Creating a Refreshing Morning Life for modern individuals is often a continuous cycle of tension and irritation. I, too, experienced a meltdown yesterday. Psychologist Donald Altman suggests in his book "One-Minute Mindfulness" that investing just one minute each day can lead to a healthier and happier life. He advises learning from animals like dogs and cats for starting the day calmly. These furry friends gracefully stretch their bodies, extending their legs forward and arching their backs as they wake up, beginning their mornings peacefully. Rather than leaping out of bed as soon as you wake up, Altman suggests taking one minute to gently touch each cell from head to toe with a loving heart. Say hello, "Good morning," and do some simple stretches to welcome the day. Before going to bed, offer yourself words of comfort, acknowledging your efforts throughout the day. Keeping your surroundings tidy every day also contributes to a peaceful mind. A cluttered environ

  Embrace Your Dreams Nobel laureate Professor Shinya Yamanaka, born in Osaka in 1962, once considered himself an incompetent surgeon who would spend two hours on surgeries others could finish in just 20 minutes, admitting he would have been in big trouble if his patients weren't his junior high school classmates. Despite his struggles and doubts, he ventured to the United States in search of the cause of intractable diseases and delved into stem cell research. Upon his return to Japan, he made a groundbreaking discovery that inserting four genes into ordinary cells like hair and skin cells could transform them into stem cells, eventually earning him the Nobel Prize. Reflecting on Professor Yamanaka's life story, I ponder the essence of happiness. His life is infused with humor, positivity, and a clear, bold vision. These two factors are characteristic of resilient innovators who never give up on their dreams and continue to forge ahead against all odds.

  Embrace Failure Do you know James Dyson, the protagonist of the success story who developed the cyclonic vacuum cleaner, generating annual sales of over ￡3 billion despite setbacks in life and business? "Listen to no one's words. Consumers themselves don't know what they want. You just have to read consumers' habits and offer something that surprises them. You have to lead what you've created to be liked by consumers." In the past, vacuum cleaners would often stop or lose performance after about 10 minutes of use, as fine dust would get stuck in the paper filter. James Dyson got the idea from observing cyclones in a cattle feed factory and successfully developed the cyclone vacuum cleaner in a cold and humid British suburb in 1992, designing, manufacturing, experimenting, and producing it alone. To protect his patent, he also fought terrible lawsuits in the US and Europe. The key to success, as he says, is to fall in love with the product you want to invent.

  Essential Conditions for Happiness In the morning, when you go to make yourself a cup of tea and press the hot water button, but find that the water bottle is empty!!! "Oh, well~~~ Time for fresh water!" Positivity even arises when you're lifting the water bottle! Is happiness really that distant? Just change your mindset, and everything around you is filled with happiness.

  Disruptive Thinking In the era of fierce competition, oversupply, and a time where if you're not number one, no one remembers you, Luke Williams' "Disrupt" suggests that it's not about being the best, but about being the only one. As Jerry Garcia sings in his song "Touch of Grey," "We're not trying to be the best. We're trying to be the only ones who can do this." Here, disruption means destruction. Disruptive thinking!!! To achieve what no one else has thought of or done, one must engage in disruptive thinking. And the only way to cultivate this ability is by honing seemingly unremarkable skills like design, empathy, and play. Williams reveals the 5-step formula for disruptive thinking: 1. Formulate disruptive hypotheses. 2. Observe disruptive market opportunities. 3. Generate several disruptive ideas. 4. Flesh out the ideas into disruptive single solutions. 5. Convince investors with a disruptive presentation. The conventional wisdo

  The future talent archetype: Bricholer These days, college students are living busy lives, studying intensely and building up their resumes due to job market concerns. It seems harder to find the campus romance of old. The problem is that the criteria companies want in a candidate often differ greatly from what students think, and those criteria are also evolving. Professor Yoo Young-man's book, "Bricholer," highlights the future talent archetype mentioned by anthropologist Levi-Strauss. "Bricholer" is a term that emerged from observing African natives, referring to someone who can effortlessly build a house with mere scraps like boards, stones, or a blunt saw or hammer. Rather than being a systematic accumulator of knowledge, a "Bricholer" is closer to a seasoned expert who has gained astute insight and vision through experience. Firstly, they have a keen interest in other fields based on their expertise in their own. Secondly, they pursue the fusio

  You are a late-blooming flower I had friends who were child prodigies, especially one who played the piano exceptionally well and was very popular. Now, in middle age, seeing how they live their lives when we meet with friends, the image of those friends who showed signs of genius at that time living ordinary lives, and others who were not particularly memorable now being active in the center of society, reminds me of the comforting words of Sister Kim In-sook: "You are a late-blooming flower." I am raising two boys. The older one has grown up very maturely, and I am always grateful for that, but I worry about the younger one because he loves computer and smartphone games too much. However, looking back at my friends and myself, I smile, thinking, "Yes, you are a late-blooming flower." The original meaning of education (Educare) is "to lead out." It's not about putting in knowledge but about discovering talents. I think our country's education sy

