Soichiro Honda｜Born November 17, 1906 (Meiji 39)
A 3-page feature based on public historical records
He declared an ambition to be the world’s best. The gap was still vast.
What if you say your big goals and then realize that you're not good enough? Shall we pretend it never happened? Or should I start counting the things I'm missing one by one?
In March 1954, Soichiro Honda announced its participation in the Isle of Man TT race. In June of that year, I visited the site and saw a European machine that was more powerful than I had imagined. Honda's racing history records the gap in output from domestically produced cars at the time.[3]
It's not the order in which there was a good chance of winning before the declaration. After deciding to take on the challenge, I learned more specifically how difficult the challenge would be. There is some danger in this order. However, unless we use the declaration as a reason to turn our eyes away from reality, the next task will begin.
Born in 1906, Soichiro founded Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in 1948.[1][2] Our challenge to the world was not a commemorative event for a company with a long history. In the middle of our growth, we set a large yardstick to measure ourselves against.
Then, what should we do in the face of such an overwhelming difference? “Trying harder” will not make your engine run faster.
伝Interpreting YAMATO DENSHI
Do you protect your confidence or stick to your goals?
Seeing the difference with reality hurts your confidence. Still, if you really value your goals, you'll need inconvenient numbers as well. If we read Honda's challenge simply as ``he won because he was bullish,'' this harsh observation is missed. The size of your dreams and the attitude of not making the current situation look small go hand in hand.