In this insightful video, Kazuo Inamori reveals four transformative methods to rapidly build wealth: leveraging information gaps, understanding cognitive differences, executing effective strategies, and creating competitive edges. Inamori illustrates the value of identifying unique opportunities in these areas, using real-world examples like Amazon and Bitcoin to demonstrate how these concepts can translate into lasting financial success.

The video delves into the factors that hinder financial growth, such as rigid thinking and fear of executing new ideas. Highlighting lifelong learning as a key principle, it stresses the importance of continuously expanding one’s understanding to overcome cognitive limitations and capitalize on emerging trends in the global marketplace.

Main takeaways from the video:

Please remember to turn on the CC button to view the subtitles.

Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. perception [pərˈsɛpʃ(ə)n] - (noun) - The way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted. - Synonyms: (view, interpretation, insight)

A person's lower limit is determined by their effort, while their upper limit is defined by their perception.

2. elite [eɪˈliːt] - (noun) - A select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of a group or society. - Synonyms: (aristocracy, nobility, upper class)

Kazuo Inamori, a prominent figure among Japan's elites, once shared an incredibly valuable insight in his book.

3. monopolize [məˈnɒpəˌlaɪz] - (verb) - To obtain exclusive possession or control of a trade, commodity, or service. - Synonyms: (dominate, control, corner)

He set up his Amazon bookstore and monopolized the book selling business, which eventually grew into the largest online shopping platform.

4. intangible [ɪnˈtændʒəb(ə)l] - (adjective) - Unable to be touched or grasped; not having a physical presence. - Synonyms: (abstract, invisible, unseen)

When it was still relatively new. At that time, this intangible currency was mainly a topic within small circles of tech enthusiasts.

5. lifelong learning [ˈlaɪflɔːŋ ˈlɜːrnɪŋ] - (phrase) - The ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated pursuit of knowledge for personal or professional development. - Synonyms: (continuous education, perpetual learning, ongoing education)

Kazuo Inamori, during his lifetime, firmly believed in lifelong learning.

6. homogeneous [ˌhoʊməˈdʒiːniəs] - (adjective) - Of the same or a similar kind or nature. - Synonyms: (uniform, identical, similar)

The future of the Internet will minimize the gap in information access, but at the same time it will amplify the intensity of homogeneous competition.

7. distilled [dɪˈstɪld] - (adjective) - Purified or concentrated; having the essence reduced to the most important parts. - Synonyms: (refined, purified, concentrated)

At first glance, this might seem like an ordinary statement, but behind it lies decades of distilled business experience.

8. stagnant [ˈstæɡnənt] - (adjective) - Showing little or no activity or movement; not developing or progressing. - Synonyms: (inactive, static, dormant)

Execution of ideas is crucial; without action, ideas remain stagnant.

9. procrastinated [prəˈkræstɪˌneɪtɪd] - (verb) - Delayed or postponed an action or task. - Synonyms: (delayed, postponed, hesitated)

On the other hand, some are procrastinated.

10. credentials [krəˈdɛnʃəlz] - (noun) - Qualifications, achievements, typically when used to indicate that someone is suitable for something. - Synonyms: (qualifications, certificates, testimonials)

It's no longer just about competing with your academic credentials, it's about your ability to learn.

Unlocking the Secrets of Financial Success with Kazuo Inamori

A person's lower limit is determined by their effort, while their upper limit is defined by their perception. Kazuo Inamori, a prominent figure among Japan's elites, once shared an incredibly valuable insight in his book. Especially for those seeking to build wealth. He said, in this world, there are only four ways to make money quickly. Since the dawn of human commercial activity, only these four methods have been effective and they have never changed from past to present.

If you don’t want to follow conventional paths, if you’re not willing to invest vast amounts of time to slowly accumulate wealth, then you must watch today’s video to the end. Understanding even just one part of it could multiply your wealth many times over. First, the information gap. An information gap refers to a situation where one person has more or more accurate information than others during a transaction, which allows them to gain greater benefits. What is an information gap? Simply put, it means I know something that you don't. So I seize the opportunity, catch the trend, and make a profit.

This kind of profit could be enough to make money for the next ten or even 20 years. It's similar to what happened when Jeff Bezos founded Amazon back in 1994. Many people still didn't know what the Internet was. They only knew that this thing called the web could allow them to send emails to exchange information and files, search for things they didn’t know, or even connect to play games online. But they didn’t understand what the Internet economy was. If at that time you had told someone, hey, did you know you don’t need to set up a stall on the street anymore? Now you can use the Internet to sell your goods to anyone online. You can get rid of your stall.

You'd probably have a 99% chance of having eggs thrown at you by those stall owners. Why? Because they'd think you were just waiting for them to sell their popular stall so that you could buy it and do business yourself. This is a result of the lack of information flow. Those selling clothes, eggs, and books didn't understand this. But Bezos was the one who seized the information gap about the rise of the Internet. He set up his Amazon bookstore and monopolized the book selling business, which eventually grew into the largest online shopping platform.

