Daily Yamabushi

The aim to learn a language is not to learn a language. The aim to learn a language is to be able to use that language to get things done.

This should be the core of language learning, not learning the language for the sake of learning it. Only learning a language for the sake of learning it doesn’t get you very far, and it’s hard to stay motivated. If you have a different motive for learning a language, such as to improve your communication skills, develop intercultural awareness, or perhaps to learn new things about yourself, then it makes it much easier to learn when the going gets tough, and with as tough an endeavour as learning a language, that tends to happen sooner rather than later. Hence the reason why languages shouldn’t be learned for the sake of learning them.

This also makes an argument for students to start learning second languages at a later age, as they will have more awareness of its usefulness, and will be closer to using it in real life situations.

When someone close to you dies, it can be really hard. But it can also be a really good chance. Only those who have experienced this will truly appreciate it, but having someone close to you die is a reminder for you to live. Once it happens, a lot of the little things start to lose their importance, and our focus turns to the bigger picture. This reminder to live is an excellent motivator and it’s something that we need a constant reminder of, but if the only way to get it is through someone dying, then obviously we need another way to experience it.

Anyway, a friend’s father died recently, and I did what I wished someone did to me sooner. I asked him straight up how he felt about it. I’m really glad I did, he opened up, and we were able to share a precious moment that deepened our relationship remarkably. I got the same feeling I had three years ago, and that is that death is a reminder to live.

Don’t wait for someone to die on you, don’t wait for sickness to strike. Get out there and do what you want.

In recent years I’ve taken on the Stoic philosophy espoused excellently in this book. It’s safe to say that this book had an enormously positive impact on my life, as in the past few years I’ve been through a lot, today is actually exactly 3 years after my father died, but this book has allowed me to look past the troubling things in my life and to look for the positive in every situation. What I love about the philosophy in this book was the idea behind what to do with the things in our life that we can control, and those we cannot.

In essence, if you have no control over something, all effort used in worrying about it is useless. The other important lesson I got from the book was, which I believe was added by the author as a modern twist on the ancient stoic philosophy, was that there are times where you do have some control over the things that you cannot control. The example given was a game of tennis. We may not have any control over how the ball flies through the air, or the actions of the opponent, but what we can control is the amount of effort we put into training, or our reactions to things if they do not go the way we want them to.

Last year I was late for a teaching appointment because my previous engagement started late due to the late arrival of one of our guests. When I got to the lesson, I tried to put the blame on that guest, but I was met with ‘you think you’re not to blame’. Well, I guess I could have predicted that this person would be late, and for me to ask for a different start time, or even date to meet, but in some respects I was responsible. I could have made boundaries clear, that I had to leave by a certain time and no matter how respected a guest, I would have liked my time respected also.

Either way, I didn’t feel much guilt about this, and what guilt I did feel was quickly gone due to the philosophies given above. Again, if something isn’t in your control, it’s a waste of time to worry about it.

The problem is, this philosophy can greatly affect the other people who are impacted by this decision. If you said ‘don’t worry about it’, or ‘forget about’ to someone who has just gone through a tough time it can make you look cold, almost machine-like, or otherwise like someone who is unwilling to understand the feelings of others, when this is far from the case. So, this philosophy does come with a caveat, which is that you still have to be weary of the feelings of those around you, and you have to make the effort to let them know that you truly are sorry for what your actions may have caused.

The role of the education system should be to create people with the ability to share and enact upon their ideas.

These two ideas encompass so much of education, the ability to share ideas means you are not afraid nor incapable of spreading them. The ability to enact upon them means again you are not afraid nor incapable to lead your idea to its full potential.

You step into the door of your local cafe and the whiff of freshly brewed coffee hits you as you hold up one finger to indicate you’re there for a cup of the brown stuff on your lonesome. The stern eyes of the grumpy old man look at you on an otherwise expressionless face, and he points you to your table. Glancing over the menu, you choose your regular, a cup of Ethiopian, and get back to your busy work.

A few minutes pass by and the grumpy old man slams the cup down on your table in an abrupt movement like striking a hammer or taking an axe to a tree. Perplexed by the server’s obvious lack of grace, you forget about it as you sit back in your chair, and take the cup to your lips. What happens next could only be described as pure bliss. Heaven sent a choir of angels to your table, a blinding ray of light comes from above, and the taste emanating from the 100 grams of porcelain in your hand sends you into a euphoric state like no other. This man has single-handedly taken you to heaven, all in the form of a modest cup of coffee.

