A few weeks ago, I came across an essay on X (Twitter) that has been doing the rounds — The Prison of Financial Mediocrity. You may have seen it. It’s crossed 20 million views, and many are already calling it one of the most thought-provoking pieces written on Twitter this year. I’ve linked it at the end of this newsletter.
The essay explores why an entire generation of high performers risks getting stuck in financial mediocrity. Why intelligence and hard work alone don’t translate into wealth. And why so many capable professionals feel like they’re running faster, yet going nowhere.
It stayed with me. And then it sent me down a rabbit hole.
That’s when I came across the Harada Method — a simple but powerful framework for turning ambition into execution. Naturally, I tried applying it to wealth. Specifically, what a Harada Chart would look like for an Indian wealth creator aiming to build ₹25 crore of liquid wealth by age 50. That’s exactly what I’ve put together in this newsletter. My hope is that it nudges you to build your own.
As we step into 2026 — with most of corporate India heading back to work after the holidays — this felt like the right moment to share it. Because if there was ever a time to stop hoping and start engineering outcomes, it’s now.
In this edition, we’ll cover:
- Why goals without systems are just wishes
- The Japanese framework that produced a $700 million athlete
- What a Wealth Creator’s Harada Chart looks like
- The 64 specific actions that compound into ₹25 crore net worth
- How to build your own system for 2026
Let’s begin!
Why Systems Beat Goals Every Time
At Dezerv, we’ve always believed that relying on past performance is the worst way to build a portfolio. It’s a principle that applies equally to personal growth.
Most people set goals by looking backwards. They see what others have achieved and try to replicate outcomes. But outcomes are lagging indicators. By the time you can measure them, the inputs that created them are long past.
The Harada Method flips this entirely. Instead of asking “what do I want to achieve?”, it asks “what actions will make achievement inevitable?”
This forward-looking approach is what separates the people who actually build wealth from those who merely wish for it.
The Framework That Produced a $700 Million Athlete
Before I explain the method, let me give you some context.
Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese baseball player who currently plays for the LA Dodgers baseball team. In 2023, he signed a $700 million contract. He does things that shouldn’t be physically possible.
But here’s what makes his story relevant to wealth creators:
In 2010, when Ohtani was just 15 years old, a high school student in Japan, he created a detailed roadmap for his career. A structured 64-cell grid mapping exactly how he would become the #1 pick across all baseball teams.
His eight pillars weren’t just about athletic skills. They included “Body”, “Control”, “Speed” — but also “Personality”, “Karma/Luck”, and “Mental Toughness.”
Under “Karma”, he listed actions like: “Pick up trash”, “Greet people”, “Show respect to umpires”, “Be someone people want to support.”
At 15, he understood something that most adults never grasp: success is holistic. The small behaviours create the conditions for big outcomes. Everything compounds.
The framework he used was created by Takashi Harada, a track and field coach at a junior high school in Osaka. Harada’s school was ranked dead last among 380 schools in one of Japan’s most economically depressed districts.
Within three years of implementing his method, that school became #1. They held that position for the next six years, producing 13 gold medal winners.
Harada’s insight was simple but profound: goals fail not because people lack ability, but because they set and pursue goals the wrong way.
The Open Window 64: Turning Dreams into Daily Actions
The core of the Harada Method is the Open Window 64 (OW64) chart.
Here’s how it works:
One central goal sits in the middle of a 9×9 grid. This is your north star. It is specific, measurable, time-bound.
Eight supporting pillars surround the central goal. These are the major areas that determine whether you achieve the goal.
Eight specific actions for each pillar. These are concrete behaviours and not vague intentions.
The result: 64 specific actions that, when executed consistently, make your goal inevitable.
It converts something intangible (a dream) into something tangible (a daily/monthly/annual checklist). It transforms hoping into engineering.
The Wealth Creator’s Harada Chart
So what would this framework look like for someone serious about building wealth in India?
We spent time mapping out the eight pillars that India’s most successful wealth creators optimise — and the 64 specific actions that support them.
