In Japan in the days of yore people lit their rooms with oil lamps which they placed on lampstands. The darkest place in the room turned out to be the place immediately under the lampstand where it cast its shadow. Hence today's proverb which reads,

Toudai moto kurashi

The literal transcription reads: "lampstand under dark" which can be rendered as "darkness beneath the lampstand."

However, to turn it into a sentence I preferred to go out on a limb and translate it as:

Beneath the lampstand all is dark.

In Japanese the word for "lighthouse" is also "toudai" ( 灯台 ) so the proverb is sometimes translated as "darkness at the base of the lighthouse," although that was not the original proverb.

Interpretation

1. We often overlook or take for granted things that are closest to us.

2. We can clearly see what is at a distance from us, but not what is closest.

3. The closer we come to the source of the light, the darker the shadow beneath it.

By the way, this proverb is an alternative 7th karuta to the one about tofu that I posted a few days ago. They both begin with "To" and "To" is the seventh syllable of the old Japanese syllabary.

Business Application

We are often attracted by the latest new "opportunity" that someone else offers us, but often overlook the things close to hand that could help up move our business forward.

In this context I recently noted down something that a guy who is blowing up social media right now said in a Youtube video I was watching. The guy is Alex Hormosi, and he said this:

1. Don't get distracted by the woman in the red dress.

2. Being advanced means you never don't do the basics.

Taken together those two points mean we need to keep our eyes on what is closest to us, in the shadows and easily overlooked... the basic things such as putting your nose to the grindstone and creating content, promoting your landing page, building your list. Focus on selling the offer you have to hand and not on grabbing shiny new offers out there. Focus on what is close by and easily overlooked, not on the bright shiny object that somebody else is waving at you.

Cheers!

David Hurley
#InspiredFocus
#Index4Index

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