Chester’s Tips for Success

If you asked the average working professional whether or not they are a good communicator, chances are they will say yes. The term "good communicator" is vague enough to allow for pretty much everyone to say yes without blatantly lying.

Being a young 20 something, I’m always on the lookout for new opportunities and occasionally I’ll scan job postings to see what’s out there. So far, I’ve yet to see a job posting that has failed to list "good communication skills" as one of the job requirements.

If most job postings require good communicators, it’s no wonder why everyone thinks they are good communicators. If you got a job that requires good communication skills, you must be a good communicator right?

Well… not quite.

[Read more →]

Tags:   Communication · General Tips and TricksNo Comments.

Have you ever had to make a call to ask a favor? Perhaps the call was to a friend, a family member or even a stranger. How often do you usually spend time on the phone? Do you often spend more than you would like?

If you’re not sure, I would recommend logging the minutes to see just how time you spend per call and what you get as a result of the call.

E-mails are usually the contact of preference because they have a high ROTI or return on time invested. You can spend ten minutes writing an e-mail request for something that might take twenty or thirty minutes over the phone.

Why is that?

E-mails are more efficient because they eliminate the need for chit chat or fillers. Written communication tends to be more succinct than verbal communication because people don’t like to waste their time reading junk.

But speaking, which is naturally more impromptu, often involves a great deal of fillers and words that serve no purpose. If you don’t believe me record a conversation with a friend over the phone and replay it. Count how many times you say the words, “you know,” “um,” “like,” “uh.” I bet you’ll be surprised.

What is Effective Phone Calling?

Most people are never taught how to ask good questions and how to give crisp, clear responses, hence the inefficiency of the average person’s verbal communication skills. You get used to hearing fillers in everyday speech and learn to cope by picking up only on relevant tidbits of information. Verbal communication is generally less efficient because people don’t prepare before they speak.

Preparation is the key to effective communication be it written or verbal; it is even more important when making a cold call.  The reason is when you’re speaking to someone you don’t know over the phone, you have a very small window of opportunity to convince them not to hang up on you.  While it’s fine to speak off the top of your head when you’re just catching up with a friend, if you want to make an effective phone call to someone you don’t know, it’s best to succinct; state your purpose and deadline as soon as possible.   (And even if your call doesn’t have a specific deadline, in the interest of efficiency and respecting the other party’s time, it makes sense to prepare before you call.)

As a reporter I have to make numerous phone calls every day. Most of the time I’m calling simply to get some information; occasionally I have to interview someone over the phone for an article that I am writing.

But either way my end goal is the same: to get answers to my questions.  Effective phone calling is the art of getting what you want from people who may not be, at first, willing to comply with your request.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge with phone calling is the timing of the call.  When you dial someone’s number, it’s hard to predict whether or not they will have the time to speak to you.  Time wasted over the phone means less productivity. Less productivity equals less money. Less money means… you get the picture.

In the interest of saving your time and the time of others, here are some tips that have helped me to make more efficient and effective phone calls.

1. Craft your pitch

Often times I’ll be asked to call a corporation to get some report or piece of information. A senior reporter will send me a piece of paper with the contact information of the person they want me to call. I pick it up and begin dialing only to realize that I haven’t really figured out what I’m looking for before I make the call.

This is ineffective — don’t do it.

Though I can usually ask the question on the fly by referring to the notes given to me, it’s much easier if I write a script out before I start speaking.

Successful salesmen usually have successful pitches. A pitch is simply your bargaining proposition. For example, if I am trying to get information from company X I have to first convince them to give me their information. That’s what the pitch does: it convinces.

2. Practice your pitch

This is pretty straightforward. Once you’ve written a short pitch, it’s time to practice it.

The more you practice, the greater your confidence and the stronger the impact of your request. The window of opportunity is only a few seconds when you are on the phone so if it lacks power and confidence, you may not get what you are looking for.

3. Set a time limit

When you’re speaking on the phone it’s easy to get caught up in the back and forth dialog between you and the other person. Efficient phone calling means you need to set time limits on your conversation.

Parkinson’s law states that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. Basically this means that if you give yourself an hour to complete a task it will take you an hour, but if you give yourself ten minutes to complete a task, you will get it done in ten minutes.

When setting a time limit be realistic. Allot enough time for your questions and the other person’s response.

4. Pace your questions

If you have a chain of questions that you are looking to get answered, make sure that you pace each of them.

