Life is inherently painful. We can recognize that we do not have a clear understanding of things within the constraints of language. We often experience great confusion about our identity and realize that traversing the realm of the divine is necessary to resolve this confusion. Furthermore, due to our meager pride, we often suffer numerous wounds. Therefore, wandering through life is natural. Through human relationships akin to a fireplace, we frequently receive burns like catching a cold. Thus, loneliness becomes the only option we choose, even though we cannot live alone. While reading works such as Machiavelli's "The Prince," Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and self-help books, we learn numerous interpersonal skills. However, the answers have already been available for thousands of years. We even learned them perfectly during elementary school. Flowers bloom according to the seasons. People are no different. Just ...

  The Eternal Corporate Being Everyone wants to live a long life. Furthermore, many wish not to die, not to age, and to live forever. In reality, this is deemed impossible. However, there is a way - creating a corporation that can exist indefinitely. Recently, the chairman of the well-known hiking gear maker Black Yak sparked controversy again by assaulting airport service staff, reigniting the debate on the abuse of power by the so-called 'giants'. In October 2013, lawmaker Lee Hak-young revealed the process of 'dealer splitting' as he disclosed an audio file of a Amorepacific sales team manager verbally abusing a dealer and demanding they relinquish their operating rights. This followed the revelation of Namyang Dairy's practice of forcing products onto dealers, causing social outcry just a few months prior. Among the major domestic retail companies, it was found that "E-Mart" received the highest amount of remuneration from suppliers. The Fair Trade Com...

#  When digging a well, dig it properly. You probably have several umbrellas at home. While in the past umbrellas were mainly functional for keeping rain away, in recent times they have become part of fashion and even luxury items, riding on the popularity of golf sports. In this context, there's a company called Dusukha who produces high-end umbrellas priced at tens of thousands of dollars. In the 1980s, umbrellas were a major export item for Korea, with over 600 umbrella manufacturers in the Daegu region alone. However, cheap Chinese imports have now almost entirely taken over the domestic market. Instead of competing with low-cost Chinese products, Dusukha decided to focus on quality and technology, becoming the only domestic manufacturer of high-quality umbrellas, growing steadily for the past 25 years. They use advanced fiber-reinforced plastics typically found in golf clubs or fishing rods for umbrella frames to enhance durability and reduce weight. Additionally, they were th...

  Common traits of successful cafes: Storytelling : Successful cafes often have compelling stories behind them, which resonate with their customers. These stories create emotional connections and differentiate the cafe from others. Communication : Effective communication, especially through platforms like social media, allows cafes to engage with their customers, expand their stories, and build a loyal community. Participation : Engaging customers in the cafe's operations or activities fosters a sense of ownership and belonging, strengthening their connection to the cafe. Involvement of Coffee Experts : Having coffee experts involved in the operation of the cafe ensures the quality of the products and enhances the overall experience for customers. Investment from Like-minded Individuals : Successful cafes often receive investment from individuals who share the same values and vision, providing not just financial support but also moral and emotional backing. For example, cafes like ...

  Enter through the narrow gate These days, after a long time of neglecting English books, I found myself struggling to remember words and getting confused with spellings. So, I borrowed André Gide's "Strait is the Gate" from the library, which is part of the "Time and Tide English Library" series that I used to enjoy reading. I wanted to reread it as part of my English study and to revisit a classic. This novel is the autobiographical story of André Gide, a Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. The decisive moment when André Gide decided to propose to his cousin Alissa, whom he admired with his teenage heart, was a sermon by a pastor. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Reading this passage, I reflect on my life. Living, it's comfortable to go through wide gates. They alle...

  Stop the scale competition Every manager dreams of having all employees feel a sense of ownership and cherish and love the company. Ultimately, a successful company depends on how much dedication its employees have. As someone once said, "A manager is someone who treats company money as his own, and an administrator is someone who treats company money as company money. Management is about making every employee a manager." So, recently, many companies provide extensive training programs and competitive welfare systems for their employees. But how effective are they really? To solve the problem, you need to face the essence of the problem head-on. In "A Company with Heart" by John Abrams, co-president of South Mountain, tells a story of making every employee a manager. It is said that in the ancient Roman army, each soldier's daily ration was a large loaf of bread for two soldiers. The problem was that the soldiers often fought over who would get the larger port...

