Simply surviving for a long time can take you surprisingly far.
(Reference: Paul Graham)

Keep the team as small as possible.

Spend little money. Build a culture of frugality.

Think, judge, and decide for yourself.

The metrics that outsiders demand from a company are not necessarily meaningful indicators for a startup. In reality, the only indicators that truly represent a startup’s ability to survive are revenue and operating profit. The others—such as hiring and investment—always contain risks within them.

Bite-size failures.
Small failures are manageable.

Visualization. Repeated declaration. Execution.

A major advantage of a dentist startup is long-term survival.
You do not have to bet everything.
You can move slowly.
You do not have to take excessive risks.

There are successful examples of companies that did not bet everything, moved gradually, and did not take extreme risks.
One example is Warby Parker.

You will often have to reject many proposals.
When you need to say no, decline politely but clearly.
Rejection is useful.

Conflict is not necessarily uncomfortable.
Sometimes conflict is necessary.

Be polite, but communicate your intentions clearly.

Respect for others often comes from a sense of fear.
Be good—but also someone who commands respect.

“It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war.”
— often attributed to Jordan Peterson
(Korean phrasing: “Better a good monster than a harmless rabbit.”)

When life becomes buried in busyness, genuine growth stops.
Paradoxically, when daily life is not overly busy, the fastest growth can occur.
If we understand that creation is the essence of business, we realize that constant busyness is not necessary.

If we are moderately busy, we can be grateful that busyness protects the rhythm of our lives.
If we are not busy, we can be grateful that creation can emerge.

If busyness brings vitality, new stimulation, and a broader perspective, then it is something to be grateful for—one of the great joys life offers.

Having no routine work can actually be a good thing.

Do not fix your mind on a single target.
Keep your awareness open to a wide range of possibilities.

Not too close, not too distant.

Both affection and hatred can make us slaves.

Walk alone and do not grow careless.
Be unmoved by praise or blame.
Like a lion not startled by noise,
like the wind not caught in a net,
like a lotus not stained by mud—
walk alone like the horn of a rhinoceros.
— Sutta Nipata

The opposite of symbiosis is not competition or parasitism.
It is non-relationship.
If something does not feel right, cut it off.

When we belong to something that is not truly ours, we may feel safe.
But in reality we stagnate, and in the long run it becomes the greatest risk.

Titles become like fake clothes placed upon us.
We begin to deceive ourselves.
Our most precious resource—time—is consumed for others.
But those clothes are not who we truly are.

Only when we finally stand alone do things that are truly ours begin to accumulate.

There are times when we end up taking on responsibilities we never needed to accept, simply because others asked.
After I became more isolated and stood on my own, these burdens gradually disappeared.
At first, the isolation felt uncomfortable, but in the end it brought greater freedom.

Working hard on meaningless tasks does not necessarily bring recognition or gratitude.
I realized that doing so only exhausted me and forced me to sacrifice what truly mattered.

Once I recognized this and let go of it, I was finally able to spend more time and energy on what truly matters—myself, and the people who are truly precious to me.

Taking care of myself comes first.
Taking care of those I love comes next.

True happiness must be found within myself.
It is not about others recognizing me.
It is about recognizing myself.

To pause.
To become aware.
To notice.