Adversity is the Biggest Opportunity
This is the story of Mr. Inoue and how he had experienced three bankruptcies before realizing what real success actually us.
A Tough Childhood
Growing up I was already despondent about life. My father was a gambler who loved to bet on horses. We lived luxuriously when he won big, but when he fell into a losing streak, we were so poor my parents couldn’t even afford to buy me shoes for school. Worse, he was generous to a fault and often ended up shouldering his friend’s debts. It wasn’t just once or twice that debt-collectors came banging at our door, and once we even had to abandon the house in the night to escape them. My dream to someday become president of my own company became my only hope out of that kind of life.
Wealth at 28
I realized my dream when I was 28. After graduating from college, I worked for a foreign-owned insurance company for several years and then became independent. Japan was in the midst of the so-called “bubble economy” and my new business did tremendously well until one morning stock prices plunged nation wide, and my company went bankrupt after only four short months of business.
I was somewhat shocked, but immediately jumped into starting my next business as a secretary-service provider. Once again I was successful and I was rich. Renting a luxury 800,000 yen/month (US $8,000/month) condo and living extravagantly, I was utterly confident in my entrepreneurship. On top of that, my sense of money was totally paralyzed – I was going through millions of yen (tens of thousands of dollars) every month with no memory of what I spent it all on.
Discovering the Meaning to Life
Around that time, a customer recommended that I read books of Happy Science, and I began to read these books that spoke of “Buddha’s Truth.”
“Humans are born with a life plan in order to polish their souls.” “Calamities and hardships also provide food for polishing your soul.”
The many questions I had about life were dispelled as I read more and more of the books. Convinced that these teachings were real, I soon joined as a member but although I was moved by the teachings, old habits die hard and my extravagant lifestyle remained unchanged. Before long, the competition in the secretary service business intensified. Unable to continue making a profit, I had to close that company as well.
Third Time the Charm?
The third business I started was an import-interior sales company. The company was making a fair profit, but management was still based on slipshod accounting. Three years into it, our biggest client went out of business. A huge payment was not made, and we were instantly hard-pressed for capital. Then, one of my trusted employees ran off with the company’s money.
“It’s over… I have to file for bankruptcy.”
I tried to talk to our business partners and requested deferment of payments, but everyone was struggling for funds at that time. Sellers who used to butter me up by calling me “President,” ruthlessly demanded their payments. “Give us the money you owe us!” “Why don’t you borrow money from a loan shark and pay us back!” Being screamed at was better than when one person just quietly said, “I wish I’d never met you.”
I gathered up my meager remaining merchandise, even put price tags on my home furniture, and held a “bankruptcy sale.” Even though it was a bankruptcy sale, customers didn’t hesitate to haggle to get my prices down. I was struggling all by myself to take care of all the bargain dealings when I heard, “This isn’t the end of your life. Something good will happen again someday.”
Surprised by the voice, I looked up to find a middle-aged woman smiling at me. Tears welled up and rolled down my cheeks. Then other customers started offering me their words of cheer. “That’s right, it’s not over yet, hang in there!” “We’ll be rooting for you.” I felt a lump in my throat.
I have to get back on my feet and give back.
I was still wiping away tears when I finished the bankruptcy sale and closed the store after four years of business.
Selling Potatoes On the Street
Still in my mid thirties, I lost all my money and credit; the only thing I had left was a huge amount of debt. I moved to a cheap apartment that needed no deposit and worked a variety of jobs over several years. It was when I was selling baked sweet potatoes in an office area when I heard, “Is that you Inoue?”
Standing before me was my ex-colleague from the insurance company I used to work for.
“Oh… Hi Ishikawa.”
That was all I could say. He must have taken a hint of the situation by my response, and left by just saying “give me a call sometime.”
I never felt more miserable than that moment. He was an elite businessman, successful in everyone’s eyes whereas I was…
I quickly moved my vendor’s vehicle away from that place but my vision soon blurred with tears. I stopped my car on the side of the road and cried. Did I make the wrong choice to go independent? No! I’m definitely going to succeed! These two thoughts battled hard in my mind.
Adversity is An Opportunity
As impatience and anxiety built within me, I sought respite in Master Okawa’s teachings.
