Drowning. The feeling of not being able to take a breath. I’m sure my therapist would have something to say about the deep psychological reasons for it.

Losing consciousness or awareness.

Incapacitation.

Insanity. I am on a recovery programme – clean from drugs and drink for many years – and if I stopped doing all that stuff I’d go crazy pretty quick and pick up drugs again, because I was a real fucking addict.

A supervisor once told me that an amateur is someone eager for knowledge. Start by looking to learn the things you don’t know.

Having said that, feeling isolated is tough. In those times, you need a place where you can be by yourself, and friends. Company colleagues won’t do it because they’re generally self-centered (laughs). You need friends who have nothing to do with the company.

While many people are content with their current job, I’m sure some do not feel that way. Yet all of it has meaning. No experience is pointless—what you take out of it is up to you.

People fail because they’re taking on new challenges. If they don’t fail, it’s because they’ve only set themselves small goals, and they’ve placed themselves in a safe environment where they aren’t taking on challenges.

Rather than trying to do something within your own circle or looking to gain approval, I think the first step toward a new project is making others feel the potential of working together.

I constantly fear that Toyota will go back to being an ordinary company. When that fear spreads to many people, it will be too late. Even with the title of president, it took me 14 years to change Toyota, but things could revert in a flash.