Book 41. 234. My current interest lies in whether taking calcium can heal cavities and regenerate teeth and tooth nerves. (Updated 2026.07.18)

Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from α and Hakubi's Super Simple World Blog. Today's theme is about personal rules. As the proverb says, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," rules exist everywhere in human society.

We can see that while we abide by the rules of our region and country, we can also have our own personal rules for daily life. These personal rules are what we call "my rules." Speaking of my rules, for me, it would be something like dedicating three hours a day to studying; these are rules that are specific to each individual.

I personally set myself the goal of studying for three hours a day, and I believe such rules are very important. My personal rules are a compilation of my own winning strategies based on my past experiences. You could say they are my formula for victory, my philosophy of victory.

When individuals live in society, they inevitably encounter a vast number of rules. From national laws to work manuals, they face an unimaginable collection of rules. The reason these rules exist is because they have enabled society and business to function smoothly up until now.

We live our lives following an unimaginable number of rules, one by one. And for today's theme, I'd like to talk about the importance of cherishing our own personal rules—our own know-how and lessons learned.

For example, besides my three-hour study rule, what else comes to mind? Milk. Milk is a complete food, containing a lot of calcium and other nutrients. Just as infants can grow and develop on milk alone, it's clear that milk is a very promising food.

Looking back, most people probably drank milk as children. When you were a child, there was almost always a one-liter carton of milk in the refrigerator, wasn't there? It's not uncommon for people to drink a lot of milk as children, but then stop drinking it once they become adults and enter the workforce.

I try to drink 500ml of milk a day. Drinking milk makes your bones stronger. My current interest lies in the topic of whether calcium intake can heal cavities and regenerate teeth and tooth nerves. My biggest concern these days is whether permanent teeth can regenerate through calcium intake, just like fractures in other parts of the body.

In fact, I personally believe that when elderly people age, their spines curve and they suffer fractures due to osteoporosis, which is often caused by insufficient calcium intake. This is just my personal opinion, but I, a non-medical professional, think that drinking milk is very healthy.

However, I want to emphasize that these personal rules, such as studying for three hours a day or drinking 500ml of milk a day, do not violate any laws. Such personal rules are deeply rooted in my life and are a collection of positive rules that go beyond ambition and maintaining the status quo.

Realistically speaking, having more personal rules isn't always better, but if you've tried something through trial and error and it works, it's very worthwhile to articulate that success formula as explicit knowledge so that you can reproduce it anytime.

Such personal rules may not guarantee eternal success in any era, but gradually improving them can ensure long-term stability. Ultimately, human daily life can be decribed as a collection of techniques and know-how disguised as a vast number of rules.

In the previous article, before it was rewritten, I mentioned one of my personal rules at the beginning: that I always drink a cup of coffee when I wake up in the morning. Drinking coffee in the morning used to be a must for me, but lately it's become rare for me to drink coffee when I wake up.

Just as laws and rules are revised and updated to meet the demands of the times, we realize that our own personal rules also need to be gradually modified as our age and living circumstances change. I'm sure the readers of this article also have many personal rules of their own.

I think it's perfectly fine to constantly create new personal rules. Keep the rules that have worked well in the past and are likely to be useful in the future, and replace everything else with new ones. Just one rule can greatly change your living environment.

I've reaffirmed that my morning coffee, a rule I'd like to continue using if needed, is something I'll always keep in mind. What kind of rules do you have? That's all. Thank you for your continued support. This is Watanabe Ten. See you again, Alpha.

Book 40. 235. We will approach the nine practices, which are performed with enjoyment, not as personal training, but as a form of training in cooperation with others to serve many people. (Update in progress: 2027.07.17)

Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from the α and Hakubi Super Simple World Blog. Today's theme is not asceticism, but the Nine Practices. I know that asceticism is the practice of walking, sitting in meditation, and other rigorous training. Above all, it is because there is a belief that by performing ascetic practices, one can get closer to the path of God. Certainly, asceticism can be said to be a special ritual performed to gain personal merit.