For example, let’s say that I am looking to get an expert’s opinion on the future of oil prices. I have three questions to ask:

1. How long do you think the price of oil will continue to rise?
2. What’s your reasoning behind this outlook?
3. How accurate do you believe your projection is?

Of the three questions, I would say #1 and #3 are the most straightforward. The expert should be able to respond within ten seconds or less. Question #2, however, would require more time for the analyst to think about his reasons and explain them in depth.

Pacing your questions means giving the other person sufficient time to respond.

5. Control the conversation

If you are calling someone for something, it is your responsibility to take control of the conversation. Whether you are trying to sell something or to ask for information, it is important to control the flow of the conversation.
If you ask about oranges and the other person starts to talk about oranges, kindly bring them back on track with your question by restating your initial request.

But be careful to be tactful in the process, otherwise you may risk cutting off the other party and leaving them feeling uncomfortable.

6. Paraphrase their comments

Knowledgeable people tend to over speak. Actually, in my own experience, most people tend to over speak when given the opportunity to. In order to keep control of the information flow, it helps to interrupt the other party and paraphrase what they are saying in order to make sure that you’re both on the same page.

For example inserting a, “So basically what you are saying is,” or “Let me recap…” in the middle of a long explanation helps to steer the other person back on track and it also helps you to process what they are saying.

7. Exit gracefully

When you’ve gotten everything that you needed from the conversation it helps to close with a sentence that sounds something like, “Well I think that’s about it.” Or “That about does it.” These types of phrases are effective closers because they inform the other party that the conversation is coming to the end and allows them to bow out gracefully.

Make sure to thank the other party for their time and bid them a good day. You want to leave them with a positive impression in case you have to call again. Plus, if they went out of their way to help you, it’s only fair to show your appreciation with a simple thanks.

Tags:   Communication · General Tips and TricksNo Comments.

Have you ever wished you could be someone else? A gorgeous celebrity, a wealthy businessman or that kid you grew up with who seemed to have everything you ever wanted?

Who doesn’t?

I feel that on a daily basis. Often times I’ll read an article about someone like Brad Pitt or Warren Buffet and think to myself: “Man I wish I were them.”

Being the optimistic and relatively big thinker that I am, the dream of being someone else is usually followed by euphoria.

“I can be as rich as Warren Buffet” or “I can be as good a director as Steven Spielberg”, I say to myself and with a hopeful and energized feeling in my gut, I rush across the kitchen room floor to sip my cup of green tea.

And then reality sinks in and I feel like a loser.

“I’m not as smart, talented or resourceful as those guys,” I think to myself as I gradually losing my momentum as my negative thoughts continue to chip away at my newfound enthusiasm.

The cycle usually repeats itself a few times often looking something like this.

“Hey Kevin, you are as smart, and resourceful and capable as them, you just gotta believe it!”

This lasts for a few minutes, during which I pound my chest like a gorilla preparing for battle.

And then after the adrenaline rush wears off I get all mopey again.

What accounts for this vicious cycle? Is there something wrong with me or is it my expectations?

I think it’s the later. The problem with dreaming of being someone else is that it is unrealistic. You can’t be Brad Pitt, Mother Teresa or even that kid in your fifth grade class who always got As in everything.

You can only be you.

Wishing we were someone else is not only unrealistic, it’s counterproductive. No two people are alike, even identical twins, with their genetic similarities almost always develop differently. Every action and thought we have is unique. That’s why it makes no sense to dream of being like someone else.

But we can learn from others can’t we? Sure, that’s why how-to books make so much $$$.

The real challenge is learning how to learn from others, while being you.

Adapting versus Mimicry - Learning is Good, Copying is Bad J

Learning from others is fundamental to individual growth. The benefit of living in a society of varied individuals is that it offers us many opportunities to learn from others. However, the problem is, we are never taught how best to learn from others, so most of us get stuck with the skill we’ve developed since infancy: mimicry.

For example, if you’re trying to lose weight you might pick up a book offering ways to achieve your desired weight in 30 days or less. Gung ho and enthusiastic about shedding those fifteen pounds, you start the diet. The first two weeks go by with minimal change, but you don’t panic, there’s still two weeks left.

Then the third week rolls along and you start sweating. Why isn’t it working?

Well there are probably a lot of reasons, but the obvious one is genetic differences. Despite the general similarities that most people share—two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two hands, ten toes etc. — everyone’s bodies are different. Thus what works for one person may or may not work for someone else. For most things, there’s no silver bullet.

The same goes from learning from your peers, parents or mentors. In my case, I’ve spent most of my life mimicking and following the advice of people who I thought were wiser and smarter than me.

