Book 44.231 The world of the future. What will we seek? Perhaps having just one thing missing is what allows us to maintain our motivation and thrive in the long run. Updated 2026.07.31

Hello. This is Hakubi from α and Hakubi's Super Simple World Blog. Today's theme is "Everything becomes boring when you have everything."

Our society has a mission to engage in work and academic pursuits. We work tirelessly, we study tirelessly, and if we're left with nothing after all that, we don't want to live a life of utter despair. What do we possess? However, surprisingly, a life with nothing, like that of a digital nomad, isn't so bad either.

From here on, this is all based on the fact that I don't have everything yet. In other words, because I don't have much myself, this will involve some speculation. For example, if we won the lottery jackpot of 500 million yen, would we give up something? We might give up our daily lives, quit our jobs, or quit school. Many things come to mind.

Was that enormous sum of 500 million yen a gift from heaven, or was it due to the good fortune passed down through generations of ancestors? When you think about it, it's hard to imagine money just falling from the sky. Normally, if we want to earn money, we have to work hard and sweat for it, and I think this life is designed so that we don't get rich quick.

However, and this is purely speculation, there are times when I think it might actually be possible to earn 500 million yen. 500 million yen is what you'd earn if you worked incredibly hard. Realistically speaking, lifetime earnings in Japan are around 300 million yen, so if you work twice as much, a simple calculation shows that earning 600 million yen in lifetime earnings is not impossible.

Now, I apologize for talking about myself, but I won't be discussing how much money I currently have saved. There's no point in doing so. That being said, I aim to work 4000 hours a year. This blog is part of that goal, but what will happen if I work 4000 hours for 10 years? It's a very interesting topic.

I often talk about the benefits of studying for three hours a day. I know that it's not easy to study for three hours a day while working full-time. This is a bit of a digression, but if you think about it carefully, I'd like to consider what we mean by "studying."

A clear example of studying is studying for a qualification. You study for a qualification, take the exam, get a passing score, and then happily start looking for a new job. It's a straightforward example. On the other hand, there are avid readers who read aimlessly. Driven by intellectual curiosity, they immerse themselves in reading. Whether it's novels or textbooks, reading is a form of mental training, and this is another clear example of studying.

Here, I'd like to make a suggestion: reverse engineering. In other words, develop the ability to think in the same way as the author. That's where the meaning of studying lies. I'll write about this in other articles as well, but it's about recreating the author's thought process within yourself. It's about recreating and creating the same thing as the author.

If the creator is a first-class craftsman, they can create the same thing with first-class hands. This is where I realize something: studying is about reproduction. Recreating something that has already been made requires a great deal of effort and skill. Studying that skill is one of the purposes of learning.

However, one thing is certain: simply copying something completely constitutes plagiarism. That's where adaptation comes in. Originality is essential. Because creating something new is the act of generating new value.

Now, going back to the beginning of the discussion, I'm talking about how life isn't interesting if you have everything. I don't think you need to have everything. For the average person, I think it's enough to advance in their career and acquire a reasonable amount of things.

A typical life path involves graduating from high school or university, joining a reasonably large company, buying a car and a house, and finding a spouse. Until recently, this career path was commonplace. However, with the drastic changes in the economy, life models now reflect a much greater diversity.

Having everything. Not so long ago, if you joined a reasonably large company and worked a normal job, you could have it all. I know that this "normal" life was incredibly difficult. Family matters, eight hours of work a day plus overtime. There are all kinds of people, and I think that many different kinds of lives existed not so long ago as well.

I currently aspire to work 4000 hours. I don't have much to offer at the moment. If I simply work 4000 hours, will I acquire twice as much as the average worker? It's an interesting thought. However, I myself hesitate to acquire everything. I still have a long life ahead of me, and if I acquire everything in my mid-thirties, I might lose my motivation.

A hungry spirit when you have nothing is incredibly important. It's precisely because you're hungry that you boldly take on new challenges and acquire new things. The more new things you acquire, the more new skills and assets you gain.