And yet, his service was deplorable. No emotion, no visible smile, not even a sound leaving his mouth.

The proof is in the pudding. The old man knows his shit. You’re going somewhere for a cup of coffee, and that’s what you’re getting.

Therein lies the problem. In this modern world, we are too worried about how we get treated as customers, to the point that we even go out of our way to try to ruin businesses that treated us like we didn’t expect.

Anyone normal would be put off by the bad service, and yet this grumpy old man has survived for more than three decades with the same expressionless face and rough handling of his brew.

What does it mean to judge a book by its cover? Taking things at face value means you don’t get to understand their true nature. As humans we do this without thinking.

But prematurely judging a book by its cover can stop you from understanding the true nature of something, that can ruin an experience that would otherwise have been heaven-sent.

In other words, give people a chance. Never judge a book by its cover.

When life hits you, it hits hard. Sometimes life hits you hard a lot, and it’s hard to keep your head up. Here’s my tip. Use these things as motivation to keep your head up. Change your thinking from ‘I can’t do this because of [life event(s)]’, to ‘I’m doing this in spite of [life events]’. It makes you look better when you succeed, and if you follow this advice you will, and it gives that success just that little bit extra satisfaction too.

This poor old dog has been through a lot. He’s had surgery on his legs after being in an accident, we weren’t sure he’d survive, but he has and now he’s old enough to be deaf. That hasn’t stopped him barking at the old man that lives here.

The funny thing is, he often runs past my wife and straight to me whenever we visit, even though technically he’s her dog. I put it down to me often being the one to only play with him, only recently have I had to scold him more, and I even gave him his dinner a few times too, whereas my wife has to punish him more due to him being her dog. I think there’s a lesson in there on how to treat people, but you absolutely must take a balanced approach because no scolding leads to very bratty behavior.

Take them. See where they lead you. If they happen to be a shortcut, great, use it in future. If they happen to be a waste of time, even better, you’ve learned that it’s best not to take that route in future.

It might seem like a risk to take alternative routes, but if there is even the slightest chance that it could be better, it’s worth taking the risk. Either outcome is useful to you anyway.

This is something I’ve found myself fighting a lot recently.

It’s a lesson I’ve heard before, but to have it reiterated by one of my favourite people, unironically by the person who I most often hear it from, makes it that much stronger.

When you’re under pressure to make money for your survival, it can skew your thinking. It can make you make decisions that have the opposite effect. It forces you into a corner where you are reacting, not acting.

But when you’re not under that pressure, and you’re simply doing things for the sake of doing them, for the sake of making art, then ironically there may be a higher chance of them making money, if that’s what you’re doing it for that is. It also has the added benefit of continuing when times get tough, because you’re not under external pressure to perform.

This lesson may have come at the right time for me. I’m working on a number of projects, but it doesn’t really bother me if they don’t make money. I trust that if I can provide value to other people, that the universe will reciprocate in turn, and I’m in the fortunate position that I don’t need to work for the money.

When you’re feeling flustered, or otherwise unsettled, just remember that taking time out can help you. Sometimes your mind is being irrational, notice it, live with it, and take the time to breathe. This is where mindfulness practice can come into play, meditation is a good way to calm down, it’s worth taking the time for it, everyday if you can. It’s also easier to pick up a habit if it’s daily as well, like this writing can attest to.

The hard part is noticing it. Thankfully other people can let you know, but you should know when you aren’t thinking straight. I guess this answer will be different for everybody. Feeling the urge to take the time to breathe should be enough, but also taking the time to breathe in itself will definitely let you know.

Put a Japanese person in a new environment and it’s amazing how disoriented they get. When I took a bunch of students to NZ earlier this year it was quite noticeable, they don’t know where to stand or what to do and the end up getting in the way of other people. For a people that is so good with caring about not getting in the way of others, I was quite surprised to see this phenomenon.

Then it happened again. And actually it’s still happening, it might take a while to readjust, but the new students are pretty good at blocking the quite wide hallway and getting in the way of people who want to get past, because they are oblivious to those around them.

I’m pretty sure this isn’t limited to Japanese students, I just happened to notice it more with them because I’m around them more often, and because it was so out of the ordinary for me.

But I think it has something to do with the freedom they have suddenly been given. After 12 years in a school system where they are told how to do basically everything, is it surprising that it takes them a while to catch their bearings? With a little more effort in the real world, they’ll be fine. I just wish this exposure to the real world happened sooner and more frequently.

