Aikido is the Art of Winning without Fighting. Practicing the art is an excellent way to incorporate this principle in your mind and body.
It teaches you how to keep your center while those about you are losing theirs, and that is just what is needed in times of change and crisis.
People born into the age of Space travel have become accustomed to images of our planet in Space, the swirling clouds, borderless blue oceans, and vast reach of stars.
It is gives us a horizon which is round and infinite, rather than simply far and flat. It is a reminder of the Big "O" in Opportunity, the Big "P" in Potential, which we so easily forget when we try to remain realistic and down to earth.
The beginning of the year is an excellent time to think about such things, because our calendar reminds us it is time to ring in the new. The challenge is that the two things which remind us about renewal, the clock and the calendar, can also sentence us to repeating our past. It all depends on how you think about time.
I propose that we set aside some of the clichés about time that condition our experience. Borrowed time. Father Time. Time flies like an arrow. Spend your time. Time is money. Time will tell. One day at a time.
As appropriate as these metaphors may have been when they were first created, over time they lose their luster and actually condition us to think about time in ways that may not be serving us well.
For a very different way to think about and experience time, read my article on Daijob.com called Oceans of Opportunity.
See how changing a simple metaphor such as how we think about time, can completely change how we experience it.
Sun Tzu's famous phrase from The Art of War, is that the supreme excellence is to win without fighting.
This is closely tied to your own attitude, and draws deeply on the roots of real motivation, as well as they way in which people compete for attention and energy.
This is the subject of the latest article in my online Column Creative Career Path is called:
The character for Bright is 明 (mei, akarui), and this is also the character that begins the New Year's Greeting which people exchange as their first words when meeting a person at the beginning of the New Year, literally meaning:
Congratulations on the bright newness of things.
明けましておめでとうございます！
Akemashite Omedetō Gozaimasu!
Beginnings are auspicious, full of hope and new possibilities, a chance to start over from a fresh perspective. The New Year is also a chance to return to Beginner's Mind (初心 shoshin).
So is the ritual of exchanging New Year's cards, such as the one above.
I selected the character for Bright also as a theme for the year. 明 is made of two parts, Sun 日 and Moon 月, representing the combination of projected and reflected light, the opposites of Yang and Yin, which both brighten our world by making everything possible. It is the world of opportunity.
I chose the brush to express it, because calligraphy is an art of capturing the fleeting opportunity on paper. A good friend commented that the left-hand radical in the character reminded him of a Tiger's Eye, as well as the Tiger's Eye gemstone.
2010 also happens to be the Year of the Tiger (寅年 toradoshi).
This implies opportunity and caution, approaching your goals step by step with quiet assurance.
Opportunity is where you find it. It makes all the difference if you happen to be looking for it. Opportunity favors the prepared mind. If you assume there is none, that all doors are closed, you will find it is just as you expected. It is not the doors that are open or closed, it is your mind.
Caution is also a challenge. What should we be cautious about? Take care to keep your Beginner's Mind throughout the year, and to associate with positive people, who can help you stay positive. Negative people, or more precisely, negative attitudes can drag you down. Misery loves company, and will seek it to feed and reinforce itself. Taking care is also caring for and about others.
Therefore the real opportunities are there for people who seek and share them with others of Bright mind.
Make this a Great Year, and share your Brightness with others. Your candle can light the candles of others.
This scene is from the 47th NHK Taiga Drama Atsuhime (2008), and features the famous meeting between Sakamoto Ryoma and Katsu Kaishu. You can watch many of the episodes with English subtitles.
It also foreshadows the 49th NHK Taiga Drama Ryomaden (2010), which will air in 48 episodes every Sunday evening on NHK, starting on January 3.
These two men are significant because they are both Renaissance Samurai, who had a pivotal role in Japan's modernization in the transition from the Edo to the Meiji Period. Their meeting occurred in 1862, concurrent with the Civil War between the States in America, a time of turmoil for both countries.