Personally, I believe that if you work twice as hard as the average person, becoming a millionaire isn't that difficult. Of course, the path to success will differ depending on the era and circumstances, but I absolutely refuse to give up on working 4,000 hours a day. When you think about it, quantity, quality, and environment—many factors combine to shape a person's life.

We are entering a new world. Technology will advance dramatically, and new products and services will proliferate. What will we seek in this new world? Perhaps having just one thing missing is what will help us maintain our motivation and thrive in the long run.

That's all. Thank you for your growth. It was outstanding. See you again, Alpha.

Book 43. 232.In my 20s, my schedule had almost no breaks, but now in my mid-30s, I've learned to cut corners. (Updated 2026.07.31)

Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from α and Hakubi's Super Simple World Blog. This time, I'll be rewriting an article titled "Even if you achieve 60% of your schedule, it's still not enough; you won't be evaluated unless you achieve 100%!? The Seven Wonders of the World."

Making a schedule. Hmm. That's a common topic for working adults. When we talk about schedules, the question arises: do we really need to achieve 100% of them? If you get 60 points on a test out of 100, you technically pass. But when it comes to scheduling, we try to aim for a perfect score of 100.

The reason I aim for a perfect score is because I have a fixed idea that schedules must be completed. Therefore, when I create a schedule, it ends up being extremely tight. It becomes a hellish death march with no breaks.

Perhaps other people, when they talk about schedules, are imagining intense work schedules with 15-minute intervals. They probably try to take frequent breaks and still get decent results. However, if I were to complete 100% of my intense schedule, I think I would faint.

That's all for now, but the discussion about schedules is from a year and a half ago. Why do we make schedules? Here, "schedule" doesn't refer to a schedule as part of work, but rather to a daily to-do list.

What time do you eat breakfast, what time do you start work, what time do you take breaks, and what time do you go home? For most working adults, this kind of schedule is something they do every day, so perhaps it doesn't even need to be scheduled. However, on weekends and during private time, how long do you read? How long do you write your blog? I think a variety of values ​​are scattered throughout these things.

If you have a day off, I highly recommend starting a blog. Even just writing once a week is enough. Looking up and summarizing small everyday questions using books or the internet is also a good way to learn. As I mentioned earlier, I try to manage a tight schedule and handle a heavy workload.

In my twenties, I could effortlessly handle a schedule with almost no breaks, but now in my mid-thirties, I think it's okay to do things moderately. I've lost that seriousness about achieving 100% and learned to cut corners to a reasonable extent. I'm not sure if it's really okay to cut corners, but I've started taking proper breaks.

However, even without a schedule, my days are packed with activities. I'm doing something all day long. However, as I mentioned earlier, I take breaks as needed and make sure to include reading, which is essentially input, to see if it's truly necessary. To digress for a moment, my current interest is in blood pressure. I understand that blood pressure is a very useful medical indicator.

I've only recently started learning about medicine, but I personally don't have high or low blood pressure; my blood pressure is healthy. While a systolic blood pressure of 90-130 is considered ideal, when I measure my blood pressure in the morning, it's sometimes in the 90s and sometimes in the 120s.

When my blood pressure is in the 90s, close to low, I have a hard time getting up and it's quite a struggle. When it's in the 120s, I wake up instantly, but it's too early in the morning, so I end up going back to sleep. I want to know why my blood pressure fluctuates so much.

One hypothesis is related to the amount of food consumed. I currently believe that if you don't eat for a long time, you'll lack energy and your blood pressure will tend to be low, while if you feel full after eating, your blood pressure will tend to be high. It's also possible that blood pressure rises after eating, just as we often hear the phrase, "blood sugar levels rise after eating."

As the saying goes, "Our bodies are made of what we eat," so our daily eating habits are extremely important. Returning to the topic of schedules, if you want to get your daily schedule done, I think that if you schedule it in the morning, even if you're not a morning person, you'll be able to get up to some extent.

Having a drink in the morning can also help get your gut moving, making it easier to wake up.