I believe that if one continues this kind of training as an individual until they leave the monastic life, it is possible to achieve a certain level of spiritual and physical transformation. As long as one is training as an individual, the rewards of that ascetic practice will only come to that person themselves.

Personally, I would like to change this religious ascetic practice to the "Nine Practices," which have the same pronunciation. The Nine Practices would be a form of training that allows for enjoyable growth, rather than a painful one. First, let me introduce three of the nine practices.

First and foremost, it's about survival. If you want to live a long life, you must train yourself accordingly and be in an environment where you can always obtain food, clothing, and shelter. To live requires a great deal of vitality, and the longer you want to live, the more trials you will face, the more you will need to think about what it means to live as a human being, not as an animal, such as how to procure food.

Secondly, there's walking. As bipedal humans, we're constantly walking around in our daily lives. Walking is a very important verb, as many people know that walking 10,000 steps a day is good for your health. Walking a lot strengthens your body and makes your legs and hips stronger. The skin on your feet also thickens, helping you maintain your physique. Basically, you can maintain your muscles just by walking with your arms and legs. First, I recommend doing some light muscle training.

Thirdly, there's eating. Eating is very important. If we can eat delicious and healthy meals every day, our level of happiness will surely increase. Sure, we might forget what we ate yesterday or the day before, but I think that delicious food is an important part of a better life.

Up to this point, the training has focused on three things: ① living, ② walking, and ③ eating. It's clear that these nine practices are not necessarily difficult or painful. If these nine practices are enjoyable, help you improve yourself, and promote your health, then I think many people will be interested in them.

So, I've introduced three of my own personal interpretations of the nine principles. These are fundamental things related to human survival, but by consciously practicing the three principles of ① living, ② walking, and ③ eating, you can gain a lot of insight.

Even something as simple as walking can be enjoyable, rather than a grueling ordeal, if you research ways to walk faster and less tiring. Similarly, when eating, if you put your hands together in gratitude for the meal you've received, and then put your hands together again before leaving the last bite, saying "Thank you for the bite," you'll feel your intense hunger gradually disappear.

Ultimately, these three practices are self-contained. Of course, I understand that the presence of others is indirectly necessary as part of life in society. This is because, without other people besides oneself, the acts of ① living, ② walking, and ③ eating suddenly become very difficult.

I believe that for the remaining six of the nine practices, you can customize them to your liking. Sleeping, singing, meditating—anything is fine, as long as it helps you grow. Furthermore, I think that practices that include gratitude towards others are also valid forms of practice. In fact, I see them as ideal forms of practice.

For example, one of the nine principles could be making a fixed donation from your monthly income, or participating in volunteer activities. Alternatively, if you have many possessions, making it a habit to give them away to others free of charge could also be considered a principle that involves others.

If I were to introduce three more of my own personal nine lines as an example, they would be ④ sleeping, ⑤ singing, and ⑥ studying. Or, if there were ⑦, ⑧, or ⑨, I would choose nine lines that involve connections with others, such as donating or volunteering.

As is the case with religion, while it is important to pursue personal gain—for example, in religion, seeking eternal life, or in the case of a monk, diligently engaging in personal training—I believe that training that helps many people is what truly brings one closer to what religion means by eternal life. It is unlikely that one's name will be remembered forever in history, but I think it would be good to continue training as a role model for future generations.

In summary, if we had a philosophy like the Nine Practices instead of asceticism, our lives might be richer and we might find greater happiness. To achieve this, one approach would be to aim for a form of practice that involves communicating with and serving others, rather than dedicating the enjoyable Nine Practices to personal training.

That's all for now. I hope we can aim for a form of training where many people can have fun and help each other grow. That's all. Thank you for your growth. This is Watanabe Ten. See you again, Alpha.

Book 39. 236.There's a saying, "Fortune comes to those who have left over." Ultimately, this suggests that profit is simply the surplus of products. This surplus can be used for dividends to shareholders, compensation for inventory and waste, investments, and emergency reserves.

Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from the α and Hakubi Super Simple World Blog. Today's topic is a rewritten version of a previous article I wrote titled "A New Rule: Delivering 80%?? If You Predict 100 Units Will Sell, Deliver 90 Units!!" The previous article explained how delivering 80% of the stock to sell out can result in lower prices, but this time we'll go a step further and discuss the theme of "What is profit?"

What is profit? In the previous article, we showed that the reason costs are high is because of excess inventory and the disposal of unsold goods. To summarize the previous article, we proposed reducing total production costs by supplying 80% of the stable sales volume as inventory, thereby reducing inventory and disposal costs.

I explained that reducing costs in this way would lead to lower product prices and improved price competitiveness, enabling us to sell more products. In other words, my proposal was to increase sales volume and thus overall profit through a low-margin, high-volume sales strategy, rather than simply lowering prices.

This time, I'd like to change things up a bit and talk about what profit is. Normally, prices are set based on experience, whether it's a supermarket or a retail store. This is because prices are determined by combining various factors, such as price competition with other stores.

I've always believed that when setting a compelling price, it's easiest to determine a reasonable price by first deciding on the profit, and then adding the costs on top of that. This profit, when determining a reasonable price, is a fixed profit margin called a markup, which is determined upfront. However, this markup is also determined based on empirical rules.

The markup rate is based on the empirical rule that large, reputable companies typically have a profit margin of 23%. In fact, once the profit margin is determined, the cost is known during manufacturing, making it easy to calculate the price. In other words, if you first determine a profit margin of 23%, then for a product costing 1000 yen, the profit would be 1000 x 0.23 = 230 yen, giving you a reasonable price of 1230 yen.

However, if you truly want to find evidence, you need to look for a profit margin that is based on solid evidence, rather than simply using a 23% markup rate, where a good profit margin varies depending on the product category. In reality, I haven't fully identified the factors that underlie this profit margin.

The factors cited as the basis for profit in economics include the following: First, dividends paid to shareholders, costs to compensate for losses from inventory and disposal, and cash flow (investment funds) for the company's investments in new things.

To explain each of these factors, since shareholders own a company, dividends paid to shareholders are considered income gains and serve as compensation for the investment costs incurred by shareholders. Therefore, it can be said that companies must make a profit. Also, as mentioned earlier regarding the 80% delivery rate, inventory and waste are expenses, so if a company does not generate profits that exceed inventory and waste, it will incur losses and operate at a deficit.

Finally, there is the existence of contingency funds, which cover investments and emergency expenses.

I've listed several reasons for profit so far, but the simplest reason is surplus production. In other words, profit is what's left over after production has resulted in a surplus. I'd like to delve a little deeper into this point, but ultimately, I think profit is what's left over.

There's good fortune in leftovers. Next time, I'd like to delve deeper into this concept of surplus in relation to profit. That's all for now. Thank you for your continued support. This is Watanabe Ten. See you again.

Book 38. +4α. Your daily actions are your life and your proof of your character. The accumulation of your daily actions builds your credibility. Updated 2026.06.12

 Hello. This is Hakubi from α and Hakubi's Super Simple World Blog. Today's theme is "The arrogant Heike clan did not last long." When you hear the word "arrogant," what kind of situation do you imagine? Do you imagine the state of being like a tengu (a mythical creature) after winning and winning and winning?

Why do people become arrogant after winning? I don't have a very good image of the mythical creature known as the Tengu. Perhaps it's because, in situations where everything seems to be going their way, those who become arrogant escalate their behavior in a negative direction, leading them to become Tengu.

The world works in mysterious ways. Those who have won must remain humble if they wish to continue winning. This is because arrogance leads to self-destruction. Even if one amassses immense wealth, the moment one becomes arrogant, they take the first step towards ruin.

They don't treat other people as human beings. The Taira clan, a group of warlords in ancient Japan, left behind the saying, "If you are not a Taira, you are not human." This means that anyone who is not a Taira is not human, but why do people become so arrogant?

You'll probably notice that the situation around you changes when you keep winning. The cold world suddenly starts fawning over the person who's on the winning path. At first, the person on the winning path is fawned over with a sense of hesitation, but eventually they start to take that fawning for granted.

