If you’ve been reading my blog, you already know that I am passionate about the daily practice of Kaizen in my life. Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy. Here is my interpretation of this word, “Life-long learning in small incremental steps”.

I love how this philosophy grounds me and keeps my attitude in check.  Living with the Kaizen mindset brings joy and gratitude to my daily living.

The most important training I do for the new hires at Studio 904 is to teach them the Kaizen philosophy.

Let me share with you what is written in Studio 904’s Book of Kaizen, a training book for our employees.

We look for learnable moments.
We are surrounded by new information every minute of our waking moment. It is our choice whether we choose to learn or not to learn.
People who embrace the Kaizen philosophy are willing to learn something from each experience. All we have to do is listen and observe and reflect after we experience life’s good fortunes or set-backs. Ask ourselves this question, “What did I learn from what I just experienced and how can I improve?”

 How can we practice Kaizen in our lives?

• Work on us instead of trying to change others’ behaviors.
• Realize that people are not perfect but everyone has a special gift to bring to the world.
• Make daily decisions for the good of all vs. what’s good for me.
• Give daily time to enrich our minds. Say, “What I’ve learned and know to date is not enough to keep me competitive tomorrow and beyond.
• Always ask, “how am I doing?” Accept constructive feedback from others without getting defensive.
• Share your knowledge and your special gifts with others.

 My favorite quotes:

“I learned how to learn when I turned 60. Before that I was too busy talking so I can impress everyone how much I knew”.

-Yosh Toya, a well known stylist and salon owner”

“My Mother told me this when I was a little girl. You can learn something from everything, even if you just stare at a rock “

-Dawn Mason, Seattle area’s community activist-

Here is a photo of Max as he practices his obstacles in the sport of agility. He enjoys learning and conquering new sequences every week. He’s advanced to level 4 and still continues to improve!