How Frank Stella Teaches You the Only Way to Gain Unwavering Decision-Making Power
Hello.
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here with me today.
I am truly, from the bottom of my heart, delighted to be able to speak with you like this.
Everything I am about to share with you relates directly to your life; these are incredibly important matters.
In your daily life, do you find yourself hesitating over choices and draining your energy?
Why is it that we become so utterly exhausted by our everyday decisions?
The complete answer to this actually lies hidden in the way of life of the great American artist, Frank Stella.
If you listen to this story until the very end, you will never have to hesitate over your choices starting tomorrow.
Right here at the beginning, I promise you that you will encounter an astonishing, brand-new version of yourself.
I am delivering exclusively to you the secret of that special, distinct way of thinking possessed by top-tier individuals.
“What is seen and what is not seen.”
— Frédéric Bastiat
The reality right in front of your eyes is the only powerful truth that moves your life
Have you ever heard of the artist named Frank Stella?
He was an astonishing figure who completely overturned all conventional wisdom surrounding painting.
He utterly refused to hide special narratives or meanings inside his artwork.
He left behind the famous phrase, “What you see is what you see.”
Why do you think this phrase is so profoundly important to your life today?
In our everyday lives, we usually live in fear of “invisible illusions”—such as the opinions of others or anxieties about an unseen future.
The mood of your boss, public reputation, or the number of likes on social media.
Our minds become exhausted because we are tossed around by things that have no real substance.
However, Stella tells us:
Believe only in the vivid reality right in front of your eyes.
The work before you, the meal before you, and above all, you yourself, right here, right now.
Could there be any way of life more beautifully simple and powerful than this?
The very moment you cast away unnecessary delusions, your life will begin to go incredibly well.
“I only blush for my own lack of ability and talent.”
— Matsuo Basho
Why Frank Stella’s innovative perspective will instantly erase your daily stress
Much of the stress you carry actually stems from your own preconceptions.
Stella created a shocking new method called the “shaped canvas,” where he altered the very shape of the frame itself.
He provided an amazing demonstration that there is absolutely no reason to be trapped inside a four-sided box.
Are you keeping yourself locked inside a narrow, rectangular frame?
An invisible frame made of thoughts like “I must be this way” or “Normally, one should do that.”
Like Stella, try taking a pair of scissors to that frame itself and changing it into a free-flowing shape.
Methods that work beautifully are always born from breaking the mold.
After all, the main character of your life is no one else but you.
Breaking out of the frame brings you an unbelievably wonderful sense of liberation.
The sooner you release your heart, the more directly it will lead to success in both your business and personal life.
“Skin in the game.”
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The guaranteed reasons why engaging with art will dramatically improve your income and human relationships
Appreciating or collecting art is by no means an ostentatious hobby reserved only for the wealthy.
It is, in fact, the most efficient investment you can make to fundamentally train your brain and nurture a top-tier intuition.
This is because a genuine piece of art holds a special energy that directly sways human psychology.
Just by displaying a piece by Stella in your room, or even by simply picturing it in your mind, your entire vision changes.
Your capacity to view things from a bird’s-eye perspective is cultivated, and you will begin to understand the emotional shifts of others as if reading them from the palm of your hand.
When your human relationships flow smoothly, it is only natural that your work goes well, don’t you think?
By holding a special, distinct perspective, you become someone who stands out and is deeply respected by those around you.
This is the ultimate benefit that art brings directly to you.
“I do it because it is difficult. I do it because no one else is doing it, and no one else can. I might be a fool for doing so, but without such fools, nothing new would ever be born into this world.”
— Kiichiro Toyoda
How Frank Stella and art collecting refine your sensibilities to the absolute limit
Stella’s early works, known as the “Black Paintings,” consist entirely of black lines.
They are stunning, eye-opening masterpieces that stripped away unnecessary elements to the absolute extreme.
The act of collecting art serves as a training ground for deciding “what to accept and what to discard” in your own life.
Please try surrounding yourself only with the things you truly love and find beautiful.