I want you to pay attention to this point: those who have a winning strategy will inevitably encounter the fact that they have only won once. The reason why it's only one win is because that one win is significant. Everyone has a chance to be promoted to a leadership position at least once. For a leader to be a leader, they need to perform their duties sincerely without becoming arrogant. Leaders fall from power because they are no longer fit for the position of leader.

As you may have already realized, almost everyone, including you, has probably been entrusted with a leadership position at some point. Whether you become a true leader or not depends on whether you were able to seize that one opportunity and satisfy those around you.

Let me ask you again: you too have been a leader at some point, haven't you? Whether you receive special treatment as a leader afterward depends on whether you were able to seize that opportunity. Those who, when given special treatment by others, mistakenly believed they were special themselves and failed to seize the opportunity are probably either people who couldn't produce results as leaders, or people who became arrogant and were eventually overthrown as leaders.

Everyone has the chance to be entrusted with leadership at least once. Pride goes before a fall. Seize that opportunity and build an unshakeable position as a leader. The more times you serve as a leader, the more likely you are to be entrusted with leading larger organizations. In larger organizations, the more results you achieve, the greater the rewards you will receive.

I recommend that even if you're a leader, you should maintain the same position as an ordinary member. It's probably best to feel like you're roughly average within the organization. However, I must say that while everyone has the chance to become a leader, not everyone can become one.

If you can seize that one or two chances and become a leader, remember the saying, "Pride goes before a fall," and if you remain humble, pledge loyalty to the organization, and fulfill your duties, you will likely have no need to worry about being removed from your leadership position. The arrogant Taira clan is a funny thing; as they accumulate victories one after another, they gradually begin to take those victories for granted.

I value the proverb, "Tighten your helmet straps even after victory." I treat everyone with humility and sincerity. Ultimately, everything comes down to one's daily conduct. If you quietly and humbly complete your work on a daily basis, you won't be criticized by those around you even for minor troubles. Your daily conduct is your life and your proof of your character. It is the accumulation of your daily conduct that builds your credibility.

If you habitually treat people as if they're not human, you'll only gradually lose their trust. Refrain from unpleasant words and actions towards everyone, and even be kind. These small actions build your life and your credibility. Almost without exception, you should stop speaking ill of others. The rich don't fight. If you avoid fighting, you'll be able to escape uncomfortable environments.

After that, if you stop looking down on people like the Taira clan did and start treating them as equals, I think everything will go well. I believe the saying "The rich don't fight" is true. When you become rich, you can leave relationships you don't particularly like and associate with people you like. At that point, you will have escaped the "pride of the Taira clan was short-lived" mentality and reached the state of mind where "the rich don't fight."

I have a question for you. Are your relationships with the people around you comfortable? If you are satisfied with your current relationships, that's fine. But if you are feeling uncomfortable with your current relationships, then take a step outside. You could start something new, or you might need to change something.

You may not be winning all the time. However, if you're associating with people who don't treat others like human beings, try stepping outside and thinking about how you can surround yourself only with people you like, like the wealthy. I don't think you'll regret spending time on that. With just a little courage, you have the potential to live a more comfortable life.

Please, by all means, cross the line. That's all. Thank you for your growth. It was outstanding. See you again, Alpha.

Book 37. If you want to live a more secure and reliable life in this uncertain world, studying is one option.

Hello. This is Watanebe Ten. Today's topic is uncertainty. When I think of uncertainty, the first thing that comes to mind is default. Default is when a company fails to repay its debt obligations, and recovering from a default requires considerable effort and hardship, and it has a far greater social impact than we can imagine.

The most prominent example of a recent default was the collapse of Lehman Brothers following the Lehman Shock, a historic event that resulted in the loss of a large number of jobs. I witnessed this Lehman Shock, an event of uncertainty that will go down in world history, but I only became aware of the problem in 2010.

Until then, I was a high school student who didn't read newspapers or watch the news, but after entering university, I witnessed the Lehman Shock, the ultimate example of uncertainty. Many students faced difficulties finding jobs, and I remember being anxious about whether I would be able to find one myself.