I went to a specialized math and science high school and—as one might expect— I put most of my energy into math and science classes. I put less time into the classes that I found more interesting such as history, English and Japanese.

When I started college, it did not take me long to realize that my interest in science and engineering, which my father had desired me to study, was simply not strong enough to keep me motivated to endure the rigorous studying those subjects required. I was up against people much more passionate about the subjects than I was.

For over two years I tried different technical classes until I came to the conclusion that I simply lacked the interest to go the extra mile. I could do decently well, but not nearly as well as my peers who really seemed to love their work. At first I thought that I was simply not disciplined enough to stick it through; but I realized this wasn’t true because I was willing to work hard in other areas of my life.

After living in a state of denial for a while, I eventually landed upon something that fit my interests better: the humanities.

I began to study religion, history, literature and foreign languages with greater focus and passion. Gradually I found myself asking more probing questions, answers to which required further research and investigation.

My own curiosity in these subjects eventually turned inwards and one day during my sophomore year in college I asked myself the simple existential question: “Who am I?”

The Existential Challenge: Be You!

To be oneself requires knowledge of oneself. This includes: personality, attitude, beliefs, likes and dislikes as well as natural talents.

For a long time I had the idea that I could be anything that I wanted to be so long as I worked hard enough. While the fundamentals of this may be true, it isn’t accurate.

Sure I could be a competent software engineer if I really worked hard at it, but would I be an excellent one? Probably not. I don’t have that burning passion to be an excellent programmer, the kind that one needs in order to be truly innovative in the field.

Take for example, Warren Buffet , one of the most often quoted and cited individuals in the world. Many people wish they were like Buffet and there are even people who consider themselves Buffetologists, people who adhere to his principles.

Though there is probably a great deal of benefit to learning Buffet’s investing principles, his method of investing isn’t for everyone.

Day traders are the most obvious counter example to Buffet. While many lose money, there are also many who do quite well for themselves. Carl Icahn is a good example.

Could Icahn try and mimic Buffet? Sure, but what would be the point? After all he’s not Buffet, he’s Carl Icahn and Carl Icahn’s got his own style of doing things. And he’s made billions following his own way.

‘We’ are Our Best Models; Adapt, don’t Mimic

‘Being you’ means embracing your own unique style and approach, likes and dislikes. We can still learn a great deal from others but we have to first assert our best model—us.

I prefer the notion of adapting rather than mimicking. When you adapt, you’re acknowledging the differences between you and the person you are trying to learn from. It’s not only easier on you, but it is more efficient.

I must admit that I have an addiction to reading about successful people; while it can serve as a strong incentive to act, after some point it stops being productive.

And yet even though I realize this, I still find myself falling into the same old habits. For example, whenever I watch a movie; read a novel or newspaper and hear about some new celebrated artist, author, business person, etc. I immediately go online and Wikipedia the name. Guaranteed.

I read through the individual’s biography and the different choices and decisions which contributed to that person’s success. I usually find this helpful until I realize that there is no conceivable way for me to “follow” their example. This is when I usually get discouraged and a bit dejected.

I think this is normal. It’s natural to feel crushed when your vision of success slowly withers before you. When I first got interested in film making, I read voraciously books about famous directors such as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Rodriguez and many others. Every story seemed to say, “You’re not going to succeed in film unless you start early.”

Though it might sound silly, I have definitely lost some sleep over it. I think the believability of success is just as important as the success itself. When you believe that you can do it, like many others before you, then it’s easy to push past all the roadblocks and self induced fears that might pop up along the way.

The ability to believe in your own potential requires that you allow you to be you. Comparing you to others only serves to limit your own potential because it offers a model that simply won’t fit. It’s like seeing a piece of clothing worn by a mannequin in a retail store; you go into the store excited to buy a shirt you think will look great on you only to find that when you try it on it makes you look like you’re twenty pounds heavier.

The path to success is a long and challenging one and if we are to make it to the end then I believe we must allow ourselves to develop without hindrance, without limitation. While there is much to be learned from others, don’t force yourself to be like anyone else.

Follow your own path,

Dance to your own tune,

but most importantly,

Be you and be proud.

Tags:   Personal Development · Words of WisdomNo Comments.

Here’s a story that was published in the Japan Times not too long ago that I wrote on a movie that debuted the Tribeca Film Festival.

With Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and the devastating earthquake in China, Tibet, which was receiving quite a bit of media attention only a month ago, has been completely overshadowed by these startling disasters. It’s amazing how quick media turnover is. If you think you suffer from ADHD, work as a reporter, you basically get paid to function that way.

[Read more →]

Tags: No Comments.

A few weeks back, I read an article in Asahi Shinbun’s “Ronza” magazine by Akagi Tomohiro, a Japanese “freeter” blogger. Freeter is a Japanese word used to describe the growing number of young people in Japan who don’t hold a full-time job and still live at home with their parents. Aged 31, the blogger wrote an article that got quite a bit of attention on the Internet entitled, “War is my hope.” In it, Akagi argues that Japan’s lack of wars is the reason there is a growing number of freeters and other non-full time workers in Japanese society. War, in his opinion, serves an important “bleeding” function in society; in the same way doctors hundreds of years ago used to bleed their patients to eliminate poisons and other unhealthy elements in the body, war eliminates from society an excess supply of workers allowing those who survive the opportunity for economic prosperity, which for him, is getting hired full time at a company. At the core of his complaint is the belief that unlike the post-war baby boomer generation, his generation, the post-bubble generation, has virtually no opportunities to find suitable employment. He believes that in order to get society “flowing” again, war is necessary; and according to him, this sentiment is growing among today’s youth.

I have a number of issues with Akagi’s article, but I will focus on highlighting three faulty premises which Akagi bases his justification for war as an economic band-aid. Akagi’s first faulty assumption is his belief that it is society’s responsibility to provide people with good jobs not the individual’s responsibility to find them. Secondly, Akagi believes that his generation should be provided with the same opportunities that the post-war generation had.

The problem with Akagi’s premise is his belief that society should give him the chance to get a permanent job. Although it’d be nice, society guarantees no such thing. The prevailing economic system in the world is market capitalism and this system functions as a result of the simple law of supply and demand. Economic opportunities exist only where supply and demand meet.

Akagi mentions that companies pre-bubble era, were willing to hire and train workers to give them marketable skills, but in the post-bubble era, companies have become more conservative in both their hiring and training; in his opinion, this is a result of the desire to protect the older generation, which comes at the expense of the younger generation. While this is arguably true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there are no job opportunities or that it’s impossible to get hired as full-time employee, it just means that one needs to work a lot harder. My issue with Akagi is the general lack of responsibility that seems to taint his argument. In his article, he sounds like a child complaining about unfair parents who refuse to give him the toys he wants even though his friends’ parents have met their child’s demands. Rather than thinking about how he can earn and deserve the toys that he wants, Akagi seems to think that society should give it to him; although he describes it as being given a “chance” to work or to develop a skill, it’s not really that different than a kid saying to his parents, “give me what I want because you’re my parents and you should.” Akagi is basically saying, “Give me a job or training because your society and that’s what society should do.” Sorry Mr. Akagi, the world doesn’t work that way.

Ideally, a democratic society is a gathering of rational minded people who decide on a set of laws or principles upon which all members of society can peacefully co-exist. The American version includes a few added niceties, or “rights,” they are: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, it’s important to note that a right to pursue happiness isn’t, in any way, a guarantee of happiness; happiness, defined by any standards, whether it be: materially, spiritually or emotionally, has to be earned. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that all people will have the same opportunities; people who are wealthy have more access to resources than those who are poorer, and in Mr. Akagi’s case, people who came of age after the war had more opportunities than people coming of age today; although it may be seen as “unfair,” it’s a simple fact of life. What society should provide, in my opinion, is the guarantee that if one is willing to persistently work hard for something, he should be able to attain it; that is, the laws of man should protect a man’s right to earn a decent living given that he continues to work hard for it.

Mr. Akagi notes the situation of the working poor, people who work hard but are barely able to get by or in some cases are not even able to maintain a dignified standard of living. The other problem I have with Mr. Akagi’s stance is the implied definition of “hard working.” For many people, the term “hard working,” refers usually to time spent or effort. The former is measurable by a well-defined metric, while the latter is a bit more vague; what constituted “hard work” in post-war Japan is different than what would constitute “hard work” in present day Japan. For example, if someone spent an entire day transcribing notes via pen and paper, rather than using a computer, in today’s world we wouldn’t call that “working hard”—we would call it “working stupid.” The problem in Japan, America and most other advanced nations is that their economies have become primarily “service” based, rather than “manufacturing” based; there is a fundamental difference in skill sets. While youth in post-war Japan could get by with just physical labor or following orders from above, in today’s global economy, the old, “follow the leader” mentality won’t cut it; in order to survive in today’s fast paced economy, one has to be creative, innovative and constantly improving; the means to this end is in education.

