Kim Chang-ok, Korea's leading lecturer, presents the absolute principles of recovery and recharge for a sustainable life! Work, rest, mind, body, family, friends... What truly matters in your life? In a country where annual working hours exceed the OECD average by over 400 hours, this book offers modern people living in an era of overload, high efficiency, and unstoppable competition methods to achieve their own success without burnout or exhaustion, without wavering.
The author's honest confessions and realistic guidance, based on intense contemplation and experimentation with the questions, "What is my life?" and "How do I truly want to live?", offer readers new insights into work, life, and success.


This book is a selection of renowned lectures that have received rave reviews from millions of audiences and subscribers of Kim Chang-ok TV.
It tells stories that will lead to true change and growth, such as how to check your own pace, the values ​​and attitudes that must be upheld in life, the importance and methods of self-care, and how to build healthy relationships.


When you need comfort and courage, when you're unsure of what kind of life you want to live, when you want to reorganize your life, when you want to change but don't know where to start, Kim Chang-ok's true messages, born from his experiences and reflections, will provide a clue to the complexities within you and, like a sip of water, give you the strength to live again.

What we have protected.
If you have kept time for reading, prayer, and exercise, those times will protect your life, even if not now.

If I stick to my exercise schedule, exercise will save me, and if I stick to my health checkups, those checkups will likely save my life.
The friends I have protected will protect me when the time comes, and the family I have protected will protect me.
The values ​​and attitude we have maintained in life will protect us throughout our lives.

So let's live a life that upholds what we feel is valuable.
It would be a pretty cool life.

---From "What you protect will protect you"

Have you recently gone somewhere because you liked it? When was the last time you met someone because you liked it? Have you recently started something because you liked it? Take a moment to reflect on these questions.
Like work, I go because I have to, I do because I have to, and I meet people because I have to meet them.
Aren't you living like that? I'm not saying that's a bad thing.
Most people live like that.
Because living to fulfill the duties and responsibilities given to you is not the problem.
But the point is that we need to look back and see if life is not just full of that.
I'm talking about a life filled with only obligations.

---From "If Life Were Filled Only with Duty"

I would like to recommend it to people.
Be sure to buy some time.
That would require money too.
Buy time with the money you earn through work and hard work.
And don't think of it as sad.
It is a very noble and admirable thing.
Buy me time and spend it on whatever I want.
I now want to live a life that is a little different.
So I'm trying.
I present the process of that effort, the moments of that commitment, to people through lectures, books, and even a small piece of firewood.
'Kim Chang-ok also has these concerns.
There are people out there who think like me.
I'm struggling too, so I can know that I'm not the only one.

---From "If Life Were Filled Only with Duty"

Purity, values, beliefs, convictions, faith… .
I sincerely hope that those who listen to their inner voice and protect it will do well.
I know it's difficult.
But I hope that there will be more role models who can tell the next generation that they can live well and make money while maintaining their purity, and that they can recommend that they too take up the baton and give it a try.
I hope that as the foundations are laid, society as a whole will become healthier little by little.
I hope that there will be more examples of success and courage, that it is okay to live well by listening to your inner voice, and that it is okay to follow your own path.
It's a big ask, but I want to be that kind of person too.
We sincerely hope for your success.

---From "What are you protecting and living for?"

How can I live my life wonderfully every day?
Can we live each day with pride and a sense of accomplishment?
It's okay to pretend to be strong when you're having a hard time, cheerful when you're depressed, or not hurt at all.
It's okay to sometimes show others my weak and inadequate face hidden behind the mask.

And look at your own bare face often.
If you look quietly at your own bare face, you can understand the faces behind other people's masks.
I wish I could show my bare face to someone when life gets so hard that I feel like giving up.
And I also want to be someone who can show their bare face to others.

---From "Should I hide my true self under the mask until the very end?"

Many people want to be loved by their partner and avoid being abandoned.
But love is neither about receiving nor giving.
I want to be loved, give love, even give love… .
Everyone has their faults.
Love is something you 'do'.
As an independent human being, I put my heart and energy into things that I find valuable.
This is love.
The subject of love is myself.
I'm getting to know and meet someone.
Then, things might not go well, and you might feel limited at some point.
In such cases, you must be able to acknowledge the current situation and part ways politely.
Through that process, you can stand upright and healthy on your own.

---From "How to be good at dating and breaking up"

There is a common misunderstanding we have.
I think that only when you are close can you be considered a good relationship.
Communication isn't always about getting what you want.
True communication is about acknowledging and leaving each other with the appropriate distance and space.
Communication isn't just about always getting along perfectly and having back-and-forth conversations.
Sometimes, when a child wants to close the door, you don't open it. But when the child does open the door, you knock and show respect and wait for the child. This is communication.

The same goes for couples.
It can last a long time if an appropriate distance is maintained.
If you get too close, you will end up getting farther away.
I personally think this way.
What matters is not whether we live together, but how we live together.

---From "Maintaining an appropriate distance"

If you want to maintain a healthy relationship, whether it be a loving relationship, a marital relationship, or a family relationship, perhaps what you need is not ‘love’ but ‘your own health.’
Close your eyes slightly and focus on me.
If you take good care of yourself and build the strength to stand on your own, you can have good relationships.
If I can't stand on my own, no one can make me stand.
The person who knows my difficult situation best is not my wife, my husband, my lover, my children, or my counselor, but me.
So if I don't comfort myself, I will continue to be lonely.
If I don't develop my own strength, I will continue to live dependent on others.
The relationship continues to lead to planetary explosions.
So, if you want to have a good relationship, come find me when I'm having a hard time and comfort me.
Please come to me, the lonely one who is crouching down.
The only person who can help me is myself.

---From "Maintaining an appropriate distance"