I started reading newspapers after entering university, and I realized how amazing they are—they contain information about everything happening in the world. When I first started reading newspapers, I thought of them as just free papers that were kept at my parents' house.

However, after entering university, I continued to read the newspaper obsessively, reading it all day long until I felt omniscient, as if I understood everything in the world. Thanks to that, although I now only read one or two newspapers a week, I believe that even if I refrain from reading for the next two or three years, I will be able to understand a newspaper article immediately after a long break, thanks to the level of reading comprehension I developed during my university days.

Newspapers are a source of money. More accurately, the information contained within them is what's valuable. From the political section to the business and international sections, any investor, especially one involved in stock market investments, will undoubtedly read their newspaper every single day.

Now, speaking of uncertainty, the Lehman Shock was a major event that significantly changed my values. While the Lehman Shock wasn't the direct trigger, it made me realize the importance of information.

At that time, the turbulent dawn of the 2010s was hit by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. Speaking of uncertainty, I worry about the future. It's a vague sense of crisis about what I'll do if I suddenly find myself unemployed and penniless. That's why I always make sure to invest in myself so that I'm prepared for any eventuality.

I believe that even something as simple as reading a newspaper is just like work. If you have a desk job, you might be gathering information for tasks like creating documents. Even though a newspaper contains current events, I think that simply reading it superficially will only allow you to grasp the flow of the times, and you won't be able to reach its essence.

In this increasingly uncertain world, information is a crucial step in resolving that uncertainty. It is precisely because of this uncertainty that we rely on news, newspapers, and the internet to obtain information. Speaking of newspapers, they offer information not as self-contained stories, but rather as a continuous, narrative type of information.

I think that even just looking at a newspaper, it contains the equivalent of dozens of pages of information in a book, so I admire people who subscribe and read it every day. However, for someone like me who likes to skim through the information, reading the newspaper every single day is a chore, so I subscribe to a daily subscription by buying it at a convenience store.

Even though it's a newspaper, there isn't much truly new news; you can see that political, international, and business stories progress little by little each day. If you read it every day, there are some articles that are as thrilling and exciting as an adventure novel, but most of the articles are just rehashes of previous issues.

I read the newspaper once a week, and following the theme of uncertainty in this article, I think that new news is a manifestation of uncertainty. When something that was uncertain and difficult to predict actually happens, it becomes a major event, which is why the media gives it so much attention.

One of the best things that has happened in my life is that I started studying, but even then, I only began studying seriously when I was close to adulthood. Before that, I neglected studying, let alone reading the newspaper, but I did devour popular contemporary novels. I've written quite a lot, but I would say that life, including mine, is a bundle of uncertainty.

I'm now in my mid-thirties, and I'm glad I continued studying. Ultimately, reading the newspaper and studying can be seen as self-satisfaction. However, I believe it's true that studying helps you acquire knowledge, transforming uncertain and unknown things into something a little more certain and secure.

We were talking about newspapers, but even something as simple as a newspaper can be a valuable resource for determining a course of action or a policy in the face of the unknown and uncertain. I believe that if you want to live a more certain and secure life in this uncertain world, studying is one option.

Whether it's studying or a hobby, consistently pursuing something for a long period of time can become a lucky charm that saves you at unexpected moments. Life is short. We must make the most of this limited time and keep moving forward to avoid the trap of uncertainty.

Once uncertainty becomes a thing of the past, it ceases to be uncertain. Uncertainty is simply the feeling you have at the moment such an event occurs. I started studying when I was transitioning from a minor to an adult, and I've continued studying ever since. What will you continue to study in this uncertain world?

That's all. Thank you for your continued support. This was Watanabe Ten.

Book 36. I started practicing when I was 19 and have already accumulated about 80,000 hours of practice. I'm not bragging. I'm aiming for 100,000 hours and will continue to improve.

 Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from the α and hakubi's blog. Today's topic is about fishing. When you hear "fishing," you might imagine catching fish in a river or the sea. However, I myself have never actually fished, so in this context, "fishing" is more of a metaphor or allegory.