  Serve your customers A boy who manages other people's garden called a house. "Hello, ma'am. Do you happen to need someone to mow the lawn?" The homeowner replied, "Sorry, we already have someone who mows the lawn." The boy said again, "I can also pull out weeds from the flowerbed, not just mow the lawn." "We have a kid who's doing that job very well already. Sorry, we're all set." Unable to say anything more to the lady, the boy hung up the phone. At that moment, his colleague asked, "Isn't that the house you've been taking care of for years? Why did you suddenly make a call like that?" The boy replied, "Yeah, I just wanted to see how much work I've been doing!" This story from Kim Gyoun's "The Leader's Sword" illustrates the importance of periodically checking the quality of your service to your customers. Acquiring new customers requires tens of times more effort than retaining...

  Build a pipeline Burkhegeses says that the reason modern people struggle with time or finances is because they don't know the rules of the wealthy. "Today, 80% of millionaires are self-made." In a village, there were two water keepers, Bruno and Pablo. Bruno faithfully tended to the water and earned money, but Pablo, knowing he couldn't be a water keeper for life, worked half a day and spent the afternoons digging a pipeline from the river to the village over two years. While Bruno earned money, his body grew weak from the hard labor, and the amount of water he could carry decreased over time. Meanwhile, Pablo, with a fully functional pipeline, expanded his business and enjoyed prosperity in his later years. Living a life of spending everything earned daily leaves no future. You need to invest a portion of your day in the future. Firstly, they recommend long-term compound interest savings. There's the Rule of 72. To find out how long it takes for money to double...

  "Becoming Wealthy" If you want to become wealthy, they say you should befriend the wealthy. You need to know how they behave. Let me introduce a parable from Kim Gyeon's "Leader's Sword": A raised fat sheep, B raised poor cows, and C didn't raise anything. One day, poor C, with nothing to his name, went to A and said, "I won't exchange all five of your sheep for one of my cows." A readily agreed. Then, C went to B and said, "I'll give you two fat sheep for one of your cows." B also readily agreed. After a few more exchanges, A ended up raising cows, B ended up raising sheep, and C ended up raising both cows and sheep. Eventually, A and B lost all their livestock, while C ended up with both cows and sheep. The Statue of Liberty in New York, a gift from France in 1886 to commemorate America's centennial of independence, symbolized the pride of Americans who crossed the ocean in search of freedom, as its original name, ...

  "Do you believe in luck?" Malcolm Gladwell once said that luck played a very significant role in the success of successful people. It's like the old saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold." Even in the Chinese classic "The Analects of Confucius," it is mentioned that no matter how talented you are, you need to meet a nobleman to truly shine. It requires the ability to recognize nobility and the preparation to be noticed by noblemen. Even legendary figures like Henry Ford failed twice in the automobile business before succeeding with the help of a nobleman named Alexander Malcomson. Boxer Mike Tyson's life took a turn when he got into trouble as a young boy, went to a juvenile detention center, and met boxing coach Cus D'Amato. And Croc fell in love with the taste of hamburgers from McDonald's operated by the McDonald brothers, which eventually led him to great success in the franchise business. It's said that in order to meet noblemen,...

A Generous Life Doug Lawson speaks in "The Special Gift of Giving" about why we should donate. In Michigan's Traverse City, a study of 2,700 volunteers over ten years revealed a mortality rate 1.5 to 2 times lower than the control group. Dr. Sheila Bennett, an anthropology professor at Columbia University, concluded from her five-year stay in Russia's Caucasus region, where people live to be 140-150 years old, that the key factors include having religion, emotional connection among residents, compassion for the weak, and respect for the elderly. Dr. Norman Vincent Phil, who studied insurance policyholders who lived to be over 100, found that many were free from negative emotions like anger, hate, suspicion, guilt, and worry. The conclusion was that self-esteem and a positive attitude toward life were the sources of health and happiness. In the United States, there has been a recent increase in individuals donating over $50 million, with three donations exceeding $1 bi...