By doing just that, unnecessary noise and toxic relationships will cleanly vanish from your daily existence.
Acquiring a top-tier eye for selection becomes a powerful weapon that protects your precious time.
Why is it that successful people eagerly seek out and buy art?
It is because they constantly look to update their own sensibilities and stay ahead of the times.
Why don’t you claim that special privilege for yourself starting today?
“Most people think of success as something to get. But the truth is, success is found in giving.”
— Henry Ford
The astonishing transformation happening inside your brain when you encounter a piece that shakes your soul
When we come into contact with genuine art, an unbelievable transformation occurs inside our brains.
An indescribable wave of emotion rushes over us, making our small, everyday worries suddenly feel entirely trivial.
Frank Stella’s dynamic use of color and three-dimensional depth shatters the boundaries of your thinking in an instant.
It feels as though a new, improved neural pathway is being constructed right inside your head.
You will feel a deep sense of validation—a feeling of “Ah, this is exactly as it should be”—and a surge of vitality for tomorrow.
Art is the single, ultimate remedy that brings moisture to your parched heart.
If you are feeling even slightly stuck right now, please borrow the power of art.
It is a guaranteed means to draw out your latent potential and guide your life toward a much richer direction.
“If you see fraud and do not say fraud, you are a fraud.”
— Anonymous (Also famously cited by Nassim Nicholas Taleb)
The techniques proven by the world’s greatest salespeople to drive your words straight into the hearts of others
No matter how excellent a product you create, no one will look at it if it stands alone.
Value is born only when someone correctly communicates its worth and moves the hearts of others.
Frank Stella was also a brilliant promoter of the art world, utilizing his own words to explain his theories and lead the movement.
In the world of business, the exact same principle applies.
No matter how wonderful your talent or how great your daily efforts are, if they are not communicated to the other person, it is the same as if they do not exist.
Have you ever worried, wondering why that other person’s words always move people, while your own words fail to reach them?
It comes down to whether you know the technique of speaking or you do not; that is the only difference.
From here on, based on the examples of great pioneers in history, I will share the secrets that will transform you into an incredibly magnetic speaker.
“Execute with strong conviction. Everyone thinks the same thoughts, and it wasn’t that Kiichiro was a genius. What mattered was that he didn’t just think about something generally deemed impossible, but he possessed a powerful conviction that it had to be done by any means, made thorough preparations, and executed it.”
— Eiji Toyoda
The ultimate secret that Shotaro Kamiya of Toyota grants you to capture the hearts of customers forever
Allow me to introduce a quote from Shotaro Kamiya, who was revered as the “God of Sales” at Toyota.
“The user comes first, the dealer second, and the manufacturer third.”
This phrase is an incredibly useful lesson for your work and your personal relationships.
When you interact with someone, try placing their benefits above everything else.
Why? Because human beings are creatures that inherently love those who bring them value.
If you devote yourself to others and provide them with heartfelt service, it will always circle back and return to you multiplied.
It was Kamiya’s thorough “other-centered approach” that built the massive foundation of the global giant Toyota.
In your daily life, try thinking first about what you can do to bring joy to the person right in front of you.
Your human relationships will become spectacularly smooth, and you will find your world filled with passionate supporters.
“Ultimately having no talent and no art, I simply cling to this single line.”
— Matsuo Basho
The power of words Takeo Fujisawa of Honda used to create great turnarounds from any dire situation
Are you familiar with Takeo Fujisawa, the vice president of Honda who constantly supported the genius Soichiro Honda?
He was the mastermind who built Honda’s entire business infrastructure in place of Honda, who was interested only in technology.
Among his wise words, he noted the following:
“Half of a manager’s job is to give the employees a dream. The other half is to create the environment to make that dream a reality.”
Please apply this directly to your daily life.
Are you speaking of beautiful dreams to the people around you, or even to yourself?
Simply grinding through the tasks right in front of your eyes will not make the heart dance, nor will it bring great results.
This is because human beings are creatures of emotion, and we can only summon our true strength when moving toward a future that makes us feel alive.
