This series explores issues surrounding women who began their careers in Japan around the time of the introduction of equal employment opportunity legislation in the mid-1980s. As many of them reach retirement age, the hope is that their stories can provide insight and lessons for women in Japan’s professional world today.
While countless factors influence our career success over time, two internal ingredients stand out as essential: a sense of calling—a compelling passion that drives one toward a certain pursuit—and excellence, or how good you are at it. Ultimately, you need both to thrive, but one can transcend the other: You can either be driven by your calling or driven by excellence.
While the first formula may be more intuitively understood – as the Japanese proverb goes, “whatever you love, you will eventually excel at” – there are less obvious examples where a drive for excellence, keeping your head down and slaving away for perfection can ultimately be just as richly rewarding.
