Konosuke Matsushita — The Man Who Turned Three "Withouts" Into Blessings

Konosuke Matsushita, revered as the god of Japanese management, described his origins through three "withouts": born without wealth, without education, without health. Leaving school at nine for an apprenticeship, he founded what became Panasonic at twenty-three and built a global enterprise in one lifetime.

The astonishing part: he spoke of the three "withouts" as blessings. Poverty taught him the dignity of commerce; lack of schooling let him ask anyone, humbly, to teach him; frail health forced him to delegate — and people grew.

The same circumstances can be lived as a curse or a blessing; the fork lies not in the circumstances but in the interpretation. What blessing can your "without" become?

What do you work for?