SOMETHING THAT ELEVATES YOU BY A MILE

わたしが華陵高校で勤務していたときに『KARYO WEEKLY』で書いたエッセイをシェアさせていただきます。

先日(2020年2月7日)読み返していたら思わず声に出して笑ってしまいました。実は、場所はうめじ英語塾で近くに生徒様がいたので、ナンダナンダとなってしまいました(笑)。

このエッセイは「書くネタが尽きたかと思ったが、絞り出してみた」ってな書き出しで始まります。さて、わたしはどこで笑ってしまったんでしょう。Enjoy!

SOMETHING THAT ELEVATES YOU BY A MILE

It seemed at first that I had finally run out of topics to write about. As the responsible editor of KARYO WEEKLY, however, I refused to give up and wanted to live up to the expectations of my loyal readers. Therefore, I examined my personal life and came up with a topic of great importance. Now, let me write about one of the people who have influenced my life.

Before I tell you the name of this individual, let me give you some background. Although he has had a great impact on my life, I have not met him personally. I don’t know exactly where he lives or how old he is. He is a successful merchant, probably in his late 50s. He sells health foods and beauty products with such funny names as bikkuri sutairu [surprise style] and surimu dokan [slim bang]. In fact, his business is so successful that he is one of the richest people in Japan. The name of this individual is Hitori Saito.

I came to know Mr. Saito through one of his books. It was back in 1998 that I came across a book titled Success Principles that a Strange Person Wrote. In this book he writes, “Nothing troublesome ever happens to you.” Believing in the power of positive thinking, he says “Any problem can be a stepping stone for you to elevate yourself.” In other words, we should take advantage of a problem because we can become a better person by solving it.

In his other books he talks about how important it is for us to smile. He is not talking about smiling a couple of times a day, but he is telling us to smile constantly, all the time. As a merchant it is important for him to smile so that his customers feel comfortable and want to buy his products. He says that a merchant should be such a likeable person that their customers want to see them once in a while. Mr. Saito even has a mirror on his desk so that he can always make sure that he has a radiant smile on his face.

Having read his books, I have been trying to smile all the time at school, which turned out to be, well, next to impossible. If you think it does not take much effort to smile, go ahead and try. Hopefully, I will overcome this challenge and start to smile effortlessly 24/7. I am now determined to go the extra mile to smile. 🙂

(This article was first published in Karyo Weekly on September 15, 2005.)