Days of Admiring a Role Model

Do you all have a role model?

What is a role model?

A role model is described online as follows.

I had Mr. O.
According to the definition, it starts with the thought, "I want to be like that person."

Today, I will write about Mr. O.

I wanted to be Mr. O

Indeed, I wanted to be Mr. O. I feel that I was able to grow effectively by imitating Mr. O's actions and thoughts.

Having a role model close by played an important role in my growth. I was fortunate to be in an environment where I could realize that there were people with abilities far superior to my own.

When I first noticed Mr. O, he was at a level I couldn't even reach. That is precisely why I admired him. He was three years younger than me, but I especially admired his skills.

It was a level of difference like a boy in youth baseball wanting to be like Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers. That is why I admired him purely.

Admiration is not about someone who is halfway within reach. That is why he was a presence that evoked absolutely no negative emotions like jealousy or envy.

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Mr. O and I first met as business partners in the same company. Later, as luck would have it, I was able to become his subordinate.

Mr. O changed jobs, but then a surprising coincidence occurred. The Vice President of the company my eldest son joined was Mr. O. According to my eldest son, the final interview for his entrance exam ended with just a conversation about me, his father, and the former company where Mr. O and I met, and he laughed about it lol.

Mr. O's role model is Kazunari Uchida

Now, Mr. O also had someone he considered a role model. That person's name is Kazunari Uchida. Many of you may know him, as he has published many business books.

Although Mr. O himself never published any books, when I read Mr. Uchida's books, they were filled with exactly the things I had learned from Mr. O.

I remember reading them with excitement, feeling as if Mr. O were speaking directly to me. It made it very clear just how much Mr. O had copied Mr. Uchida lol.

Mr. O always spoke about Mr. Uchida with such joy.

According to Mr. O,
"Mr. Uchida looks like a dazed, goofy old man in meetings. But with just a single word, he narrows down the issues or finds the thread to a new perspective. Sometimes, he freezes the participants in an instant with his razor-sharp, sound arguments."

He always spoke of him with the utmost respect and admiration, in his own amusing way.

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I also strongly admired Mr. O and wanted to be like him, so I tried to imitate him honestly. The methods I copied and details about that role model are written in the article below.

Reference article: I want to see inside your headhttps://note.com/prometheus1966/n/n710f32ceb45a

You want to be like Mako-san?

For some reason, someone appeared who said, 'I want to be like Mako-san.' Also, I was happy to hear from another colleague who said, 'I am imitating Mako-san's remarks in meetings.'

I felt both embarrassed and happy.

I am currently living a relaxed second life, but if I can contribute even a little to someone's skill development as a social investor, that makes me very happy.

Have I gone from a life of constant imitation to becoming someone who is imitated?
I didn't necessarily wish for that, but it's a good feeling.

But you know,
you can imitate my skills,
but you'd better not imitate my personality!

Reference article below