When I was a waterpolo player, one time I got a very good lesson from my manager during a game. I was getting my ass handed to me on the field. In retrospect it was mainly because I was allowing myself to be agitated by what the other team was doing, either through their words or actions under the water, which is all part of the game. Well, my manager (it wasn’t my coach, he was rightfully more concerned with the game) told me exactly what it was I was doing; letting them get to me, and I was getting angry because of it. My manager realised this and said, turn that anger into energy to expel on the field, then see what happens. It took a little mental shift, but you know, it worked.

The other team are just playing by the rules. They are doing whatever they can to get into your head, to disrupt your rhythm and get the advantage, all in the aim of winning. They know that you have either superior or equal physical abilities, and they know that they can get to you in your head. But the thing is, you don’t have to let them. Easier said than done, but you don’t have to listen to them. I’m a strong believer that if you have the mental fortitude, you can do anything.

I was able to turn around the results of that game. I sort of forgot about what the other team was doing, and focused on doing my job for the team. That’s all that was required really, and it got us the win.

People will try to get you down in their aims of winning, but they’re only acting out of fear of losing. If you can get past that, you’re on the home stretch.

Yamabushi training is all about priorities. It’s about setting your priorities, but it’s done in a very simple manner. Essentially, you are forced to consider your highest priorities, or in this case priority. That priority of course, is survival. Multiple times you come face-to-face with the transience of life. This confrontation of your highest priority lets you appreciate life to the fullest. This appreciation in turn leads to the will to not simply survive, but to thrive. That’s the secret behind Yamabushi training, and it’s the main reason why I feel the whole world can benefit from it.

I recently heard some wise words from a friend that relate to this. Give anyone the desire to do something, and it can break you out of a depression. When you have something you absolutely feel you must do, it pushes you away from negative feelings and towards a feeling of progress.

So, your first priority is survival. Your second priority is basically to do what you want.

The hard part is finding that second priority, which I think comes about by trying different things and experimenting, maybe even writing a blog about it.

Hold a stone in your hand, you cannot hold anything else. Hold nothing in your hand, you can hold anything. -Zen teachings.

Possessing things stops you from your potential. Being versatile gives you more ability to feel free.

Ive talked about my rule before that if I don’t get two swims in a week in then I’m too busy. Well, recently I’ve been able to push them in and I was on the verge of not meeting that rule, but only because of random openings in my schedule.

Anyway, the other day when I had a free moment I got to work on some of my projects that get put on the back burner and I realised just how well that made me feel. The sorts of projects that you do for the love of it and to be creative.

I’ve decided that I’ll take some advice from Ramit Sethi and try how he blocks out part of his week for projects like this. So from now I’m going to have at least one 4-hour block a week spare to work on my projects, most likely Wednesday afternoon/ evening.

I think with this extra dedicated time I can make some inroads in my other projects, that may or may not decide what I do further on down the line too.

When my Nana passed away a few years back, I was looking through her stuff as any good grandchild would. She had actually hidden a massive pile of sentimental stuff, like family photos from more than 100 years ago, and scrapbooks of things that is grandchildren and great-grandchildren had written her.

Well, in amongst it all, I found my granddad’s memoirs that he wrote just before he died. When I read it, I was instantly reminded of his stern voice with a slight British accent that he hadn’t gotten rid of after more than half a century not living in Britain. That was when I realised the written word’s ability to transport people into a different time and place.

They say that if you have someone in particular in mind that you can write well. I’m not sure how many people actually read my blog besides myself, but the point isn’t to build an audience. Of course I’d be happy to do so, but my target audience is probably a bit different than you’d think.

If you have been following my writing, you would know that I have lost my father. I learned a lot of lessons from Dad that I wish to pass on. I also wish to leave something for my descendants to reference when they want to hear how their ancestors lived, in the way that my granddad did for me.

Long story short, the audience I have in mind is none other than myself, and my children (and maybe my wife). Anyone else that can benefit from this is just an added bonus.

‘Choose to do nothing, or write’ -Neil Gaiman. Words to live by. This particular part of Tim Ferriss’ recent podcast really struck me.

The basic premise is this: give yourself the permission to only do two things; 1) nothing, or 2) the thing you set out to do originally, in Neil Gaiman’s case, write.

According to Gaiman, doing nothing quickly gets boring, and writing is so much more fun than doing nothing.

Procrastination is a bitch, and if you’re like me, you’re really good at doing it. It takes a lot to get to work, and I feel this advice will surely serve us procrastinators well.

Don’t do it.

