Recently, someone told me, “You have an extraordinary talent.”

I have rarely felt that I was blessed with any particular talent. Still, that comment prompted me to reflect: if there were something within me that could be called a talent, what would it be?

The answer that emerged was this: I do not ignore the voice within me.

When I was in the early years of elementary school, I felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere that laughed at the question, “Why is the sum of the interior angles of a triangle 180 degrees?” No matter what others said, I refused to study in an environment that dismissed genuine curiosity. At the same time, I felt it was wrong to be labeled unintelligent simply because I wasn’t studying, so I applied to a highly competitive high school despite being told it was unrealistic. Later, even when advised, “At least graduate from high school,” I chose to drop out because I believed there was no longer value in staying.

Since then, I have repeatedly chosen paths that many people advised against: studying abroad, deciding whether to pursue an academic career, leaving a large corporation to start a company, writing academic papers of 120 to 250 pages without a formal background in psychology. Time and again, I have chosen options that many would say “no” to.

This was not rebellion, nor was it impulsiveness.

For me, the inner voice is not merely an impulse. It is something that quietly asks, “Are you truly comfortable ignoring this?” When I mentally calculate the remaining time in my life, I ask myself: if I let this path pass, will my future self be at peace with that decision? It is a question I cannot evade. When I was younger, I strongly felt that I could not take responsibility for a life I had not chosen myself.

Now, at 44, my perspective has shifted slightly. I feel more acutely that time is finite. There is not enough time to try everything. Precisely because of that, I no longer feel I can afford to ignore the voice within me.

What I seek to protect is not success or recognition, but trust with my future self. Even if I fail, what matters is whether I can say, “This was my choice.” If I can genuinely accept that, then for me, it is progress.

In a society like Japan, where conformity carries strong pressure, choosing a direction different from those around you is not easy. Yet I believe that those who open new paths, in one way or another, protect this trust within themselves.

If someone asks me from now on, “What is your talent?” I will answer:

“My talent is that I do not ignore my inner voice.”

When you consider your life in reverse—starting from its finitude—can you truly say you would not regret postponing that voice? Taking time to sit quietly with that question is, I believe, never a waste.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc