The famous Japanese entrepreneur Inamori Kazuo once said: “The key to one’s success is how one thinks.” There are three top-level rules that guide how you think that can help you succeed in life.
3 top-level rules to follow in your life
1. Be willing to change
Zhou Jie, a Chinese actor, became well known for playing Er Kang, a role in the popular TV series Lady Huan-zhu. However, he never gained wider popularity in show business. Gradually, he started another career. As well as renting a piece of land to grow organic rice, he also established a brand of wine and tapped into artworks when he had time. Although he is no longer seen in show business, he thrives in his chosen career because he follows one of the top-level rules.
Being willing to change does not mean surrendering or cowardice. It means having the capacity and wisdom to give and take in difficult situations in life.
2. Be willing to invest
Zhou Zuoluo, a Chinese writer, once shared his experience of investment thinking. One day, the company he was working for intended to try a live show of sharing articles. This was a test show so there was no pay and no real audience. However, he did it wholeheartedly. He spent time choosing good pieces and shared them with dozens of colleagues every day with passion. Why?
“Do not do it for money,” he said. “Consider it an investment. I definitely needed to use this skill in the future so I defined it as a rare opportunity for formal training.” Soon he held a live show for a publishing company with an audience of tens of thousands of people. He was not afraid because he had been well trained and followed one of the top-level rules.
3. Be innovative
A large company’s chairman of the board was going to retire. He wanted to choose a person who could make a difference to take his place. Eventually, two candidates, A and B, ran for the position. Both were good at riding horses, so he invited A and B to his farm. When they arrived at the farm, he said: “I know you both are good at riding. Here are two good horses. I want you two to compete and the winner will be my successor.”
The chairman announced the rule: “Please ride the horse to the other side and come back. The one whose horse comes back later is the winner! Now get ready. Go!” After the starting pistol went off, both A and B stood still for a while and did not know what to do. Then suddenly, A rode B’s horse and ran to the other side quickly. When B finally realized why, it was too late: A was back with B’s horse. When A dismounted B’s horse, the chairman extended his greetings: “Congratulations! you finished the task with innovative thinking. You will be my successor!”
Translated by Audrey Wang
