Preface to the Korean edition_ To the Korean readers
Entering_ Life doesn't always go as planned, but I try my best.

Chapter 0: Why Do We Need Management Strategy in Life?
Problem Awareness ① The Rough Waves of the Times
Mental decline and loss of self in a transitional society l An era where one's position determines one's life l A social structure presupposing high growth l A world where it is difficult to rely solely on fate

Problem Awareness ② Unprepared Individuals
The idea that "something will work out" l Social change begins with individual change.

Problem Awareness ③ Polarizing theories of life and career
Neither is the right answer l The path to innovation that breaks contradictions l Be wise as a snake, be kind as a dove

Chapter 1: Setting Goals for the Project Called "Life"
01 Understanding the Basic Principles of Life - Purpose
The right strategy starts with the right goal l The game of changing time capital into other capital l Social capital increases with human capital l Social capital creates financial capital l Two types of capital l Money and success are not everything l The equation of quality of life and three types of capital l How to avoid having your life stolen by time thieves

Chapter 2: Making Long-Term Plans to Avoid "Just Going With the Flow"
02 Project logic over a very long period of time - life cycle curve
Life has four seasons l It's never too early or too late l Lesson ① Rational behavior changes with each season l Lesson ② Roles and ways of contributing at each stage of life l Is the peak of intellectual productivity in your 40s? l
In the latter half of life, we utilize another intelligence l Lesson ③ The importance of long-term rationality l The pitfalls of short-term rationality l The diverging lives of two pianists

03 Read the signs and move faster than others - Chasm
The landscape changes when it exceeds 20% l Companies that enter the market before the chasm l Growth markets explode in an instant l You can't win if you're not premature l Too early, too late is a problem l Differential lenses for reading social change l Signs that key talent recognizes first

04 How to Turn Unexpected Events into Opportunities - Adaptation Strategies
Plan, execute, and modify l Be flexible, sometimes boldly l My adaptation strategy

Chapter 3: How to Make Better Choices
Finding Your Place with the 5-Force Model - Positioning Part 1
The real reason why broadcasting companies have high salaries l The standard for measuring the attractiveness of a location l The flow of change that the broadcasting industry has experienced l Decision-making is not a matter of courage or ambition l This story applies equally to individuals l The value of talent is determined by supply and demand l The trap of trendy qualifications or degrees l The threat of substitutes brought about by technological advancements l Three strategies for surviving in the AI ​​era

06 Finding a Place to Stay While Keeping Moving - Positioning Part 2
The primal question of 'Where are you?' l Let's change location rather than ability l The era of nationwide competition created by remote work l The function of location and performance l From regional centers to national niche markets l Beware of a life of complacency l The reason I boldly left a successful consulting firm

07 Why You Should Pay Attention to Companies Creating Social Benefits - CSV Competitive Strategy
Porter's Confusing Thesis | Social Value Comes First | Organizational Culture Determines Performance | Vision Changes Organizational Culture | Where Does True Motivation Come From? | We Choose Affiliations Based on Social Values ​​| Individual Movements Move Society

08 He who works hard cannot beat him who enjoys it - Self-motivation
Consistency Wins Over Talent l Japanese Society Obsesses Over Innate Talent l Those Who Enjoy Can't Win l
How much you enjoy something determines your success l When rewards become poison

09 Focus on the characteristics that others cannot imitate - Resource-based perspective
Equip yourself with resources and capabilities that are hard to come by. l A fatal weakness can become a strength. l The dangerous question of strength. l Find the answer in what you've been doing for a long time.

10 My Own Combination of Different Things - Initiative Portfolio
Advantages of a portfolio l Try things with different risks and returns l Einstein, a representative example of the barbell strategy l Include differences in time axes l Balance between rice work and life work l How to run social enterprises and for-profit businesses together l Be careful about diversifying strategic resources l Why I started a blog

Chapter 4: Decision-Making Skills That Apply to Me
11. Create Your Own Combination - Blue Ocean Strategy
You don't have to be number one in your industry | Unique combinations are important | The more intersections there are, the more diverse the world becomes | The clues to combinations lie in the past

12. Number of plate appearances is more important than batting average - Creativity theory
You didn't make a lot because you succeeded, but you succeeded because you made a lot l The basis of strategy is a lot of useless attempts l How to apply various results to life l The cost-effectiveness of success and failure is asymmetrical l It's more important to stand at the plate than to batting average l It's surprisingly difficult to keep failing

13. Make a choice that is advantageous no matter which way you go - the strategy of absolute advantage.
Choosing the 1983 America's Cup Champion Yacht l What is an Absolute Advantage Strategy in a Race l Converse Betting is Effective Early in Life l Performance Doesn't Guarantee Victory

14 Time Allocation Methods Considering Future Value - Net Present Value
It's dangerous to focus solely on immediate value. l Consider the time it takes to achieve results. l Don't waste time on trendy technologies and knowledge. l The most enduring competitive edge comes from a liberal arts education.

