The relationship between having a gift, death, and love | Yuiga Kitano | TEDxKobe

Why are people's gifts being crushed? An IT executive and writer, Yuiga Kitano, explains the mechanism of how people who are categorised as geniuses are being excluded.

By breaking down people's gifts into three categories: creativity, reproducibility and empathy, he unravels the relationships between them. While doing so, he figures out that large corporations have a similar cause as to why they cannot innovate.

If what kills geniuses are ordinary people, it may be that ordinary people are also what make geniuses thrive. What can we as individuals do in order to make use of our own gifts?

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

When I was little,

I really liked the movies "Star Wars"

because it teaches us
that rather than just having a gift,

understanding how to use
that gift to a high level

is essential to our lives.

In the movie "Star Wars,"
there is a character called Darth Vader.

He is the genius of all geniuses.

It was thought that he'd change the world.

However, he didn't realise deep down
the existence of love flowing inside him

and turned to the dark side.

Meanwhile, his son Luke Skywalker
was not as gifted as him.

But because Luke Skywalker
truly understood how to use his gift,

he eventually defeated Darth Vader.

So what does this movie actually tell us?

Rather than just having a special gift,

being able to understand
that gift to a high level

has more of a positive impact in life.

That's what I think the movie teaches us.

What makes that difference

is the awareness of love
and deep emotions running inside of you.

One day, I came up with the hypothesis
that humans possess three types of gift.

Then I wrote a book about it,
and it became a bestseller.

The three types of gift are:

Number one is "creativity."

This is the ability to do things
in an original and never before seen way.

Number two is "reproducibility."

This is the ability to do things
using a logical and reliable process.

Number three is "empathy."

This is the ability to do things
while considering other people's feelings.

So, among these three types of gift,
which one do you think is your strongest?

In my opinion,

it doesn't matter
what kind of gift you have

because what you use that gift for
is by far the most important thing.

I'm sure of this.

In order to realise this,

I believe that it is crucial
to be aware of love and emotions

that run inside of you.

When I was little, I was in poor health.
I had asthma and atopic eczema,

so there were some days I could not go
to school even though I wanted to.

There were many times
when I felt frustrated.

But looking back at those times,

my father, mother and family supported me
and raised me with unconditional love.

So it goes without saying now
that I plan to return the favor to them

but I also plan to give back even more.

I'm confident that this
is how I use my gift.

And how big of a favour could I return?

Well, that depends on the size of my gift.

I recognise that there
is this kind of structure.

In other words, what is important

is that truly understanding your gift
means being aware of the love

and emotions running deep inside of you.

That is always the start to understanding.

Haven't you all ever wondered?

Why is it that as artists and musicians

age and grow older and older,

they suddenly start singing
about world peace and love?

They do, don't they?

When I was very little,
I could not help wondering why,

but now I came to understand.

It is because at that time and age,

artists and musicians begin to understand

that they have these kind of emotions
deep inside of themselves.

This is how I understand this.

When a person becomes aware of death,

it is said that it can change their view
on their way of life or thinking.

Actually,

I think becoming aware of love
has this same effect.

And the timing of this awareness varies.
Some people are slow, some are quick.

Those who are slow to become aware
may feel hatred and jealousy

up until the day before they die.

However, some could become aware
in their teens or twenties.

Or because of the death of someone
who was close to them,

some people may realise
that they had these emotions deep down.

Or when people see their child
for the first time,

when they see their face,

they may become aware
that they have these kind of emotions.

So, the important thing is,

when and at what age you recognise

the deep feeling of love
flowing inside of you.

And as I said just now, love is like death
so this logic applies to death, too.

Why does facing death
change how a person lives?

It is because they realise
that life is not absolute

but is instead relative.

Therefore, death, love and having a gift
are three elements in one unit

and are something very familiar
and close to us.

The concept of being aware of death
and being aware of love

are nearly equal
and are the same as realising

how to use your gift
and what your mission in life is.

I truly believe this.

I thought I would finish here today,

but since I came back to Kobe,

I would like to talk
more specifically about three things

that I usually keep in the back of my mind
such as how to use ones gift or ability.

I believe that the best way
to use creativity

is to accept and portray
people in a different way to others.

The fundamental role of a writer

is to portray love in a unique way
and show it in a gracious manner.

Even though everyone says A,

it should be OK to depict
A′ or B which are right next to A.

So if there were something
that we could do today,

when we go home, it doesn't matter
if it's just 30 seconds or one minute,

let's use that time for someone
who is different to us

or for someone who has
a different way of thinking to us.

My second point is reproducibility.

The best way of using reproducibility
is to communicate background.

The world is overflowing with movies
and dramas that have the same conclusion.

They're all the same.

They are always about love
and hope being important.

If you think about it,
they are all the same.

But writers use the technique
of storytelling to portray love carefully.

And it is extremely hard work
to create a story.

If there is no love in the subject,
you can't write a story.

In other words, if there were something
that we could do today,

we could go home, and for example,
instead of saying the conclusion

such as "do your homework"
or "do A" or "do B,"

consider the background,

why it's important
or why it's significant in your life

and create a story.

This is the second point.

I think that the best way to use
the third point, empathy,

is actually just by being happy.

I believe as people become more important,
become leaders and become parents,

just being happy is the best way
of using the gift of empathy.

I usually work as the manager
of an IT company,

and I also would like you to imagine:

if your boss or leader
were angry or in a bad mood,

that alone would be enough
to stifle your potential.

Perhaps, if I say more,
I would like you to remember

when you were in elementary school
or in kindergarten and you went home,

and your father or mother
were frustrated or in a foul mood,

just that made your heart sink, right?

In other words, I believe that as people
become important and become leaders,

being happy is the best way
of making the most of the gift of empathy.

Let's go back to the start.

The movie "Star Wars"
was asking us this question:

Isn't it more important to understand
how to use your gift to the next level

rather than just being really gifted?

I hope today's talk inspires you.

Thank you very much.

(Applause)