The irony of Mr. Akagi’s complaint is the fact that he is a well-educated individual; if he weren’t he would not be able to write such a compelling article worthy of being published in a Asahi newspaper (One of the largest Japanese newspaper companies) magazine. Given his intelligence, I find it a bit unfortunate that he cannot develop a marketable skill set that would land him the kind of job he desires. I don’t think it’s a matter of opportunity, but a question of willingness. There are no freebies in society, whether democratic or not.

Tags: 3 Comments

If I asked you the question “How’s your job?” how would you respond:

A. “I hate it.”

B. “Eh, it’s okay, a job’s a job.”

C. “I love my job.”

I have yet to meet a person who answered C, though occasionally you hear celebrities and other “successful” people gush about how they have the best job in the world. Great for them, but what about the rest of us?

Whether you hate or love your job, the reasons usually fall into two categories: the content of the job and the conditions of the job. The content of the job is the meat of the work, it’s the stuff that you do to earn your paycheck. For a writer, writing is the content; for a programmer, it’s programming; for actors it’s acting, you get the picture. Within each type of work there can be many subdivisions each with its own possibilities.

The conditions of a job include: salary, physical work environment, people relations, level of responsibility and work hours, among others.

From my conversations with peers and professionals more experienced than me, I am surprised by how many people are what I would call “job indifferent.”

“I hate Mondays,” or “Today is an eh day,” are often indicators of job indifference which may turn into job hate.

Job hate can be characterized by excessive complaining and the inability to speak positively about one’s work.

One of the potential culprits of job hate is mismatched job content. For example, I’ve decided on the path of a writer, but within that path there are numerous possibilities. Presently, I am working as a news correspondent for which I write non-fiction content. But there are also writers who write only fiction, such as book authors, screenplay writers or playwrights.

Personally I find creative writing more fulfilling than the non-fiction writing I get paid for, but due to the fact that making a living off creative writing takes time and requires an arguably higher level of skill, I have to support myself in the meantime with something that is less than ideal.

Sometimes people make poor choices in job content. Oftentimes this is a result of picking something that pays well or is prestigious but would not necessarily related to one’s interests.

People who are fed up with their jobs usually need a change in content.

But there are also people who like what they do, but hate the conditions of their job. Common complaints include, I don’t get paid enough, not enough responsibility, ridiculous hours, boss is awful, co-workers are uncooperative etc.

And then there are the people who dislike both their job content and condition; these are usually people who can say with confidence, “I hate my job,” and are often on their way out.

The challenge for workers in the 21st Century, a time which boasts more diverse job opportunities than ever before, is how to maximize both areas.

If you don’t like what you’re doing then you probably need either a career shift or perhaps some shuffling in your current organization. Otherwise if it is a problem of job condition, then you can either leave your job in search of a better environment or try to improve your current one.

Either way communication is key. Whether it is with your boss or with yourself, it is important to make sure you communicate clearly what you expect from your job. If those expectations cannot be met be either a change in attitude or a change in the conditions or content of your current work then it may make sense to start looking for something new.

As for me, I would rate, on a scale from 1 - 10, job content as a 8 and condition as a 4, which gives me a combined 12/20. Ideally I would be in the upper teens, close to a perfect 20. Right now, the experience still makes up for the poor conditions, but at some point it won’t and when that happens, I’ll probably leave.

After all I believe that if I’m going to work for the majority of my life then I have a right to enjoy it.

Tags:   Career DevelopmentNo Comments.

I’ve been on a hiatus from this blog since I left Japan. At the end of February I finished my intern as a JET International Relations Coordinator in Saga City, Japan. Now I am working as an English News correspondent for Kyodo News, a major Japanese newswire that publishes in Japanese, English and Chinese, with a daily readership of 30-50 million.

The job can be hectic and fast paced depending on the events of the day. I get to work on both hard news and feature stories; the latter is usually more enjoyable because it allows for a greater degree of freedom and creativity. Hard news is simply a matter of getting information out using the most efficient means possible.

I’d like to spend some time talking about job transitioning while searching for direction in life or career.

Transitions can refer to anything from physical transitions that include: short term (traveling) and long term (moving). But as the term is often used, transitions can also refer to non-physical movement from one stage of life to the next. The non-physical transitions usually consist of a combination of mental and psychological changes of state. An example would be the mental transition from childhood to adulthood, or the move from being single to being attached or married.

One of the types of transitions most often referred to in daily conversation refers to job or career transitioning.

