Daily Yamabushi

Fix them up quick smart

Don’t leave loose ends, they add up if you aren’t careful and it means you can’t get on with the real work. Prioritise getting them out of the way quick smart. Then get on with what really needs doing.

Mobilised. Unleashed.

Nothing is more freeing than when you have nothing to lose but everything to gain. Nothing is more freeing than when you have all the motivation in the world to stick your head down and get some good work done.

We need people to feel this way as they approach education and work, and we need to create environments that induce these feelings.

Then all we need to do is let them loose. Give them all the time and resources they need to get things done. And then it’s just a matter of rinsing and repeating.

Get your labour out there

You want to see the fruit of your labour? You want to see your impact on the world? Get out there and get it out there. Do whatever it takes to get your work out into the world. The world will thank you for it, but more importantly you will thank you for it. Get your labour out there, and watch it change the world.

Right from the get go

When you’re with a lot of others, it’s easy to go around in circles deciding what to do. The easy trick there is to offer something up. Offer anything tangible for everyone to work off. That way you have a starting point to think from, rather than just making things up on the spot. Ideally that’s where the conversation should start, however.

Change things up a bit every time

If you have to go to the same place multiple times, like going to work for example, there’s probably one clear route, or at least one route that just makes sense. Even if there’s not, if you also experiment with other routes you might find a quicker route, or at the very least you find different routes that will help you if and when that main route becomes unavailable. It’s worth trying other routes on for size, who knows when they may come in handy.

Is a chance you take

Every chance you get, is one you take. This is especially true for ones you make yourself. Put yourself in the position where everything else is left up to chance, and give yourself every chance for that chance to succeed. Every chance you get.

You can do it if you do it

I’ll try and do it. I’ll do it.

Huge difference.

Change of scenery, change of mind.

Stuck in a loop? Get outside if you can, or at the very least, get moving. The movement will help keep your mind ticking in one direction, or at the very least it will help you think of something different to do. Doing new things or doing things in new ways helps stave off these loops, and are great at keeping your mind fresh and focused. Keep moving, and keep your mind moving forward to get out of the loop.

As much as possible

You want to be playing to your strengths as much as possible. Playing to your strengths is one way to guarantee you are giving your best.

And if your best isn’t good enough? Well, make your strengths stronger, change the situation, or change to a situation that better suits your strengths. Play to your strengths as much as possible.

Lessons from a former self

I’ve been reading back on a few things I’ve written in the past, and I’ve noticed a slightly alarming amount of mistakes. Mainly small ones, mind you, but enough to make me want to go back and change them.

I take this as a sign that I’m growing. It’s a sign that even though it’s slow, I am most certainly learning new things. It’s also a reminder to be better, or at least more thorough in my work, so as to avoid these desires to change the work in future.

At Peter Coffee in Sakata

Today I joined a coffee brewing contest for the second time. Last time I made a video about it and everything, it was a normal hot coffee competition. This time around though, the hosts thought it would be interesting to do an ice coffee competition since it was winter. They must have had a change of mind somewhere along the way as it became ice coffee in the heats and then hot coffee in the semifinal and final.

I never make ice coffee. In summer I always make cold brew and have it with milk, probably a ratio of 60-70% milk at that. So, I came in very inexperienced. I wanted to play to my strengths obviously, so I went for a strategy of making the coffee as I normally do, and then cooling it down in a stainless steel bowl in yet another bowl of ice. I think this tactic was a good way of going about it, the result was a decent cup, however I lost in the first round, and there are a few reasons I can think of for this. But instead of listing the reasons, ever the forward-thinking person I am, I’m going to list up things I would do differently next time.

For starters, as I mentioned I think I had a good strategy, but we all had to use the same grinder to make it fair. I hadn’t used the grinder that was used, and didn’t realize how much fine beans would be left over. I should have upped the amount of beans used, and then gone through a process of removing that above a certain size using the mesh filter container thing I have. After that I could have measured the amount needed, and done my pour that way. I also spent a bit too much time before beginning to brew, which meant I couldn’t get the coffee as cold as I would have liked. I should have used more ice, to be honest I was worried that I wouldn’t have enough for a second round, the ice they provided was way too big and I didn’t have a method of getting it smaller other than stabbing it with my thermometer, which I didn’t want to do. Next time around, I will check in advance all of the tools to be used, so that I have more control and more information over what I do.

This time around I did get to practice with the beans used in the competition, last time I didn’t get a chance to buy them in advance like this time. I still don’t really agree with exclusively using light roasts. I prefer medium to medium dark roasts, and that is what I usually drink. So I was at a disadvantage in that regard. My method of pouring, using a cotton filter called a ‘Nel drip’ (from the word flannel), is probably best suited to darker roasts. I don’t see many people using this method for lighter roasts at all, although it should be perfectly fine to do.

So, who knows? In hindsight I probably didn’t have much of a chance, and although I gave myself the best chance I could, it wasn’t enough. Next time I guess I just have to try harder.

I did have fun though, it’s always fun meeting people who love coffee more than me, and there are certainly a lot of those people around.

Till next time.

Doing the thing is all you need to make headway

As much as we may hate to admit it, with enough production and enough recognition of that production comes a certain amount of privilege, a certain amount of leeway, when it comes to whether people will consume the thing. With a bit of an audience, you get a bit of clout, so to speak.

