Goal Setting · Method

What is the Harada Method?

The Harada Method is a structured, self-reliant approach to achieving a big goal — built around a single page that turns one ambition into 64 concrete actions. Its signature tool is the Mandal chart, a 9×9 grid that makes a vague dream feel suddenly doable.

A practical guide · 6 min read

Where it comes from

The method was developed by Takashi Harada, a Japanese educator and junior-high track-and-field coach. The story most often told about him is a striking one: he inherited a team that ranked dead last among hundreds of schools in its area, and within three years had coached it to first place in the region. It didn't slip back, either — the program reportedly held that top position for the next six years. Harada credited the turnaround not to raw talent, but to a repeatable system that taught young athletes to set their own goals and take ownership of reaching them.

Harada's core belief is simple: the purpose is to build self-reliant people — individuals who can set their own goals, plan their own path, execute, and reflect, without needing constant external motivation. The chart is just the visible part of that habit.

"A self-reliant person is someone who can set a goal, achieve it, and continue to grow on their own."

The heart of it: the Mandal chart

The Mandal chart (sometimes called Mandal-Art or the "Open Window 64") is a 9×9 grid — eighty-one squares in total. It works in three layers that radiate outward from the center:

The central 3×3 block: one core goal, surrounded by eight sub-goals.

1. The core goal sits in the very center — the one big thing you're aiming for.
2. Eight sub-goals surround it. These are the themes or pillars that, together, make the core goal happen (think: skill, mindset, body, relationships, habits).
3. Eight actions per sub-goal. Each sub-goal then becomes the center of its own surrounding 3×3 block, ringed by eight concrete, doable actions.

One core goal × eight sub-goals × eight actions = 64 specific things to do. That's the quiet genius of it: instead of staring at an intimidating goal with no idea where to start, you finish with a page full of small, unambiguous next steps.

The most famous example

The chart's best-known practitioner is baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, who filled one out as a high-school freshman. He wrote a single, audacious target in the middle: to be the number-one draft pick of all eight teams in Japan's professional league (NPB). Around that center he placed the eight pillars he believed would get him there:

• Body — building the physical foundation
• Control — command of his pitches
• Sharpness — quality and movement of the ball
• Speed — raw velocity
• Pitch variance — a deeper arsenal
• Personality — who he was off the mound
• Mental toughness — composure under pressure
• Karma / luck — and, tellingly, fortune itself

Each pillar then broke down into eight smaller habits and routines, filling all 64 outer cells and turning an enormous dream into a daily to-do list. What makes the chart famous is that last pillar. Rather than treating luck as something outside his control, Ohtani listed concrete ways to earn it — things like showing respect to umpires, picking up trash, staying positive, and being the kind of person others want to root for.

Why it works

• It removes the "where do I start?" paralysis. A goal becomes a checklist.
• It balances the obvious with the overlooked. Eight sub-goals force you past just the one or two areas you'd naturally focus on, into mindset, relationships, and habits.
• It fits on a single page. You can pin it up and see your whole plan at a glance.
• It's a thinking exercise, not just a form. The hard, valuable part is deciding what the eight sub-goals and 64 actions actually are.

It's about more than skill

It's tempting to read the chart as a purely technical planning tool, but Harada's intent runs deeper. The exercise pushes you to confront your weaknesses honestly and to build genuine confidence rather than bravado. It also bakes in something most goal-setting systems ignore: service to others. Humility, gratitude, and contributing to the people around you aren't treated as nice extras — they're framed as load-bearing parts of personal success. Ohtani's "earn your luck" cell is the clearest example of that idea in action.

The part most people skip: daily execution

A finished chart is only the beginning. The real engine of the Harada Method is doing the work every day and holding yourself accountable for it. Once the 64 cells are filled, you convert those tasks and habits into a daily routine — Harada pairs the chart with tools like a daily diary and a "routine check sheet" you tick off as you go.

The point of that machinery is simple: turn abstract intentions into a measurable, repeatable practice. A plan you admire on the wall changes nothing; a plan you check off each day is what actually moves the center cell from dream to reality.

How to fill one out

1. Write your core goal in the center. Make it specific and a little ambitious.
2. Brainstorm the eight sub-goals. Ask: "What needs to be true for this to happen?" Aim for distinct areas, not eight versions of the same thing.
3. For each sub-goal, list eight actions. These should be things you can actually do — habits, drills, measurable targets, small commitments.
4. Live the chart. The Harada Method pairs the chart with daily routines and regular self-reflection. The page is the plan; the habit is the point.

You don't have to get all 64 squares perfect on the first try. Most people fill in what they can, then refine it over days as the gaps reveal themselves.