The central goal: Build ₹25 crore of liquid net worth by age 50.
Ambitious but achievable for senior professionals, founders, and CXOs in India’s growth economy. Specific enough to reverse-engineer.
The eight pillars:
- Income — Your primary wealth creation engine
- Portfolio — How you allocate and grow capital
- Network — Your information advantage and deal flow
- Skill — Your force multiplier in the market
- Health — Your vitality and longevity runway
- System — Your efficiency and automation
- Shield — Your protection against downside
- Spirit — Your resilience and mental framework
Let me walk you through each.
This Harada Method chart is designed to help you reach a goal of ₹25 Crore in liquid net worth by age 50. By breaking this ambitious target into eight core pillars, you create a holistic plan that balances wealth creation with health, skills, and personal resilience.
Below is a crisp description of each pillar and the 64 specific actions required to achieve them.
Pillar 1: Income (Primary Income Flywheel)
The Pillar: This pillar focuses on maximizing your active earning potential and ensuring your career acts as a high-growth engine. It emphasizes strategic positioning and equity growth to provide the raw capital needed for your investments.
- ESOPs as part of Comp: ESOPs or other equity upside must be part of your compensation to help you create asymmetric wealth.
- Pivot to a CXO Role: Moving into top-level leadership to unlock higher base pay, cost-saving perks and significant equity grants.
- Portfolio of Roles: Holding diverse professional responsibilities such as consulting or advisory roles to broaden income streams.
- Comp Structure Optimisation: Negotiating pay to maximize take-home earnings and minimize unnecessary tax leaks.
- Performance Review (Align KPIs): Hitting specific company targets to guarantee the highest possible bonuses and equity refreshers.
- Advisory Equity: Exchanging your high-level expertise for shares in startups without spending your own cash.
- Reputation and Perception: Managing how the market sees you to remain a magnet for high-paying or better job opportunities.
- Passive Income Engine: Building side-income streams that continue growing without your active daily effort. These can either be income led or skill led.
Pillar 2: Portfolio (Capital Allocation)
The Pillar: This pillar is the engine of wealth compounding, focused on how you grow and protect your saved capital. It diversifies assets across markets and types to ensure steady growth toward your ₹25 Crore target.
- Core Equity: A diversified equity portfolio (stock + MF) that captures India’s long-term GDP trajectory and global market returns.
- Debt Allocation: Keeping money in safer, fixed-income assets to provide stability when markets are volatile.
- Active Management and Rebalancing Trigger: Regularly shifting funds between assets to lock in gains and buy when opportunities present.
- International Exposure: Investing in global markets to benefit from foreign growth, AI innovation and hedge against rupee depreciation.
- Private Investments: Accessing high-growth opportunities like startups, Pre-IPO that aren’t on the public exchange.
- Real Estate through REITs: Gaining exposure to commercial property income without the hassle of managing physical buildings.
- Dry Powder: Keeping cash on hand to quickly pounce on “once-in-a-while” investment opportunities.
- Gold and Precious Metals: Holding gold and silver as a “crisis hedge” to protect wealth during high inflation and geo-political crises.
Pillar 3: Health (Vitality)
The Pillar: This pillar recognizes that your physical well-being is the foundation of your productivity and longevity. It ensures you actually have the energy and lifespan to enjoy the wealth you are building as well as prevent any wealth destruction.
- Fitness Coach: Hiring a professional to provide accountability and a customized plan for your specific body needs.
- Zone-2 Cardio: Regular low-intensity exercise to improve heart health and sustain long-term energy levels.
- Diet: Eating high-quality, nutritious food that fuels your brain and prevents long-term chronic illness.
- Strength Training: Lifting weights to maintain muscle mass and bone density as you age toward 50.
- Hydration: Drinking enough water daily to maintain focus and high cognitive function during work.
- Alcohol/Smoking Control: Minimizing or eliminating substances that drain your energy and damage your long-term health.
- Annual Health Check-Up: Getting full blood panels and screenings yearly to catch and fix medical issues early.
- 7-8 Hour Sleep Architecture: Prioritizing high-quality rest to allow your brain and body to recover every night.
Pillar 4: Network (Information Alpha)
The Pillar: This pillar focuses on “social capital”—the relationships that provide access to exclusive deals and insights. It turns your connections into a competitive advantage for both career and investment growth.
- Recruiter Networking: Staying visible to top-tier headhunters so you are always aware of high-paying market shifts.
- Mentor Upcoming Leaders: Teaching others to build your influence and stay connected to the next generation of talent.
- Target Company Sr Leader Networking: Building direct ties with CEOs and founders to bypass gatekeepers for senior roles.
- Contrarian Exposure: Actively seeking out people who disagree with you to avoid blind spots in your strategy.
- Deal Sourcing and Flow: Creating a system where investment opportunities find you before they go mainstream.
- Attend Closed-Door Investor Summits: Gaining access to private meetings where high-value wealth trends are discussed.
- Join a Private Network: Paying for access to elite groups of high-net-worth individuals for better peer learning.
- Lawyer, CA, Doctor: Building a reliable inner circle of professionals to handle your legal, tax, and health needs.
Pillar 5: Skill (Force Multiplier)
The Pillar: This pillar focuses on personal development and technological leverage to increase your value per hour. It ensures your decision-making and efficiency keep pace with your financial ambitions.
- Personal Brand: Developing a public professional identity that makes you the “go-to” person in your industry.
- Reading: Consistently consuming books to sharpen your mind and learn from the world’s best thinkers.
- AI Workflow Automation: Using modern AI tools to handle repetitive tasks, freeing up your time for high-value work.
- Leadership Training: Learning how to manage and inspire teams to achieve results far greater than you could alone.
- Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Practicing mental models that help you make calm, smart choices when the future is unclear.
- Financial Literacy: Constantly improving your understanding of money, markets, and how wealth truly works.
- Understanding Macro Events: Learning how global politics and economics impact your specific investments and career.
- Negotiation Prep: Sharpening the skill of asking for what you are worth in both deals and salary.
Pillar 6: System (Efficiency)
The Pillar: This pillar is about the “operating system” of your life—the habits and tools that remove friction. It automates your finances and optimizes your time so wealth builds with minimal manual effort.
- Expenditure Management: Tracking where your money goes to ensure you aren’t wasting capital on things that don’t matter.
- Disciplined Savings Regime: Setting a fixed percentage of income to be saved immediately, before any other spending happens.
- Tax Optimization: Using every legal strategy available to reduce the amount of your wealth lost to taxes.
- Cost of Investing / Fee Optimisation: Minimizing the fees you pay to brokers and advisors, which can save millions over decades.
- Portfolio Review Mechanism: A scheduled, formal process to check your net worth and asset performance regularly.
- Setup Automated SIPs and SWPs: Using technology to move money into investments and out for expenses without thinking.
- Outsourcing Low-Value Tasks: Paying others to handle chores like cleaning or admin so you can focus on high-ROI work.
- Net Worth View: Using a dashboard to see all your assets in one place for better emotional and strategic clarity.
Pillar 7: Shield (Protection)
The Pillar: This pillar is your financial “defense,” ensuring a single catastrophe doesn’t wipe out years of progress. It protects your assets, your family, and your peace of mind against legal and digital threats.
- Term Life Insurance: Ensuring your family is financially set for life if you are no longer there to provide.
- Emergency Liquidity: Keeping 6–12 months of expenses in a bank account so you never have to sell stocks in a crash.
- Health Insurance: Getting high-quality coverage so a medical emergency doesn’t drain your investment corpus.
- Family Trust: Legally ring-fencing your assets to protect them from future lawsuits or inheritance disputes.
- Digital Security: Protecting your bank and broker accounts from hackers using strong encryption and 2FA.
- Employer Concentration Limit: Selling your company stock once it exceeds 30% of your wealth to avoid “single-stock” ruin.
- Second Citizenship by Investment: Creating a “Plan B” for global mobility and safety in case of domestic instability.
