★★★ A self-improvement bestseller chosen by hundreds of thousands of readers!
★★★ Published in 'hardcover edition' to commemorate the 10th anniversary of publication!
★★★ Recommended by YouTube creator Lee Yeon and Ryunosuke Koike, author of "Practice of Letting Go of Thoughts"!

『The Power of Time Alone』, which has been loved by readers for over ten years, selling over hundreds of thousands of copies since its domestic publication in 2015, has been republished in a hardcover edition.
In this book, the author asserts that no one succeeds or develops by hanging out with groups, and that one must be alone, especially during important moments in life.
This book tells the autobiographical story of how the author, who had no decent job until he was over thirty, became a famous writer and professor through his time alone, and teaches readers about solitude, which is the best way to grow intellectually.

My classes often have students who say they "couldn't fit into any other group."
If you look closely, you can see that these students have significantly higher energy levels than students who are well-integrated into the group.
There are many cases where people have excessively high expectations of themselves and thus have difficulty getting along with people of different standards.

The power you expect from yourself, I call this 'self-power'.
(…) Interestingly, people with high magnetic energy do not feel uncomfortable with each other.
This type of group has a distinctly different atmosphere from a group that is just a little bit more mixed together.
A group that is moderately mixed together is, so to speak, in a state of collusion.
A sense of relief arises that 'I'm satisfied with this level of myself', and as we say 'okay' and 'okay' to each other, we set our bidding prices low and let our minds rest easy.
However, a single bidder with high expectations of himself will not collude to lower his bid price.
It is set very high.
So, while I feel a tremendous burden of high expectations, I also feel the need to cultivate the strength to meet those expectations.
--- From "Don't try to get along with everyone"

Even if it's inevitable that you won't be recognized right now, it's not easy to accept yourself as neither here nor there.
The mantra I gave myself at that time was “Get results.”
To achieve results, you must spare no effort.
However, when you are young, even if you have goals, it is easy to get caught up in abstract beliefs and just worry.
Then, the tragedy occurs when you become so caught up in the pressure to do something big that you end up not being able to take concrete actions that will help you grow.
To avoid that, I constantly told myself to 'face reality' and 'achieve results'.
I gave myself a mission to become a great person.
There were times when I unconsciously said things like, "If only I had met a good boss," or "If only I had gotten into that university," or "If only I had done something," but those kinds of excuses never work in the competitive world.
Because results are everything.
--- From "Other people's approval can be poisonous"

It is said that Major League Baseball player Hideki Matsui often practiced his swing with manager Shigeo Nagashima during his time with the Yomiuri Giants.
There is also an episode where, even when going to camp or training, Matsui would make a swing motion in Coach Nagashima's office, and the coach would react with his eyes and say "good" or "no" to the sound of the bat cutting through the air, and they would have a silent conversation.

At the time, Coach Nagashima was a swing maniac, and during his active days, he would often wake up in the middle of the night to practice his swing.
He said he couldn't stand not practicing even in the middle of the night because he was worried about his batting form, so I think that a great player is different.
Interestingly, the more talented a person is, the more likely he or she is to think about the world he or she wants to create when he or she is alone.
In other words, being able to think deeply in your own time is also evidence of talent.
--- From "Do not evaluate relatively, but evaluate absolutely"

Usually, when you talk to someone, you end up comparing yourself to them without even realizing it.
Sometimes I have useless thoughts like, ‘Compared to that friend or senior, I am…’
If you do that, your confidence will naturally drop.
Comparisons can help us objectify ourselves, but they also weaken our self-affirmation.
Sometimes it's necessary to completely detach yourself from such comparisons and protect yourself from lowering your self-esteem.
Also, to protect myself, I think, 'It's meaningful to be working towards my goal now.
We need to create strong companions who will fight alongside us and pat us on the back, saying, 'You did not do anything wrong.'

Who can be the best colleague?
I need to be my colleague.
Especially when things aren't going well, it can feel like you have no one on your side.
Even in such times, we must train ourselves not to lose the thought that 'I am on my own side.'
--- From "Develop the Power of Self-Affirmation"

It is often said that people read a lot of books in elementary school, but hardly read any books after middle school.
The reason is that the barrier between children's reading and adult reading has not been overcome.
Works that deal with the theme of loneliness are usually classified as 'not suitable for children's literature.'
So the books we read as children are full of stories about dreams and fantasy.
However, starting around middle school, they begin to develop their own thoughts and experience various emotions, experiencing loneliness in life for the first time.
At this time, it is decided whether or not the adult can read.
Reading for adults is a lesson in positively accepting the fundamental loneliness of human beings.

--- From "Rely on the Classics"