You know, I started an online business because I liked the idea of doing everything without having to meet anyone.
Before this, my job involved dealing with people a lot, and I got tired of it. So, I started studying accounting at university to avoid all the hassle. Then, to escape the complexity of accounting, I switched to working on an online business.
For about a year, things started going well for me. It felt like my actions and the knowledge I gained just clicked, leading to a sudden breakthrough.
But you know what? The biggest problem I faced was still figuring out how to engage with people.
Later on, I tried to work with other companies as part of my online business, like an advertising agency. But because I wasn’t good at engaging with people and didn’t try new things, I struggled to find clients and failed.
That was when I realized for the first time that “you have to connect with people” is really important.
Of course, engaging with people is something we have to do our whole lives.
But what I focused on last year and this year was “connecting with myself” and “connecting with my family.”
See, I used to think, “It’s okay for me to sacrifice myself a bit.” Because of this, I held back a lot of things I wanted to say.
But then I started to wonder, “Am I really happy with that? Isn’t true happiness achieved when both myself and those around me are happy?” So, while still being thoughtful about others, I started to face my true self and connect better with those around me.
As a result, my relationship with my kids and wife got much better, and I’ve slowly been able to live in a way that makes me feel good.
And you know what? My business also got better. Even though similar things happened in the past, this time, maybe because I had a strong foundation, I felt confident that I could handle things, even if they got tough, as long as I stuck to the basics and principles.
So, the key to my confidence lies in “connecting with people” and “connecting with myself.” I know I still have a lot to learn, so even though there’s not much time left in 2023, I plan to keep having deep conversations.
