Hiroshi Mikitani: Why I’m Lucky. And You Can Be Lucky, Too.

Joseph

Why I’m Lucky. And You Can Be Lucky, Too.
by Hiroshi Mikitani

When someone is successful, many will claim he or she was lucky. I have heard that many times. I was lucky to start my Internet company just as the technology was taking off. I was lucky in my acquisitions, lucky in hiring great leaders.

But the truth is, anyone can be lucky.

Success is created out of the accumulation of many improvements. In Japan we call this Kaizen, continuously improving, even if the improvement is only 0.01%. It is through these improvements that you become able to grasp great opportunities.

Many call people who live life this way “lucky.”

Someone who has never learned how to fish will get lucky sometimes and catch one to feed himself. But can he feed his village on luck alone? He must continuously improve his methods to be successful, or as some will say, “a very lucky fisherman.”

Even if you make only the smallest of improvements day-by-day; be just a little more efficient today than you were yesterday, and just a little more efficient tomorrow than you were today. If you make a 0.01% improvement each day, after a year you will be much better at what you do. This accumulation of improvement will lead to success, and the people who make this kind of effort will be able to grasp opportunities when they pass by.

This is the secret to being lucky

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总体来说，就是不积跬步，无以致千里，不积小流，无以成江海的意思