Overcoming the hardships of being a celebrity

There are indeed people who become immensely profitable as popular authors. However, considering the percentages, the success rate of becoming a writer is certainly much worse than that of a salaryman.

Moreover, to reach a point where a painting is valued in the hundreds of millions, one would need a level of luck akin to someone who can survive a nuclear bomb dropped on Japan.

The entertainment industry is also highly competitive, and there are many places where people are made to work for low wages or are forced to take on all kinds of unpleasant jobs.

Therefore, it is not good to only look at the good aspects. In reality, competition is fierce in any field, and many people fail.

If you think that the point where you normally think, "This is success," is the final destination, that is a big mistake. The real dividing line is whether you can take a step further from there.

So, when considering "how to take a step further," what is important at this time is the mental attitude and mindset. It is a time to focus on "how to reduce the missed opportunities in life and increase the positive aspects."

In both study and work, for those who have just started, many failures occur in practice, but there is a clear difference between those who receive life guidance or have mastered it and those who do not regarding "how to live during those times."

勉強でも仕事でも、始めたばかりの人であれば、実際上、失敗はたくさん起きますが、「そのときに、どのように生きていくか」ということについて、人生指南を受けている人、あるいはマスターしている人と、そうでない人とでは、明らかに差が出てきます。

Rivals are also a "mirror reflecting your own image."

In other words, no one can judge your talent more accurately than those who appear as your enemies. Friends and allies may have a lenient view, but those who appear as clear enemies know you well. They understand not only your current talents and abilities but also what you might become in the future.

Therefore, the more your rivals think, "This person seems likely to become a big shot in the future. They seem likely to succeed in this field. They might reach an incredible level," the more they will attack you. This predictive ability is at work. (Omitted)

Thus, when a person perceived as a rival or enemy appears before you, observe them with an objective eye as another person and assess their abilities, character, and potential. If you think, "This person has abilities, talents, and popularity," and they view you as a rival or feel jealous, it is highly likely that you possess more talent and ability than you think.

By looking at "what kind of person is appearing as my enemy," you can understand yourself well. That rival accurately reflects your own image like a mirror. In short, you are at a stage where that rival is intensely jealous and competitive with you. (Omitted)

Those who appear as rivals do not rejoice in your success; they think, "If possible, I want to hinder your success," so you must not cater to their subjective circumstances. You must follow your own path.

What is important at that time is not to overthink winning the competition against rivals or enemies as the success of your life. It is important to have the mindset of "I am aiming to realize my own ideals."

Additionally, when dealing with someone who appears as a rival, it is better to make an effort to view their abilities and strengths and weaknesses as fairly and impartially as possible.

Having the mindset of "recognizing strengths and talents even among enemies and learning from them if there is something to learn" will surely help you grow significantly. You must have such a mindset.

「敵のなかにも長所や才能を認め、学ぶべきものがあれば学ぶ」という気持ちを持っていることが、あなたを大きく成長させることにきっと役立つでしょう。そういう気持ちを持たなければいけません。

To "continue" success, you need the "technique to respond to the 'Yoisho drop.'"

In other words, it is a style where they lift you up and then suddenly drop you, allowing the media to write or broadcast both types of articles.

In short, they will lift you up as much as they can and drop you as much as they can, but many people disappear as a result. Few people have strategies in place to deal with this before becoming famous.

On the other hand, those who have experienced this several times often have some form of technique to respond.

When such people respond, based on their experience, they tend to be cautious and "carefully ride" when being lifted, and when being attacked, they learn the "skill to skillfully deflect" it without taking it too seriously.

The "first blow" is often difficult to evade, but whether one can continue on the path to success afterward depends on whether they can "evade it."

If one cannot evade it and is sunk by an attack after being lifted, it feels like "sinking to the bottom of the sea," and if the person becomes discouraged, they will hardly rise again and will be forgotten, becoming a "person of the past." Many such people emerge every year.

Even those who were famous 10 or 20 years ago, or even earlier, can easily fade from people's memories. They become "people of the past."

There are cases where one becomes famous but is eventually discarded due to boredom, or although they became famous, they are criticized for having "such bad traits" or "such failures," leading to a decline in reputation and gradually disappearing. These are mainly the two patterns.

In any case, how one is treated from the outside is indeed influenced by various factors such as the atmosphere of the time and the mood, but regarding "how the individual lives within that," it largely depends on the individual's own strength.

Moreover, I feel that without learning that technique, it is quite difficult to continue achieving success.

また、その技術を学ばなければ、成功を続けていくことは、なかなか困難であると感じています。

Example 1: Not looking at articles written about oneself.

He says, "There are things that inevitably reach my ears, but since they affect the next game, I have decided not to look at newspapers or news that feature me. I am not even interested in how I am written about," and I understand that feeling. It is almost a mental reason.

To maintain concentration, he is making an "effort" not to look at articles written about himself.

Generally, there are many articles praising him, but during slumps, critical articles are also written. Reading those can lead to further discouragement. Naturally, I think he has a somewhat naive side.

In the end, each person must devise their own "method that suits them." That method varies from person to person, but when observing those who have reached the pinnacle of excellence, there is always "diligence" and "hard work" behind them. Furthermore, while they may often listen to others' opinions, they may also possess a belief that they will push through without listening.

From Ryuho Okawa's "Work Methods to Overcome Recession" open_in_new

Some of you may have read it, but a book titled "Trump's Autobiography" has been published. It is the autobiography of Donald Trump, the real estate king of America. He built an incredible fortune by the age of 42 or 43 and was poised to aim for the presidency, being the top real estate mogul in New York (Note: Trump actually won the presidential election in 2016 and became the 45th President of the United States).

Reading this autobiography, he says something interesting. Due to his exceptional skills, he has made many enemies and faced criticism from those around him. He has been criticized in the newspapers as well. However, according to what he writes, while the newspaper criticism certainly affects him, the more bad things are written about him, the more his business flourishes.

Whether the content is good or bad, at least having the name Trump featured prominently on the front or second page of newspapers has been tremendously beneficial for his business afterward. "So, do not be afraid; as long as they make me famous, I can make a profit," he wrote. It is an interesting perspective.

I believe that people who can think in such a way have a considerable amount of confidence to bounce back from various criticisms behind them. They have confidence in what they have done, and their resilience is strong. Their foundation is solid. No matter what criticism arises, they think, "Ah, this is just the price of fame," and smoothly rise above it. They engage in conflicts with the Mayor of New York City and openly criticize him, using that as leverage to push forward even more aggressively. They are an interesting character. I thought while reading that they are quite impressive, and such people do exist.

Written by Ryuho Okawa, "Winning Mindset" open_in_new

There was a Prime Minister who resigned in just over sixty days after being exposed for his relationships with women. It is truly a pathetic story. Even if he thought he would eventually have to resign, he could have at least tried to hold on for a while. How about saying something like, "My only flaw is my deep love for women"? I thought it was weak to resign just because a couple of magazines published criticisms. I feel that he should have at least tried his best. It is just too pathetic. It is really unfortunate to see two consecutive Prime Ministers involved in scandals related to money and women.

When criticized, he could have simply said, "Oh, so what?" and replied, "But my political skills are amazing, just watch me." I want to say, "I understand. I acknowledge the scandal. Wait a year. In that time, I will show you results that will erase this scandal." Why can't he say something like that? I want to say that a man should be able to say at least that much.

If you are going to back down over such things, then you shouldn't have accepted the position of Prime Minister in the first place. It is very troublesome when such things happen. Once you have accepted the position, no matter how much you are criticized or what happens, you should do everything you can before resigning. It is pathetic. I want to educate them. They must know the truth themselves, so if they resign over such criticism, I think they shouldn't have accepted the position from the start.

After all, those who live a "crayfish-type life" that easily retreats are no good. You must leave behind at least the skin of a tiger when you die. That is how I feel.

What I want to say is not that I am telling you to "turn the tables."

In the world, there are always situations where you have to choose between more or less, right or left, moving forward or retreating. At such times, those who can only think of "Yes or No" tend to fall into a vortex of suffering and experience setbacks. Therefore, I want you to always consider not only "Yes or No" but also, "Is there another way of thinking?" This is a very important way of thinking. The ability to think this way or not makes a significant difference in life.

Written by Ryuho Okawa, "Winning Mindset" open_in_new

Politicians may all think, "I want to become Prime Minister at least once," but there are times when not being able to become one is a blessing. Because you can't become Prime Minister, you won't be scolded no matter what you do, and you can move freely.

Once you reach a level of important ministers, you start to receive criticism for minor things, and you may be surprised, wondering, "Why is this a problem?" But when you become Prime Minister, it gets even stricter.

In the end, a transformation of self-awareness is necessary. You might think, "I am still the same person, so why do people's opinions change?" But the expected image changes depending on the position you are in. Those who cannot predict their future selves will suffer later because they are unprepared.

For politicians, becoming Prime Minister is the greatest happiness and signifies the achievement of a sense of mission, yet at the time when it should be the greatest happiness, it becomes like a "bed of nails," turning into the greatest unhappiness. This is something that the individual may not understand.

In this way, within the process of success and advancement, there are actually seeds of future failures, but many do not notice them. During the process of success, they may think, "I am just an ordinary person, yet I succeeded so well," but within that belief of "succeeding as an ordinary person," there are actually seeds that will lead to their future unhappiness.

In short, it means that "as you climb the ladder of success, you can no longer be an ordinary person." With each step up, you must become someone better than ordinary.

To become an excellent person, you need more knowledge than others, as well as insight and experience.

Moreover, until then, you may have only considered your own feelings, but now you need to think not only about your own feelings but also about "what others think, what other politicians think, what the media thinks, and how the public views it."

Alternatively, if you were only thinking about your local voters, you will need to broaden your perspective to consider "what do people outside of my local voters feel?"

Unless you acquire a broader perspective than before, you will not be able to endure the new self-image, and your sense of unhappiness will grow stronger.

Written by Ryuho Okawa, "The Law of Happiness" open_in_new

Among movie actors, there are many who became world-famous as child actors but saw their popularity stop abruptly when they became adults. (Omitted)
To play multiple roles, considerable study, experience, or human observation skills are required.

Recently, actress Miho Kanno appeared in a movie called "Gene Waltz," where she occasionally showed her human side while playing a very rational obstetrician.

A little earlier, I was watching a television program where she was featured in a documentary about filming a TV commercial. She spent six hours a day creating a commercial for "Creep," singing earnestly about how "coffee and Creep are like lovers who can never part."

Having seen that, when I watched her brilliantly portray a very rational obstetrician in "Gene Waltz," I thought, "Indeed, actors are amazing." They study a lot.

She loves India and creates documentaries about traveling in India, so she must have quite a depth to her.

Additionally, there is a film called "Akane Sora" directed by the director of the movie "Final Judgment." It is a film about a tofu shop owner in the Edo period, and the same person who played the tofu shop owner also appeared as Ryoma Sakamoto in the popular TV drama "JIN." That drama is about a neurosurgeon who time-travels to the Edo period to provide treatment, but it was hard to tell that the tofu shop owner in "Akane Sora" and Ryoma Sakamoto were the same person.

Upon closer inspection, both used the same taiko bridge at the Kyoto filming location, but I couldn't immediately tell that the same person was playing both roles, so I thought, "They really can differentiate their performances well."

Indeed, I feel that their knowledge, experience, and understanding of humanity are quite deep. In "Akane Sora," they differentiated between Kyoto tofu and Edo tofu, and as someone who actually knows the difference in how Kyoto tofu and Tokyo tofu are made, I was impressed by how well they understood that.

In this way, even things that are generally thought to be in the realm of "talent," which differs from academic study, require various studies and experiences.

Therefore, I want you to understand that "those who are active in various places are making tremendous efforts behind the scenes, unnoticed by others."

Written by Ryuho Okawa, "The Mission of Education" open_in_new

Ichiro has a unique batting style known as the "pendulum batting method." Because of this, when he was still with a Japanese team, he was instructed by a batting coach to change his form, but he refused and was demoted to the minor leagues.

The coach may have thought, "If I demote him to the minors, he will change," but Ichiro stubbornly did not change. He continued to make efforts in his own way and held onto the conviction that "this is it."

In short, it is not just about doing things the same way as others. Each person has their own life line. Ichiro knew this, which is why he did not change his style.

This is an old story, but there is a similar tale about Sadaharu Oh, who once batted fourth for the Giants and later became a manager. When Oh started using the one-legged batting style known as the flamingo method during his active years, it was met with a lot of criticism. The sports newspapers at the time were all singing the chorus of "Stop it, stop it," saying, "That is too unbalanced, and you will definitely be one beat behind. There is no way you can hit with that style."

At that time, Coach Arakawa was guiding Oh, and he was conducting unusual training, such as practicing swinging a Japanese sword to cut paper hanging from the ceiling. Since timing is difficult with the one-legged batting style, it seems he did such special training, but even if other players tried to imitate it, it would not be easy for them. I think it is a form of baseball enlightenment.

In this way, geniuses may indeed be seen as "geniuses" in hindsight, but they have put in considerable effort and diligence up to that point.

Ultimately, those who are said to have "talent" or to be "geniuses" are usually those who have stubbornly maintained their own style and continued to strive. Those who do not imitate others and pursue what they believe to be "it" often reach the pinnacle of the extraordinary.

When you start doing something different from others, at first, you may not be understood, recognized, or may even face opposition from those around you. However, once you achieve results and start being imitated by many, what you thought was unique to you will become something ordinary and commonplace. Therefore, even if you are criticized, it does not matter.

From Ryuho Okawa's "Work Methods to Overcome Recession" open_in_new

The teachings introduced above are included in the following book.

From the past broadcasts of the popular radio program of Happy Science, "Angel's Morning Call" open_in_new (national network + Hawaii KZOO), we introduce programs that we want you to listen to now. (You can listen to it in audio.)

(1) How to Overcome "Painful Experiences" open_in_new [Episode 1483]
(2) Only by Enduring Criticism open_in_new [Episode 1271]
(3) To Those in Setbacks open_in_new [Episode 1015]