The Goal of Buying a Porsche

I’ve often asked my husband, “How can someone become able to buy a Porsche?” and shared his answers here on the blog.

ポルシェを買えるようになるには、ただ頑張るだけでいいのか？

「どうすればポルシェを買えるようになる？」素朴な疑問を夫にぶつけてみた

Recently, I asked him again, “What did you do when you were younger to be able to buy a Porsche?” He told me that about once every ten years, he writes down his future goals in a notebook.

And just the other day, he found that notebook from his twenties. When he looked inside, it apparently said:

“Buy a Porsche at 33 years old.”

My husband’s actual notebook. It was written on the last page.

(It looks like it says “Porche”… and some kanji are a bit off, too lol) In response, my husband said,

I actually bought my first Porsche (981 Boxster GTS) a little later, so the age is a bit off, but the goal of buying a Porsche in my thirties was definitely achieved. Although I had completely forgotten I even wrote that goal down lol.

He also said that back when he wrote that goal, his monthly salary was about 200,000 yen, but he never doubted for a second that he would be able to buy a Porsche in the future. He never once thought, “I might not be able to buy one.” He only imagined a future where he absolutely could buy one.

When I said, “It’s amazing you could believe you’d definitely be able to buy a Porsche while living alone on 200,000 yen a month,”

he replied,

Yeah… normally you wouldn’t think so, but I truly never doubted it. Thinking back, it all started with my university entrance exam. Getting into a university I’d always thought was impossible and way out of reach was a huge success for me. From then on, I strongly believed that things aren’t as hard as people say if you make the right effort in the right direction.

My husband went to a high school that wasn’t exactly known for academic excellence, and he was near the bottom of his class with a national deviation score around 30-40 (he admits he barely studied during those three years). He failed every university entrance exam he took, so after graduating high school, he spent a year at a prep school. There, the classes were incredibly interesting and easy to understand, and studying became fun. His deviation score nearly doubled compared to before, and the following year he was able to enter the university he aimed for.

That success became a major turning point and had a big impact on his life. By the way, he described his prep school experience like this:

I feel like I was born again at 19 lol. I learned a lot that year, but the biggest thing was that I stopped being fooled by “common sense” and “normal.” When I was still in high school, I was intimidated by the brand of a prestigious university, scared by the acceptance rates, and very concerned about the “common sense” that aiming for that university with my deviation score was reckless. Then I met a prep school teacher who I still consider a mentor, and he said, “Success stories don’t spread ‘common sense’ or ‘normal.’ Why listen to people who haven’t succeeded?” That changed my mindset dramatically. I studied the thinking, philosophy, and behavior patterns of successful people. I stopped worrying about acceptance rates and deviation scores, focused on improving my own academic ability, and just aimed for perfect scores. One day, I realized I had reached a much higher level. I was standing in a place I once thought was impossible to reach, way out of my league. That experience made me realize that “common sense” and “normal” can be scary. From now on, I want to live true to myself without being misled by those ideas.

I thought, wow—I wish I’d met a teacher like that too (laughs). And it’s true that when you have a big success or an experience that changes your values, it gives you the confidence to keep challenging yourself.

Hearing this again made me realize once more that to succeed, it’s extremely important to surround yourself with successful people.