Kang Young Joong , chairman of Daekyo Co.,Ltd published his autobiography.

Kang Young Joong , chairman of Daekyo Co.,Ltd published his autobiography.

Kang Young Joong, chairman of Daekyo Co.,Ltd. Published his autobiography ‘Life is Learning’.

This book is the English version of ‘Managing the learning’, which is his Korean autobiography that published last July.

His life and management philosophy is contained in this book.
Diplomatic activities

‘Life is Learning’ contains his experience which cultivated new business model, ‘home-study materials’, and his life and management philosophy who took the initiatives in nongovernmental diplomacy as a president of badminton world federation.

Through this book, President Kang emphasized the importance of learning that no matter what is the situation and how old the person is, people need to seek to learn. In Korea, the Korean version book sold more than 30,000 which joined the ranks of best seller.

When President Dr. Kang young joong visited Hong Kong, he had the first book signing ceremony of “Life is learning” on 31st May 2011.


PROLOGUE

Unlimited Learning

Why do I still thirst for more learning?
The simple truth is I am continually reminded of my weaknesses in managing my own business; learning is the primary way I challenge those weaknesses.
I began with a start-up company, but soon, I found myself a major shareholder and decision-maker. Complacency was not an option. The larger my business grew, the more I recognized the need to continue to develop the skills and capabilities as a CEO. Each time I recognized a shortcoming, I became despondent. Why? Because I felt I had learned as much as there was to learn about education, people management, patents, information management, and even advertising. Still, I felt inadequate. That is when I resolved to assume the attitude of a ‘life-long learner.’

It is my belief that whether you are an entry-level staff or the CEO, we all need to learn. There is no hierarchy in learning.

Once upon a time, when Confucius was passing through the Qin state, he acquired a marble bead. In this bead, a thread had to be strung through a hole that meandered in 9 different directions. Naturally, it was a challenge to string this marble bead. When he spotted a lady harvesting mulberries nearby, Confucius asked for advice, to which she replied:
“Take your time…and consider honey.”
At first, the words seemed like nonsense; soon, however, he understood. Confucius proceeded to pick up an ant scurrying at the foot of a tree, tied it to a thread, and placed it at one end of the hole, while a thread, and placed it at one end of the hole, while smearing the other end with honey. The sweet smell of honey led the ant on the string through to the other end of the meandering hole, helping Confucius to successfully thread that marble bead.
Imagine what would have happened if Confucius had been too proud of his status to seek advice from a berry-picker. It is quite possible that we may never have been introduced to the wise teachings of Confucius. Clearly, Confucius demonstrated that there are no limitations to age or restrictions to status in seeking the opportunity to learn.

I am aware of today’s world in which people are too busy in their day to day lives to find time to learn something new. You are probably doing whatever you can do at the fastest possible rate. That’s not all. We are further pressured into thinking that we need to be doing more and faster than what we are doing now. I am well aware of these expectations. Even when you are doing your best, there is competition all around that seems to be doing it better and more quickly than you. Hence, there is no time to learn something new or different.

Imagine you stop a runner who is running at a superior level and suggest, ‘you are not performing at your top capacity. Take a few lessons from me, and you will be able to bring out your full potential.’

Do you think the runner will listen?
Of course not. We are all running. We are all running at top speeds that can virtually break us.
But, what if we took a moment, didn’t care about losing a race or two, and took the opportunity, instead, to learn ways to exponentially expand our capabilities? Those who train for marathons don’t train only to run; in fact, they spend more time not running, but scientifically studying ways to become better runners.
Too often, short-sighted obsessions bar us from learning further to broaden our horizons.
‘I want to pursue graduate studies, but my friends all have jobs and are vigorously planning their dream lives … at this important juncture, if I pursue graduate studies what if I’m the last idiot left behind at the end of the road?’
Based on my experience, this is not how one should view life; this thought process runs counter to the times that we live in. we live in an age that is devoid of fixed rules. For instance, today’s success does not guarantee success tomorrow. We work today with increasing levels of uncertainty. Hence, in order to hold on to the current position and in pursuit of a better me, we cannot rest on our laurels; we must make an effort to learn something new and different.
Whatever life you are living now, it is essential to give yourself a chance to perform at your top capacity. That chance derives from learning, which is also the rationale for writing this book. I sincerely hope that through learning, you will find ways to spread your wings fully and fly.

July 2010
Youngjoong Kang