Baby yooki with bua

Idea Marathon

Dr Takeo Higuchi and the idea of the Idea Marathon

Dr Higuchi often speaks about creativity using the metaphor of a marathon, not a sprint. The Idea Marathon is his way of reframing how we relate to ideas, writing, and creative work—especially for thinkers, educators, and artists who feel the pressure to be "original" all the time.

Here's the essence of the idea:

1. Ideas are built through endurance

Dr Higuchi reminds us that meaningful ideas are not sudden flashes. They are born through staying with a theme over time, returning to it again and again, even when it feels dry or repetitive.

Creativity matures through persistence, not excitement.

2. Daily writing is the training

Just as a marathon runner trains every day, he encourages writing every day—not to produce masterpieces, but to strengthen creative stamina. Some days are slow, some clumsy. All days count.

3. Repetition deepens insight

Revisiting the same idea from different angles allows it to evolve. What seems "already said" often reveals a deeper layer when approached with patience and sincerity.

4. Don't chase novelty—chase continuity

He gently warns against obsession with new ideas. Instead, he values continuity of inquiry. Staying loyal to a question is often more powerful than constantly searching for new ones.

5. The ordinary days matter most

In the Idea Marathon, uninspired days are not failures; they are part of the terrain. Dr Higuchi says these days build the inner strength that makes breakthrough moments possible.

6. Creativity as human revolution

For him, the marathon is not only intellectual—it is spiritual. Showing up daily to think, write, and reflect is an act of inner transformation. Over time, this steady effort reshapes one's life, not just one's work.

7. Finish lines are not the goal

Unlike a race, the Idea Marathon has no final finish. The purpose is not completion, but a lifelong dialogue with ideas—one that continues to deepen compassion, wisdom, and contribution.

In a quiet but radical way, Dr Higuchi is saying:
Creativity is not talent—it is commitment over time.

Innovation

yooki has worked very hard on her post office stall - making detailed charts etc - cannot wait for tomorrow - we will go to ois fest

"To simplify before you understand the details is ignorance. To simplify after you understand the details is genius." ---- Most inventors find that they need to keep 'just trying' things. Tolerance of error is therefore critical. Of all the lessons of innovations in the book, I think the most relevant is Thomas Edison's. Edison understood better than anybody before, and many since, that innovation is itself a product, the manufacturing of which is a team effort requiring trial and error. He tested more than 6000 plant materials till he found the right kind of bamboo for the filament of a light bulb. 'I've not failed,' he once said. 'I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.'

Starting his career in the telegraph industry and diversifying into stock-ticker machines, he step up a laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey, in 1876, to do what he called 'the invention business', later moving to an even bigger outfit in West Orange. He assembled a team of 200 skilled craftsmen and scientist and worked them ruthlessly hard. Edison's approach worked: within six years he had registered 400 patents. He remained relentlessly focused on finding out what the world needed and then inventing ways of meeting the needs, rather than the other way around. The method of invention was always trial and error. In developing the nickel-iron battery his employees undertook 50,000 experiments.

Invention, he famously said, is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Yet in effect what he was doing was not invention, so much as innovation: turning ideas into practical, reliable and affordable reality. 2) How Innovation Works: The main ingredient in the secret sauce that leads to innovation is freedom. Freedom to exchange, experiment, imagine, invest and fail; freedom from exploration or restriction by chiefs, priests and thieves; freedom on the part of consumers to reward the innovations they like and reject the ones they do not. Innovation is the child of freedom, because it is a free, creative attempt to satisfy freely expressed human desires.  This reliance on freedom explains why innovation cannot easily be planned, because neither human wishes nor the means of their satisfaction are easy to anticipate in the detail required; why innovation none the less seems inevitable in retrospect, because the link between desire and satisfaction is only then manifest; why innovation is a collective and collaborative business, because one mind knows too little about other minds; why innovation is organic because it must be a response to an authentic and free desire, not what somebody in authority thinks we should want; why nobody really knows how to cause innovation, because no one can make people want something. Innovation happens when ideas can meet and mate, when experiment is encouraged, when people and goods can move freely and when money can flow towards fresh concepts, when those who invest can be sure their rewards will not be stolen. Innovation is the child of freedom and the parent of prosperity. --- "Work is endless. Exercise is endless. Parenting is endless. Same with marriage, writing, investing, creating, and more. You get to choose the parts of your life, but many of the important things in life cannot be "finished." Do not approach an endless game with a finite mindset. The objective is not to be done, but to settle into a daily lifestyle you can sustain and that allows you to make daily progress on the areas that matter. Embrace the fact that life is continual and look for ways to enjoy the daily practice."

