{"id":60451,"date":"2025-06-29T18:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T08:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=60451"},"modified":"2025-06-29T18:03:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T08:03:05","slug":"soichiro-honda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=60451","title":{"rendered":"Soichiro Honda"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Soichiro<\/p>\n

\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t born knowing what to do\u2026<\/div>\n
I was born falling down \u2014 and learned to build on every fall.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
As a kid, I preferred machines over books.<\/div>\n
While others studied, I\u2019d sneak away to watch mechanics fix cars.<\/div>\n
My father was a blacksmith \u2014 we didn\u2019t have much.<\/div>\n
But I was certain of one thing:<\/div>\n
One day, I\u2019d build something big.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
What I didn\u2019t know back then was how many times I\u2019d have to crash first \u2014<\/div>\n
both literally and metaphorically.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I was rejected when I applied to work as an engineer.<\/div>\n
\u201cJust a mechanic,\u201d they said.<\/div>\n
So, I started a tiny workshop\u2026 which collapsed in an earthquake.<\/div>\n
I rebuilt it \u2014 then a war bomb destroyed it.<\/div>\n
When I tried again, I had no money and no materials.<\/div>\n
So I melted gasoline cans and made pistons by hand.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Finally, I built my first motorized bicycle.<\/div>\n
People laughed.<\/div>\n
\u201cLooks like a toy,\u201d they said.<\/div>\n
\u201cWho\u2019d want that?\u201d<\/div>\n
Years later, those very bikes were selling by the millions.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
When I founded Honda, they still doubted me.<\/div>\n
But I no longer cared \u2014 because I had learned something more powerful than success:<\/div>\n
I had learned how to endure.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
I went from sleeping on the floor\u2026<\/div>\n
to seeing my name on engines around the world.<\/div>\n
Not because I was the smartest \u2014<\/div>\n
but because I was the most stubborn.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Every time the world knocked me down,<\/div>\n
I answered with a new idea, a new invention,<\/div>\n
one more try.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
And that\u2019s what made all the difference.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be perfect.<\/div>\n
You just need to be stubborn with your dreams.<\/div>\n
Because the ones who fall the most\u2026<\/div>\n
are often the ones who rise the strongest.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\u2014 Soichiro Honda<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI wasn\u2019t born knowing what to do\u2026 I was born falling down \u2014 and learned to build on every fall.\u201d As a kid, I preferred machines over books. While others studied, I\u2019d sneak away to watch mechanics fix cars. My father was a blacksmith \u2014 we didn\u2019t have much. But I was certain of one … <\/p>\n

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