When Takeo Fujisawa sold the Super Cub all over the world, he wasn’t just selling a motorcycle; he was selling the dream of a “richer, easier life.”
Try infusing your words with a dream and speaking directly to the person before you.
By doing just that, your persuasiveness will transform into something eye-openingly powerful.
“Blessed is the one who can choose their own path to walk.”
— Seneca
The magical message Steve Jobs of Apple left behind to captivate an audience in a single moment
Steve Jobs was the world’s greatest salesperson and a man who reshaped eras.
His words were always simple, piercing deeply into the hearts of people.
Among his famous sayings, he left us this:
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.”
This is a truly profound quote that resonates perfectly with Frank Stella’s minimalism.
When you try to convey something to people, do you inadvertently make your explanations long and complicated?
The reason your passion fails to reach the other person is often because you are overloading them with information, causing their brain to reject it.
When Jobs announced the iPhone, he used a single, clean phrase: “Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone.”
With just those words, people all over the world were astonished and completely enthralled.
Try simplifying your own words to the absolute limit.
Shorten your sentences, and hand over only what you most want to convey, filling it with your genuine heart.
When you do, your words will reach the deep subconscious of the listener, acting as a powerful trigger that inspires them to action.
“The truth will set you free.”
— The Gospel according to John (The Holy Bible)
The true stories of hidden devotion and success behind great geniuses
Beautiful art, sublime philosophy, and superior products do not spread across the world on their own.
It is precisely because there were “great communicators” who risked their lives to support and deliver them to the world that we are able to enjoy them today.
Why is it that certain talents are buried away in history, while others radiate an eternal brilliance?
The difference lies entirely in whether there was someone who believed 100% in that value and poured their whole life into sharing it.
From here on, let us dive into an inspiring tale that connects deeply with your own daily partnerships and teamwork.
When you support someone, or when you are being supported by someone, look at the immense miracles that take place.
Please take your time and savor the beauty of this true story.
“Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.”
— Hypatia
The lifelong, epic achievement of a woman named Jo, who pushed Vincent van Gogh to the pinnacle of the world
There is a genius painter everyone knows named Vincent van Gogh.
Do you know why his paintings are so profoundly loved worldwide today, commanding values of tens of billions of yen?
It is said that during Vincent’s actual lifetime, he sold only a single painting.
He passed away in deep isolation, and a mere six months later, his brother Theo—who had supported him both financially and emotionally through everything—followed him to the grave.
Left behind was a mountain of Vincent’s paintings, which at the time no one cared to look at, along with an immense collection of letters exchanged between the two brothers.
And in the middle of it all stood Theo’s young widow, a woman named Jo (Johanna van Gogh-Bonger).
Holding a small child in her arms, it would have been entirely natural for her to fall into utter despair given the crushing weight of her circumstances.
However, Jo was an exceptionally bright, highly well-read, and magnificent woman.
She began reading every single one of the immense letters exchanged between her husband Theo and his brother Vincent, her cheeks wet with tears.
As she read through the letters, Jo found herself deeply and sincerely resonating with Vincent’s noble philosophy as an artist.
“Vincent painted these pieces from the bottom of his heart to bring comfort to broken people. I must deliver this beautiful light to the world.”
Jo made a firm, unyielding vow to her soul:
“Besides the child, Theo left me another mission—Vincent’s work. To get it seen and appreciated as much as possible.”
This marked the beginning of her unyielding, lifelong crusade.
She wrote letters to the top critics of the era, organized exhibition after exhibition, and never gave up—even when those around her laughed and called them the “paintings of a madman.”
Why was she able to hold onto such an incredibly powerful conviction?
Because she recognized the genuine value of the work and knew that sharing it would become the salvation of her own soul.
Without Jo’s relentless, absolute devotion, the painter named Van Gogh would have been completely swallowed up by the darkness of history.
The things you are working so passionately for right now to support someone else—that, too, might be a magnificent step that changes the world someday.
“When you do everything within your power, God will smile upon you.”