- 2-3% in Hard Assets: Holding a small portion of wealth in cash or physical gold for immediate use during a systemic crisis.
Pillar 8: Spirit (Resilience)
The Pillar: This pillar focuses on your internal state—staying calm, focused, and purposeful. It prevents burnout and ensures that your drive for wealth doesn’t come at the cost of your happiness.
- Non-Negotiable Family Time: Scheduling time with loved ones to stay grounded and remember why you are working so hard.
- Establish a No-Screen Schedule: Taking daily breaks from technology to let your nervous system and eyes rest.
- Calendarise Deep-Work: Dedicating specific hours to distraction-free work on your most important long-term goals.
- Refrain from Instant Gratification: Delaying small and instant rewards like betting, gambling now for the massive payout of reaching your ₹25 Crore goal.
- Travel: Exploring new places to refresh your perspective and prevent mental stagnation.
- Maintain a Journal of Wins/Losses: Writing down your experiences to learn from mistakes and build confidence through progress.
- Quarterly Family Board Meetings: Aligning your spouse and family on big financial decisions to ensure everyone is supportive.
- Donate a Fixed % of Income: Giving back to society to maintain a sense of abundance and connection to others.
Why This Works: The Power of Completeness
Most goal-setting approaches optimise for one or two areas while ignoring others. People focus on their portfolio while neglecting income growth. They chase returns while ignoring tax efficiency. They build wealth while destroying their health.
The 64-box grid makes blind spots visible.
Look at Ohtani’s chart again — he included “Karma/Luck” and “Personality” alongside technical skills. The actions under those pillars? “Greet people”, “Pick up trash”, “Be positive”, “Read books.”
To a surface observer, these seem irrelevant to athletic performance. But Ohtani understood that these behaviours create the conditions where luck finds you. They build relationships and reputation. They compound invisibly.
For wealth creators, the same principle applies. Your net worth isn’t just a function of portfolio returns. It’s shaped by your career trajectory, your network, your health, your systems, and your mindset. The grid forces you to see — and act on — the whole picture.
Your Harada Chart for 2026
Create Wealth Newsletter – Harada Method
We’ve created a detailed version you can download, customise, and make your own. The sheet includes all 64 boxes with descriptions, plus space to add your specific actions and deadlines.
Building Your Own
The best Harada chart isn’t the one we’ve created — it’s the one you create for yourself.
There are AI tools that can generate a starting point for any goal. But while these give you a solid template, the real value comes from deep original thinking about your specific situation.
Ask yourself:
- What’s my specific, measurable goal?
- What are the eight areas that will determine success?
- For each area, what are eight daily-actionable behaviours?
The process of creating the chart is as valuable as the chart itself. It forces decomposition of a vague aspiration into a concrete system.
A Note for January 5th
Tomorrow, most of corporate India returns to work. The holiday haze lifts. The year truly begins.
Most people will make resolutions that fade by month-end. They’ll set goals without systems. They’ll hope for outcomes without engineering them.
The Harada Method offers an alternative.
It’s not about motivation or willpower. It’s about structure. It’s about taking something as ambitious as “build generational wealth” and converting it into 64 specific behaviours you can execute daily.
Just as we at Dezerv believe in building forward-looking portfolios rather than chasing past performance, the Harada Method builds forward-looking systems rather than dwelling on past failures.
Ohtani didn’t become a $700 million athlete by wishing for it. He engineered it, one grid box at a time, starting when he was 15.
The question isn’t whether you have the ability. You clearly do. The question is whether you’re willing to build the system.
As Takashi Harada put it: “The reason people fail to achieve their goals is not because they lack ability, but because they set and pursue those goals the wrong way.”
Here’s to engineering your 2026.
Before I sign off — remember the essay that started this rabbit hole? If you haven’t read it yet:
The Prison of Financial Mediocrity — Twitter Essay
20 million views and counting. It might explain why the younger generation feels stuck — and what it takes to break free.
Disclaimer – Investment in the securities market is subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing. The information provided herein is intended solely for educational purposes. All trademarks, logos, and brand names mentioned are used for identification purposes only.