One of the reasons to grab a copy of IKIGAI-KAN is that it is full of insights from researchers and authors that Nick interviewed in his podcast -- providing an accurate representation of the concept of ikigai. Instead of focusing on the Western interpretation of ikigai that centers on the Venn diagram, IKIGAI-KAN offers an authentic definition of what ikigai truly is for the Japanese.
Grab a copy of IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living. Visit https://ikigaikan.com/ for more details.
Ikigai allows us to live a life that is worth living.
Let’s take a look at the introduction. In the introduction I write about how I was introduced to the word in 1998, and I write about the reason why I wrote the book and also the frustrations I experienced when writing the book, and I’d like to quote on that:
“After several months of struggling to write this book, I vented my frustrations to my wife one evening. She responded quite matter of factly, ‘You’re doing the one thing you’re most terrible at.’ This is most certainly true, writing is not my bliss, even my spell checker struggles to make sense of words I attempt to type.
However, I am extremely fortunate to be pairing over the shoulders of humble giants, researchers and authors, who have freely given me their time, generously shared their knowledge, and supported my efforts to share an accurate representation of ikigai.”
And one of these humble giants is a man called Gordon Mathews, who is an anthropologist, and is the author of What Makes Life Worth Living: How Japanese and Americans Make Sense of Their Worlds. During my podcast interview with Gordon on the Ikigai Podcast episode 2, he shared with me this and it’s a quote on the book:
“The key to ikigai is it’s what makes life really seem worth it. It’s when you feel ‘Damn! It’s good to be alive!’ And that’s an extraordinary feeling to have. It’s wonderful that as human beings, we have an ikigai enabling us to experience that.”
I agree with Gordon, it is wonderful that we can have ikigai to allow us to live a life that is worth living. If you’d like to learn more about these humble giants, grab a copy of my book, IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living.