A Life Management Note from a Certain Scholar

A life management note

from a certain scholar

by

Young (Hwa) Kwon

Prologue

Everyone has one life. Life is precious to everyone as it is. Come to think of it, life isn’t that long. Then shouldn’t everyone have a meaning in his life? When I look at the present era, I feel sorry for many people because they seem to just live their lives for no particular purpose. Everyone is living with the same amount of relative time. However, some people are living their lives faithfully, recognizing the purpose of their lives and cherishing the time they were given. A person who is faithful to life based on his purpose makes his life more valuable. Therefore, they differ in their attitude towards life. To make life more valuable, you must make your life richer by managing yourself more thoroughly and developing it in a better way. Everyone has a different definition of success, but this kind of a person can live a successful life.

Everyone has a different way of living his life. But there is always a cause for all the consequences. When we think that success is getting what you want, a successful person has every reason to have success in the way he spends his life. These people are thorough in self-development and know how to control themselves. And they try to live their life in a way that is more helpful to society, not just for their own benefit. Wouldn’t it be better for our society if everyone lived in this world with that attitude?

It is by no accident that we were born into this world at this time. It is said that the probability that we will be born as a human is very low. Being born as a human being is a blessing to everyone. Everyone has a reason for being born in the world. If they fully realize that, they can wholly enjoy such blessings.

So, how can you live your life, so that you don’t regret it when you die? We all need to think about this question deeply. If you’ve never thought of this before, then reflect back on your life, and think. We all have to ask ourselves why we live our lives, what we live for, and how we live our lives. Answering these questions can make our lives more meaningful. 

 Some people are happy with their lives right now and may want to live like they currently do without any specific changes. However, it is this writer’s opinion that it is our duty to live a life which encompasses growth and improvement. Everything in the world is bound to change over time in a progressive direction to suit the circumstances of the time.

It can be exhilarating to adapt well to changes in your life and to grow in a positive direction. Everyone deserves to pursue such a life, which is a way to make life meaningful. 

There are many difficulties and sufferings in life. I also had a difficult time at an early age due to my failure of a high school entrance exam, but I was able to overcome it and become a professor. In such a process of suffering and hardship, human beings tend to grow. And there are many opportunities in life. The person who can seize such an opportunity must be as ready as he can be. There is no such thing as a free lunch. It is natural to pay that much to seize such an opportunity.

To get the opportunity that you want, you also need a determination and a challenge, which can lead to many setbacks. But these are only part of the process of turning you into a more mature human being. Therefore, you can feel great hope and satisfaction in life by not being afraid of anything, and by trying out new things. Can you really enjoy your life if you just live the same life every day without any changes? Human beings are able to taste the real taste of life in a challenging and a growing life. Therefore, I hope you will live a life that grows as you try and fail a lot.

August 2020

Young (Hwa) Kwon

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1. Even if you fail, you can succeed by trying again

1. A challenging life is beautiful

2. Failure is also a medicine

3. Build success in small things

4. Get out of the safety zone

5. Doing anything is important

6. Live a growing life each day

7. Strive

8. Enjoy the risk

9. Be desperate

10. Affirm your success

Chapter 2. What is Life?

1. My life

2. The philosophy of life

3. Past, present and future life

4. An altruistic life

5. Life without comparing to others

6. A valuable life

7. Happiness in life

8. Life and career 

9. Integrity in life

10. The purpose of life

Chapter 3 Self-management in life

1. Habit makes life

2. Focus on one place

3. Have a rational positive mind

4. Speak less and listen intently

5. Reading makes you wiser

6. Meet good people

7. Study constantly

8. Be strict with yourself and generous to others

9. Take good care of your health

10. Do the important thing first

Chapter 4 Attitude towards Life

1. Give meaning to my job

2. An attitude of gratitude

3. Go the right way

4. Be faithful to life

5. Adapt to change

6. Have constant curiosity about everything

7. Question yourself first

8. Don’t make excuses or blame others

9. Change self first

10. Control yourself first

Chapter 5 Goals in Life

1. Are you satisfied with your life?

2. The mission statement of life

3. A once-in-a-lifetime life

4. Imagine your own possibilities

5. Decide firmly

6. Have a definite goal

7. Have conviction

8. Focus on the basics

9. Think differently than others

10. The determining factor

Epilogue

Chapter 1.

Even if you fail, you can succeed by trying again

Everyone can succeed by trying again even after failing in life. We always experience failure in the course of our lives but we can learn from the experience. You don’t truly live in this world if you don’t fail. The most important thing to focus on is, who of us can recover quickest and try again. If such failures are built up, you can learn a lesson and experience how to fail through failures, making it easier to succeed next time. Furthermore, through failure, you can look into yourself and get a chance to reflect on yourself. In my opinion, I think if life is like an ocean, it’s more dangerous if we don’t fail, because if we don’t know the bitterness and the pain of failure, it is harder to weather the rougher seas ahead.

There is a high possibility that a person who doesn’t challenge themselves for fear of failing will regret it before he dies. Challenges to get what you want must be risky and you should know how to take it and enjoy it. Furthermore, everyone must suffer from a pain and a hardship to grow. Therefore, everyone should take for granted the failure that comes in the process of a challenge. Only those who can enjoy these challenges and failures can get what they truly want. In addition to this, we have to struggle with desperation in the process of trying to get what we want. Whatever you want, you need to be desperate to achieve it. This means that your desire for success can be fought with passion. Furthermore, in order to have a higher chance of success, you must frequently affirm yourself that you will succeed. As young people in the Fourth Industrial Revolution era, I implore you to embrace failure in the process of this challenge.