  Obstacles are meant to be overcome Throughout life, everyone encounters obstacles and trials. I, too, often find myself facing difficulties and feeling weary. The saying, "Obstacles are not meant to make you stumble, but to make you leap over them," and "Everyone falls down. But it's getting back up right there that matters," give me the strength to rise again. Having the most advanced compass and navigation system is useless if there is no destination. Kim Hyun-tae discusses how to overcome obstacles in life in "The Story of the Perfume Whale." It's essential to know clearly what you're living for in life to find happiness. Many times, working life makes you wonder if it's not for the sake of others. But ultimately, thinking beyond dreams leads you to find the true goal of your life. People say they want to become rich. However, their answers to what they want to do with all that money often reveal deep uncertainties. To live a life with

The Clenched Fist There are times when everything feels tiresome. It's when you gaze at the ceiling and let your body relax. Seth Godin, in "The Dip," advises me to quit. Why would someone who selectively offers us good words in books like "Starting Habits" and "Here Come the Weirdos" tell me to give up? He admits he feels the temptation to quit almost every day. The saying that winners never quit is a lie, he bluntly states. The conclusion, though disappointing, is concise: "Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other." This is because obstacles (dips) are tediously strewn across the path to becoming the best at anything, and 99% of people quit during this process. Some unfortunately quit right at the threshold. The 1% who persevere become the scarce and successful ones. For example, the hurdles employers deliberately create in resumes, interviews, and dressing requirements for job seekers are meant

  A Series of Temptations Andreas Loizou, who worked in the finance industry and is now in prison, exposes the immorality of large financial organizations in "Devil's Deal," revealing conspiracies he personally experienced in countries like the UK and the US. Many companies, although financially affluent, issue bonds to raise funds. The reason is that giving some of the profits to bondholders who are favorable to them is better than paying taxes to the government. The interests of invisible shareholders take a back seat. Financial experts create and inflate bubbles to maximize profits. Then they leave, saying, "Leave a little for the next person." Economic history shows a cycle of bubbles forming and bursting. Positively speaking, economics is a cycle of growth and decline. Insurance companies, which claim to care about our health and families, don't operate to benefit policyholders. Economics is said to be psychological. Yet, financial experts exploit peopl

  You're not the only one going through a tough time. Due to poverty, a father enrolled his seven-year-old son in a Peking Opera school. The child endured grueling martial arts training from 5 a.m. until late at night, leaving him covered in wounds that never seemed to heal. That child was none other than Jackie Chan. Illiterate and unable to read scripts properly, he had to memorize them for filming. We only remember his smiling face and generous donations, not the painful past and failures he endured. If mountaineer Um Hong-gil had given up after six consecutive failed attempts at climbing from 1989 to 1992, he would not have succeeded in conquering the world's eighth and Asia's first Himalayan 14 peaks. Do you know what Park Ji-sung, Hong Myung-bo, and Son Heung-min, the football players, have in common? They all have flat feet. Some people trip over a stone, grumble, and blame the stone, while others spring up, dust themselves off, and continue on their way. Falling dow

  What will you choose? The poet An Do-hyeon says, "The beauty of this world is not found within the speed of a sleek bullet train but in the slowness it reveals." What's the speed of our lives? When we look at the railway from afar, it seems like the ends might touch, but they keep their distance. Perhaps sustainable and harmonious human relationships also require acknowledging each other's boundaries, much like railway tracks. Despite leaving our phones on all day, we still feel lonely. That's why life might not seem beautiful. Because of loneliness, longing... Maybe the beauty of dusty objects lies in the earnestness of the person who left the marks... There are only two ways to live in this world: to be happy or unhappy. In Alan Cohen's "The Wisest Things Ever Said About Heaven and Hell," a monk goes to visit his master and asks, "Please, tell me about heaven and hell." The master, with a contemptuous laugh, shouted, "Why did I was

Have you been honest? In conversations, phrases like "really," "honestly," "truly," "in fact," "sincerely," and similar expressions are often used. When you converse with someone who uses these words frequently, you might feel a sense of despair about the prevalence of falsehoods and lack of truth in the world. And internally, you might think, 'Just how many lies does that person tell?' Relationships begin with trust. Have you been honest?

  Even though we can't live alone, I remember John Steinbeck's Nobel Prize-winning novel "Of Mice and Men," recommended by my eldest son. It's a sad story of friendship between two characters, George and Lennie. George, who is responsible and Lennie, who is strong but intellectually challenged, work as itinerant laborers. Lennie, who struggles to control his strength, accidentally commits murder and flees to find work on another farm, only to repeat the mistake again. However, Lennie is not just a nuisance to George. George says to Lennie, "Because... because I got you, and you got me. That's why." They rely on each other. Humans find it difficult to endure loneliness. That's why we eagerly seek friendships, companionship, and love. Eventually, we face separations. After all, we're living on borrowed time. Despite the conflicts we experience with the friends we eagerly sought, we still seek out new friendships. These two friends, despite ever

  Rock-paper-scissors The morning news once again begins with stories of conflict. The opposition party revealed evidence of the National Intelligence Service's interference in the 2012 presidential election, which clearly constitutes a breach of national security. They pledged to uncover the truth through a parliamentary investigation and take responsibility. The ruling party claims that even members of the opposition had contact with NIS personnel during the election period, thus arguing that the opposition is not free from guilt. Furthermore, amid controversies including violations of the National Archives Act, the ruling party is attempting to shift the tide by launching an offensive regarding former President Roh Moo-hyun's remarks on the abandonment of the Northern Limit Line (NLL) during the inter-Korean talks. The aftermath of the Four Major Rivers Project initiated during the Lee Myung-bak administration still lingers. The Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport