I have a part time job as Community Manager of DG717, the San Francisco office of a Japanese internet investment firm and incubator. I was offered the chance to offer to encouraging words to the new crop of mostly fresh college grad employees at the mothership by videolink SF to Tokyo. Here's what I shared with them: mostly English but I performed most of the middle section about my career in Japanese:
おはよございます！DG７１７のコミュニティマネージャーのジャスティンホールです。
あまり日本語をはなすことできません。
ごめんあさい。
でもね、おめだとうございます！
みんなさんわかいです。わしはふるいです。
そして、英語：
You are new to this company.
Maybe you are new to business and to capitalism.
I can tell you: your future is failure and death.
It is the same for everyone.
I will probably die before you.
But before we die, we may make magic.
We can make magic with these people; we can all make magic together.
Before Digital Garage, I was a journalist. I lived in Japan and I wrote about keitai culture.
Maybe articles are boring. Making software is more interesting.
So I started an internet game company. I married my business partner. I was CEO and husband, I felt powerful.
Then the company failed and my marriage failed. I felt weak.
I want you to know that I have failed. This is part of my story.
I hope you have failure in your future, so you can recognize success.
I hope you know death so you can know life.
Digital Garage is a dream.
Digital Garage is not a Japanese company.
Digital Garage is not a global company.
Digital Garage is your company.
We are in your dream company together.
Thank you for dreaming with me。
