- Biography
- Change of mind to help
- Philosophy and teachings
- The Japanese are not smart, that's a myth
- The discipline
- Famous phrases of the author
- books
- References
Yokoi Kenji is a Colombian-Japanese speaker who became famous with the video posted on YouTube titled Myths and truths about Colombia and Japan. He began his public activity in 2010, giving lectures in the town of Ciudad Bolívar in Bogotá.
Since 2010 he has given numerous conferences in Colombia, Japan, the United States, Brazil and other countries. Its philosophy is based on discovering the best of the Colombian and Japanese people from the dismantling of myths that prevent a better life. Among these myths, false poverty stands out.
Kenji Orito Yokoi Díaz was born in Bogotá on October 13, 1979. He is the oldest of four siblings, whose parents are Yokoi Toru, a Japanese engineer; and Martha Díaz, a former Colombian diplomatic official. The young lecturer grew up between Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica, due to his father's work.
Later he moved to Japan together with his parents, where he stayed from the age of 10 to 24. His work has been recognized inside and outside of Colombia, as he has managed to move many young people with his particular way of seeing the world and youth.
After his success on the Internet, the Junior Chamber of Colombia distinguished him among the most outstanding young people of 2010. Yokoi Kenji maintains the Tourism with Purpose foundation, through which he seeks to promote an open vision and with a disposition towards cultures other than his own.
Biography
Yokoi Kenji was born in Colombia and grew up between Bogotá, Panama and Costa Rica. His father's work as an engineer for the Colombian company NEC took him to these countries. At the age of 10 he had to move to the city of Yokohama in Japan, along with his family.
The kidnapping and murder of a Japanese citizen in Colombia caused his parents to move to Japan, fearing for their safety. In that country she continued her primary studies and remained until she was 24 years old.
There he met Aleisy Toro, also Colombian, with whom he married and his first son, Kenji David, was born. Yokoi worked as a tour guide and teacher, as well as being a Spanish translator.
Later he helped his mother in a family business dedicated to the sale of bananas and yucca, and the rental of videos of famous Colombian novels such as Betty, la fea and Pedro el flamoso.
At age 16, Yokoi began studying religious science and social work linked to the Presbyterian community. At that time, "I was doing very well economically in Japan," according to the young speaker. Many of his vacations were spent in Bogotá with his grandparents and friends.
One day, while watching the drama of the displaced Colombian families, he made the decision to return to Colombia to help. In addition, he felt the need to live in Colombia since he felt very alone in Japan. He then joined the Renewed Presbyterian Church, where an uncle of his served as pastor.
Change of mind to help
He began working in community work in the San Francisco neighborhood of Ciudad Bolívar, in Bogotá. Thus he discovered that the best way to help the poor was not by giving them food, but by changing his mindset.
He says that they used to ask him "What are you going to give us, foreigner?", And he answered that only mentality. People ignored him and preferred to go where they were given clothes or food. Community work took him through the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and the suburbs of New York, where he helped poor families and beggars.
In his early days as a lecturer, nobody paid any attention to him; his lectures were not listened to despite being free. He had the idea of pretending in the universities that the lectures had already been paid for, to see if they would receive it. With the first inspirational talk, she began to gain fame as a motivational speaker.
The renowned speaker created the Tourism with Purpose Foundation. In his lectures he successfully assembles the best of Japanese and Colombian culture: the discipline of the Japanese and the joy and perseverance of the Colombian.
While in Colombia his second son, Keigo Daniel, was born. He began traveling and doing his social work between Colombia and Japan, through the social tourism project called Tourism with a purpose.
He currently gives talks, seminars and workshops to some 800 families at the International Convention Center in Ciudad Bolívar. She also brings Japanese families to this center to learn about her philosophy and Colombian culture.
Philosophy and teachings
The first video uploaded to YouTube by Yokoi is the conference titled Myths and Lies of Japan and Colombia. This is based on simple values of Japanese culture contrasted with the culture of the Colombian and with their own experiences between Japan and Colombia.
Using Japanese adages such as "Not knowing a truth makes me a slave to a lie", Yokoi develops his lectures. His social work is based on ending the myths that, according to him, block the progressive mentality of the Latino.
