"It is essential for a man to strive with all his heart, and to understand that it is difficult even to reach the average if he does not have the intention of surpassing others in whatever he does."
—Budo Shoshinshu
"In important matters, a 'strong' effort usually results in only mediocre results. Whenever we are attempting anything truly worthwhile our effort must be as if our life is at stake, just as if we were under a physical attack! It is this extraordinary effort—an effort that drives us beyond what we thought we were capable of—that ensures victory in battle and success in life's endeavors."
—Flashing Steel: Mastering Eishin-Ryu Swordsmanship

"A 'strong' effort usually results in only mediocre results"—I have seen this over and over again. The slightest effort suffices to convince ourselves that we have done our best.

There is a level beyond the virtue of tsuyoku naritai ("I want to become stronger"). Isshoukenmei was originally the loyalty that a samurai offered in return for his position, containing characters for "life" and "land". The term evolved to mean "make a desperate effort": Try your hardest, your utmost, as if your life were at stake. It was part of the gestalt of bushido, which was not reserved only for fighting. I've run across variant forms issho kenmei and isshou kenmei; one source indicates that the former indicates an all-out effort on some single point, whereas the latter indicates a lifelong effort.

I try not to praise the East too much, because there's a tremendous selectivity in which parts of Eastern culture the West gets to hear about. But on some points, at least, Japan's culture scores higher than America's. Having a handy compact phrase for "make a desperate all-out effort as if your own life were at stake" is one of those points. It's the sort of thing a Japanese parent might say to a student before exams—but don't think it's cheap hypocrisy, like it would be if an American parent made the same statement. They take exams very seriously in Japan.

Every now and then, someone asks why the people who call themselves "rationalists" don't always seem to do all that much better in life, and from my own history the answer seems straightforward: It takes a tr...

Challenging the Difficult