I’m about to embark on a journey. It’s a journey I’ve done multiple times, only this time it’s different. This time it’s the same journey, only with a new leader.

That in itself is enough to excuse ill preparation. I could do minimal preparation and then at the end say ‘it’s ok, it was my first time’.

The thing is, this could potentially lead to trouble down the line, trouble that could have been prevented if I’d only done enough preparation.

Always put your best effort into whatever it is you’re doing. Leaving things up to chance is a surefire road to dissatisfaction. Don’t leave yourself with regrets that could have been prevented. Don’t leave things up to chance.

By writing, you hold your thoughts accountable. Putting them down onto the page, or screen in my case, puts them out into the world, and putting anything out into the world means putting them up for scrutiny.

This means you have to have a strong argument, otherwise it will be ripped apart.

Sometimes I put things on the page, read them, and only then do I realize the fault in my thoughts.

Writing things, then, is one way in which you can improve your ability to form an argument, because by practicing writing, you practice the mental gymnastics ideas go through, and this further filters or strengthens your arguments before they are actually put on a page, or before they come out of your mouth.

Writing holds you accountable, but also makes your ideas more reliable.

Of course it’s good to care about what those who mind think about you, but I don’t think you should listen to it all the time. If they have compelling arguments, listen. If their arguments don’t stack up in your mind, don’t worry. If they were truly dear to you they should have an unconditional understanding of your thoughts. If they don’t, they don’t matter. Remember the adage; those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.

When we recently went to NZ, my wife pointed out that many of the shops had changed in the short period of time, one year, since we had been there. What that shows to me, is that the café and restaurant business in Wellington is a tough one. Restaurants that I felt were excellent had gone out of business, and some cafes had just simply disappeared.

The reason I say this is because we have been thinking semi-seriously about running a café and/or roaster either in Wellington, or in Japan. But, when I think about how hard it would be to do in Wellington, it’s quite off-putting.

Similarly, we have been thinking about running a bed and breakfast or hostel-like place, most likely here in Japan. The main snag we have come across is making a viable business case, because it would involve significant upstart costs, as I am thinking of purchasing a building, or making the location out of something, say a container.

So, I think in the current situation, I’d almost definitely need some sort of professional guidance, such as a business coach or a business course like the Alt. MBA. My inclination is to just go out and do it, but my significant other has reservations, mainly revolving around money, which shows to the importance of a solid business plan, which I’m OK with, and there’s no lack of people I can talk to too.

Just thinking out loud.

Just before I was at my uni’s commencement ceremony, which is an event to mark the start of the school year. Well, when the grad students were giving their introductory remarks, one student commented on how wonderful it was that everyone standing with him was different in a number of ways; different nationality, different hometown, different backgrounds, but that they were all there for the same thing.

This reminded me of how elementary schools here in Japan are so adamant on students staying together throughout their studies. This isn’t a bad thing, I don’t think. It is great to have a core group to support you at your earliest stage. The problem is when things go ‘wrong’ as they inevitably do. For example, if someone comes from the outside, it’s hard for them to be accepted if there are cliques, or, and this is what gets me, when one of the students is of an advanced ability, they have to either hide that fact, or face the consequences of not being challenged, which for elementary school students could have major repercussions down the line.

The argument I heard for not having students move up or down grades was so that students learned with people in their same age group. This ignores the blatant fact that as the grad student above mentioned we are all in fact different, and some of us learn faster than others. So in a way, I feel they are ignoring reality in favour of an idealised world, which i see in other facets of Japanese society (strict hair colour rules being one of them).

What I’m proposing is that students should be able to learn at their own pace, and they shouldn’t be forced, either physically or through social constructs, to fit particular norms.

We should be celebrated for our differences, as the grad student touched on, as this also makes life more uncertain as well, and that is a good thing.

I don’t know why Japanese people feel the need to speak English to me. Most often they don’t, but every once in a while I get some people who insist on speaking English to me even when I speak to them in Japanese. What I really want to know though, is how people who look the same as me, Caucasian, but do not speak English feel, such as Russians. It must really bother them when people try talking English to them but they don’t understand. Anyway, my general rule of thumb is to always talk the language of the land first, and then switch if you are struggling to communicate, or if you know the person knows the language you wish to speak in.

What bothers me more than that is people checking my comprehension of Japanese partway through a meeting, having worked with me for more than two years and knowing my occupation as a translator or interpreter. When it’s someone’s job to translate, let them do it! Even if you think or even know you can do a better job. You’re taking away from their potential to develop, the very thing that got you in that position. Some of us take a split second longer to process things, or we don’t see the need to translate things as soon as the person has stopped speaking. Give us a chance.

