Recently I have been reminiscing once again about the phrase “tomorrow’s today, yesterday’s today.” I coined this expression more than 30 years ago, but it holds water in any era. What is “tomorrow’s today”? It means living today for tomorrow’s sake and taking steps in accordance with some kind of strategy. “Today” is not something that appears all of a sudden. “Today” is the outcome of thinking about “tomorrow” and making moves in days gone by. Proverbially speaking, “we reap what we sow.”
Only a superficial understanding of the idea and perspective of “tomorrow’s today” will not do. A superficial knowledge amounts to knowing nothing at all and won’t enable you to get a grasp of tomorrow. In the end, it results in nothing more than a parallel extension from the past.
The origin of the idea and perspective of “tomorrow’s today” lies in human beings. Human beings exist surrounded by various elements, such as the sun, the Earth, and living creatures. And there is birth and death. There is birth and death in everything. Birth means existence. Death, or nothingness, also means a beginning.
If we think about time, we can understand existence and nothingness. What does the life of human beings from birth to death look like from the perspective of the world of light-years? Nothing at all. But nevertheless human beings go on existing in a time chain, with parents producing offspring, who grow up and produce more offspring.
Human beings exist in a period of 100 years. During these 100 years, there is birth, and there is death. The spotlight seems to fall on this 100-year time capsule. In these 100 years, there exist children, adults, and elderly, who form generations, create a sequence of time, and live their lives to the full.
The idea of “tomorrow’s today” means looking at today from a distance on the basis of a profound understanding of this essence. Looking at today from a distance, looking at today from tomorrow, is impossible without a vision of the future, a vision of tomorrow. In order to look into the future and see tomorrow, you have to have a strict awareness and understanding about human existence.
Without the existence of human beings, nothing begins, nothing happens. In other words, products and services only see the light of day thanks to the existence of human beings. That’s obvious, you might retort. But unless you have an essential understanding of what human beings are all about, you cannot say that it is obvious.
In according with this idea of “tomorrow’s today, yesterday’s today,” I believe that if a business or a company or whatever is facing a difficult situation today, it is often the result of a continuation from yesterday, a parallel extension from the past. They didn’t forecast “today” a few years ago and take action accordingly. When people are enjoying prosperity, the measures taken in the past are the most effective. But in thriving cases as well, if we neglect to take action for tomorrow, a difficult situation is sure to emerge a few years down the road. It is only by envisioning the future and taking proper action that we can pave the way to “tomorrow” and savor prosperity “today.” Our industry must do its best to secure sales in “tomorrow’s today.”