, but that’s only for the present. Is it possible to make up a more favorable scenario for yourself about the past? Even if you’re not lying, you’re still adjusting your past story a bit to justify your present actions, right? No one can verify the past. The smallest lies are not exposed. But that’s why it’s so sinful. Therefore, I believe that the worst thing to say is to lie about the “past”.
No matter what you do, always think of the next person.
When you go to the bathroom, think of the next person who will use it. When you put out the trash, think of the person who takes it to the dump, the person who recycles it, and the person who disposes of it. When you work on a magazine, think of the people who proofread, the people who print, the people who bind, the people who ship books to bookstores, the people who sell books for us, and the readers. No matter what you do, don’t forget the people. I want to do things with that in mind.
5: Always invest in yourself, spend money on experiences, and don’t learn the ways of poverty.
Money should be spent on enriching personal experiences and feelings, and that’s what you’re investing in yourself. Use money with the awareness of planting seeds for yourself. There are many types of investments in yourself, and learning is one of them. Don’t be stingy with money at these times. Everyone thinks about “how to learn English economically,” but shouldn’t the fastest and most direct way to learn something be to spend money without hesitation?
- The smaller the promise, the more important it is to keep it.
“Next time, let’s have dinner together”, “That book I Lending you” are words that usually come out of our mouths. It may be a casual, off-the-cuff remark, but it’s just as important to keep as a solemn promise or a big promise. The more vague promises that are made unknowingly, the more important the small promises are. By not taking small promises lightly, and then following through on them, the other person will be delighted that “Oh, he remembers.” “So that wasn’t a polite phrase.” I want to convey that joy to the other person.
7: Understand that loneliness is a condition of being born.
Loneliness is one of the conditions of human existence. At work and in life, there will be moments when loneliness comes and it is impossible to escape from it. Not only that, but the more you try to escape, the more the shadow of loneliness will follow you. It is better to accept the fact that you are born alone and understand that “Loneliness is the proof that we are alive”. People who think this way may be considered true adults.
8、Everything has to be fixed.
Everything has to break down one day. Even if you use it very carefully, you can’t change that fact. The important thing is that once it is broken, do not throw it away immediately, but to have “must be repaired” consciousness. Even if it’s cheaper to buy a new one, I will still use the pen, or the shoes, or the clothes, after it’s repaired. This is how a rich and dedicated life is born. The same is true for relationships between people. Cracks caused by different paths in life or trouble at work must be carefully repaired so that deeper relationships can be built.
It is better to read a good book a hundred times than to read a hundred books.
What do you learn when you accumulate numbers one by one, saying, “I’ve read so many books”? I feel like what I’m left with is nothing more than a record of “reading a hundred books. You might as well find a good book and read it over and over again for a hundred times. You can learn a lot from a good book that says, “Even if you read it a hundred times, you will find something new. It is the same with human relationships. It is better to have a relationship with someone you really like than to have a relationship with a hundred people to understand the nature of yourself and the other person better.
- Go deeper in your area of expertise and keep refining and challenging yourself.
Everyone has a thing or two that they are good at. Identify them. Learn and practice to become better at them. Challenge yourself to become better at something. This is how you develop “personal expertise.
Don’t judge “expensive” or “cheap” based on price.
Don’t get into the habit of judging the value of things based on price. Expensive items are expensive for their own reasons, and cheap items are also cheap for their own reasons. It is rude to ask the price of something in a store and say, “Oh, it’s expensive. It is also rude to say, “Oh, it’s cheap, it’s cheap, it’s cheap,” at a store where the item is cheap.
- Buy flowers once a week.
Buy flowers once a week. This is not a rule but a pleasure. “The tulips are coming out, aren’t they?” “They’re the prettiest now! What are the flowers? “Perceiving the seasons is essential to both work and life. I value putting living and beautiful things in my life and cherishing them.
- If you don’t buy it, you won’t learn anything, and what you want to know costs a lot of money.
The things you really want to know can only cost money. For example, if you want to know what it feels like to carry a million yen bag, what the structure of such a bag is, and why it is worth a million yen, you have to spend money to buy one. This way you get not only a bag, but also a million yen worth of information, and even if you fail, it is a learning experience. Some experiences must be “bought” by yourself, not by asking the person who owns them.
Don’t use words like “absolute” and “universal”.