I faced two significant challenges in moving from Japan back to NYC: the first was culture and the second was financial. Culture shock usually becomes a problem when you spend an extended period of time, usually a minimum of 2-3 years, in a foreign environment and then return to previous environment. This was not a problem for me because I only spent about seven months in Japan with previous experiences moving back and forth.

What got me was the financial challenge and that is what prompted me to take a job as a news correspondent. My choice was motivated by my fear of financial instability. Otherwise I would have returned home and given myself more time to transition from my life in Japan to one in New York City. Though in retrospect the transition may have been hastily executed, the principles upon which I based my decision helped make the choice a relatively positive one.

I did not take the job intending to make a career in journalism, rather I was looking for a job that would give me an introduction to the world of media and also provide an opportunity to build my verbal and written communication skills, and the opportunity to meet a diverse set of people. While I work, I am actively searching for direction not only in terms of career paths but also life goals.

Searching for direction is, for most people I believe, a lifelong journey. It is lifelong in that we are not limited to one direction in life. While I actively pursue my passion for writing at work and during my free time, I am also constantly considering business opportunities and developing extensive financial literacy. The age of the one size fits all careerist is gone.

It’s good to play to your strengths, but that doesn’t mean you have to limit your focus to just one. Most people have a number of strengths they can develop and hone. Personally I find my primary strengths are in communication, written and verbal, and business development. I’m also very good at digesting large amounts of information and formulating decisions and new ideas from the data.

Having now worked as a news reporter for two months covering arts, culture, education, business, politics and specifically the United Nations Security Council, I’ve come to realize that I have no interest in becoming a journalist.

I love writing, don’t get me wrong, but a journalist’s job, especially a news wire reporter, is much, much more involved than just writing.

But I don’t regret my experience. Because of it I have learned more about the media and news industry and have a better understanding of how news and information is reported and transmitted.

Although there was the temptation to take a more lucrative job, I made the decision to be a news reporter on the principle that experiential compensation is more valuable in the long run than monetary compensation. The latter being more important because it allows for greater growth potential and development.

*June 2008 Update* - I no longer believe that experience is more valuable than monetary compensation. Reason being, most time lucrative opportunities tend to be chock full of good experiences. Job’s that don’t pay well have to pitch to rely on the, “But you’ll get great experience,” card which, I’ve learned, works for some industries. *Cough* News and print media.
For people who are currently in the process of switching to a different line of work, my advice would be to carefully consider options that offer generous experiential rather than monetary compensation both good experience and potential for growth in responsibilities and compensation.

Money is important and great to have, but when it comes to searching for direction in career or life in general, it is the experiences you have, not the amount of money you make, that will most guide your decision. But if you can have both, that’s even better!

Tags: 1 Comment

It’s been 2008 for a month already; time really does fly by.  I’ve been pushing off writing an update in my blog for over a month now and for some reason today feels like a good day to break the long silence.  For New Years, I spent almost two weeks with my sister and my best friend from high school on a long trip across Japan; we managed to visit, 8 cities in ten days.  Thankfully Japan is a small country making extended traveling quite manageable and comfortable.  Winter also happens to be one of my favorite seasons, so that made the experience even better. 

Lately, I’ve been spending almost all of my free time drawing and writing; the drawing is to improve my visual story telling skills and the writing is to build my overall story telling skills; both are indispensable when it comes to film making.  I’ve been working on a screenplay for the last few months and I’ve realized a couple of things about my writing habits that might be insightful for others.

I used to write only when I was moved by something, but since starting my screenplay, I’ve managed to force myself to write consistently regardless of how I’m feeling; although this has helped my writing tremendously, I’ve still a lot of weaknesses that I would like to improve on.  They are:

1.      Being over critical.

2.      Losing focus and jumping around.

3.      Not spending enough quality time.

4.      Fear of the unknown

5.      Having no game plan.

It’s natural for people to be critical of themselves, being Asian probably makes it ten times worse because if you are no good, you bring everyone who is related to you down by virtue of being connected to them; it’s the joy of being part of a culture that believes in collective shame.  But sarcasm aside, self-criticism is important because it is our first line of defense between “us” and the “world.” Without a self-critical eye, we risk offending people or offending ourselves by projecting a poor self-image.  Some people have asked me about the screenplay I’m writing and a few have offered to read it, but that’s not going to happen until I have produced something that has received my own seal of approval.

