This diary entry was written on Sunday, February 1, 2026. Yesterday, I attended a lecture that left a deep impression on me—one of those rare talks that doesn’t just motivate you in the moment, but stays with you long after it ends. The speaker was a business leader in his forties who now runs a large tourist center in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and his life story reminded me that real success often comes from hardship, discipline, and the courage to keep moving forward. As I listened, I found myself reflecting on a simple but powerful idea: challenges don’t have to be something we merely endure—they can become the very opportunities that shape us into stronger, more capable people.
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Sunday, February 1, 2026
Turning Hardship into Opportunity
（困難をチャンスに変える）
Yesterday, I heard a very inspiring lecture from an entrepreneur in his forties who runs a large tourist center in Fukuroi City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The tourist center has a restaurant that can seat up to 700 diners, offers local specialties, and has a wide selection of souvenirs.
I felt that he was a true entrepreneur by nature, because he had already developed an ambition to run his own business back when he was in junior high school. He even worked in a small factory after school and learned first-hand what it was like to earn money.
He worked his way through university while gaining valuable experience in the restaurant business. After graduating, he worked for the tourist center. But at the age of 30, he followed the Confucian principle of 'establishing oneself' at thirty: “At thirty, I took my stand.” He launched a lunch box business in Nagano, a completely unfamiliar place where he had no one he could count on. At times, he even worked late-night part-time jobs—including the graveyard shift—just to support himself. But he made it as a business owner.
Meanwhile, he learned that the tourist center was struggling to stay afloat, especially during the pandemic. His former boss, the president of the tourist center at the time, asked him to save the failing business. He agreed without hesitation, took over the business while it was drowning in debt, and turned the company around.
It must have taken tremendous courage, hard work, and grit to achieve such a V-shaped recovery in such a short time. I was surprised to learn that he trained himself as a chef to replace the head chef, whose management style had become a bottleneck for recruiting and retaining young talent.
Listening to this entrepreneur’s life story at the Saturday morning seminar for business leaders, I was struck by his decisiveness and his ability to make things happen. His energy and passion were truly powerful.
His words were inspiring and encouraging, and they have resonated with me. I once again realized the importance of taking on challenges and believing that things will work out.
At the beginning of his lecture, he shared a quote by Tokugawa Ieyasu: “Take hardship as something natural, and you will not feel dissatisfied.[i]” I can relate to this, but I want to go one step further—not just accepting hardship, but turning it into opportunity.
[i] 不自由を常と思えば不足なし。