This book, written by the founder of Motherhouse, offers a way of thinking for “living life based on your own values, not on others’ answers,” drawing on her real-life experiences.
It’s filled with the realities of challenges, conflicts, and decisions, and has been highly praised for providing “encouragement” and “clarifying doubts.”
●Synopsis
This book is a practical essay in which Eriko Yamaguchi discusses how she built her “own core values” on the following themes:
How to Build Your Own Core Values: The importance of making decisions based on “what you want to do,” without being swayed by others’ opinions or common sense.
Criteria for Decision-Making When You’re Unsure: A thought process for making “choices you won’t regret,” rather than “the right answer.”
How to Face Challenges and Failures: Based on real-life experiences such as betrayal in Bangladesh, financial difficulties, and the struggles of launching a brand.
How to Build a Career: Thinking about your career based on “how you want to contribute to society,” rather than “titles.”
How to Maintain Distance in Relationships: Introducing an attitude for building trust by valuing “who you work with.” Throughout the book, a key feature is how Ms. Yamaguchi’s life philosophy is presented in a “practical form.”
●Impressions
- The importance of “making your own decisions” resonates deeply. Those who tend to try to meet others’ expectations will realize,
“So this is what it means to live your own life.” - Despite being a business book, it has incredible “passion.”
Unlike typical self-help books, it’s based on Ms. Yamaguchi’s “real-life experiences,” making it far more persuasive. - It encourages those who are lost.
I think it’s supported by a wide range of people, including students struggling with career paths, working professionals unsure about their careers, and those considering starting a business, who say, “I’m glad I read this.” - It’s suited to an “era without right answers.”
In an AI-driven, rapidly changing society,
it reaffirmed the importance of “the ability to think for yourself.”
This book is not just self-help;
“It’s a book to help you tell your own life story in your own words.” Even though Ms. Yamaguchi appears successful, she has experienced doubt, anxiety, failure, and loneliness many times.
And yet, she has persevered in “making her own decisions.” That’s precisely why it resonates with me.
