You Can Overcome Any Hardships and Live to Your Fullest. Tetsuji Okumura Shares His Inspiring Journey.
A lot of people think that success and happiness are determined by how much you have but that’s not existentially correct, it is determined by how well you lived: the story of Tetsuji is one that would warm the hearts of many. Born and raised in the countryside of Shiga Prefecture,Japan, Okumura wanted to be a different kind of an IT engineer, he had talents as a system engineer with an eye out for communications but was then struck with life threatening cancer and was given a time window to live.
If you’ve known anyone with a terminal disease then you could take a cue on how that news must have felt to Tetsuji; it devastated him but he didn’t allow that to sink him, instead he drew motivation from it to encourage himself, to push himself that he must establish a legacy for himself in his time.
He made the decision then to fight the cancer and came out victorious.
It took a lot of convincing to try and tie him to the job but once Tetsuji was confident in his ability and hungry for his goals, he took the big leap and left the company.
He worked over 300+ hours for more than three months to surge up his pursuit and that paid off over time. It was now time to build the company and so he built and grew his company Laughtey Cooperation, a name he created with the combination of two words, Laugh and they meaning providing laughter to everyone.
Okumura’s commitment to himself to live to his fullest wouldn’t allow him to bend, he gathered the determination to move past that hurdle founding his company which was a huge success. There were external recommendations for him to share his journey and strategy for others to benefit which then prompted him to write his first book which was completed within six months.
Okumura’s desire to look at the clear water whilst surfing pushed him towards a new adventure; developing a modern surfing board that would be transparent and environmentally friendly. Today, that too is a success. When quizzed about why and how he translated this into success, he said—
“Transparent surfboards are made from recycled plastic. The boards are made by collecting trash from the global environment, and I think that trash recycling activities should be widely spread not only in Japan but also in other countries.
As for myself, I started this project because I wanted to see more of the ocean, but I believe that all surfers have the same desire to protect the cleanliness of the ocean. And I believe that if we all spread the spirit of encouraging cleanliness and eco-friendliness, the earth will become even cleaner. I hope that this activity will resonate around the world, and with my surfboard, I would like to get involved in the various worlds, as well as in sales”.
Putting to use his business knowledge and experience, it was possible for him to not only succeed at the goal of building his company and growing sales, he is also able to inspire others through it.
Tetsuji Okumura is a relentless soul who has conquered everything life has thrown at him and came out on the other side a better and a more fulfilled man.
If there’s someone who has seen the worst and still been the best, it would be Tetsuji. He’s not allowed age, position, health factor, negative words or lack of finance discourage him from living his fullest life. He pursues everything with such grace, confidence and determination that has gotten him this far.
In his most recent submission, Okumura leaves a word of personal advice for those who may want to draw inspiration from his initiative— “Life is a series of aggressive and risky things. Facing them is a challenge. And if we can enjoy the ingenuity and experience of that challenge, our lives will be richer. I hope you will all choose to go on with your own lives, enjoying your lives to the fullest”.
His life is a living lesson for all those who need to grow a bit of thick skin, to grind the grit and get results for their life’s goals no matter what. He’s a reference for young people in Japan and well beyond. He still dreams of a fuller life in the future, saying— “I dream that even though I am over 65 years old, I will always be able to work to spread transparent surfboards not only in Japan, but also in the world while marketing them, surfing in a beautiful land, and communicating with people around the world.
And I want to make friends all over the world and enjoy the happiness of surfing together”.
