This month I will be traveling to Singapore to conduct lecture-seminars for Singapore Press Holdings (Jan 25), and to the Philippines to conduct a seminar for the Philippine Franchise Association.
One session will focus on Guerrilla Marketing, How to Capture Mindshare in an Attention-Deficit Economy.
http://www.gmarketing-genius.com
Another session will focus on Agility for Mastery in Personal and Professional Life.
I will be introducing new content and products, as well as taking the brand to a new level outside of Japan.
Many good things to come!
My latest book, AGILITY: The Art of Self-Renewal, was released in Japanese in December of 2007.
Energy, Awareness, and Footwork in your personal and professional life.
AGILI comes from the word Agility, the ability to move easily and quickly with both your mental and physical awareness. In the Martial Arts, it is the ability to perform freely under pressure, to improvise from a calm center. In business it is the ability to overcome obstacles and to make things happen. In your personal life it is the ability to remain positive and resourceful in your relationships.
The publication of this book in Japanese marks my 35th year of studying Aikido and Japanese culture. This book is a how-to manual on cultivating three strengths that can help you navigate the rough waters of life: Energy, Awareness, and Footwork. The book provides a foundation philosophy of Self-Renewal and Mastery, derived from over three decades studying the martial art of Aikido. It takes this philosophy into the practical realm of how to survive and thrive in your personal and professional life.
This book was written in Japanese, and there is as yet no English-language edition. However, this website will be dedicated to making the contents and applications revealed in this book available to people in English through newsletters, blog, seminars, and webinars.
For further information, visit http://www.agili.jp
In a world of rapid change, Creativity is more than a luxury. It is a basic survival skill.
Just as artists use various tools and instruments, creative thinkers also use tools to extend their creative powers.
I have experimented and received advanced training in various systems for expanding creativity, and found one that for me outperforms the others in terms of flexibility and productivity.
This system is called the Mandala Chart, and it was developed by my friend and associate Matsumura Yasuo, who has been producing products and researching uses of the Manadala Chart for over 30 years.
Although the method was briefly introduced in English by Michael Michalko, author of CRACKING CREATIVITY: The Secrets of Creative Genius, very little has yet been written in English on this marvelous method. Michael Michalko’s article at Innovationtools.com is a helpful introduction to what he calls the Lotus Blossom Technique.
I prefer to call it the Mandala Chart, as it is called in Japanese, and as a member of the newly formed association to promote Mandala-style thinking, I plan to become actively involved in its promotion.
Look forward to tips and applications to help you use Mandala-style thinking to enhance your creativity and productivity.
I will be presenting at the seminar launching Matsumura Sensei’s new book on January 23. For further information, check the Mandala link on my Mac site.
In 1983, I took up brush calligraphy as a serious art form, writing a book about it in 1990 called SHODO: The Art of Coordinating Mind, Body, & Brush.
Since then I have dreamed of finding a way in which both Japanese and Westerners can appreciate the art of brush calligraphy. I have searched for ways to integrate it into daily life as design, inspiration, and for insight into human character.
Now I have found a place where you can go to enjoy exhibits of calligraphy for the modern interior, purchase or commission original works for your home or office, and even take classes to produce your calligraphy, give shape to meaning and carry a resonant message.
Carre Moji is located in Minami Aoyama, and I have already begun taking classes, through which I will produce one character calligraphy that fulfills my original purpose in making calligraphy culture more accessible to East and West.
Look forward to collaborations, events, and exhibitions in 2008!
What if there was a way to exercise with purpose and with pleasure?
What if you could set your own goals and compete against yourself, with the ability to track your progress online?
What if you could share your purpose and create your own community which could participate both online and offline?
Nike has joined with Apple to make this possible through a remarkable collaboration involving Nike Shoes and the iPod Nano.
http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/
You can buy the Nike + iPod Kit at the Ginza Apple Store.
http://www.apple.com/jp/ipod/nike/
I’ve started my own Nanba Running program, and if you are in Tokyo and want to join me, click here to find out about this month’s Nanba Events.
What better place to enjoy the first sunrise of the year in the Land of the Rising Sun?
Tokyo Tower, 6:52 am, on the first day of the year 2008. First a two-hour wait with the temperature just above freezing.
Your reward is to arrive at the observation deck to watch the earth turn and the cloud curtain drop, letting in the first light of the New Year.
The moment the light penetrated the clouds a chorus of amazement rose from the crowded deck!
The Japanese anthem then saluted the sunrise. A perfect time to hear this hauntingly beautiful melody.
Kimi ga yo wa
Chiyo ni
Yachiyo ni
Sazare ishi no
Iwao to narite
Koke no musu made
May your reign
Continue for a thousand,
eight thousand generations,
Until the pebbles
Grow into boulders
Lush with moss.
Good things come to those who wait!
Welcome to Nanba Note, and Welcome to 2008.
William Reed
