In today’s episode, I reflect on a recent story about Tesla’s newly approved performance-based compensation plan for Elon Musk.
The numbers are huge, but what caught my attention was something simpler: the idea of rewarding clear results and accepting the risks that come with big goals.

It made me think about how different workplaces approach effort, outcomes, and accountability—and how challenging it can be to create a culture that truly values both results and the courage to try.

This isn’t about praising a company or a person, but about considering what “fairness” and “challenge” mean in our own work and daily life.

In this episode, I talk about how business decisions today rarely fit into simple either-or choices. Even with perfect planning and endless research, real-world surprises always appear once you begin.

I share why trying small versions of multiple paths—rather than choosing just one—can often lead to better clarity. Even big companies have more failures than successes, and that trial-and-error process is part of how they grow.

This episode reflects on the value of experimenting, adjusting, and allowing yourself (and even your kids) to try different things to discover what truly fits.

In this episode, I talk about a school visit I attended for my daughter.
The students were studying entirely in English—even first-year students—and the level was far beyond what I expected.

During the student presentations, one student shared a phrase that guides them:
“Adversity makes you a jewel.”
Hearing such thoughtful words from a high school student left a strong impression on me.

This episode reflects on what I saw—the demanding environment, the quiet strength of the students, and how a person’s future is shaped not only by where they go, but by what they choose to take from their experiences.

In this episode, I talk about a small but exhausting experience with mobile account settings.
While trying to move from an iPhone to a Pixel, my Docomo ID became locked, and I ended up stuck in a loop of apps, logins, and authentication steps.

It made me reflect on how digital tools can be incredibly convenient, yet surprisingly difficult when something goes wrong. I also found myself reconsidering the simplicity of physical SIM cards in moments like this.

It’s a quiet look at how we navigate the gap between “convenient” and “complicated” in everyday digital life.

In this episode, I talk about something I read in Satoshi Nakajima’s newsletter—his idea that AI is like a “mirror.”

As AI becomes part of everyday work and education, it can write, summarize, design, translate, and even act like a personal tutor. But it still has no sense of purpose on its own. We are the ones who decide the direction.

The more thoughtful the questions we ask, the more thoughtful the answers we receive. In that way, AI reflects our own thinking back to us.

This episode looks at how using AI can help us understand our own ideas, choices, and intentions a little more clearly—and how AI is becoming a partner that quietly shows us the quality of our thoughts.

In this episode, I reflect on recent news from the war in Ukraine, where a large share of casualties now come from drones. Reports also mention new “thermal invisibility cloaks” designed to hide body heat from drone sensors.

The situation reminded me of the film Oblivion—not for its action scenes, but for how its imagined future seems to be appearing in real life, long before the beautiful parts of that world could ever exist.

This episode is a quiet look at how technologies once seen only in science fiction—autonomous drones, stealth gear, machine surveillance—are becoming part of reality, and how human imagination often precedes what later takes shape in the real world.

This episode looks at XPeng’s new humanoid robot and what it says about the pace of innovation in China.
I recently saw a demo of the robot and was surprised by how far the technology has already come. XPeng, known mainly as an EV company, is now developing robots with a strong focus on human-like movement and appearance.

We’ll talk about why companies like XPeng are growing so quickly: the size of the Chinese market, the speed of development, and the way software and hardware teams work together.
There’s no hype here—just a look at how these elements are coming together and why China might become one of the main places where the future of robotics takes shape.

In this episode, I talk about Blue Origin’s recent progress with the New Glenn rocket and how Jeff Bezos’s slow, steady approach to space is beginning to take shape. While SpaceX often dominates the headlines, New Glenn’s latest mission shows a different kind of progress—quiet, careful, and built step by step. It’s a short reflection on the two contrasting paths in today’s space development, and why this new phase feels exciting.

In this episode, I share the story behind George Lucas’s long-awaited Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, opening on September 22, 2026. Despite setbacks in multiple cities and years of delays, Lucas stayed committed to the project. His simple but powerful line — “I’ll build this museum while I’m still alive” — reflects his belief in stories and in creating a place where young people can experience them.

It’s a short reflection on determination, creativity, and what it means to bring a vision to life, even late in one’s life.

In this episode, I talk about how Botox can sometimes make expressions look “frozen,” and how that idea reminded me of the importance of small facial movements. A slight lift of the eyebrows or a soft change around the eyes can communicate more than words.

After years of helping people choose glasses, I’ve learned that genuine reactions always show in these subtle expressions. They reveal what someone truly feels.

This episode reflects on how natural movement, small imperfections, and living expressions are part of what makes us human—and why they matter more than a perfectly still face.

In this episode, I talk about Dobot’s new household robot dog, the “Rover X1,” priced at around 160,000 yen. It offers functions like autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, patrol, monitoring, and even carrying small items—features that used to belong to far more expensive industrial robots.

What stood out was not only the technology, but the idea that robots may be shifting from specialized tools to something closer to everyday appliances. Similar to how drones became widely accessible, China is now moving quickly in the home-robot space as well.

The episode looks at how price changes can accelerate technological adoption, and how accessible robots might shape daily life in the near future. It’s a simple reflection on where robotics may be headed, and how this development could quietly influence our homes and routines.

In today’s episode, I reflect on a simple phrase I saw during lunch:
“Made carefully by just two brothers.”

This expression reminded me how language can transform a small number from a limitation into a strength. “Only two” can sound insufficient, but “two people, carefully” conveys pride, responsibility, and intention.

It made me think about my own team at Makoto Optical. We are a small group of five—not “only five,” but five people working carefully. Every part of our work, from customer service to adjustments to writing, is handled with attention and sincerity. Being small allows us to stay consistent, stay close to each customer, and maintain the quality we believe in.

Ultimately, the value of work isn’t defined by how many people are involved, but by the attitude behind the work. A single sentence on a sake label reminded me of that truth.

This episode explores how small teams can carry big meaning, and how the words we choose reflect the way we choose to work.

In this episode, I reflect on how environment shapes who we become — and how we also have the power to shape our own environment.
While visiting high schools with my daughters, I was struck by how completely each school’s atmosphere changes the way people act and grow.

Philosopher Will Durant once said that “greatness is created by environment,” and that heroes are not born, but made by circumstance. When the situation demands it, even ordinary people can give twice as much.

Where we live, who we spend time with, and what kind of places we choose — all of these shape our future. But they’re also choices we can make.

Our environment forms us, but we can also choose to change it.
Sometimes, simply standing in a new place is the first step to becoming a new version of ourselves.

This week’s reflection comes from a trip to India I took with my nephew.
He’s now giving an English speech about that journey — turning an experience into action.

It made me think about something I recently read in a book called “Indians Don’t Worry.”
It says Japan lives by a “GUESS culture,” while India lives by a “DO culture.”

In Japan, we hesitate: “Is this okay? What if I upset someone?”
In India, people just act: “Let’s do it. If there’s a problem, I’ll think about it then.”

Neither is right or wrong.
But maybe true growth happens somewhere in between —
where we move before overthinking, yet still care about others.

India teaches the strength of not worrying.
Japan teaches the kindness of consideration.
If we can hold both, maybe that’s the best way to live.

So if you’re hesitating about something today —
try the Indian way:

Just do it.
If it doesn’t work out,
you’ll figure it out then.

In this episode, I talk about how social media has quietly changed — from a place to connect with people we know, to a place where we just keep scrolling through endless videos from strangers.

Journalist Derek Thompson once said that “everything is becoming television.”
He’s right — Facebook and Instagram users now spend only a tiny fraction of their time actually talking with friends.
Most of it goes to watching short videos from people they don’t even follow.

It’s as if social media is no longer about communication, but about constant consumption —
a screen that never ends.

TV used to have a schedule, and programs eventually stopped.
But social media never does.
The algorithm keeps feeding us more, until time simply disappears.

We think we’re “connected,” but really, we’re just consuming.
That’s the real trap.

So maybe it’s worth asking ourselves,
How much time did I actually spend today talking to someone I care about?
And how much did I spend watching people I’ll never meet?

Lately, I’ve been watching two Netflix documentaries — Break Point and Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

Both tell stories about pressure, but in very different ways.

In F1, the tension comes from the chaos — money, machines, politics, strategy.
It’s a storm of people and power, all tangled together.

In tennis, it’s just one person standing alone on the court.
No machines, no team to hide behind — only you, your breath, and your mind.

At one point, a coach says,
“If you put too much pressure on yourself,
you won’t be able to perform when it matters.”

That line stayed with me.
Because in the end, performance — in sports, work, or life —
is about finding your right temperature.
Not boiling. Not freezing.
Just warm enough to move, calm enough to see clearly.

Maybe that’s what being a professional really means —
to know how to tune yourself,
so that you can rise again, exactly when it counts.

Sometimes, what changes you most isn’t success, effort, or knowledge — it’s distance.
Not the kind you measure in kilometers, but the kind that takes you somewhere unfamiliar.

A small diner in a town you’ve never been to.
A 100-yen bowl of soup that somehow warms you more than an expensive meal ever could.
The quiet moment of feeling out of place, yet completely alive.

Travel reminds you that comfort dulls the senses,
and that stepping into a rhythm opposite your own
can bring your heart back to life.

Maybe that’s what healing really is —
being somewhere unknown,
breathing air you don’t understand,
and feeling, for a brief moment, free from the version of yourself you already know.

Sometimes, even the smoothest trips end with small surprises.
My flight from Hong Kong was delayed by just an hour — enough to miss the last train home from Haneda.

The hotels were full, the bike rentals were gone,
and just when I thought I was stuck, I discovered a late-night bus to Ikebukuro.
It was unexpectedly convenient — and a reminder that travel is never just about distance.

Riding through the cold night air, I realized how easily routine slips away,
and how these small detours — a missed train, a cold wind —
become the quiet stories we remember most.

In today’s episode, I share a day of travel between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The border crossing was surprisingly smooth—almost like moving between neighboring towns. After visiting an eyewear exhibition and a couple of partner manufacturers, I ended the day with another generous dinner from a friend.

There was also an unexpected moment: my HSBC ATM card was accidentally locked and then pulled into the machine when I left it unattended. It turned out to be a standard security feature, and, coincidentally, the person before me experienced the same thing.

Even with small mishaps, the day felt like a familiar Hong Kong experience—busy, warm, a little chaotic, but oddly comforting. It reminded me why I always end up wanting to come back.

In this episode, I talk about my second day in Shenzhen.
I spent the day visiting another eyewear manufacturer and was once again reminded of how warm and generous people in China can be. From thoughtful support during work meetings to being treated to both lunch and dinner, the hospitality was constant.

I also stopped by a small local eatery in the morning—simple, unpolished, but serving incredibly good food. A quiet “xiexie” at the end earned me a big, genuine smile from the staff.

Meals with larger groups here always feel festive. Tables fill up with more dishes than seem physically possible, creating a scene that reminds me of the cheerful feasts in Dragon Ball—full of energy, noise, and a shared sense of joy.

It made me think about how small gestures of kindness—sometimes a little irrational or excessive—are what build meaningful relationships over time.

Another warm and memorable day in Shenzhen.