I use this journaling software, called The Journal that nicely files all my notes, outlines, half-written stories and many of my other unformulated ideas; most of my entries are incomplete.  The reason being is that I get bored with my own ideas after a while.  Although, it’s nice to have an overabundance of ideas, ideas are often a dime a dozen; it’s the hard work and persistent effort that turns an idea into a finished product, be it a story, a company or a consumer good.  I’ve decided to focus all my energies on the current screenplay, regardless how hard it may be to finish or how bad it may be when I’m done because at least I’ll have finished a screenplay and can move forward from there.

“Not spending enough time” is more often than not the real reason people don’t succeed at achieving their goals.  Realizing this, I’ve spent entire weekends, leaving my apartment only for food, writing.  Although the likelihood of success is much higher with added time, what I’ve come to realize is that time spent is not enough; it’s about the amount of quality time spent.  Writing, while chatting online, watching a movie or TV, or eating is sub-optimal writing.  I like to multi-task and be as efficient as possible, but when it comes to things that require a lot of brain power and concentration, any distraction is deadly.  I’m going to experiment with writing for blocks of time by plugging my Ethernet cable out so I can’t randomly surf the net while I’m writing. 

Another problem that I notice when I write is my fear of the unknown or a lack of knowledge; this is especially apparent when I write myself into an area where I have little experience or understanding.  For example, right now I’m writing a scene in my screenplay where the backdrop is a world oil crisis, similar to the one that hit the world in the early 1970s.  Since I don’t have much experience with it, my writing sounds unnatural; when that happens I tend to want to do more research and learn more about the subject.  While this is naturally a good plan of action, it can get out of hand if I spend too much time researching and not enough time writing.  I haven’t figured out the perfect balance for this yet, but I’m working on it.  Maintaining momentum is important so I try to write mostly from what I know and leave the rest to research when I’m done writing for the day.

Writing without a game plan is just silly.  I used to do that a lot before, but I’ve managed to break the habit.  In this respect, blog writing has been an immensely helpful practice.  I generally don’t like to write blog entries that have no over arching theme or purpose, which is why I don’t treat my blog like a journal.  Trying to write a 100+ page screenplay is a lot more difficult than I imagined it would be and if I don’t decide what I am going to write before I start writing, I end up with a bunch of threads lacking coherence and structure. So now I try to decide on a scene to write or an outline for a couple of scenes before I start writing, this way I know what I’m aiming for by the time I stop writing for the day.  The practice of setting small goals or writing short outlines is annoying but indispensable. 

That’s it for writing about my writing.  Time to get back to the screenplay.  Until next time!

Tags: No Comments.

In an earlier post entitled Knowing and Trusting Thyself, I described “knowing thyself” as a three step process involving: 1. Ignoring the general consensus, 2. Developing your own ideas and 3. Sticking with your own ideas. In this post I will share my thoughts on step 1. I’ve been studying Japanese language, culture, politics and history for a long time and I’ve spent a fair amount of time living here. Over time there are a number of things that I’ve grown to like and dislike about the culture. The qualities that I do like are: the high value they place on respect of oneself and others, humility and their high sense of responsibility. The one Japanese quality that really bothers me is the “group” mentality; it’s the belief that if everyone is doing A, A must be a good thing. If everyone is eating apples, you should too; this is the anti-maverick mentality.

The majority of the cultural differences between Americans and Japanese are a manifestation of the individual versus group paradigm. Most Japanese people, at the core, follow the “sheep” and “shepherd” model: experts are the “shepherds” and everyone else is a “sheep.” I believe this model is perhaps the most fundamental model of human interaction; it’s biblical. Americans also tend to fall into this model, but for them, the distinction between “sheep” and “shepherd” is transitory; the “sheep” can decide, at any point, to break away from the herd and become their own shepherd; American “sheep” are fully aware of their potential. Of course this is a generalization, but insofar as generalizations are reflections of a prevalent observed reality, I believe this to be true. Japanese people highly revere their experts, sometimes to the point of worship. Americans, on the other hand, have the, “if they can do it so can I” mentality and believe in the possibility for the “average Joe” to become an expert or leader. This is the mentality of a maverick.

What’s a Maverick?

America is a land founded by mavericks; a maverick being: a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates. (www.dictionary.com) America’s position as a world leader, I believe, is directly related to this maverick quality of breaking away from the norm and forging its own path. At its core, capitalism rewards most handsomely those that take risks, i.e. the entrepreneur, the trailblazer, the maverick; the modern world is a product of such people. One only has to look to the pioneers of the motion picture industry, the light bulb, and the personal computer, to understand how much of our modern civilization is the result of mavericks. Whether or not you agree with capitalism or how it has affected our world, this much is true: those that walk to the beat of their own tune stand to gain far more than those who follow the grain. Of course, with the potential of great gain comes great risk, which is why most people decide to follow the pack. It’s safer, more predictable and less likely to keep you up at night.

