1. Strive Harder than Anyone Else

It is the law of nature that all efforts must be exerted toward survival. This law applies to everything from wildflowers and animals to all of us as well. Inamori tells us that in order to “strive harder than anyone else,” we must first fall in love with our work. If you learn to love your work, you will dedicate yourself further, which will stimulate stronger desires and the creativity to make continuous improvements. “I’m working very hard in my own way” shouldn’t be the level of our effort; we should be able to proudly declare, “I’m striving harder than anyone else.” The key is to fall in love with your work; become engrossed by it; and exert efforts far above others. Striving harder than anyone else will produce wonderful results.

2. Remain Humble

It may sometimes appear that the only people who succeed are those who step on others to get ahead, but this is not true. As shown by proverbs from around the world that emphasize the importance of humility, truly successful people are those who remain humble. We should be mindful of our human potential to become arrogant without even realizing it, which often happens as soon as things start going well in life and at work. There are many people, unfortunately, who achieved great success when they were younger, only to begin tumbling downward toward ruin later in life. This is because they forgot their humility and diverged onto the wrong path. Please never forget this principle to “remain humble,” even when you become successful as the result of striving harder than anyone else.

3. Reflect Daily

Both good and bad attitudes exist within all of us. A good mind is unselfish and altruistic; a bad mind is self-centered. If you make an effort to always think good thoughts and do good deeds, your life will change for the better. To begin this process, you must reflect back on each day and everything you did. For example, seriously contemplate whether you were ever unpleasant or unkind; whether you acted arrogantly; whether you did or said anything that was selfish. Daily reflection is the process of suppressing the bad mind and developing the good, unselfish, altruistic mind. By reflecting on your actions each day, you can elevate your mind, which in turn will lead you to a wonderful life.

4. Appreciate Life

Humans cannot survive alone. We owe our existence to the air, water, food, family, colleagues, and all of society. We are supported by everything that surrounds us. If we think of life in this way, we will naturally be filled with gratitude for being alive. With this sense of gratitude, we can ease our minds and feel peace. If you smile and say “thank you,” to those around you — to your family, for example — they will smile back at you. Thus, words of thanks not only ease your own mind, but also ease the minds and emotions of those around you and create a peaceful, happy atmosphere. Conversely, those people who always feel they are not having their needs met and harbor feelings of discontent rather than gratitude not only create turmoil in their own minds, but also create an unhappy atmosphere for those around them. Your environment can be greatly influenced by whether you feel grateful or discontented.

5. Do Good Deeds and Serve Others Unendingly

The Law of Cause and Effect exists in this world. If you accumulate good deeds, you will be rewarded in life. Altruistic practices fall into the category of good deeds. What’s important in life is thinking good thoughts and doing good deeds. Being kind to others and practicing honesty, sincerity and humility may sound simplistic, but these are the basic, important traits of human existence. You can turn your life onto a better path through the accumulation of good deeds.

6. Don’t Dwell on the Past

Everybody faces failure and makes mistakes in life. This is how we grow. The important thing is to reflect upon your failures so you can avoid repeating them. However, there is no need to prolong your remorse. Emotional distress can bring about mental and physical illness. Having once reflected deeply upon your actions, you should move on to new challenges with swiftness and determination.

We know that only sustainable companies have the opportunity to become great. Protecting the environment is the social responsibility of everyone and every company. We have been working hard to develop products that are useful to customers and society. At the same time, we are also working hard to reduce the carbon footprint of our entire supply chain, and we are committed to adhering to the path of sustainable development in all business activities around the world.

We have been working hard for the following aspects:

• Reducing carbon footprint.
• Engaging in charity work.
• Charitable giving.
• Volunteering in the community.
• Establish company policies that prioritize environmental responsibility.
• Participate in activities benefiting the environment.
• Socially and environmentally conscious investments.
• Purchasing fair trade products.
• Improving labour policies.