— Saint Catherine of Siena
The overwhelming evangelical power of the Apostle Paul, who made the philosophy of Jesus Christ echo across the globe
The relationship between the Van Gogh brothers and Jo mirrors precisely the relationship between Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul in Christianity.
Following the death of Jesus Christ, it was the overwhelming, absolute dedication of a single man named Paul that spread the teachings across the classical world during its critical early stages.
Paul traveled from region to region, writing a massive body of letters to the communities of believers, continuously conveying the life and philosophy of Christ.
If Paul had not spun his words with such a fierce spirit of service, traveling tirelessly to preach, Christianity would never have grown into the global faith it is today.
When something is truly good, if someone does not explain it and pass it on with passion, it is functionally non-existent to the rest of the world.
Jo and Paul were, in a manner of speaking, the world’s greatest marketers and ultimate communicators.
Remember the words of Akio Morita, the co-founder of Sony, when he introduced an innovative product the world had never seen before:
“A product that has never been produced before, that no one has ever seen, created after immense struggle and painstaking research in some quiet corner. If you want to turn that product into a true commodity, you must arouse the desire among people to possess it; otherwise, no matter how excellent the ‘product’ may be, it can never truly become a ‘commodity’.”
Your business, your ideas, your innermost feelings.
Everything changes into “value” for the other person only after you make the deliberate effort to communicate it.
Therefore, never give up on conveying your message.
The person who is waiting to hear your words is surely out there somewhere.
“Test a horse by riding it, and a man by associating with him. The power of poetry shakes the soul at its deepest foundation.”
— Al-Mutanabbi
The absolute resolve of Al-Mutanabbi, the greatest poet of the Arab world, who staked his life on his words
Allow me to tell you the story of another fierce man who staked his entire life on his words.
Over a thousand years ago in the Arab world, there lived a supreme poet named Al-Mutanabbi.
His talent was so overwhelming that his poetry was said to possess a hypnotic effect—it was written that even the blind could read his verses, and even the deaf could hear them.
The name Al-Mutanabbi itself carries the meaning, “he who prophesies” or “the self-proclaimed prophet.”
Being a man of such immense pride, he once wrote a series of verses that fiercely insulted a specific tribe.
Furious, members of that tribe intercepted Al-Mutanabbi while he was traveling, blocking his path with weapons drawn.
Outnumbered and seeing that he stood no chance of winning, Al-Mutanabbi wisely attempted to flee the scene.
It was at that exact moment that his traveling companion, standing behind him, began aloud to recite one of Al-Mutanabbi’s very own famous poems praising his own absolute bravery.
The companion said, “Shall the great Al-Mutanabbi, who wrote such courageous verses, now flee from his enemies?”
The moment those words hit his ears, Al-Mutanabbi spun around on his heel.
If he fled now, every single word he had ever spun would turn into a lie.
Fully aware that he was walking into his own death, he chose to charge single-handedly into the enemy to avoid the eternal dishonor of running away, meeting a grand and violent end.
The verses he left behind continue to vibrate through the hearts of people today, over a thousand years later, without losing a single shred of their luster.
Why? Because his words were backed by “genuine resolve,” using his own life as collateral.
Try bringing that level of sincerity and accountability to the words you speak every day.
The people around you will place their deepest trust in your words and will happily choose to follow you anywhere.
“A man is bound by his words, and saved by his words.”
— Michel de Montaigne
The surprise-filled steps of a grand narrative to complete the story of your life
Our lives are truly like a single, grand cinematic movie, aren’t they?
There are beautiful highs, and there are times when we face unbelievable hardships.
However, please rest completely at ease.
Because every single hardship is nothing more than a vital piece of “foreshadowing” meant to make the narrative of your life turn out sweeter, more dramatic, and infinitely more beautiful.
Every single one of the great historical figures who left their names in time walked through incredibly tumultuous lives.
By learning from their ways of living, you will find the strength to stand back up from any adversity and walk firmly forward.