Rant over.

The only thing we know for certain, is that there are no certain things. Change is inevitable. That’s why you have to be ready for it. If you aren’t ready for it, you’ll be left behind when things change. But why resist it? Certain is boring. When things become predictable, it takes the fun out of it. Just ask any stock market investor, any sports player, or any movie-watcher.

Do the unpredictable. Certain is boring.

P.S. I have found an excellent way to train you for the unpredictable. Yamabushido.

If something is interesting to you, is it interesting to me? Most likely no. (I should probably tell my wife this, but) Dreams are a good example. They seem interesting to you, but who likes to hear the dreams of other people? Besides maybe fortune tellers, no-one!

I’m not a fortune teller, nor do I want to be one, but the underlying point here is that when you’re trying to get someone on board with an idea, don’t focus on your own attributes, focus on what the other person wants to hear. <a job made easier by making something that the other person wants to hear (Purple Cow).

Thanks to Lucian from Zen7 for the ideas in this post.

Blindly following orders is almost as bad as not working. It breaks my heart seeing new recruits at Japanese companies lined up ready to begin work because I know that they are just going to do what they’re told for the foreseeable future, plus I know they aren’t going to get paid much too, depending on the job of course, but many of them don’t pay too well, and their conditions are bad, ask them to take more than 3 days holiday.

Anyway, I think blindly following orders can be ok when you don’t know what you want to do, and your in an experimental stage. That way you can still take something out of the experience that can be used elsewhere, plus it also has the advantage of teaching you what you DON’T want to do. That can help you eliminate a lot of choices down the line.

Work is a balance between you and your company. Companies need us, and we need them. When you provide more value than you’re paid, it’s good for the company, but you may be losing out. When you provide less value than you’re paid, don’t be surprised if you lose your job. This fine balance changes day to day, and we have to be ready when the balance goes too far out of whack.

Companies don’t owe you a thing. In the same vain, you don’t owe companies a thing.

Which is why I don’t understand how people can be so loyal. Often they are putting all their faith in one place, when that place is legally allowed to change their mind. That’s why I try to spread my interests, and why I try to become a linchpin in everything I do.

Simon Sinek says it well. The money is just a product of solving a problem. It is not the answer. We must focus on the why whenever we do anything, never the prize. Money can poison your thinking, there are many things you can do to earn money quickly, but that is only a short cut, and does not address the underlying why that you wish to serve.

Put your focus on the why. And only then will you be free from the money.

Bank branches in NZ understand that the more the customer can do themselves, the less the bank has to do, and in turn the less service the bank has to provide. As a result, we can do a lot of our banking online or from our smartphones, so visits to the bank are quite rare for a lot of people once everything is set up.

Japan didn’t seem to get the memo. It seems they are actively trying to stop the tide of advanced technology entering their shores. Passbooks abound, fees abound, local banks abound, and I have to go to three banks once a month to do my banking. I can do it online, but the fees get you, and their online banking is from the last century so it can be hard to trust.

Seems to me like a field that is wide open for a bit of disruption, if only they could get the culture to follow suit.

But more than that is the discussion around menial jobs. Banks in NZ have, as part of a strategy, removed these at times menial jobs and (perhaps?) pushed them into other places. Japan is actively tried to keep them to keep the unemployment rate low.

I’m of the opinion that we should be getting rid of menial jobs as much as possible and replacing them with jobs that require active engagement and creativity. That’s the main distinction between AI and is too, originality. I feel that people in Japan are happy to have jobs, but Japanese people tend to stick to the default option, and for those in menial jobs, it’s no wonder they don’t feel appreciated.

I’m not saying it can be changed overnight, and some people do honestly enjoy doing these jobs, but we need to give more opportunity to those who don’t, and as it’s currently set up that’s not happening. (Or is that the point?)

Can’t sleep? Do some work, do something creative, write a blog or make a website. Make something. Consumption leads to more consumption but creativity leads to conscious consumption.

I call it conscious creativity. Making the conscious decision to put yourself in situations where you have to be creative. Then you can reap the rewards of conscious consumption too!

It’s the same in teaching. You aren’t teaching anything. What you’re doing is providing the environment for people to learn conductively. I like to say that I don’t teach, rather that I allow people to learn. It’s just a matter of applying that theory to anything creative.

^this piece is a direct result of doing what I just said