I know that fishing requires long-term patience. You have to diligently train yourself over a long period of time, whether it's 5, 10, 20, or 30 years. As for how long you should continue, the amount of time you practice each day varies from person to person, so I think the total amount of practice time over a period of time is one way to go.

It might be helpful to compare practicing 8 hours a day for 3 months with practicing 3 hours a day for 3 years. One is 8 hours x 3 months = approximately 800 hours, the other is 3 hours x 3 years = 3000 hours. While a simple comparison of practice time isn't entirely fair, it's clear that practicing 3 hours a day for 3 years results in a longer total practice time. By adding various techniques and improving the quality of practice, you can achieve both quantity and quality.

I also started writing this blog, "Kiyofuji Medical School Blog," around the end of May 2026, and I intend to continue working on it for 5, 10 years, or even longer. From this point forward, I'd like to focus on proverbs as the theme of this blog, and write at length about them. I have many thoughts on the idea that if you train for a long time, that is, if you fish, you can be happy for a lifetime.

I, too, have diligently practiced my current job for a long period of time. The key to practicing for a long time is not to think of it as work. It's important to basically think of it as a hobby or a game. If it's a hobby or a game, you can enjoy it and it's easier to maintain the motivation to continue practicing and improving.

I know that many people start many things but stop after a year or two. The reason they stop is that they can no longer find time to practice for some reason. Even if you practice for three hours a day for three years and accumulate a total of 3000 hours of practice, if you stop, your career will end there.

I know that if you stop practicing or training, that's as far as you'll go. The key to continuing to put in the effort is to take a short break after stopping and then start again. Regarding this blog, I've decided to refrain from posting on the old blog and start a new one called "Kiyofuji Medical Academy Blog".

The reason I was able to let go of my old blog and easily accept it as a sunk cost—an expense that I can no longer recover—is because I judged it to be the best course of action. The old blog will still exist without its data being deleted, but for me, it is now a legacy of the past.

I believe there's value in challenging myself with something new each time and refreshing things like this blog. I plan to use this blog to share my research on topics at a high school level and the results of that research. To all elementary, middle, and high school students, please check it out!

Also, as a practical challenge for me, there's the one-year hurdle, and I often find myself wanting to quit after a year. Since I own two other blogs besides this one, I'd like to work on those at a moderate pace as well. For this blog, I'm aiming for a five-year career for now.

"Fishing will bring you happiness for life" is a Chinese proverb, and I think it's good to learn various proverbs. Great figures from the past were amazing. They left behind many famous quotes and proverbs, and there is much to learn from them. I would like to ask you all: What would you like to know?

Through fishing, I want to practice patience and the importance of waiting until a fish bites. Fishing is a strange thing; if you're impatient, you might not catch anything. Trying to get immediate results will only lead to ruin. By steadily continuing one thing at a time over many years, you'll develop skills that will be useful wherever you go.

I train diligently every day without rest, and even when I eventually achieve social success, I will continue to practice steadily. Pride goes before a fall. I must never become conceited just because I've succeeded. Even when things go well, it's necessary to continue practicing steadily and find ways to reach even greater heights.

The first part of this article discussed whether 800 hours of practice or 3000 hours of practice is better, but when we talk about work, we keep in mind that practice should be done over a long period of time, until retirement or the end of one's life. For a beginner angler like me, the time it takes to catch a fish can feel like wasted time. However, in reality, the time spent practicing diligently before catching a fish not only improves your fishing skills but also provides an opportunity to experience the satisfaction that comes from that practice.

When it comes to practice, whether it's a hobby or work, some people might find it difficult to get started. However, if you think of it as a game where you are the main character, you can easily get motivated. I talked about fishing this time, and I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to try fishing again if I have the chance. Fishing will keep you happy for a lifetime. Getting married will keep you happy for three days. That's interesting, isn't it? I hope you can practice little by little.

By the way, I started practicing as a hobby when I was 19 and have already practiced for about 80,000 or 90,000 hours. I'm not bragging. I'm aiming for the milestone of 100,000 hours and will continue to make great strides. Let's all do our best together. That's all. Thank you for your support and for watching my progress. This is Watanabe Ten. See you again.