The Winter Olympics are being held in Italy. It appears that Japan’s delegation includes world-class athletes in a variety of sports, and I look forward to their performance. That said, I have never actually watched any of the competitions live; I only learn about the results through media such as television and newspapers. Of course, one reason I do not watch in real time is the time difference between Italy, where the Games are being held, and Japan. However, I believe the decisive reasons are that I am not very familiar with many of the Winter Olympic sports and that, compared with sports like soccer or baseball, many of them feel less exciting to watch. For the athletes representing their countries, the Olympics are a once-in-a-lifetime stage where long-held dreams and aspirations are fulfilled. For viewers, however, they are just one form of content that offers suspense, tension, and excitement. Seen from this perspective, the Winter Olympics compete not only with other sporting events—soccer at the pinnacle—but also with Netflix, YouTube, television, and films as part of the broader content landscape, all vying for consumers’ attention.

What I have written so far may seem rather uninspiring. Let me shift the focus and turn to a different perspective on dreams and goals. I believe that the Olympics are, in essence, simply a content business. However, the leading figures who make it what it is—the athletes—are individuals who have staked their lives on striving to reach the very top in a single pursuit. I hold a deep sense of respect for such individuals. That is because, as a fellow human being, I find myself truly admiring—almost envying—the fact that they have continued to hold on to their dreams and goals, and have taken on extraordinary challenges and efforts to pursue them. With that in mind, I would like to share here some of my own reflections on dreams and goals.

It is unlikely that any of the athletes competing in the Olympics arrived there by chance. They must have set clear goals—such as representing one’s country or winning a gold medal at the Olympics—and continued preparing themselves to achieve them. Let me offer a concrete example. Although not an Olympic athlete, Shohei Ohtani—arguably the baseball player most familiar to us Japanese as a fellow elite athlete—provides a good illustration. When he was a first-year high school student, he set a goal of being selected first overall in the professional draft by eight teams. To make that goal a reality, he reportedly created a mandala chart. He placed his central goal—being drafted first overall by eight teams—at the center, and around it wrote out the specific factors necessary to achieve that major objective. Some of those factors were concrete targets, such as throwing a 160km/h fastball, while others related to qualities like character and even luck. He then broke those factors down further into more specific components, refining them step by step until they translated into concrete daily actions.

Young children often say, “I want to be a doctor when I grow up.” Teenagers may set their sights on goals such as getting into the University of Tokyo, becoming a lawyer, or becoming a business leader. I believe having such dreams and goals is truly wonderful. However, many of them will never come to fruition.

So what, then, distinguishes Olympians and athletes like Ohtani from the many people who are unable to realize their dreams and goals? If asked, many would likely answer, “talent and effort.” It is certainly true that Ohtani is physically gifted in ways rarely seen. It is also clear that he is capable of extraordinary dedication. But we must not allow our thinking to stop there. We need to understand what enabled him to (1) set a goal, (2) formulate a plan, and (3) continue carrying it out.

I believe advancing from step (1) to steps (2) and (3) depends on whether a strong determination or conviction—an unwavering resolve to achieve one’s dreams and goals at any cost—takes root within a person. Let us refer to this as a sense of deep internal conviction.

Having a dream or goal is not enough. It is when deep internal conviction takes root that one’s life truly reaches a breakthrough. Many people are unable to generate this conviction. So how can it be cultivated? If there were a guaranteed formula for doing so, anyone could succeed. But of course, no such simple answer exists. That said, we can consider a few hypotheses.

For example, it may be that by continuing to pursue a single endeavor and pushing past a certain point, a sense of enjoyment begins to emerge—and that this, in turn, leads to conviction. This may be similar to the phenomenon in which someone who initially forces themselves to go to the gym, despite finding it painful, eventually reaches a point where they begin to say, “It’s fun,” or “I feel restless if I don’t workout everyday.” The state known as a runner’s high could be understood in much the same way.

Religious organizations seek to instill their doctrines and expand their followings through practices such as the daily chanting of sutras. By repeatedly hearing the same teachings and engaging in the same practices, a sense of deep conviction may eventually take root—this is another possible explanation. At times, religious groups demand excessive donations from their followers, which can become a social issue. It may be an uncomfortable observation, but perhaps such followers have, at some fundamental level, developed a deep sense of conviction toward the organization.

What I have shared above are merely hypotheses, without any firm evidence. However, there is one important point: a sense of deep internal conviction gives rise to reverse-order thinking.

In Ohtani’s case mentioned earlier, the goal was clearly defined: to be drafted first overall by eight teams. Once that goal truly settled within him—once deep internal conviction took hold—what needed to be done to achieve it became clear. This is what I mean by reverse-order thinking. It is the practice of working backward from a future goal—identifying what must be done before reaching it, then what must be done before that—until the process ultimately narrows down to what must be done today.

To sum up: Dream or Goal + Deep Internal Conviction = Reverse-Order Thinking → Realization of the Dream or Goal.

That is all for this time. What I wish to emphasize is this: when it comes to the dreams and goals individuals hold, strong conviction is essential—it is how deeply it takes root within a person that makes all the difference. This conviction gives rise to reverse-order thinking, and that way of thinking becomes the driving force behind achieving one’s goals. In that sense, Olympic athletes are a group of people whose goals have settled deep at the core of their being. People often say that someone’s talent has blossomed. I would argue that it is not that talent blossomed first; rather, because their goal truly took root within them, their talent blossomed as a result—not the other way around.

I believe this principle applies not only to individuals but also to organizations, such as companies, and even nations. If the opportunity permits, I would like to return to this topic on another occasion.

Hirotaka Shimizu
Chairman and CEO
Kamakura Shinsho, Ltd.

Image material：PIXTA