Soichiro Honda: He Failed Again and Again… Then Built a World Brand
His first piston rings were a failure, Toyota rejected most of them, and war and an earthquake destroyed his factories. In 1946, Soichiro Honda put small engines on bicycles — and started again. Learn five B1 words and the phrase learn from your mistakes with the true story of Soichiro Honda.
Coming 30 November 2026, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
A small boy saw a car in his village.
When it stopped, he put his nose to the oil on the ground.
He loved the smell.
This is the story of Soichiro Honda.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is something that does not work or does not succeed.
His first were a .
. To something means to say no to it, because it is not good enough.
Toyota most of his .
. An is a machine that makes something move, like a car or a boat.
He put small on .
. A is a bike with an .
In 1949, he made his first real .
. means getting the result you wanted.
The Super Cub was a huge .
Now, one pattern: learn from your mistakes.
When something goes wrong, you understand why, and next time you do better.
He learned from his mistakes.
Ready? Let's begin.
Soichiro Honda was born in a village in Japan in 1906.
His father was a blacksmith who also repaired .
As a young schoolboy, he ran after a car through the village.
At fifteen, he went to work at a car repair garage in Tokyo.
At first, he only looked after the owner's baby.
But he became a skilled mechanic, and later he opened a branch of the garage in Hamamatsu.
In the 1930s, he started a small factory to make , small metal rings for .
His first were a .
So he went back to school to study metal.
Toyota tested fifty of his rings.
Only three were good enough.
Toyota most of his .
But he learned from his mistakes, and later his factory made parts for Toyota.
Then came the war.
Bombs destroyed one of his factories, and in 1945, an earthquake brought down another.
He sold his company.
Would he ever start again?
In 1946, Japan was poor, and people needed a cheap way to travel.
He bought about 500 small from old army radios.
He put small on .
For a fuel tank, he used a hot-water bottle!
Many people wanted one.
When the old ran out, he built his own.
In 1948, he started the Honda Motor Company.
In 1949, he made his first real .
In 1958 came the Super Cub, a small, easy for everyone.
The Super Cub was a huge .
More than 100 million have been made.
In 1959, his team raced at the famous Isle of Man TT, and they did not win a race.
They learned from their mistakes.
Two years later, Honda bikes took the first five places in two races.
He died in 1991.
He once said that is 99 percent .
Let's review. His first were a .
Toyota most of his .
He put small on .
In 1949, he made his first real .
The Super Cub was a huge .
And remember: he learned from his mistakes.
Soichiro Honda's story teaches us: every can teach you something.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
failure noun
something that does not work or does not succeed
“His first piston rings were a failure.”
reject verb
to say no to something because it is not good enough
“Toyota rejected most of his piston rings.”
engine noun
a machine that makes something move, like a car or a boat
“He put small engines on bicycles.”
motorcycle noun
a bike with an engine
“In 1949, he made his first real motorcycle.”
success noun
getting the result you wanted; something that works very well
“The Super Cub was a huge success.”
piston ring noun
a metal ring that fits around a piston inside an engine
“His factory made piston rings.”
bicycle noun
a bike with two wheels that you move with your feet
“He put small engines on bicycles.”
workshop noun
a room where people make or repair things
“In 1946, he opened a small workshop.”
Grammar in the story
learn from your mistakes
We use it for: to say that someone understood what went wrong and did better next time
- He learned from his mistakes.
- They learned from their mistakes.
From the story
- He learned from his mistakes.
- They learned from their mistakes.
Find it in the story 5 times
Your turn
He learned his mistakes.
They learned from mistakes.
I failed the test, but I from my mistakes.
Step 4
Story Challenge
8 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: Think of something you failed at first. Did you try again?
After you watch: Write three sentences about mistakes you or other people learned from. For example: I learned from my mistakes in the first exam. My brother burned the rice, but he learned from his mistake. Our team lost, but we learned from our mistakes.
Think about it: Honda once said that success is 99 percent failure. Do you agree? Why, or why not?
