The CEO's Wallet Was Filled with a Way of Thinking
— The 'True Nature of Money' Seen Through Two Fiscal Closings —
I have finished my second fiscal closing since starting the business.
During the first closing, everything was just numbers, anxiety, and unpredictability.
With the second, I felt like I could finally see 'what money is' just a little bit.
But to be precise,rather than 'learning about money',
it was that 'my own way of thinking about facing money had changed'.
At first, 'money remaining = peace of mind'
At the beginning of the business, I only looked at the numbers in the ledger.
I would feel relieved when there was a profit and anxious when there was a deficit; it is natural, but
I thought that if I cut expenses and chased sales, I could 'find peace of mind if I had money'.
Even when monthly sales were in the black,
some part of my heart was always covered in a 'vague anxiety'.
The balance between the money I wanted to keep in the company and my household income.
Aligning my way of thinking and direction with my partner.
Not knowing the right answer, I felt anxious... and we clashed more than once.
The 'true nature' of money seen in the second fiscal closing
One year, then two years.
Little by little, I began to see the flow of the business.
What I realized was—
that money is a 'result' and something that exists 'after a choice'.
The company's sales, profits, and the money that enters the household (executive compensation),
they are all,the accumulation of where I spent my time and what I believed in when making decisions.Therefore, the anxiety about money did not come from the 'amount of money', but from a 'lack of confidence in my decisions'.
What should be put in a CEO's wallet
Now, I think this way.
・What should be put in a wallet is not just banknotes
・What is needed is 'decisions that lead to the future' and 'solid values'
From 'protecting' money to 'utilizing' it.
Look at the flow rather than the immediate future. Choose investment over consumption.
This is closer to a 'philosophy of life' than 'asset management'.philosophy of life.
These were two years of facing myself through money
Before I knew it, by facing money, I was facing myself deeply.
The numbers lined up in the financial statements were traces of hard work, records of hesitation, and
the accumulation of 'choices' that I had shown to no one.
While being swayed by the waves of sales,
'What was I afraid of?'
'Why did I make that decision?'
Values, resolve, anxiety, and what I believed in—everything, both right and wrong, is reflected.
That is precisely why I think clearly now.
These two years have been, more than 'earning money',
a path to building my own values through 'money'.And that will continue from here on out.
Quietly, surely, as my own unique philosophy.