At Kato Spring, we have a card that reads "THINGS TO DO TODAY." In addition, all of our executives use the Day Timer system that contains the same concept. Charles Schwab (founder of America's Bethlehem Steel Corporation) under the instruction of his consultant, began this system. However, the dependability of the results has led to many other American businessmen using the system as well.
  I sometimes make the following call to Katoites. I tell them the company's goals are clear and that each of them has established their goals. Then I say, "However, there is one other thing you must do before we can run forward."

  I once heard a story about three children trying to run through a prairie full of snow. The first child decided on his target and went running straight for it. Although he had pictured a straight course, when he arrived at the target and looked back he noticed that his tracks were crooked. The second child would walk forward a few steps and then look back to confirm that he had been walking straight. He would then start forward again. However, when he got to the target and looked back he noticed that his course zigzagged more than the first. The third child thought a lot, and implemented a new plan. He proceeded by aligning himself with a distant tree and a closer tree, which was his target. This enabled him to walk straight. This story contains a moral related to the above saying.

  The aim of "THINGS TO DO TODAY" is to not only look at the distant target but to set up today's goals for attaining the distant goal. The aim is to attain that feeling of satisfaction of "I did it!" each and every day after completing all of the activities on your daily list.
  For example, if you have 100 items but only finish five of them, you don't feel like you have accomplished anything as 95 items still remain. However, if you establish five targets and conclude all five of them every day, your sense of achievement and satisfaction differs completely from the previous one even if the tempo is the same. Simultaneously, the speed at which you work changes greatly.
  Although this appears to be only a small step, "THINGS TO DO TODAY" expertly shows how Kato Spring proceeds with work and the overall process of in-house education.
  When asked, "Where do your inventions come from?", Thomas Edison responded, "One percent inspiration and 99% aspiration." This comment is very famous. Edison personally sweated through 99% of his inventions. This is not something that anyone can do, however, everyone has the potential.
  Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of wireless communications, said the same thing as Edison but in his own manner, "There is no such thing as a genius. There are only hard-working people." Many famous inventors say the same thing in their own manner.

  Work that can be described as "Cheerful, Enjoyable, Lively, and Exciting. I did it!" is not prepared for anyone from the beginning. This is something like a long trip to find what you are. And trips are basically adventures. I was once told that the old English word "travel" was originally the same word as "travail" which means effort, labor and suffering. The style of Kato Spring is to provide the opportunity for Katoites to make discoveries on their long trips.
  Hideo Itokawa is the head of the Systems Research Institute and is probably better known for his stimulating bestseller, "Gyakuten no Hasso" ("Contrarian Concepts"). Mr. Itokawa began dancing ballet after he was 60 years old. I have heard that he could lift up his legs to the height of his head after a year despite concerns held by those around him. What was his secret? Every day he added a newspaper to a stack and raised his leg to that height. By doing so, he was able to succeed in raising his legs so far.
  The original education method of "Kumon" in which small learning steps are cleared one at a time by establishing hundreds of steps within a single process, has the same effect. The key is the sense of achievement gained through each step. That sustains the learning process.