In this blog post, we will revisit what true success is and talk about the values of an ideal life with conviction, leisure, and confidence.
A man confesses his love to the woman he loves. Someone who is confident would confess their love in a suit with flowers in hand at a fancy location, but someone who is timid would confess their love via KakaoTalk while lying in bed. Some people may even keep their feelings to themselves. As you can see, there are many different kinds of people in this world. Just as everyone looks different, everyone has different values, and it is only natural that everyone has different role models, or people they want to be like.
The most ideal person in my opinion is someone who has their own beliefs. As we live our lives, we all face difficult trials, and there are times when we feel frustrated or want to give up because we cannot overcome those trials. However, people with strong beliefs always have goals they want to achieve and protect, so they strive and challenge themselves to achieve those goals and do not give up easily. Second, I think the ideal person is someone who has a relaxed attitude toward life and is sincere in everything they do. It is too harsh to live a busy life without even time to relax. If you only work all the time, your efficiency will naturally decline and you will become exhausted. However, if you can relax occasionally even when you are busy, you will be able to enjoy your work and your daily life more. In other words, I think the ideal person is someone who knows how to devote themselves to work when they are working and to play when they are playing. Third, I think the ideal person is someone who takes pride in their work and their group, in other words, someone who is confident. I am actually a timid person, so I am afraid to take the lead or speak in front of many people.
However, if you are confident, you can always express yourself 100%, and as a result, other people will recognize your strengths and help you improve your weaknesses even if you make mistakes. There are hundreds or thousands of criteria for what I consider to be an ideal person. However, among them, the three conditions above are the most important in my life. There is a person who has had the greatest influence on my current thoughts and actions.
It is the late Dr. Lee Jong-wook, former Director-General of the World Health Organization. Among the many things I admire about Dr. Lee, there are two things that I want to learn from him and keep in mind. The first is to act when you believe you are right. Dr. Lee was the head of the world’s largest health organization, but when he believed something was right, he would propose it to the committee and push for it, rather than just talking about it. A real example of this is when he promised to distribute 3 million sets of AIDS treatment drugs to Africa. Although the target quantity was not reached and most people criticized him for failing to achieve his goal, Dr. Lee himself said, “Isn’t it better than not starting at all?” It was beautiful to see him take the lead in doing what he believed was right, rather than what people thought was right.
Second, Dr. Gullier was a man of leisure. He was busier than anyone else in the world, working himself to death, but he also enjoyed his hobbies, including skiing at an advanced level. Since the World Health Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Gullier was enthusiastic about leisure activities such as skiing on his days off, and he was also an advanced tennis player who sometimes enjoyed playing tennis with his staff. In addition, as the head of the World Health Organization, he was passionate about everything he did, speaking not only English but also French, Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish.
Finally, the biggest reason I admire Dr. Lee is his self-confidence. As mentioned earlier, he was not concerned about what others thought of him and spoke his mind clearly. Even when meeting the President of the United States, he was not intimidated and showed his self-confidence. In fact, people like Bill Gates and Ban Ki-moon liked his confident demeanor and pleasant sense of humor. Such confidence could have led him to become arrogant and do the wrong thing, but Dr. Lee never did, as his sole belief was in the health of the world’s people. Perhaps it was because of this confidence that he took pride in his work. In fact, Dr. Lee was very proud of being Korean, and I remember being deeply moved when I learned that he always ended his speeches to international audiences with the Korean word “감사합니다” (thank you).
Perhaps it is thanks to meeting such a wonderful person that I am who I am today and that my life is filled with positive energy and confidence. Just having an ideal person to look up to gives me energy and confidence to never give up easily when faced with difficulties.