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"'Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.' "

Struggles and songs

Yooki and prithvi have been dancing to chicken banana  Yooki wrote an insane article on advantages of having a sibling. I will post when she makes it fair. Read poems by Mary Oliver  WHEN I AM AMONG THE TREES:

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, "Stay awhile."

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,

"and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine."

2) DON'T HESITATE:

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don't hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that's often the case.

Anyway, whatever it is, don't be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

With yooki

Yooki didis taal se taal mila performance

Dealing with set backs that make you cry

 Yooki you faced one of your first set backs when u worked hard for an exam and didn't do so well. 

I however remind you of the zen saying of reframing the problem. And some more things. I say this because you are a beautiful emotional child. But you tend to get upset when you see failures. And failures are important part of growth. 

A Zen Koan

A master approaches his student while holding a large, switch-like stick in his hands. He tells his student:

"If you tell me the stick is real, then I will beat you with it. If you tell me the stick is not real, then I will beat you with it. If you say nothing, then I will beat you with it."

And so, the student reaches out, grabs the stick, and breaks it.

This is my point. My point will always be one of agency.

Once you see the game, you can break the stick.

Always remember somewhere, at this very moment, someone appears to be doing better than you. Their progress is faster. Perhaps their business grows more quickly or their career is advancing rapidly. Maybe dating is easy for them or their progress in the gym seems to come effortlessly. In any domain, there is always another life that shimmers more than your own.

But comparison is a poor use of energy. You were not meant to inhabit someone else's story. You have your own work to do. The goal is not to beat their life, the goal is to live your life. Keep your eyes on your own paper. Stay on the path and continue forward, even when progress feels slow.

Don't ruminate, activate.

I find it is difficult to think my way into a better mood. When I sit and stew, the problem usually grows larger in my mind.

But if I activate — even if it's unrelated to the problem at hand — my mood tends to improve. Action breaks the spell. Move your body, go outside, play an instrument, work in a different room, do something.

Movement changes your state. And when your state changes, your perspective changes. New solutions appear. You notice options that were invisible when your mind was stuck running the same loop.

Always remember-
If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want long life, joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into, the thing that has them.

Als

o

Yooki ‘s post school snack

Greek yoghurt with chia seeds and Caramelized fresh strawberries
Baby cucumber
Broccoli
Prawns (were from highway gomantak)

Improve your presence via a acting coach

Two of the most effective tools come directly from the Michael Chekhov technique. Radiation and Fir. These are not abstract ideas. They are practical, repeatable exercises.

Radiation is simple. You imagine light coming from your face, your eyes, or your entire body. You are not pushing energy. You are allowing yourself to be seen. Actors lose presence when they hide. Radiation gently brings you forward and makes you readable without forcing anything.

Fire is inner heat and power. In Chekhov technique, we often access this through a physical purge. A breath, a sound, a release that warms the body and creates vibration. You work from the outside in. The body wakes up the actor. Presence follows.

The third piece is real thought. When there are active thoughts underneath the lines, the audience leans in. Watchable actors are thinking actors, not line readers.

And finally, listening. Deep listening with your whole body. When you are truly off yourself, your responses change every time.

That unpredictability is compelling.

This is Chekhov based acting training, and it is what I teach actors to help them become alive on camera and on stage. It is the foundation of real presence.

Sent from my iPhone

Happy 2026

8 Important Lessons I learned in 2025:

- Discipline is the real flex.
- The calmer you are, the clearer you think.
- Action is the antidote to anxiety.
- Confidence comes from preparation.
- Just make it exist first. You can make it good later.
- Your next move matters more than your last mistake.
- Allow yourself to shine without the desire to be seen.
- Some years you win, some years you build character.
- success should always be redoubled, renewed. It's never permanent.
- sing the song u have, the woods would be awfully quiet if only the best birds sang
- patience is the biggest virtue
- increase your uncertainty tolerance
- if ur mind can control what u can eat, your mind can control the world

Art exhibition with mumma and yooki

Part 2

Yooki and mumma date to an art exhibition

Tooth fairy letter 2025

Pretty little strawberry

Papa yooki hk

Aesthetic time table by yooki

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"'Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.' "

Big day for yooki- she has her grade 4 Olympiad - she prepped all by herself and she is in school basketball team too

Whatever you're doing, do it well. If you're writing a thank you note, take an extra minute to mention something beyond the typical thank you. If you're exercising, do each set as well as you can. If you're in conversation, really listen and don't just wait for your turn to talk. 

Having high standards adds up. You can nearly always find an extra minute to do it better. And most important, you prove to yourself that you're the type of person who does things well."

I am rooted but I flow

Strawberry girl

Yooki during haircut