ACCORDING to Republican and political strategist Gary Teal, 25 is the age that most people look back to—when they seek to evaluate how they’ve fared in life, and ponder the things they did but wish they hadn’t done—the things they wish that they had done but didn’t, and the heavy cost of the time they wasted.
Lifehack expert Aquila Norazman, on the other hand, says that 25 is the age when one has built a base from which to build the walls of one’s life and paint it with one’s favorite colors. Turning 25 means you’re 25 years wiser, but the learning and experiences do not stop there.
When we look at people who we respect and admire, we often wonder what they were like when they were younger and what life was like for them, when they hit the quarter-of-a-century mark.
The musing is perhaps borne out of a curiosity to find out what they did right (or wrong) to bring them to where they are now.
In this piece, the BusinessMirror, decided to do just that and ask local automotive industry bigwig, Michinobu Sugata, who is president of the country’s leading carmaker, Toyota Motor Philippines Inc., what he was doing when he was 25 years old.
“I was living in Tokyo, Japan, at that time and I was into cars, surfing, dating and studying English,” Sugata-san, as he is called in automotive circles, recalled. During that time, he was pursuing a degree of Bachelor of Economics from Kobe University, which he completed in 1983.
“I chose Economics because I believed that its theory and applications are useful in working in a big company, like Toyota,” he shared.
‘Sarariman’
After graduation, Sugata-san was hired by the Tokyo Office of Toyota Motor Corp., where he was tasked with looking after the marketing operations in Toyota South Africa.
“I found the job very challenging as South Africa was a big automobile market in diversity,” he recounted. Being single and driving a Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 to work, made him refer to that time as the “glorious days.” Sugata-san remembered that he held an optimistic view of the world then. “There were many opportunities for me. Every day, I was able to recognize my growth. I set simple goals for myself, which was to work overseas—outside Japan—in a position of responsibility.”
Higher learning
Although most people would say that he had it so good, the ever-pragmatic expat said that he felt somewhat unprepared for the tasks he had to face. “I lacked knowledge and skills, which made me realize that I should have studied harder in the university,” he said.
That circumspection prompted him to earn a Master in Business Administration degree at the University of Washington’s Graduate School of Business in 1993.
Armed with new concepts and skills, Sugata-san radiated with hope, when he returned to his country, which was inevitably tempered by reality. “I thought Japan would lead the global economy. But now, I realize it was just an illusion,” he stated in hindsight.
Play harder
When asked what life taught him when he was 25, he said, “Work hard and play harder.”
Pressing on, this writer asked what he would change if he had the chance to be 25 again? “I have tried to think about it many times, but nothing comes to my mind,” the smiling Sugata-san replied.
Now if you were the head honcho of a car company that has captured 13 consecutive Triple Crowns or leadership in the passenger car, commercial vehicle and overall sales in one of the most cutthroat automotive markets in the region, you probably wouldn’t think of changing anything either, would you?
Image credits: Nonie Reyes