15 Always have multiple options at hand - The value of choice
Using the concept of options in everyday life l Applying the mindset of option value to real-world decision-making l The more successful a person is, the more he or she secures option value l In an era where cowards have a competitive advantage l How to utilize options in life management

Chapter 5: Learning and Growth
16 Write down and score important things yourself - Balanced Score Card (BSC)
Evaluation criteria include both short-term and long-term l Apply BSC to life l Set your own standards l
The sin of deviating from the goal l An elite who follows others' standards l Setting standards based on my own answers

17. If you hit a dead end, try it first - Benchmarking
Benchmarking comes from humility l Benchmarking is possible even in different fields l The first step to learning is imitation l Creativity and imitation are only a sheet of paper apart l Three ways to practice benchmarking in life

18 How to Turn Failure into an Asset - Experiential Learning Theory
Experience is a good failure l If everything goes smoothly, it is a sign of danger l An organization's experience is a management resource l It creates opportunities for itself and changes itself to suit opportunities

19 The more you expose your weaknesses, the stronger you become - Development-oriented organizations
The true meaning of being in the right place at the right time l Think of weaknesses as resources l Turn everyday tasks into training l Break out of the comfort zone l Even seemingly trivial tasks can be surprisingly valuable

20. Servant Leadership: Making the Joy of Sharing and Helping Your Life Energy
Support instead of domination l Limitations of dominating leadership l How to overcome the transition period l Let go of the values ​​you pursued in the summer of life l The intelligence that shines as you age l Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence l The relationship between servant leadership and crystallized intelligence l Jumping over the waves of two intelligences l The real fun starts now

In closing, to hackers in capitalist society:
Appendix: List of Books for Self-Study in Business Administration

“Who is deciding my life?”
The Art of Self-Determination for the Project Called 'Life'

"What Kind of Life Do I Want to Live" is a book about living your own life in an age that has lost its meaning, and it is a reboot button for your thoughts that will get your stagnant life moving again.
Shu Yamaguchi is a thinker who crosses the boundaries of philosophy, management, and art, and has written books that redefine the essence of life through "how to think."
His previous works, "How Philosophy Becomes a Weapon for Life" and "Doing a Good Job," became bestsellers and sparked a "boom in thought" by redefining the meaning of work and life.


This new work, "What Kind of Life Do I Want to Live," is the result of his deeper thinking, and it became the most talked-about book of the year, selling 100,000 copies immediately after its publication on Amazon Japan in 2025 and establishing itself as a comprehensive bestseller.
He no longer discusses matters of work or success.
Instead, he says that we should view life itself as a 'project' and devise appropriate strategies as if we were running a business.
Having worked as an advertising planner and management consultant, he has brought together his areas of expertise in a refreshing way.


Think, decide, live your life

The modern disease he diagnoses is 'loss of self-determination.'
Yamaguchi Shu says this:
“He who does not think is chosen.
The moment you stop making your own decisions, your life is moved and governed by the strategies of others.” Those who live according to the standards set by society eventually come to a halt when faced with the question, “Who am I, and why do I live this way?”
That moment of pause is the only chance to change the direction of your life.
Stopping is not failure, it is inspection.
Identity can be seen as a distress signal that life sends us and an opportunity for redesign.
Shu Yamaguchi suggests that we should not fear this period, but rather use it as a “period of renewal of thought.”

The author redesigns life from a management perspective.
The core concepts are three capitals.
Time capital, social capital, financial capital.
Time capital refers to 'how I spend my time', social capital refers to 'who I am connected to', and financial capital refers to 'how stably I maintain my foundation'.
When the balance of these three capitals is broken, life loses direction.
What he particularly emphasizes is that the way you spend your time determines the structure of your life.
A shift in thinking that prioritizes time over money and meaning over efficiency is the beginning of sustainable happiness.
His life strategy is not 'more' but 'deeper' growth.

A life-planning class for today's times, taught through 20 strategies.

The book unfolds through a total of 20 strategies.
In the introduction, we bring up the issues we must address in this day and age.
This is an era in which we have lost ‘self-determination.’
And, by viewing life as a 'project', we begin to talk in earnest about the balance of the three capitals of money, relationships, and time, as a premise for life planning.
The author views life as a very long life cycle.
It acknowledges the cycle of growth, maturity, decline, and recovery that comes and goes like the seasons, and teaches us how to adjust our lives with long-term rationality rather than short-term efficiency.
It also suggests adaptive strategies that turn unexpected events into opportunities, how to redesign one's "place" through a positioning perspective, how to secure options to avoid being shaken by uncertainty, how to quantify and check one's standards, and practical advice to begin action with benchmarking when facing a dead end.

Finally, we delve into the essence of ‘learning and growth’.
It emphasizes transforming failure into an experience asset, embracing a culture of revealing weaknesses and learning from them, and emphasizing an attitude of using "support" and "sharing" rather than "domination" as the energy of life, similar to servant leadership.
This is a comprehensive guide on how to develop the talent that is me over a long period of time.
This book's 20 life management strategies rearrange life design to cultivate "depth of meaning" rather than "height of success," helping readers regain the power to think and make decisions for themselves.