Second, the cognitive gap. What is a cognitive gap? It’s the idea that I understand something that you don’t, and therefore I can profit from knowledge that’s beyond your understanding. Take bitcoin in 2019 as an example. When it was still relatively new. At that time, this intangible currency was mainly a topic within small circles of tech enthusiasts.

A few people believed it was special and that its blockchain technology could eventually replace physical currency, becoming a new form of transaction medium. However, most people thought it was purely virtual, something that didn’t exist in the real world, a system just created by someone. The general mindset was that physical cash was the only legitimate medium of exchange, and if cash were to lose its value, the entire banking system would collapse and possibly even a nation’s economy.

So how could something like bitcoin possibly succeed? The reality however, is that bitcoins price kept rising, even reaching a crazy $60,000 per coin, an unimaginable and previously unbelievable height. Those who bought bitcoin early on now don't have to work anymore. They've at least become billionaires. This is the cognitive gap.

You can never make money beyond the limits of your understanding. Every bit of wealth you accumulate is a reflection of your understanding of the world. And every penny you lose is due to a deficiency in that understanding. Kazuo Inamori, during his lifetime, firmly believed in lifelong learning. He believed that people cannot stop learning because once they do, their thinking becomes rigid, their understanding stalls, and so does their wealth.

Third, execution gap. Execution is a person’s ability to turn their plans into reality. In this era of information, our ideas often hold little value anymore. Because nowadays any random idea you find online is likely to be much better than what you might come up with on your own. What you can think of, others have already thought of.

So some may ask, if my ideas aren’t valuable anymore, is there still any necessity to make them happen? Actually, this is a false proposition. The fact that ideas are no longer valuable doesn’t mean that execution isn’t. On the contrary, the more ideas there are, the harder it is to execute them. Why are some people so motivated? It's because they never overthink or overanalyze. Once they have an idea, they act on it immediately.

On the other hand, some are procrastinated. They haven’t even started working on their old ideas yet. New ones keep popping up. Their minds become cluttered with ideas, but their feet stay stuck in place, making it harder and harder to move forward. There was once a study showing that the average person has about 60,000 thoughts per day, and 99% of them are forgotten by the next day.

So if you have a good idea, find a way to put it into action, or it will just become one of those 60,000 forgotten ideas. Fourth competitive edge there’s a quote from Kazuo Inamori that has left a lasting impression on me. And it goes like, don’t shy away from what you don’t know or find difficult. Figure it out, master it and you’ll become better than others.

At first glance, this might seem like an ordinary statement, but behind it lies decades of distilled business experience. He pointed out that most people aren’t willing to put in the effort to really dive deep, so they end up being passively eliminated. If you persist and work hard, you'll gain a significant advantage. What is competitive edge? It's when you do something that others are also doing, but you do it better.

The information age is both a gift and a huge challenge because now we can quickly access information we'd never heard of before. When everyone has access to the same information, it means we're all back to square one. Competing on a level playing field. A study has shown that the time needed to double the total amount of human knowledge has shrunk from 100 years to 20 years, then to ten, and now it's down to just about three years.

This rapid knowledge turnover means competition in today's society is fiercer than ever. It's no longer just about competing with your academic credentials, it's about your ability to learn. The future of the Internet will minimize the gap in information access, but at the same time, it will amplify the intensity of homogeneous competition. So how do we outperform others?

When starting from the same point, the answer lies in the extra value you can offer. This additional value beyond your product is your core competitive edge. What is added value? For example, if you're selling clothes and others are selling clothes too, but you explain the latest fashion trends, share what colors and styles are in this year, and address the problem your customers didn’t even realize they had—how to match their outfits—they’ll be willing to pay for this added value.

Or if you’re selling real estate and you share financial tips and investment strategies, helping your clients learn things that would normally cost them to acquire, they’ll trust you over time and ultimately choose to close the deal with you. Or even if you’re just a tour guide. By sharing your lifestyle, travel guides and personal travel experiences that benefit a particular group of people, you can build your own influence. And once you have that influence, you can monetize it.

Do you see? This is the core of our time. Competitive edge: what extra value can you offer beyond others? What additional problems can you solve? Can you build trust and have your own influence? These are the reasons why people will choose you over others and the competitive edge you hold over them.

Kazuo Inamori once said, when you take something to the extreme, you are already close to success. This is because 80% of people know what needs to be done. But only 40% will actually do it and among that 40%, just 10% will keep doing it consistently. The truly remarkable people aren’t necessarily more talented—they just do things better than others and that’s all there is to it.

Now, after hearing these four points, take a moment to reflect. How do you compare to the successful people around you? If you can identify the gap and work hard to overcome it, then rest assured you’re already heading in the right direction towards success. If you feel today’s video has brought you some value, I’d appreciate it if you could like and share it, passing that value on to the people around you so they too can grow with you.

If you’d like to see more content about financial intelligence and entrepreneurial success, feel free to subscribe to our channels. Our goal in creating this channel is to share high-value content that helps broaden your horizons and break free from a poverty mindset. That’s it for today’s video. Thank you for watching and we’ll see you in the next one.

Kazuo Inamori, Entrepreneurship, Motivation, Business, Leadership, Innovation