This story is filled with invaluable life wisdom that will serve as a guiding light for tomorrow, for both men and women alike.
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
— William Shakespeare
The upside-down thinking that transforms your destiny, taught by pioneers who crawled out from the depths of despair
There is a profound saying: “There is no life within life; true life is found within death.”
It means that at the exact moment you are completely cornered and pushed into utter despair, a brand-new life and a magnificent chance for a grand reversal begin to sprout.
When you try to start something new, do you ever find yourself being opposed or laughed at by those around you?
Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of the Toyota empire, was a man who was openly mocked by his community, labeled a “weirdo,” an “invention maniac,” and a “madman.”
From morning until night, day after day, he repeated the grueling process of making something, breaking it apart, building it, and rebuilding it all over again.
Why was he able to go that far?
He was driven purely by a singular, unadulterated passion and tenacity: “I want to invent things to make everyone’s daily lives easier.”
Ignoring the criticism of others completely, he marched foolishly and honestly down the single path he believed in.
As everyone knows, the result of that focus became the massive bedrock supporting modern Japanese industry.
What other people think of you is a completely trivial matter in the grand scheme of your existence.
Walking your own path with honest grit is the only thing that will transform you into an uniquely brilliant individual.
“For a tree to reach heaven, its roots must extend down to the depths of hell.”
— Shuji Terayama
The simple yet powerful “Just-in-Time” law to enrich your daily existence
In the business world, the famous “Toyota Production System” revolves around a brilliant concept known as “Just-in-Time.”
Systematized by Taiichi Ohno and his peers, this method eliminates waste thoroughly by producing “only what is needed, when it is needed, in the amount needed.”
This can be applied completely and directly to your daily time management and emotional clarity.
Do you find yourself taking on worries about a future that hasn’t even happened yet, or clinging indefinitely to regrets of a past that has already vanished?
All of those thoughts are “excess inventory” cluttering your heart.
Try applying the spirit of Just-in-Time, focusing entirely on what is required of you in this exact, passing second.
Pour your entire strength into the work you need to finish today.
Deliver your brightest, warmest smile to the precious person standing right in front of you right now.
By doing just this, the productivity of your life will scale dramatically, and your stress will beautifully dissolve away.
Act before you think.
Instant decision, instant resolution, instant execution.
This precise rhythm is the powerful engine that will guide your life with unbelievable lightness straight toward success.
“God will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can bear. With the trial, He will also provide the way of escape.”
— The Apostle Paul
The shape of your life is determined solely by your diligence, your patience, and your power to continue
Life is never determined by your birth, your upbringing, or your current environment.
No matter how brutal your starting line may be, if a person possesses diligence, patience, and the power to continue, they can fly to unimaginable heights.
Neither success nor failure is ever final.
The thing that matters most is whether you possess the “courage to continue.”
Never give up, no matter what crosses your path.
Step by step, brick by brick, keep stacking your daily efforts.
That stubborn tenacity is the single fountainhead from which all miracles are born.
The fact that you are taking a small step forward today—that continuity will eventually compound into an eye-opening, magnificent achievement, returning to you in full glory.
Believe in yourself, and believe wholeheartedly in your future as you move forward, one step at a time.
“All human wisdom is summed up in these two words: ‘Wait and hope.'”
— John Calvin
When gazing out at the ocean,
Only the waves pulling backward seem to catch the eye,
But the place you are truly meant to journey toward
Lies far beyond that horizon.
Take those clumsy secrets stuffed deep in your pockets,
And toss them up into the night sky one by one.
If the world chooses to laugh at you,
Then take the sound of that very laughter
And turn it into beautiful music for tomorrow’s journey.
Do not be afraid of being hurt;
Just as you are, you are already entirely complete.
(Jeremiah Chapter 29, Verse 11)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
“Art is an act of supreme service, a grueling work where one continuously slays oneself so that others may live.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Hey, why are you going on a journey?”
“Because I am suffering.”
“Your ‘suffering’ is so entirely predictable; I cannot believe a single word of it.”
