Being a huge fan of the masterpiece Japanese manga “Slam Dunk”, I have read the original 31 volumes for more than 100 times. And I have different feelings when I read them as I age. And they have also contributed to my growth as an investor and a person.
Rukawa used to be my favorite character. Not because he’s a handsome cool dude, but because of his competitiveness and desire to be the best. Despite being a freshman, he challenged the strongest rivals and never backed down. He’s a talented scorer and became the offensive ace of his team in his first year, but he’s also one of the hardest and focused players, particularly after the inspiration from coach Anzai. As a person, he is a genuine, simple, driven and moving individual. He does nothing besides playing basketball and sleeping, and he cares about nothing besides winning.
I could never fathom that Akagi is now my favorite character. After all, this boring Gorilla is difficult to attract much love. Akagi was the captain as well as the heart and soul of the Shohoku team. He’s a quiet hard worker who leads by example. In his final year of high school and having minimal achievements in his previous years, he wanted to win as badly as anyone. Despite all the doubts and mocking laughter by people around him, Akagi always believed he could win a national championship one day. In fact, he’s as talented as anybody, with his staggering height of 197 cm and a huge body. Amid the rise of new stars Rukawa and Sakuragi, Akagi put aside his ego and accepted a low-profile role as an unsung hero that enables other team mates to shine . He was the foundation of trust of his team, and that all began with him trusting his team mates.
As an absolute underdog, this Shohoku team defeated the defending champion Sannoh High team in the national contest and shocked the Japanese basketball world.
As I grew older, I started to understand that Shohoku team without Rukawa would still be a decent team, but without Akagi, the team would only be a bunch of individuals which would not achieve anything.
As an investor, I want to emphasize the importance of focus and belief. Focus on what we love and believe in dreams. At the same time, we have to learn to grit and grind at all times and seize opportunities as they arise.
As a person, we need to make sacrifices and respect people who make sacrifices. We need to accept different roles to put our team in the best position to win.
“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”
— Anatole France
作為日本神作漫畫《男兒當入樽》的忠實擁躉，我讀過那31卷原版漫畫書超過100遍。隨著年齡的增長，我閱讀它們時有不同的感受。它們也為我作為投資者和個人的成長做出了貢獻。
流川曾經是我最喜歡的角色。不是因為他是一個冷酷的帥哥，而是因為他的爭勝心和渴望成為最強的意志。儘管是個新生，他不斷主動挑戰最強的對手並且從未退縮。他是一名才華橫溢的得分手，並在他加入隊的第一年就成為球隊的進攻王牌，但他依然是最勤奮和最專注的球員之一，尤其是在受到安西教練的啟發之後。他是一個真誠，簡單，積極和令人感動的人。除了打籃球和睡覺之外，他什麼也不做。除了勝利之外，他什麼都不在乎。
我永遠也無法相信赤木現在是我最喜歡的角色。畢竟，這頭無聊的大猩猩很難令人特別喜愛。赤木是湘北隊的隊長，也是隊中的靈魂。他總是默默耕耘，以身作則。在他高中的最後一年及過去幾年裡成就微不足道的背景下，他比任何人都更渴望勝利。儘管周圍的人充滿了懷疑和嘲笑，但赤木始終堅信他有一天可以贏得全國冠軍。實際上，他的天賦並不遜於任何人，光是他197厘米的身高及其龐大身軀就已經叫人吃驚。在新星流川和櫻木的崛起中，赤木拋開了自尊，甘心接受成為球隊無名英雄的低調角色，使其他隊友發光發亮。他是球隊信任的基礎，而這一切始於他信任隊友。
在一面倒被看淡的情況下，這支湘北隊最後在全國大賽中擊敗了衛冕冠軍球隊山王工業，震撼日本籃球界。
隨著年齡的增長，我開始理解到沒有流川的湘北仍然會是一支不錯的球隊，但是如果沒有了赤木，湘北只會是一事無成的一盤散沙。
作為投資者，我想強調專注和信念的重要性。專注於我們熱愛的事物並相信夢想。同時，我們必須學習時刻刻苦，並在機遇出現時緊緊抓住。
作為一個人，我們需要作出犧牲，並尊重作出犧牲的人。我們需要接受不同的角色，以使我們的團隊處於最佳位置去爭勝。
“要成就偉大的事情，我們不僅要行動，而且還要有夢想；不僅要計劃，而且還要相信。”
— 阿納托爾 ．法郎士
