Caitlin Kight returns to host The Ikigai Podcast and interview me about my new book, A Year of Ikigai.
Caitlin interviewed me for my first book—which she also edited—back on Episode 45, Ikigai-Kan: Feel a Life Worth Living, and she was also a guest on Episode 29, Oshiegai and Ikigai in Education with Dr. Caitlin Kight.
She is deeply connected to the Ikigai Tribe journey, having completed the Ikigai Tribe Coach Certification and joined our inaugural retreat in Japan, so there is a real sense of shared understanding behind this conversation.
Nicholas Kemp
Nicholas Kemp is an international keynote speaker and corporate facilitator. He holds a Diploma of Positive Psychology and brings long-standing experience working with Japanese psychological concepts into leadership, organisational, and cultural contexts.
As an author, Nicholas has written A Year of Ikigai, Ikigai-Kan: Feel a Life Worth Living, and Rolefulness. His writing explores meaning as it is lived and experienced in everyday life, with a particular focus on roles, relationships, contribution, and belonging.
A Book of Substance
"One of the things I've noted in our conversations about Ikigai and in your previous book, in this book, is that you do read it and it feels, I don't want to say weighty in the sense of like, this is heavy, but it feels real. There's real substance. And even in short entries, that substance comes through. And you do feel that sense of like, wow, I'm reading something that has meaning, it's having impact, like I can work with this. And it's a very different feeling from other types of self-help books." - Caitlin Kight
A Voice For Japanese
Caitlin: Could you maybe explain a little bit about how this book is different from your other books that you've written and from your other experiences, your course and your trips?
Nick: “In many ways, it’s the same content repackaged for easy reading, I would say. But it also brings a stronger Japanese voice from people from all walks of life. And it shares 50 Japanese perspectives on ikigai, from Zen priests to ikigai researchers to mothers, fathers, children, and university students.”
It was important to me to incorporate authentic Japanese voices and perspectives into my work to provide a richer and more accurate representation of ikigai.
The Messy Reality of Writing 365 Reflections
Caitlin: What was your writing process?
Writing a 365-day reflective book is much harder than it sounds. In fact, I threw away my first draft.
At first, the challenge was simply generating enough meaningful entries without repeating myself. But over time, the real tension became one between clarity and depth. How do you say something true in 80 words while still making it useful?
After exhausting all the perspectives on ikigai that I could think of, I found myself naturally moving into recurring themes that kept resurfacing: energy, flow, kokoro, haiku, and chanoyu.
That was when the writing process became less about listing sources of ikigai and more about exploring the deeper patterns that shape how we experience life as worth living.
A Book of Daily Prompts
Another important part of the conversation was why the prompts matter so much.
Reflection alone is rarely enough.
The real purpose of the book is to help readers move from awareness into action. A short reflection should lead to something lived: spending time with someone who matters, returning to a ritual, noticing beauty, expressing gratitude, or taking a small meaningful step.
Ikigai is proactive.
You do something.
You have an experience.
Then you feel that lift of meaning.
That daily rhythm was essential to the structure of the book because I wanted it to become a companion readers could use, not simply read once and place on a shelf.
Semantic Encapsulation
One idea we explored in the conversation was language itself.
At one point I shared:
“I looked into the research, and there’s this concept of semantic encapsulation: when a philosophical idea or psychological concept that feels quite normal and natural within a culture gets encapsulated in one word.”
That idea helps explain why Japanese offers so many words that feel both ordinary and profound. Terms like ikigai, ibasho, ma, yutori, and wabi-sabi each hold far more than a simple definition. They encapsulate ways of feeling, relating, and experiencing life that are so familiar within the culture they no longer need long explanations.
Language, in this sense, becomes a window into what a culture has learned to notice and value. The richness of Japanese lies not only in the beauty of these words, but in the lived experiences they make easier to recognise, share, and cultivate.
Two Entries We Explore in the Episode
Two entries we discuss in the episode capture the range of what I wanted this book to hold.
Day 11: Ikigai Is What Matters
"Who and what matters to you today? If you can answer this question, then you have uncovered your ikigai, at least for the present moment. What matters to you will change as the circumstances of your life change. Some sources of ikigai will remain constant in your life, while others will come and go. As a lived experience, ikigai is both enduring and ephemeral. What's important is to appreciate it in the now. What matters to you right now? Go and do it. Who matters to you? Spend time with them."
Day 113: Ikigai Is Found in Revenge
"Ikigai is felt in the desire for revenge. If you have ever been taken advantage of or treated unfairly, feelings of hate and the desire for vengeance naturally come to the surface. Revenge is an instinctive impulse that’s hard to control when others have humiliated or betrayed you. Enacting your revenge may feel justified and even satisfying when achieved, but this is an ikigai I encourage you not to express. Instead, practice forgiveness, compassion, and let the desire for revenge go. Who in your life would you like to bring yourself to forgive?"
A Reflection That Meant a Lot to Me
Perhaps the most meaningful feedback I have received so far came from Minako Horaguchi, who many listeners will remember from episode 114 of The Ikigai Podcast.
As someone who carries these cultural ideas from within Japan, her words meant a great deal to me because they affirmed the intention behind this book: to share Japanese perspectives with sincerity, care, and respect.
Her message captures what I ultimately hope A Year of Ikigai offers each reader:
“Thank you for sharing Japanese culture and ikigai so beautifully, respectfully, and sincerely. I felt so much love while reading your book.
I hope that every person who reads it discovers a beautiful sense of ikigai or peace within themselves.”
For me, that hope says everything.
Beyond the research, the writing process, and the daily prompts, my deepest wish is that this book helps people notice what already gives their life meaning, and through that awareness, experience a greater sense of peace, belonging, and life worth living.