“In adverse situations, read about the grand intention of heaven, the will from above, in order to understand what adversity is trying to teach you.”
[Invincible Thinking | Published by Lantern Books]
What was I learning from this adversity…?
When I started to think from that perspective, I could see my current situation as being not “a miserable life of drifting from job to job” but an opportunity to learn first hand about the structure and character of various industries as well as how they utilize people.
“Don’t think about just your own small profit. Instead, live your life and engage in your business with the wish to improve and enrich society as a whole. Then you will most assuredly not end up on a bad road. The road upwards will definitely open up before you.”
[Hatten-Shikou (Japanese only) | Published by IRH Press]
I reflected on how I only had thoughts of success for myself. My life shouldn’t be used for such a selfish purpose. The success I achieve should contribute to the world and other people.
The desire to pray to God came naturally. Please open a path so that I can work to be useful to other people… Thus I prayed, and when I did so, I felt strength return to my heart, my heart that almost gave way. I also participated in The Ritual Prayer for Economic Prosperity and Success at a Happy Science branch every month, and remained patient during this time of perseverance.
A New Business Idea
A few years passed when one day my father came asking for help in finding an electronic health device. It was an expensive item so I was going to look for a cheaper product – that was the inspiration that came for a new business: selling reused therapy devices. I was ecstatic. I could visualize happy customers checking out products from various manufacturers, trying them out and best of all purchasing them at a much lower price.
With what little money I had, I immediately placed a three-line ad in a community bulletin, “used electrostatic potential therapy device purchase/sales,” and waited for customers to contact me.
An Unexpected Vision
That was the turning point in my life. Two years later I was able to establish a company. I was further guided towards a new stage in my life when I participated in a management seminar at a Happy Science Head Temple in Utsunomiya. I closed my eyes, quieted my mind and imagined what I wished for my business.
Then, the unexpected future state of my company appeared as a vivid image. My company would take in many young people with aspirations to become future business owners and give them the opportunity to start up various new business divisions within our company, thus allowing them to accumulate the experience needed to achieve their dreams while at the same time enriching society. It was a grand vision.
As soon as I returned from the seminar, I started preparations for realizing my new dream. By 2004, my company had expanded into brand merchandise, jewelry resale and IT and became a stock company. cheaper product – that was the inspiration that came for a new business: selling reused therapy devices. I was ecstatic. I could visualize happy customers checking out products from various manufacturers, trying them out and best of all purchasing them at a much lower price.
With what little money I had, I immediately placed a three-line ad in a community bulletin, “used electrostatic potential therapy device purchase/sales,” and waited for customers to contact me.
The Fear of Losing Success
Another day, I participated in a Happy Science Management seminar this time at Tokyo to learn about key skills for making progress. What I discovered was equally unexpected. I discovered fear in my heart.
Why do I have fear?
Master Okawa teaches that the mind attracts whatever is similar to it like a magnet. Therefore, if people have negative emotions such as fear in their sub-conscious, they unconsciously bring setbacks or failure, things that they are most afraid of, upon themselves. If a business owner has this tendency, it would inhibit further growth of the company.
I searched within myself for the reason for this fear by reflecting on my difficult childhood, the three bankruptcies, those miserable days as a failure… and I realized that my fear was of losing the success that I had finally obtained again. This is “self-protection,” which had somehow, unknowingly, turned into fear. But as I realized that, it also became clear how all throughout my life I had been constantly supported by Buddha, God and countless people, and how fortunate I actually was. My heart was so overwhelmed with a deep sense of gratitude that I burst into a flood of tears. When my tears finally stopped, my fear had disappeared.
Success for society and for others
My company developed even further after my fear disappeared and my sense of appreciation deepened. Now, there are nine shops including one in uptown Tokyo, three branches, and over sixty employees in both Eastern and Western Japan. My employees are my most valuable resources and it fills me with joy to know that they also share my dream of becoming successful business owners.
Running my own business, I run into many questions and problems, but studying Buddha’s Truth gives me the courage to challenge any adversity that arises. Especially now when the world is struggling in this recession, people, more than ever, need to know the simple Truth that “the road will always open if you work hard and believe in a bright future.” I wish, from the bottom of my heart, that there will be many who understand, grasp, and appreciate what is real success.
By Mr. Inoue