"The Power of Eastern Thought to Build Your Foundation of Strength" (Burenai jiku wo tsukuru toyo shiso no chikara) has been published in Japanese, co-authored by Yoshifumi Taguchi, a leading scholar in Eastern thought and Chinese literary classics, and myself, Junko Edahiro. Much has been written about the messages of Eastern thought on strategy and leadership for managers and leaders, but we have written this book for a broader audience of young people, parents with children, company employees, housewives, seniors and more. Below is an excerpt of the introduction.

Summary starts here.

An era of seemingly continuous growth is ending, and things that we once believed were absolutely solid are now on shaky ground.

In this age of uncertainty what can we do to be true to ourselves and live with a sense of fulfillment, so that every day we can say "today was another good day"?

Are children in Japan happy today? How should we raise our children in a society growing increasingly diverse in its sense of values?

If childhood is the spring of life, a person's twenties, thirties and forties are like the summer. In this period when we feel full of energy, if we think about a life span of more than a hundred years, how should we challenge and refine ourselves, and grow?

Then from late forties to the fifties, it's autumn. But in an era when people might live to over one hundred, many people will still have another fifty years. How should we prepare today for the second half of our lives? How can we build our own foundation of strength?

The sixties and seventies and beyond are like winter. How can we face the prospect of dying while we still also savor the joys of winter?

During today' age of uncertainty, rather than being at the mercy of the demands around us and trends of the times, for us to walk through life in a way that we feel is right for ourselves, we need to have our own core or foundation of strength, something that is solid and steadfast. To create that, Eastern thought can serve as a great platform, a stimulus, and a source of learning.

Eastern thought is a tradition of thought born in Asia and includes Chinese philosophies such as Confucianism and Taoism, plus Indian philosophy, Japanese philosophy, and more. It is well known that Steve Jobs was strongly influenced by Zen. In recent years, trainings based on meditation and Zen have been very popular among Western companies in Silicon Valley and beyond. More and more people are looking to the East as they seek a way to break through the current gridlock of modern Western thought. And indeed, in Eastern thought is the power to break through gridlock in our lives.

In this book, I ask Prof. Taguchi about things from various perspectives and angles, and together we weave a story about how to live happily in an era when people can be alive for a hundred years.

In our childhood we have the challenges and potentials of childhood, in our youth the challenges and potentials of youth, in adulthood the challenges and potentials of adults. From here on many people will spend a much of their lives in their senior years, and that age too has its challenges and possibilities. How has Prof. Taguchi been living the spring, summer, autumn and winter of his life? What can we learn from Eastern thought? I believe that way of living and the essence of Eastern thought that he shares with us can serve as a useful guide for everyone.

Prof. Taguchi often talks about the "good life." That is exactly it. If we can live out a joyful life we will probably be truly happy. But many may think the world is cruel and the future is unpredictable, so even if there is a fleeting moment of happiness, they ask if a joyful life is really possible? But after reading this book, I think you will realize that from any stage of life you can make the next stage be joyful.

As co-author, I could not be happier than if you the reader were able to take one or two steps toward living a resilient, bright and happy life - a joyful life.

by Yoshifumi Taguchi and Junko Edahiro
(Published by Kobunsha)
Introduction (excerpt)