Hiro

Hiro's Action Shots
Without any college degree, without any business background and with little pocket money, I opened up a business in the telecommunication industry in New York at the age of 28. In order to achieve my financial goal, I worked hard. From scratch, I made my company into a 12-million-dollar operation within 3 years. At that time, I enjoyed making my business grow.
My job provided an opportunity for me to grow and gave me satisfaction in some ways. However, I realized that there are more valuable ways to fulfill myself in this life.
One day, I asked myself why I had spent most of my efforts and time in the office. The more revenue the company gained, the more I became isolated in the business world. I had no freedom outside of this tiny field.
Is work an essential part of my entire life and happiness?
The answer I came to is "no." I realized that life is not equal to work. I find personal fulfillment through challenge and peace of mind.
But remember, you will not survive comfortably in this capitalistic world without sufficient money. If you have enough savings or passive income to support yourself and your family (if you choose to have a family,) you will have more freedom than you could ever imagine.
People frequently ask me, "don't you get bored?" or "why don't you work for 10 more years?" My answers are "no." I don't get bored because there are so many things I would like to discover and try besides establishing my career and building more wealth. I believe that succeeding in life as a human being is something more than accomplishing career goals.
Now, I have four freedoms:

-Freedom of finance
-Freedom of action
-Freedom of time
-Freedom of location

Once I achieved the four freedoms, I turned to my weak field: education. I wanted to challenge myself. So, the age of 34, I went back to school. I had to deal with a lot of reading, studying and writing papers. I had never done such intense studying in my life. I really struggled. I even cried. It was lonely and discouraging. But in the end, I graduated from both Tufts University and Harvard Business School. Once I paid my dues, I decided to move to paradise, Maui, yeah!
In my new life, I take advantage of the four freedoms by traveling, surfing, kitesurfing, tow-in surfing and doing yoga every day. I can do whatever I want whenever I want here in paradise or somewhere else in the world. I love the challenge of surfing at Jaws, the biggest and nastiest place to surf in the world.
I won't be able to go out in the big waves when I'm over 50. I need to face these physical challenges while I am still young. This means sacrificing addiction to work and recognizing the importance of experience. Once you make enough money, prioritizing lifestyle above work is the key to enjoying life and building a better future. Youth, and its associated potential for growth and positive change, is more valuable than making more money.
When I have children someday, I will spend time playing with them all day every day under the beautiful sun of Maui. I cannot wait to teach them how to catch fish, how to pick fruits, and how to enjoy eating them. I cannot wait to teach them how to surf. Instead of raising kids in a big city providing video games, I'd rather teach them how to play and survive in nature.
I have attempted to share my ideas about this by writing two books in Japanese. One became a bestseller in Japan in 2004 and 2005 and will be translated and published in Korea soon.
Here are some articles about my theories & lifestyle:
Unfortunately, most of you won't be able to read my books because they are not yet translated to English. But I'll share with you some of their basic messages:

If you would like to have an easy & financially secured life in your future, declare your goals clearly and make positive actions. But remember, you will face a lot of problems and obstructions. Nothing is easy. Target your weaknesses. Discipline and condition yourself to make positive change. It is easy to work on your strong qualities, yet challenging and discouraging to improve your weaknesses. Keep in mind the goal to be well-rounded. Don't be scared of making mistakes. Indeed, you learn more from mistakes than from accomplishments. You must welcome them as an opportunity to learn. Remember to find the healthy balance among wealth, enjoyment and living your life. You can always find a way to make more money, but your life and your youth are temporary.

Act Now & Don't Give Up!
Good Luck!
You can also access my website at
http://www.hironakajima.com(in Japanese)
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