Sakamoto Ryoma is widely admired in Japan today because of his courage, vision, and action as a Samurai in a time of instability brought on by the forced opening of Japan after more than 250 years of isolation from the rest of the world.
In this scene shown above, he had gone to meet Katsu Kaishu, the commissioner of the Shogun's Navy, with the intention of assassinating him as part of his desire to overthrow the military government and restore the Emperor to power. But he was overawed by Katsu Kaishu's presence and vision, and before their meeting was over Ryoma asked to become his student. Ryoma came to call him the "greatest man in Japan", and worked with him to study naval arts and sciences.
Katsu Kaishu was the not only the Commissioner of the Shogun's Navy, he also led the first Japanese delegation to the United States in January of 1860, and spent two months in San Francisco absorbing American society, technology, and culture.
He was instrumental in promoting modernization and democratization of Japan, promoting a caste-free society in which any man can engage in commerce. He was deeply impressed by the values he observed of equal opportunity for anyone with ability, perhaps because he himself was of low Samurai birth.
Despite numerous attempts on his life, and the responsibility for dangerous diplomacy, he despised killing, and kept his sword so tightly tied to the scabbard that the blade could not be drawn.
Nagahama John Manjiro is the third character mentioned by Katsu Kaishu in the scene shown above. His fishing vessel was shipwrecked in 1841, when at the age of 14 he was picked up by an American Whaler and taken to America. He became the first Japanese to set foot on American soil, and to receive an education in America. He eventually returned to Japan, where he became the translator and interpreter for the Shogun, and also became a teacher of shipbuilding and navigation to Katsu Kaishu and Sakamoto Ryoma, as well as Fukuzawa Yukichi.
Fukuzawa Yukichi was also born as a low ranking Samurai, yet rose to become one of the leaders of the Meiji Restoration. Fukuzawa Yukichi was also a Renaissance Samurai, who was fascinated with Western culture, became fluent in Dutch and English, traveled with Katsu Kaishu in the first delegation to of the Shogun's Navy to San Francisco.
Fukuzawa Yukichi wrote influential essays and books, and promoted the idea of "national independence through personal independence." He also founded Keio University, and his image appears on the Japanese 10,000 yen note.
These men were born as Samurai of low rank, and rose to the challenge of their times. They were flexible and practical learners, proponents of learning by doing. They were passionate and pragmatic, courageous and curious. They were dedicated to learning, and open to new ideas and innovation, while still demonstrating their Samurai spirit with courage, clarity, and commitment.
They helped lead Japan through a time of crisis. Perhaps that
is why there is so much interest in them today, as Japan faces new
crises that shake old foundations, and looks in the mirror in search of its traditional values.
It isn't easy to draw parallels between the present and a period 150 years in the past. But the fascination today with this period is strong. There are hundreds of business study groups and associations in Japan, and many books dedicated to learning life lessons from Sakamoto Ryoma.
The Sunday night 49th NHK Taiga Drama Series Ryomadenpromises to raise the interest to a fever pitch.
For my part, I plan to start a study group in 2010 on Renaissance Samurai, which will look not only at biographical stories of such men, but also at lessons from Japanology, Aikido, and Nanba.
The Year of the Ox 2009, has been a tough one for many businesses. In February I wrote a post about the coming year, Till the Field: A Year for Cultivation, and again an article which you can download to reflect on how true this has been for you. Download Till_the_Field
The Year of the Tiger in 2010 will have a different quality, with new opportunities for those who have the awareness and resilience of the big cat.
But rather than waiting and hoping it will happen, you can take proactive steps now to make it happen.
Join a 12 week program starting on January 11, 2010, which will tune your business to do well in challenging economic times, and will also empower you to help others, clients, customers, and friends do the same.
Now in its 10th year, and with new content added to reflect new trends in online marketing and social media, the Guerrilla Marketing Coach Certification program will give you value and leverage for your business in the New Year.
I will be assisting Mitch Meyerson in teaching this round of the program, and it will definitely take your business to the next level.
Space is limited so check it out and reserve your spot!
Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias. Amazingly, some people would rather die than be forced to speak in front of an audience.
For others, this image is a welcome invitation.
Public speaking is one of the best ways to promote an idea, gain a following, or make a sale.
When you open your mouth to speak, does it work for your or against you?
Is silence truly golden? Or is story king?
Obviously, that depends on the quality of the silence and the quality of the story. Still, if you have a story to tell, and who doesn't, it is best to tell it well.
There are two important lessons in Storytelling. Though they seem at odds, both are true.
There are many ways to be an effective speaker. One size does not fit all. It is best to be authentic, to be yourself and speak from your own experience.
At the same time, the most effective speakers have some core qualities in common. These can be learned, they can be taught, and unless you learn them you will never be considered a great speaker.
The right path for you is somewhere in between. The art of putting your own experience into your own words, and the science of doing it in a way that persuades, educates, and entertains other people.
To explore this more, read my latest Creative Career Path article on World Class Speaking.
Find out how becoming a better speaker may be the single best thing you can do to leverage your strengths.
This photo was taken at our dojo's year end party in Japan, with Aikido Yuishinkai founder Sensei Maruyama Koretoshi at the center.
The aura of the group is a happy one, coming from our gratitude in being able to be together with Maruyama Sensei and to train in the marvelous Way of Aikido.
Maruyama Sensei gave us some deep insights into the origins of another Japanese word for happiness (shiawase幸), which comes from the meaning combining two other characters:
志 (Shi: intention, cause, mission)
合わせ (Awase:joining together)
Hence the Joy of a Common Cause.
Moreover, Shi (志 kokorozashi) is written with the characters meaning Mind of the Samurai (心 ＋ 士).
The Way of Aikido joins people together in a common cause, which because you never quit or graduate from, becomes a way of life.
When people come together in happiness on the surface, but below the surface are actually seeking their own individual happiness, something happens over time that reveals the disharmony of the group. This ends in tension, stress, conflict, and separation, and deviation from the original Path of Harmony.
What binds people together and keeps them together is an understanding of the original meaning of Shiawase, the joy of joining together in a common cause.
This cause can be great or small, can involve a large group, a small group, a couple, or even an individual who has joined with something greater than him or herself.
Mohandas K. Ghandi said that, Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. This authenticity was also the secret of his ability to lead others, to speak for hours without notes, and to change the world.
2009 has been a difficult year for many people. But as we look back we see that despite the challenges, hurdles, and hardships, perhaps even thanks to these, we have emerged stronger and better for it, and have much to be grateful for.
Keep this in mind and seek harmony as you enjoy family gatherings, year end parties, and celebrations together with the people with whom you share a common cause.
At the core of the Wealth Dynamics logo is the image of a butterfly, which like wealth itself tends to escape you when you chase after it, but comes to you naturally when you cultivate attraction.
"Move less, attract more."
The imagery has roots in Chinese Taoism, and can be traced to the classic story of Taoist Master Chuang Tzu's Butterly Dream, and surprisingly it has very practical applications for entrepreneurs and people on a Creative Career Path today.
The Wealth Dynamics Square contains some powerful symbolism. I have written an article on the origins and basic meaning each of the elements in the square, called Anatomy of a Butterfly.
Many of the excellent videos available on TED can be watched with subtitles, in dozens of languages. Thanks to The TED Open Translation Project, you can almost have your pick.
The TED videos on my new website at http://www.williamreed.jp can all be viewed in translation, although you have to know where to click to bring up the pop up menu and select your preferred language.
In order to view the subtitles, you have to click over the area just to the right of the oval start button at the lower left of the video screen, as shown here.
It then will display as follows:
And you can scroll down for many more language choices. Your video will then play with subtitles in the language of your choice.
You can try this by visiting the videos on the Home Page of my site at http://www.williamreed.jp, and you can also read the comments I have added on each video in the form of lessons learned from World Class Speakers and Wealth Masters.
These talks are too good to keep sealed up in the English language!
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