Part 8: 'I Stepped Down from a Place Where I Was Guaranteed to Win'
This is the eighth part of the story of my sales career.
Last time, I talked about how my wife asked me, 'What are you aiming for?' and I couldn't answer.
——I couldn't escape that question anymore.
And just at that moment,
an incredible event happened at my company.
Today, I'm going to talk about that event—and the biggest decision I ever made in my life.
1. I learned about the company's disappearance through a message from my father
One day, the company was going to be acquired.
My company was going to disappear. It was going to cease to exist. That actually happened to me.
I was at a small pharmaceutical company (though it was a large company globally), and I never imagined my company would be taken over. Moreover, it was a very high-profile acquisition at the time. A Japanese company was buying a company larger than itself overseas.
I knew absolutely nothing about that acquisition. Because it would involve insider information, it was kept completely hidden from the employees as well.
I still remember it. May 1st.
It was on the front page of the Nikkei Shimbun. 'XX acquires YY'—it was printed in huge letters.
The person who let me know was my father, with an unusual message.
When I opened it, an article from the front page of the Nikkei was attached.
'Isn't this your company?'
——Through a LINE message from my father, I learned for the first time that my company had been taken over.
2. My father was overjoyed
With this acquisition, my company, which had been a foreign-owned firm, suddenly became a domestic one.
To be honest, people who go to foreign-owned firms sometimes don't really want to go to domestic ones. You lose freedom, there are detailed rules, and the culture is vastly different.
But—my father was incredibly happy about this acquisition.
'Finally, you'll be able to join a stable company,' he said.
The company that acquired us was one of the biggest, most well-known companies in Japan, competing for the top spot. He said, 'I'm so grateful.'
Under normal circumstances, this is a situation where you would hold on tight.
I had my team, my salary, everything. There wasn't a single reason to let it go. It wasn't that I hated the work. In fact, I loved sales.
There really was no reason anywhere to let it go.
—But.
My wife's question kept ringing in my head.
'Where are you aiming to go?'
3. I Weighed the 'Future of Staying' Against the 'Future of Leaving'
It was then that I was called in.
'Of course, we want you to stay. That's the premise, but—' they said, and presented me with two options.
Stay or take early retirement.
Decide within 10 days, and if you're going to quit, contact this email address personally—they said.
I worried about it, seriously. It was a moment in my life I will never forget.
The future of staying looks like this: If I stay as I am, I'm secure. I have a high salary and a protected team. I can support my family. No one will complain.
But—what I saw ahead was a future of 'continuing to run while remaining unfulfilled.' It was just an extension of what I had been doing. Honestly, I also had the feeling that 'I've already done everything I can in this industry.'
The future of leaving also became visible for the first time.
My salary would be zero. I hadn't decided what I would do. My team would be zero. There would be no guarantees at all.
—It was incredibly scary.
But I felt that maybe my own goal was there. Maybe the freedom to decide for myself was there. That’s what I felt.
Which one was safer—it was already clear.
But, which one made me feel alive—that was also clear.
4. I’ll be honest. I’m trying to sound cool, but I was scared.
…I’m talking a bit coolly right now.
I’ll be honest. I was terrified.
What was I scared of? Giving up stability.
Think about it. After 20 years of sales at a pharmaceutical company, I knew exactly what I had to do to succeed.
If I repeated the same things, I would sell. I had spent 20 years cultivating the patterns of questions, the patterns of success—the winning patterns where I knew for sure, 'If I do this, it will definitely work.'
To voluntarily let go of that 'winning pattern.'
And what’s more, there was no guarantee that things would go well next. At first, the money would also drop to zero.
Stepping down from a place where I was guaranteed to win, and going to zero in a place where I didn't know if I could win at all.
—This was truly terrifying.
But I decided. I would quit.
Even if I stayed in that place where I was guaranteed to win for another 10 years, it would just be 'continuing to win in a place where I already know how to win.'
There—there was no more excitement.
To be honest, I was also a little bored with repeating the same things.
I wanted to throw away the 'guarantee of winning' and bet once on a 'life decided by myself.' I wanted to try being the conductor of my own life just once.
That desire—won.
5. There is a view that can only be seen after letting go
And so, I threw everything away and quit my job.
I felt both a sense of refreshment and the anxiety of 'what should I do now?'
But—only after I quit and stopped in my tracks.
The answer to 'why was I able to sell,' which I hadn't been able to explain for 20 years, finally started to become clear.
…Do you remember the very first mystery of this series?
It's that story I told in Part 1: 'Even though I was the top in the country, I couldn't write a success story.'
I have finally arrived at the answer to that.
Starting next time, I will finally begin to resolve the foreshadowing.
The story, having passed through hell, will now begin to move in a big way.
Please follow me and stay tuned.
6. What are you clinging to right now?
Finally, here is today's question.
Is there something you are clinging to right now that you cannot let go of?
Stability. A job title. Evaluation from others.
—Is that really making you happy?
Or—are you just holding onto it because you are afraid to let go?
Even if it is the latter, I am not blaming you. I am someone who was also incredibly scared and held onto things until the very last moment.
But I can say this much.
There is a view that can only be seen after you let go.
Please let me know in the comments. What are you holding onto right now? …Even just writing down the things you are afraid to let go of might make something start to move, just a little.
If there is anyone right now who is 'afraid to let go and cannot move forward'.
Why don't we think about it together?
The 'future you decide on' versus the 'future you don't decide on.' Which one do you feel more potential in? Which one is what you truly want to do?
——The answer is actually within you.
However, when you are feeling conflicted, it is truly difficult to decide on your own. That is why we have a dialogue. While talking, you can realize, 'Oh, this is actually what I was looking for.' It is that kind of time.
A 60-minute free session, or even 30 minutes is fine. Please feel free to join.
▶️ [60-minute free] Click here to book a dialogue session to bring out your talents
Thank you for reading until the end today as well.
Well then, see you tomorrow in Part 9.