Be a hero , not a zero

People who make a distinction between “safe” and “risky” tend to be those who have little self-confidence or who don’t really know themselves. Whoever heard of a hero who avoided risks? No one! A hero, by definition, is one who takes risks. Actually if we think about the DNA of the prototypical hero, it consists of one primary trait: facing and overcoming adversity. For the hero, there is only one possible path, to overcome the obstacles and save the day. But that’s fiction not reality! Real life isn’t that simple!

Or is it? The path of any hero is never easy, if it were easy who would care if they succeeded? I believe our lives are they same. All the famous people of the world are famous because their lives have been marked by adversity and challenge, but they persevered and prevailed; that’s why we find them interesting and that is why they serve as our inspiration. Everyone’s life, whether famous or not, is a journey and along the way we have many chances to embrace who we were born to be; those who become who they were meant to be are the people who recognize the chance and take it. They are the mavericks of the world.

You don’t like apples? Try oranges!

Though I don’t believe in individuality for the sake of being “different,” I do embrace the truth that we are all created uniquely and that we each have our own special way of contributing to the world. Not everyone is meant to be a leader or even rich and famous, but I believe everyone is capable of becoming a person fully confident in who they are and is capable of overcoming adversity and finding their unique and special place in this world. Fundamentally, people are most effective when they are doing what they love; I think few people would disagree. The challenge is figuring out what one loves to do; and it’s hard work, there’s no way around that. If everyone around you likes apples but you don’t, are you going to stick with eating apples or would you rather try an orange? Similarly, if conventional wisdom (i.e. your parents J, peers, society etc.) says that you that you should be a doctor because it is secure, prestigious and pays well, but the thought of being a doctor doesn’t excite you in the least bit, wouldn’t it be worthwhile to say no in order to find something you really love? This is the mentality of the maverick: it is the person who is not afraid to stand alone, think for themselves and come to their own conclusions for the sake of discovering and determining that which moves them deeply. I believe in the 21^st century, being a maverick will lead to the most fulfilling and enjoyable life possible. It’s not an easy choice, but hey if you don’t like apples, why not try an orange?

Tags:   Inspiration · Words of WisdomNo Comments.

It’s hard to believe four months have passed since first arriving in Saga. Time really does fly by fast! Although it has taken me some time to get settled in, I think Saga has started to grow on me. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Saga has been nothing short of magical; my life here in Saga doesn’t quite seem real to me. Many people say that NYC, my hometown, is a magical place in much the same way that Hollywood is considered magical; they are places where dreams come true, where the rich and powerful gather and history is made; if you ask someone from Saga to describe their hometown they might say, “peaceful” or “comfortable,” but “magical?” not a chance. However, for me, Saga is magical because it is so very different than anything that I’ve ever experienced before. There is no rush of people trying to get from place to place and things don’t seem to change. The consistency of the surroundings, the people and the happenings here in Saga are what make it seem, at least to me, a strange and far away land.

Saga seems to have its own life force. The people here seem to operate according to a different set of rules and values than many of the other places I’ve been. I would call this the “Saga Effect.” Most people I’ve met here have lived in Saga all their lives and could never really think of leaving; and why would they? It is a comfortable and nice place to live. I would agree except for the fact that the world around us is constantly moving and changing; the evolutions and revolutions that seem to occur in places like NYC and Tokyo on a daily basis only trickle down to Saga only after some time. While the world is operating on standard time, Saga is operating on “Saga Time.” It’s funny, but true.

If I could have things my way, I would take half the people from NYC, from Tokyo and from all the other major metropolises around the world and half the people in Saga and have them switch places for a year. That would be my version of the melting pot—racial diversity coupled with an even more startling cultural diversity that forces people from every walk of life to stop and think about how their lives match up to people who have different base values. To me, that is magic; it is seeing a world that defies every paradigm or logic that you understand yet still manages to function. Being the city boy that I am, coming to Saga has showed me a world that I never knew existed; it has showed me that there are people who aren’t obsessed with money, looks and power and my world has expanded tremendously because of it. I will become a famous writer and filmmaker one day and when that day comes I will remember Saga and all its magical charm as a place that nurtured my soul and challenged me to find magic in the seemingly un-magical.

Tags: No Comments.