But the people that made those things didn’t just make them appear out of thin air. It took thinking, it took planning, it took consideration.

But most importantly, it took action.

Get it out of the way. Get it out of your head. Get busy, and get going. Production is the only prerequisite.

Or prolong the pain

I think it was in Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational, but he talks about whether it’s best to take of bandages for burns one by one slowly, or all at once. The conclusion? All at once. Get the pain over and done with instead of prolonging it.

And so it should be with our ideas. So it should be with what we feel the need or urge to get done. Rip off the bandaid and just try it. Get the ‘pain’ out of the way as soon as you can, and get on with the important stuff like testing your ideas for starters.

And the newcomer perspective

Tactics up your sleeve come from experience. Experience comes from doing. The more you’ve done, the more tactics you have at your disposal.

However, at the same time newcomers come who have a completely different perspective. They know what needs to be done, but they don’t need to follow the rules of old. They understand the rules of old are good for general guidance, but they aren’t always the best way forward.

By definition, we move forward through innovation. That is why we should always strive to have the newcomer perspective.

Never trying

The only way to never fail, is to never try. The real failure.

This is how to do it

A thought experiment worth doing every time you have a chance of winning. What out of the box opportunities could there be? What if I got to decide the rules? Is there anything from my past that could give me the edge?

If you were to win, this is how to do it is a catalyst for success.

It’s easier to just not stop

A car traveling even 1km/h going through a traffic light will always be faster than one that has stopped and has to start from zero. Though not impossible, the one that has stopped has a much more considerable hurdle to overcome to get back up to speed.

Do the difference

All of the people whose videos, posts, photos, what have you, all of those people have one thing in common.

They shipped. They pressed send. They not only did the thing, but they sent it out into the world. If you’re wondering how you too can get your name up there, you know what to do. These days the button is at our fingertips. It’s right there. It’s just waiting for that final push from us.

Do the thing, do the difference, and make us proud.

The best we got gets us better

When you give the best you’ve got, you undoubtedly get better. The best you’ve got is the best you’ve got in the moment. Repeated moments of your best means you get better. Give the best you’ve got, and you’ll get even better.

The only way to know for sure

Want to know what an experience is like? Curious as to how or why to do something? Want to know if something will even work? As frustrating as it is to hear, figuring it out for yourself is the only way to know for sure.

Don’t let me tell you what it is. If you really want to know, figure it out for yourself!

Just the liberation

When I passed the highest level on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test all those years ago I felt like I had conquered Everest. Up until that point I was led to believe that passing that test was the holy grail, the be all to end all, my magnum opus.

How wrong I was.

Little did I know, that test was just the beginning. That test was simply a foray into the world of the Japanese language, a tiny bump on an otherwise endless highway.

Anyone reading this who is studying Japanese is probably going to feel dejected. I know I would.

But it should be the opposite! You shouldn’t feel dejected! You should feel motivated more than ever!

Why?

Because I’m saying there’s much more to life! There’s so much more to it than meets the eye. Sure you’re struggling hard trying to remember all those words and grammar points, but you should be glad that it’s just the beginning! There’s a whole other world out there for you to discover, and you’re well on your way to unlocking it by simply showing up, and putting your best foot forward.

And that, in itself, is liberating.

P.S. this post is as much about the Japanese Language Proficiency Test as it isn’t.

Needn’t be done alone

Aligning the stars needn’t be done alone. If the stars aligning helps other people, let other people help make the stars align. Or rather, encourage it. Stars aligning is good for everyone, done alone or otherwise.

It’s not nothing

If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it well. You’re going to give it every chance possible to succeed. ‘Here goes nothing’ is not nothing.

Do the thing

Do it so you learn how to do it.

Do it so you know what’s involved.

Do it so you prove to yourself you can.

Do it so you know whether it’s worth pursuing again.

Do it so you have a better idea of the return on investment.

Do it so you can say you’ve done it.

Do it to show them how it’s done.

Do it.

It’s not over till the fat lady sings

Has the fat lady sung? You’re still in the game. And that means your job is not done. And if your job is not done, it’s an opportunity to put your best foot forward. It’s an opportunity to show the world what you’ve got. The job’s not done until it’s done. Until then, opportunity awaits.

With your camera

With a camera, your intention is clear. It’s obvious what you’re about to do. With a smartphone, it’s not so clear. Sure you could get photos just like a camera, but you could also do something completely different too.

Take your camera with you. You’ll get better results.

Talking by doing

Sitting in a meeting is talking not doing. Getting a second opinion is talking, not doing. Telling someone you’re going to do something is talking not doing. Telling yourself you’re going to do something is talking, not doing.

Do. The talking will take care of itself.

You’re too late

Waiting for the stars to align? You’re too late. Someone’s already beaten you to the punch. The stars have already aligned! They’ve already given you the idea, no, they have served it up to you on a platter. All they need to do now is what and see what you do.

Use them or lose them

In the moment it’s hard to imagine they ever will, but they do. Feelings dissipate. Feelings sway. Feelings change. What you’re feeling right now won’t be what you’re feeling next week.

And that’s fine. Use this information how you feel. A snap, spur of the moment decision? Or an excuse to give yourself more time.

Your choice.