Absolute” and “universal” are not used. “Try not to use words like these. For there is no such thing as an absolute, nor is there such a thing as a universal for anyone. These are words that are used carelessly, and it is especially important to refrain from using them. If you cannot agree with the opposing viewpoint, try to think in terms of “what the other person says is right” as a compromise point to convince yourself. If you are able to give in with the attitude that you don’t understand and the other person is right, you will be able to move things forward.
Don’t say “no money” or “no time” on the lips.
It is often the case that you don’t have enough money or time, but you don’t say things like that. When I can’t help but say it, I force it down my throat. I don’t think I should say these words at all. Because it is your responsibility to move things forward within the limited time and money you have. The reason why you don’t have enough of either is probably because of your attitude toward life. If you blame it on “society’s fault, the world’s fault”, you will never have enough time and money.
- When you are lost, choose the more difficult path.
Every day we are faced with countless choices. As a result, there is confusion and worry every day. When you don’t know what to choose, choose the harder path. Because this way, whether it is right or wrong, you will concentrate more on your work and become more careful and more carefully prepared. In terms of results, you will also learn more and be more likely to succeed. On the other hand, if you choose the easy path, you will not only feel less nervous, but you will also learn less.
Think about and own your personal goals and dreams.
When asked, “What is your dream? It’s amazing how many people can’t answer when they can’t answer. It’s amazing. Think about who you want to be and think about your personal goals. Talk about work as a necessary process to achieve your dreams and personal goals. Colleagues can also share their dreams with each other. It doesn’t matter how small it is, there is a big difference between people who have their own dreams and those who just work.
- In order to be able to react to everything, keep a sensitive mind. Avoid indifference and disregard.
Exercise your reflexes. To be able to notice and react to everything immediately. To be sensitive at all times, you cannot be indifferent in everything. This is certainly true for customers, but it is also important to maintain concern among colleagues. Deliberate indifference is not desirable. Be sensitive enough to notice an umbrella falling down outside the store. You have to be able to react not only to what is in front of you, but also to all the things around you, as if you have eyes on your back. Without such sensitivity, you will not produce results.
Don’t be in a hurry to produce results.
Don’t expect to get there in one step. Everything takes time. Just like cooking, the taste of something made in a hurry is bound to be different from that of something that takes time to make. Taking one step forward and two steps back is also a way of walking. Allowing enough time for the people you work with shows care for others. Don’t forget that the sooner the better.
- Take on a new challenge each day and confirm the results.
The “challenge of the day” is formulated before you start the day’s work, and at the end of the day, make sure that you have achieved it. Then you will have to do it. Doing it is more difficult than just thinking about it in your head. To think that if you come up with a good idea, you’ve done it, is to put the cart before the horse. Self-examination is fundamental to self-management.
- Maintain a balance between intellect, emotion and will in all matters.
Let your intellect, emotions and will be activated in your work, so that you don’t just do the same work over and over again. If you have done the same work for ten years, it is easy to feel that “this is the time of the year to do it,” and that it is enough to repeat last year’s work this year. But you can’t make progress by doing the same thing over and over again. Try to challenge it, even if it’s just one or two new things, and savor the nervousness of not having a script written in advance.
- Adjust your balance at all times, with the beauty of coordination in mind.
It’s important to be unbiased in terms of food, exercise, and interactions with people. If you ate too much the other day, control eating simple foods today. Exercise if you don’t exercise enough. Take a break if you’re too focused on work. If you socialize too much, create some alone time. Indulging in cravings and over-indulging in what’s in front of you won’t work. It is an iron rule to adjust your balance and keep moving steadily and without stopping.
Don’t forget to convey your feelings.
It often happens that others do something for you or give you something. You can’t simply say “thank you” for the kindness of others. When you have received something, you should always convey your feelings to others. That way, the other person will be happy too. Simply put, when you eat someone’s snack, don’t just say “thank you,” but taste it and convey your feelings. The idea that “it was such a good taste”. This is an important interpersonal exchange.
- It’s life, not work, that makes us who we are.
I don’t want to be a person who has nothing but work. I want to be able to enjoy life even if I don’t have a job. Life is the stage where work comes alive. How lonely it would be to become a workaholic who is “good at what he does, but finds it boring when he meets you on holidays”.
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