He maintains that "every day we say myths" of the type "the sun rises, and it is not true" because the sun does not rise; on the contrary, we revolve around it. Another myth, according to Yokoi, is "my clothes are too small for me", when in reality "you are getting fat."
With these simple examples he was building a message that managed to permeate the Colombian public and other Latin American countries. He also caught on in Japan, whose culture inspires his teachings.
He cites the myth of the intelligence of the Japanese and others with whom he grew up. He relates that his own grandfather, who had a great influence on him, always told him that the Japanese were a "superior race" because they created electronic equipment.
The Japanese are not smart, that's a myth
"The Japanese are not smart, that's a myth," says Yokoi. They are the same as Colombians, whom he considers even more intelligent. The difference is cultural. The Japanese are not interested in being smarter than other people, but in disciplined.
He explains that they start from the philosophy contained in another popular adage: "Discipline sooner or later will defeat intelligence." And he adds: "the Colombian is intelligent but he is not disciplined." The Colombian has a great capacity to adapt to situations and places, he is creative, but he lacks discipline.
Another myth that Yokoi debunks refers to the wealth of the Japanese and the poverty of the Colombians. It affirms that Japan does not have mineral but human wealth; on the other hand, Colombia possesses material wealth but the human resource does not value itself.
"Misery has become a business", people prefer to beg and give pity. The Colombian-Japanese speaker maintains that the poor have this condition because of their poverty mentality, fed with donations. And he concludes: "What does Japan have that Colombia does not have in addition to mineral resources?"
Another element that Yokoi usually refers to is associated with success: "If you feel successful and did not suffer for having it, surely it is not the good type of success." Based on Japanese philosophy and wisdom, he suggests that the more difficult the goal, the harder you have to try.
He has received invitations from various countries to give his lectures, among which the United States, Australia, Canada, Norway and, of course, Japan stand out.
He emphasizes that, more than a conference, "I seek to make a mark through an experience." On the other hand, on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook, in addition to YouTube, Yokoi Kenji's teachings have a great impact and her followers continue to grow.
The discipline
According to Yokoi Kenji, you can learn to be disciplined with three skills or abilities: organization, cleanliness, and punctuality.
-With the organization, there is a place for everything and things are optimized.
-With cleaning, things are removed every day to take advantage of the spaces; if it is not eliminated it accumulates.
-Punctuality is to respect the word; without it one suffers to achieve discipline.
Famous phrases of the author
- To stop being poor, stop playing the “poor thing”.
- All easy success is bad.
- There are places where fame does not exist at all.
- Success is a lot of failures.
-We need to recognize the need for a balance. There are things that although they seem normal are not normal.
-The Japanese behave so well that they get stressed and commit suicide.
-There is a connection between the prosperity of a country and washing the dishes.
-The anxiety of the miracle does not let us see the message.
-One does not lose authority when he shows himself as he is. The truth is that it wins.
-The nuclear, emotional blow of Japan was that the emperor came out saying "we have lost the war." Because the emperor is God's representative on earth.
-Recognizing the error is vital, essential. And for some reason someone sold us altinos that admitting mistakes is synonymous with weakness.
books
Yokoi's lectures have been published in print books and digital books. Here are some of the best-selling titles:
- The way to the soul.
- Dreams of liberty.
- Discipline vs. passion, a historic moment for Colombia.
- Furinkazam, samuray philosophy.
- The 10 rules for success.
- It's not worth cheating.
- 3 rules for discipline.
- A serious game.
- The dark side of discipline.
- Why the Japanese are so successful.
References
- Biography. Retrieved March 24 from es.calameo.com
- Who is Yokoi Kenji and why is he breaking the internet? Consulted of e-consulta.com
- Yokoi Kenji Diaz. Consulted of yokoikenjidiaz.com
- Yokoi Kenji Díaz, the Japanese who made Ciudad Bolívar fashionable. Consulted of cromos.elespectador.com
- The 'Japanese' that moved the country. Consulted of eltiempo.com
- Yokoi Kenji: 'Success should be like this: complex, long-suffering'. Consulted of Estrategiaynegocios.net