1

A challenging life is beautiful

Let’s consider a life that doesn’t challenge? It’s likely this type of life will be monotonous and boring. If you live a stable life without worrying about anything, you may feel comfortable, but you’ll feel as though something is missing. From my perspective, this is what we should avoid at all costs. Of course, there are people who don’t think so. However, life is short, and just living comfortably is an empty life. Imagine instead as an example living a life full of beauty. There is such a person who lives such a beautiful life; Han, Biya, the daughter of the wind. She gives dreams and hope to many young people by constantly challenging new things throughout her life. Despite her elderly status, she continues to challenge herself with her heart-stopping work. She left the following wise words about the challenge:

If you were born as a camel, go to the desert and challenge yourself. If you were born as a tiger, go to the forest and challenge yourself. Camels in the forest and tigers in the desert can’t find their dreams. Don’t worry about what you’ll eat. Challenge yourself by wanting something so desperately that you go beyond that worry.

This advice can guide us on where we should be heading. Challenges mean a lot to her and that is why she lives life beautifully. Life is not about following another’s path, but about challenging yourself with a new path that others have not yet taken.

Life’s journey is a series of challenges. Can we achieve what we want without challenging ourselves? You can’t get what you want just by waiting. You can get what you want only by trying. And you have to sacrifice for what you truly want.

It’s not worth it if we get it for free. To take up the challenge, we have to get out of our comfort zone and put up with inconvenience. Most people want to stay in safety zones. If this happens, there will be no growth or development. On the contrary, there is a greater chance of retrogression. If you don’t have an attitude that can handle being inconvenienced, you’ll only pursue comfort. Comfort can be a poison to life. A person can only grow up when he suffers from a failure and a hardship while being challenged. The result is, you can feel a sense of accomplishment and joy in the process of a challenge.

I have also tried many things in the past and I am not afraid of challenges now. Of course, I used to be a little scared and unsure when I tried new things at first. However, if you continue to challenge yourself, you will get used to the work and gain steady confidence. A variety of challenges will give you a know-how, an experience, a confidence and speed up your growth.

Therefore, as challenges pile up, you can quickly get used to anything and do it well. That doesn’t mean you should challenge everything. Time is finite, so that’s not possible. Life is short enough even if you only take up the challenges of what you want.

In Stan Beecham’s book Elite Minds, he discovers that we can never live our lives fully unless we live challenging lives. This is because human beings need to engage in rigorous physical activity to release the highest levels of endorphins¹ in our body. He also said, You have to fulfill your mission and feel a sense of accomplishment before you can get dopamine² out. Humans inherently push themselves and their bodies to the limit, and in return the body rewards us.

As such, if you continue to pursue challenges in life, you will feel less pain and more joy, which will make your life more meaningful.

Not only this, but the joy of accomplishing a challenging task, gives you a real taste of life. Isn’t that why we live our lives? It gets the heart beating to challenge something that you want to do, and you feel a lot of joy in the process of it. Of course, there are times when you face hard and difficult tasks. However, you can feel happy and rewarded when you achieve something that is hard and difficult. Many people regret that they did not do what they wanted to do when they were younger. Why didn’t I challenge myself? That’s what I’m talking about. Are you confident that you won’t regret not challenging yourself, before you’re too old to do it? Perhaps, many people who are in my generation now may also regret the challenges they didn’t attempt in their youth. But age doesn’t matter to the challenge. Don’t focus on age or other excuses. I challenge you to remember this: Carpe diem - seize the day.

Lao Tzu said, Talent is innate. However, most people do not realize their talents for the whole of their lives. If you try it right now, you’ll see. Yes, you should try to find out what you are good at. So why don’t you try it? Isn’t it possible that you might have a talent for the job?

He who always challenges stays young. He who is so busy trying doesn’t have time to grow old. How interesting is life? 

Are you too afraid to challenge yourself for fear of failure? If there is anything you want, your life will be a great joy when you get it. Of course, the joy in the challenging process may be greater than the result. Challenge is a beautiful thing.

2

Failure is also a medicine

What comes to mind when you hear the word failure? If you think of frustration and despair, think again. If you can’t think of anything else, that’s most likely why you can’t succeed. There is a saying that failure is the mother of success. Only when you experience a failure, you can succeed. Or rather, it is more dangerous to succeed without a falling first, because it’s hard to maintain success after success, if you didn’t first fail. To succeed without experiencing failure can lead to becoming conceited and arrogant. However, the more a person has failed, the more difficult it is to have conceit and arrogance. Therefore, a person who has experienced failures many times and then succeeded is likely to maintain success longer than a person who has succeeded without experiencing such failure. So what is a real failure? 

In my opinion it’s a failure if you aren’t challenged. It’s the loser who doesn’t try. A failure is often a medicine for an individual in the course of a challenge. And the more you experience failures, the closer you get to success. Because the more you fail, the more you realize how you fall, so you learn how to get up. Thus, the more failures you have, the less likely you will fail in the future and you will get more chances of succeeding. Furthermore, through failures, you