Now, regarding the schedule, lately I've been having trouble getting up in the mornings, perhaps because my blood pressure is low. Therefore, I'm thinking it might be better to create a schedule to force myself to wake up early. Getting up early. If I create a schedule of what to do after waking up, it shouldn't be so difficult to get up in the morning.

That's all. Thank you for your growth. It was outstanding. See you again, Alpha.

Book 42. 233. To bridge the gap in academic performance among students, one should adopt the learning methods of higher-achieving students and address environmental factors. (Updated 2026.07.25)

Hello. This is Watanabe Ten from the α and Hakubi Super Simple World Blog. Today's theme is a rewritten article about wanting to establish an education-related NPO. It will be in the form of an interview where I answer questions.

Q: Ten-san, education is a hot topic right now.

A: Yes. This is Watanabe Ten. Until recently, education meant simply education focused on standardized test scores. Students' main role was to solve problems in textbooks and go to universities with higher test scores. Speaking from my own experience as someone who received this standardized test-based education, I would say it was a passive form of education where you listened to lectures and took notes.

A. Of course, it can be said that prestigious universities have functioned as a stepping stone to producing outstanding members of society, guaranteeing a certain level of academic ability. Having seen many cases in the field of education, I myself have felt that if students were to shift from a passive attitude to a more active learning approach, the effectiveness of education would increase.

Q: In reality, it could be said that students haven't been taking traditional classes seriously, such as taking neat notes or listening to music during lectures. What do you think should be done about this, Ms. Ten?

A. If traditional university education was not very appealing, the reason could be said to be that it consisted of self-contained, individualized lessons taught by school teachers. The reason might be that teachers took the lead in conducting lectures, preventing students from actively participating in them.

Q: You mentioned that students were not actively participating in lectures. What kind of initiatives can be taken to encourage students to participate more actively in lectures?

A. First, one approach would be to have students read the textbook. Having students independently read the lecture textbook as preparation or review is one way to encourage more active participation in lectures. Alternatively, instructors may need to assign homework such as encouraging students to read the textbook or instructing them to solve practice problems.

Q: In terms of student initiatives, various methods such as group discussions and active learning are being implemented as part of proactive learning in classes. In that regard, what kind of classes do you think are appropriate for the current learning environment?

A: I think that students need to take ownership or be proactive in participating in the lecture. Lectures should be like the old-fashioned private schools, where students open their textbooks and read aloud at the same time, creating a situation where they feel they are shaping the lecture together. If students just copy what's written on the board into their notebooks and that's it, the content of the lecture won't stick in their memory.

Q: Students themselves don't know how they should study. While they can ask teachers for help, I think it would be good to have experiential lectures that teach various learning methods as part of the coursework. What are your thoughts on this?

A: From my personal perspective, regarding the question of talent versus environment, one thing I can say is that environment is a far greater growth factor than talent. Even when it comes to learning methods, knowing or not knowing those methods can drastically change test scores. I think all high-achieving students have their own unique learning methods. It's fascinating how much a student's performance can change depending on their learning method.

Q: From what I've heard so far, one thing I can say is that simply being taught how to study can make a big difference in grades. It seems that the difference in grades among students is due to how they study at home, separate from what they learn in school lectures. Ms. Ten, how do you think we can best bridge this gap created by studying at home?

A. As mentioned earlier, I believe that the significant educational disparities among students are due to differences in environment, not differences in talent. In other words, to bridge the gap between students, it is necessary to address the environmental differences by adopting the learning methods of students who achieve higher grades. Forming groups together and having them teach each other their areas of expertise, thereby reducing the distance between students and promoting communication, would be an effective measure.

Q: There are still many things I'd like to ask, but our time is almost up. If you had to pick one key point from this discussion, what would it be?

A. Environmental factors play a significant role in differences in student performance. How about incorporating new and trendy learning methods? In fact, talent factors that contribute to differences in performance are crucial when they are built upon that foundation.

Q: Thank you very much. We will conclude the interview here for today. We hope to have another opportunity to work with you in the future.

So, actively participating in lectures can lead to improved academic performance, right? That's all. Thank you for your continued growth. This is Watanabe Ten. See you again, Alpha.