It's still Day One

For the previous fiscal year, the total gross income that my company managed to earn was still less than my annual salary at Amazon or Microsoft but why do I feel much more wealthier than before?

Wealth is relative to our values. Before I used to write about how important money was to do what you want to do and buy want you want to buy. I don't have much money but have learned how to fulfill these two needs.

Just like many comrades that work in the anime field, I get most of the stuff that I like and want for free as part of my work. But because I also work in the tech and TV industry, I also get much of the equipment that I need for work for free too ^^;

As for the "to do what you want to do" part - I'm already doing that and have learned over the years that you do not need to have heaps of money to do the same. As long as you have a computer and an Internet connection, you are already setup with everything that you need to learn and share and that's all I did - learn the tools and gain the skills that I needed to share my passion for Japanese culture - and the rest just followed.

It's still day one for me but what with all the new clients who came on board within the past few months, the profit and loss sheet for the next fiscal year is on target to look much better than before. The extra income will enable us to invest in growing the business and perhaps I'll have a wee bit more time to watch anime or play some Valkyria Chronicles 3 ^^;

For the foreseeable future, I want to continue to share my passion for Japanese culture. Discovering Japan has been the best thing that's happened to me. Certainly wouldn't have met my wife if it wasn't for the interest in Japanese culture.

I know that many of you share the same passion as I do for Japan and hope that the experiences and leanings that I've shared in this post will be of some use to you as you journey to your destination.

Your journey wont always been plain sailing but should not be deterred when you come across rough seas. Tackle those storms head on and you will be a much wiser and stronger person after the storm - and there is always an after-the-storm where the seas are calm and skies are clear.

Monday

What day of the week do you dislike the most?

I ask folks this question from time to time and more often than not, the reply is usually "Monday."

When asked the reason, most would say "because I have to go back to work or school."

Typical answer yet interesting. If one dislikes Monday because of school or work then why does one continue to go back to work or school? I believe that folks like this are probably in the wrong job or studying the wrong course and probably should look for something that enables them to enjoy Mondays - and every other day for that matter. Those who genuinely enjoy work or school probably wont give "Work or School" as the reasons they dislike Monday.

Quality Not Quantity

I watched an extremely moving documentary about a girl called Ashley who had a medical condition called Progeria where her body aged 13 times faster than a normal human being. The condition is said to affect 1 in 8 million newborns.

A person with the condition normally dies at the age of 13. She just had her 14th birthday and she knew that she was going to die any day. She said that she was prepared to die and that she had lead a great life up until now - it was all about her experiences, the friends she was able to meet and being happy. Living a longer life was not important. The quality of life over quantity was what mattered.

Death Is A Reality

We watch the news and see people dying left right and center - people being stabbed, run over or just plain dying in everyday accidents. Many folks who see/read about others dying don't usually think much about it - and the folks who died probably didn't think too much about it either.

I was talking to my estate agent at the time we purchased our house - I asked him how I should go about writing my will - he looked at me as if I started to grow horns and said that people don't usually write their will until they are about 60. I was thinking to myself "apart from being a liar, this estate agent is an idiot too."

This may seem the obvious but the thing is, none of us have been given a guarantee that we are going to live until we are golden. One could live in the "safest" part of the world, be healthy and still have their life cut short by a knife, bullet or drunken driver. None of us know when we are going to die but there is one thing that we do know for sure - we all will die someday - could be in another 30 years time, could be tomorrow morning. Death is a reality that we must all understand - its the final piece of our jigsaw puzzle that we all will collect.

The Jigsaw Puzzle

Life is a jigsaw puzzle. You don't know whats going to go where, you don't know where the pieces are but you do know that you need to keep looking for the pieces and figure out where they go. All events that happen to you is a piece of your puzzle. if you are stuck in a rut at school or work and keep asking yourself the "what if" question then its a sign telling you that there are no more pieces of the puzzle to be found where you are.

Time's nearly up

Given today's technology, one can put wo/man on the moon, split the atom and even replace the keyboard with a single wheel. But what humans have not figured out is how to sell bottles of time on the shelf. Just imagine - you walk into a store and say "Gimme the usual bottle of an hour."

Time is not on your side - its a friend for the duration for life but it never sides with you - never be under the assumption that time will favor you.

Taking the leap from safe comfortable steady ground into an unknown void is not something that comes easily. Humans basic instinct is to protect itself and places priority on food and shelter and taking risks could affect these necessities.

But life is not just about being comfortable - its about living your passion.

You can spend most of your life doing something you dislike to bring in the money which pays the bills which enables you to go back to work another day to bring in the money which pays the bills which enables you to go back to work another day to bring in the money which pays the bills which enables you to go back to work another day to bring in the money which pays the bills...

Life is short. One may not appreciate just how short it is while we are young but really start to understand as we get older. I'm in my late 30's now and am under no illusion whatsoever that I'm going to die at old age - I could die anytime like any of us. I want to ensure that I died while living a life doing what I love most. Don't want to live forever and am happy with the time I've been given - will make sure I make the most of the rest of my life and I hope you do too.

As for me - hopefully you can tell that I just love Mondays ^^

Read the second part of this entry.

Ah, and details of how I built my career in Japan - all that is covered in the "How I started to build a career in Japan" post.