Japanese Business Development Training CEO Visits UVA Wise, Signs Agreement with Napoleon Hill Foundation

When Japanese entrepreneur Satoshi Aoki read Napoleon Hill’s motivational book, “Think And Grow Rich,” it changed the 23-year-old’s life.

“I come from a very poor upbringing. When I picked up ‘Think And Grow Rich,’ it really changed me and opened my eyes to the value and power of purpose, having goals and how you strive for them,” Aoki said, through his interpreter.

Using that mindset, Aoki said he became a top salesperson and manager, and at 32 years old, co-founded Achievement, a company which provides personal and human resource development training and consulting in Japan.

The company has reached more than 490,000 people by training individuals, small and medium companies, and corporations. It also publishes and distributes books for personal well-being in Japan. Since its inception in 1989, it’s grown to 220 employees and is valued at two billion U.S. dollars.

Now Aoki, who is the President of Achievement and has authored 67 books, has signed an agreement with the Napoleon Hill Foundation to help publish the foundation’s inspirational books in Japan.

“So 45 years later, I'm very honored to be able to get to meet Don Green and the Napoleon Hill Foundation and to have this opportunity to be able to sign that partnership and share this with more Japanese individuals,” said Aoki.

Aoki and several other of Achievement’s leaders traveled from Tokyo to the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA Wise) to learn more about the Napoleon Hill Foundation and its Keys to Success class which has been taught at the College for 27 years.

They met and interviewed key UVA Wise staff about the class’s impact including: Chancellor Donna P. Henry, Associate Vice Chancellor Scott Bevins, Associate Provost Sabrina Qureshi and Business and Economics Department Chair Gurkan Akalin.

“I’ve been in the personal development, human resource development arena for more than 40 years. What I constantly say is that your thinking becomes reality,” Aoki said. “I want to share this with more Japanese people, especially the young people, to help formulate great leaders of businesses and have them succeed not just with their individual lives, but also in their private lives with family.” 

Aoki asked how UVA Wise develops self-motivated and engaged students.

Henry shared that students receive financial assistance through several Napoleon Hill Foundation-related scholarships.

“Our students are more likely to help others. Many of them stay in touch, and they have organizations. A lot of them become donors to the College because they were helped and they want to help others,” Henry said.

Many of UVA Wise’s students are first-generation college students.

“The first year of college is really important and we continually work to provide more support encouraging them to study, learn how to study and pursue an education,” Henry said. “The Napoleon Hill class gives them additional support and skills to be successful.”

The class is also taught to regional high school students, which helps them be better prepared for college, she added.

Henry said the College’s Keys to Success class has changed over the years and now is taught by the College’s associate professor of entrepreneurship and innovation, Shankar Naskar.

Aoki and other visitors sat in on the class during the visit. 

“Students are learning about leadership while developing a business plan. They have creative ideas and they actually compete for funding so that they can start their new business. I think that's been a great development recently of the Napoleon Hill program and introduces more students into business. They are really applying those skills to the region to start new businesses here,” Henry said.

Students in the class are encouraged to pursue internships with local businesses, study abroad and conduct research projects. 

“We believe our students need experience alongside of learning,” Henry said. 

Business Analytics Professor Akalin said technology has been a huge driver of growth and machine learning will be another big stage of development in business.

“We want our students to embrace Artificial Intelligence and apply it to business,” Akalin said. “We offer a campus that is safe with beautiful surroundings so the students can feel more relaxed and more focused and oriented to learn and engage with the faculty.”

With the Keys to Success class, students begin asking questions of themselves, Akalin said.

“We are not just thinking about sharing these principles with our students but our community. We have gotten two certificate programs approved in hospitality and tourism and business management, which incorporate the Keys to Success in their coursework. We are trying to reach these communities and provide them the skills to succeed in life even if they aren’t interested in a full bachelor’s degree,” Akalin said.

Aoki said that one of the biggest challenges in Japanese schools is students having low self-worth and he hopes to change that.

“I’m really convinced that this program, the Keys to Success, can can spur each individual's mind and also really understand that each one has value and each one has tremendous potential,” Aoki said. 

Aoki said his company’s purpose is to “eliminate the hardship that comes from unhealthy, unsatisfied relationships that happen inside society.”

The trainings they provide incorporate principals from the Keys to Success, the Bible and a counseling method based in choice theory created by U.S. psychiatrist William Glasser.

“These concepts of empathy—to encourage, to accept, to trust, to be able to learn, to be able to have differences of opinion, to negotiate—these we call the connecting habits,” Aoki said. “I thought if we can share this information of how people can interact better with each other and connect each other, that could be one great influence that we can make on society.”

His goal is to develop healthy leaders for organizations, communities and countries.

“I believe it’s possible to create peace between groups of people and nations. I hope to continue to do that,” Aoki said.

Achievement will publish a story about the visit and interviews with both staff of Napoleon Hill Foundation and UVA Wise in an upcoming edition of “Achievement Club News” magazine in Japan.