(From Osamu Dazai’s Tsugaru)
P.S. The Unyielding Spirit of Digital Service: The Story of Painter Mimi Takamizawa
Right before your eyes stands a rather eccentric painter.
His name is Mimi Takamizawa (高見沢 耳).
He uses absolutely no traditional canvas, nor does he use brushes with real hair.
He breathes life into the screen utilizing the latest digital technology, fixing it onto museum-quality printmaking paper through the pinnacle of giclée printing techniques.
Despite being digital, the works born from his hands possess a lasting beauty capable of enduring the passage of 100 to 200 years, cementing their place in history.
Why did he choose this specific method?
It is a highly refined, deliberate choice meant to deliver the vibrations of his soul to “you,” living in the modern era, in the most vivid and certain way possible.
The themes Mimi Takamizawa continuously paints are intimately close to daily life, yet filled with deep spirituality:
“Your eyes, my eyes,” “Christianity,” “eternity,” “psychology,” “truth,” “the gaze,” “history,” “loneliness,” “isolation,” “hardship,” “resurrection,” and “liberation.”
At first glance, these concepts might sound heavy, but they connect directly to the quiet loneliness you feel or the sudden bursts of joy you experience in your everyday life.
He often says, “A painter should be an invisible doctor of the soul, healing the wounds of human hearts.”
The job of an artist is never to preach lectures from a high and lofty place.
It is an act of complete “devotion” and “service”—spending one’s own flesh and blood, exposing one’s shame, and floundering about just to entertain you, the person standing right in front of him.
It is, in essence, the act of a desperate clown performing a high-wire act, risking his life to make the audience smile.
Mimi Takamizawa decided to become a painter because he learned of the fierce, passionate life of that ultimate genius, Vincent van Gogh.
The character for “Mimi” (meaning ear) in his name was, truth be told, chosen in honor of that incredibly famous ear-cutting incident involving Van Gogh.
Van Gogh left behind these beautiful words in his letters:
“I want to express something comforting in a painting, as music does.”
Mimi Takamizawa’s philosophy aligns completely and perfectly with this phrase.
No matter how technically superb a piece may be, if it fails to move anyone’s heart and cannot bring comfort to you when you are hurting, it holds absolutely zero value. He believes this with every fiber of his being.
Every masterpiece in history was not painted solely through the raw flash of natural-born genius.
They were brought into the world through decades of blood-soaked trial and error, combined with a staggering accumulation of patient endurance.
Mimi Takamizawa obsessively paints “human eyes” within his work.
Why do you think he keeps painting eyes?
Because through his work, he wants to continuously feel the gaze and the very presence of “you,” the person standing right in front of him.
He desires to know the deepest corners of your heart; he yearns to connect deeply with you.
He doesn’t care at all if the people around him laugh and say, “How bizarre to paint eyes digitally,” or call him “foolish.”
Rather, he wants to expose all of his own foolishness and weaknesses to you, so that he might bring a small smile to your face and put your heart at ease.
The cold criticism of others and the reputation of the world truly mean nothing to him.
He simply cannot bear the thought of being abandoned by you; if he is abandoned by you, he cannot go on living.
Just having you stand there, gazing into his artwork, rescues his soul and floods him with unbelievable joy.
He wants to make you happy; he wants to see the exact moment tears of deep emotion well up in your eyes.
For that alone, he faces his screen for over 12 hours a day, continuing his desperate service.
Even when laughed at or rejected, he is a man of unyielding patience who will never give up.
In his daily attitude toward his work, there is a businessman Mimi Takamizawa deeply respects and models himself after.
It is Tokuji Munetsugu, the founder of Curry House CoCo Ichibanya.
Mr. Munetsugu is the ultimate example of a single-minded man who poured the absolute entirety of his life into his business without ever looking sideways.
“There is no time for hobbies. If you have time to go drinking with friends, use that time for the customers.”
During his years as active president, Mr. Munetsugu completely sealed away even his beloved classical music, dedicating every waking second of his time to serving his customers.
When he first started the coffee shop that would become the predecessor to CoCo Ichibanya, customers did not come at all, and the business was buried in extreme poverty.
When lunchtime arrived, they had no food for themselves; it is said that Mr. Munetsugu and his wife survived by chewing on the crusts of sliced bread.
Yet, Mr. Munetsugu laughs it off, saying, “We started from absolute zero, so that was only natural. In fact, it’s a beautiful memory.”
“If we stick thoroughly to putting the customer first, the future will absolutely turn around for the better.”
Believing this, he kept working with ferocious focus day after day, laying down efforts like bricks.
The words left behind by Mr. Munetsugu pierce deeply into Mimi Takamizawa’s chest:
“During my active years, I had no hobbies and made no friends. I never once went out to a bar. I did absolutely nothing that would get in the way of my work. There were times I worked 5,640 hours in a single year. I believed that if I did not lead by extreme example, my employees would not follow.”
“Do not look sideways; dedicate your entire being to management.”
“It was an incredibly lonely life. That is why I wanted people to show even a little bit of interest in me. I wanted them to be curious about me. That desire is my true starting point. So, when I started the business, it wasn’t about making money; it was about wanting to make people happy. I wanted people to say, even just a little, that they were glad I existed in this world.”
Mr. Munetsugu’s fierce craving for validation and his profound spirit of service are rooted in his intense upbringing.
He does not know the faces of his biological parents. He was placed in an orphanage immediately after birth, and even after being taken in by foster parents, he spent a childhood of extreme poverty due to his foster father’s severe gambling addiction. There were times during his youth when there was nothing to eat, and he survived the summer by eating wild weeds to stave off starvation.
Yet, he proved through his own hard work that life is never determined by how or where you are born.
In a tumultuous life that seemed completely improvised, he stayed true to a hands-on approach, working at least 12 hours a day as a baseline, never taking a day off, never playing, burning his life out entirely for the customer.
When Mimi Takamizawa stands before you, his heart is always overflowing with a quiet “standing ovation” just for you.
Genuine art of true value does not possess instant results like instant ramen.
Things do not go perfectly right from the very beginning.
That is precisely why you must act before you overthink. Never give up easily.
You must possess the kind of tenacity that cuts off all retreat, much like the early days of Choya Umeshu, where the mindset was: “If we do not succeed with plum liqueur, give up on life entirely.”
The exact same thing can be said for carving out your own future from this moment onward.
Mimi Takamizawa is pouring the entirety of his life into painting for you today.
Please, take a moment to receive his desperate clowning with your own beautiful eyes.
“Most people think of success as something to get. But the truth is, success is found in giving.”
— Henry Ford
“To love each other deeply, with that alone, half the bitterness of life passes away.”
— Agatha Christie
“Keep hope in your heart. At the end of the path you walk, there is always a promised light.”
— Moses
“An optimist sees the donut; a pessimist sees the hole.”
— William Shakespeare
“No matter how deeply the world is wrapped in darkness, a single ray of goodwill shatters it entirely.”
— The Talmud
“To go on living is truly no ordinary feat. Here and there, the threads become tangled, and the more you pull them, the tighter they bind, leaving you completely stuck.”
— Osamu Dazai
“I simply cannot bring myself to believe the idea that all human beings are fundamentally the same.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Everything adults say is a lie. There is always a hidden side. But you see, when you peek at that hidden side, you are the only one who ends up getting hurt.”
— Osamu Dazai
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense.”
— Winston Churchill
“Have the courage to be the first, and to do something different from everyone else.”
— Ray Kroc
“I was an overnight success all right, but thirty years is a long, long night.”
— Ray Kroc
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
— Walt Disney
“Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
Thank you so, so much for reading this long message until the very end.
I offer you a gratitude deeper than words can express, simply for the fact that a wonderful existence like yours is right here, receiving these words at this moment.
I am always here, praying from the bottom of my heart, that your life ahead will be overflowing with radiant light and the absolute highest happiness.
Meeting you is, truly, the greatest treasure of my entire life.