Whether it's 1 million yen or 10 billion yen, it can disappear in an instant

My experience and conclusions regarding money

To me, money is something to be used. It is not something to be saved.

When I say this, people usually give me a look that says, 'That's easy for a rich person to say.'

No. It's the opposite.

This is the conclusion of someone who has been burned by money.

In Japan, there is something of a taboo about revealing your own thoughts on money. People say it's vulgar to talk about money. There is an atmosphere that suggests not earning much is a virtue.

But I believe that talking about money is exactly what people who have experienced it should do honestly.

The world is overflowing with idealistic theories on saving and investment advice that is just hearsay from others. What is missing are the stories of people who have actually held large sums of money and actually come close to losing it all.

So today, I am going to write about that.

Do you know the terror of 30 million yen?

First, I want to talk about the origin of my relationship with money.

When I founded Avex, my capital was 30 million yen.

Looking at it from where I am now, honestly, it is not a large amount. But for me at the time, it was a huge sum that would have ruined me if I failed.

Moreover, I started my business while I was still in university. I didn't have the safety net of a job. There was no guarantee anywhere that things would go well.

That fear is something only those who have shouldered risk can understand.

In the middle of the night, I would suddenly wonder, 'What would happen if all of this vanished?' Thinking about it didn't provide an answer. Even so, when morning came, I had no choice but to open the shop and keep moving.

The value of money is not determined by the amount.It is determined by 'what happens to you if you lose it.'

There are people for whom 30 million yen is a life-staking fortune, and there are people for whom 10 billion yen is a rounding error. Therefore, there is no point in criticizing someone else's sense of money.

However, one thing can be said. It is not strange for someone who started by shouldering risk to receive a corresponding reward when they succeed.

Because if you don't succeed, your reward is zero.

What I thought about when I was told I was 'paid too much'

Back when I was the president of a publicly traded company, my annual compensation was once disclosed in the securities report. It was 408 million yen.

I knew that, in the eyes of the world, people would say I was 'paid too much'.

Even my employees might have thought the same thing. 'Why does the president get paid so much? If that's the case, give us more.'

But my way of thinking was the opposite.

If the president's compensation is 100 million yen, it means that no matter how hard the employees of that company work, they will earn less than 100 million yen.

Isn't that a bit sad?

If those at the top lower the ceiling, the upper limit of the dreams of those working below them automatically lowers as well. I believed that one of the jobs of a leader is to show them, 'If you work hard and produce results, you can go this far in this company.'

A culture where people can talk proudly about earning money makes workers stronger than a culture that is ashamed of receiving it.

This is a conviction that has not changed after 40 years of doing business.

Financial sense only grows through the amount of money you spend

Incidentally, the origin of my financial sense is purchasing records.

When I was a student, I worked at a record rental shop. I had to decide which records to stock and how many with limited funds. I thought about that seriously every single day.

If I guessed wrong on the stock, I'd be left with a mountain of inventory. If I guessed right, the shop would thrive. I repeated the state of having money riding on my own judgment day after day.

Looking back now, that was the best training I could have had.

Financial sense can only be cultivated byrepeating the act of making decisions on how to spend money.

People who only save money never get better at spending it. That's obvious. They haven't practiced. It's the same as someone who buys a baseball bat but never takes practice swings; they won't be able to hit the ball.

So, if I were to say something to young people, it would be this.

Even if it's a small amount, it's better to gain experience inusing money based on your own judgment and taking responsibility for the results yourself.

Whether you spend it on drinks, books, buying back your travel time, or treating someone else, there is no right answer. However, the feeling of whether 'this way of spending was worth it' or 'this way of spending was a waste' will always remain within you.

That accumulation pays off when you are finally in a position to move large sums of money.

When I started my company with 30 million yen, it wasn't because I had guts. I think it was just that I had developed some muscle memory for 'deciding how to spend' through my experience in procurement.

The illusion that 'saving money brings peace of mind'

Some people say, 'I'll save money because I don't know what might happen in the future.'

I understand the sentiment. But if I may speak from my own experience,no matter how much money you have, it is not a source of security.

Suppose, for example, you have 10 billion yen.

You might think, 'If I have 10 billion, it won't disappear that easily.'

It will. In an instant.

Why? Because when you have 10 billion yen, everyone who approaches you will size you up as a '10 billion yen person.'

The deals they bring will be on a 10 billion yen scale. Investment opportunities, business proposals, and troubles will all come at a scale commensurate with that amount.

A 10 billion yen deal won't come to someone who only has 1 million yen. But for someone who has 10 billion yen, deals involving 10 billion yen will come their way.

That is why, when money disappears, it is the same whether it is 1 million yen or 10 billion yen. It happens in an instant.

This is not a story I read in a book. It is a story I have lived through myself.

There was a time in the past when I entrusted the management of my assets to a friend I trusted.

The point is that I trusted them. No one is foolish enough to entrust their assets to someone they suspect. You always entrust them to someone you trust.

As a result, due to various circumstances, I ended up with a large amount of debt.

I worked desperately to pay off that debt. A portion of my work energy during that period was undoubtedly generated by that debt. When people are cornered, they work.

It is not a question of the size of the amount.The very act of 'having' money attracts risk.

I believe this is the true nature of money.

Money automatically rewrites human relationships

Ever since I nearly lost my money, I have become less trusting of people.

After all, whenever someone contacts me saying they want to meet, it's never for a good reason.

This isn't a joke; it's a rule of thumb. When someone asks to meet, they usually have an agenda. And that agenda usually involves my wallet.

Even when they say, 'You'll know who I am if you mention so-and-so from such-and-such,' I have no idea who they are. Yet, people still approach me wearing the face of an 'acquaintance'.

Money changes friendships, too.

People who used to pick fights with me now come crawling, acting subservient. The hierarchy between me and those around me gets rewritten on its own.

In my mind, nothing has changed. It's the others who change on their own.

I'm used to it now. I don't think anything of it anymore.

But I'll be honest. It's a very unpleasant feeling, and it's sad.

So, if you succeed and come into money, I want you to remember this first.

It's not you who changes. It's the people around you.

And when the people around you change, those who change along with them are the ones who fall apart. The moment you mistake being fawned over for your own merit, your downfall has already begun.

Every 'person broken by money' I have ever seen followed this pattern. They weren't broken by the money itself. They were broken by the changes in human relationships that the money brought with it.

'But you just spend whatever you have, don't you?'

I once asked the people around me.

'Why don't I have any money?'

The answer I got was brilliant.

'Well, President, you just spend whatever you have, don't you?'

They were right.

But I have no regrets. As for what I've spent it on, it's because I've spent it to learn things I didn't know.

Go to places you've never been. Meet people you've never met. Eat things you've never eaten. See worlds you've never seen.

All of this costs money. And all of it later became material for making business decisions.

The numbers in a savings account don't teach you anything. But the money you spend becomes experience and stays within you.

Which is truly better for the future: 'saving for the future' or 'spending for the future'? I have lived my life believing without hesitation that it is the latter.

When I was young, that meant material desire.

'I want this, I want that' was the driving force behind my work. Money was nothing more than a tool to acquire things.

But I've bought most things.

So, what became fun next?

Spending money on other people.

For example, treating someone to a meal. Seeing someone else enjoy a delicious meal is more fun for me now than eating one myself.

Writing it this way might make it sound like the platitudes of a philanthropist, but it's not such a noble story.

I do something for someone, and they are happy. Seeing that, I get a sense of pleasure. In short, that's just my nature.

Come to think of it, the entertainment industry itself is like that.

You make the audience happy, and seeing them happy gives you a sense of pleasure.

I think that, in the end, I am an entertainment person to the core.

Money to spend, not money to leave behind

Finally, I will talk a little about the future.

I have thought about what happens after I die. I have also consulted with the appropriate people.

The conclusion was simple.

It's not about leaving behind as much as possible.

If there is a large inheritance, the people left behind will inevitably fight. Siblings who were once close become different people the moment money is discussed. I have seen many such examples.

In other words, money continues to rewrite human relationships even after you are dead.

That is why I have decided to stop enduring things now just to leave money behind unnecessarily.

While I am alive, I will use it to learn things I don't know. I will use it to see people smile. Whatever is left over, I will leave just enough so that those close to me won't struggle. That is enough.

My conclusion about money

To summarize. After doing business for nearly 40 years, this is the conclusion I have reached about money.

1. The value of money is not determined by the amount, but by 'what happens if you lose it'.

For some, 30 million yen is a fortune they have bet their life on. Therefore, there is no point in comparing your sense of money with others.

2. Money does not provide peace of mind.

No matter how much you have, it brings its own risks and the kind of people that come with that amount. A state of 'I'm safe because I've saved' does not exist in this world.

3. It is not you who changes, but those around you.

If you know this beforehand, you can avoid losing yourself when those around you change. You are not destroyed by money. You are destroyed by the changes in human relationships that money brings.

4. Money is a tool to see 'the other side'.

What you can buy with money are things, time, experiences, and the smiles of others. The moment you make money itself the goal, the order of your life begins to go wrong.

It is convenient to have, and inconvenient not to have. But it is also something very scary.

That is what money is.

That is why, today as well, I spend rather than save.

To learn things I do not know. And to see the smiles on someone's face.