Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life

We all have an ikigai.

It's the Japanese word for 'a reason to live' or 'a reason to jump out of bed in the morning'.

It's the place where your needs, desires, ambitions, and satisfaction meet. A place of balance. Small wonder that finding your ikigai is closely linked to living longer.

Finding your ikigai is easier than you might think. This book will help you work out what your own ikigai really is, and equip you to change your life. You have a purpose in this world: your skills, your interests, your desires and your history have made you the perfect candidate for something. All you have to do is find it.

Do that, and you can make every single day of your life joyful and meaningful.

Review

Ikigai urges individuals to simplify their lives by pursuing what sparks joy for them ― Marie 'KonMari' Kondo

I love [this] book… I read it and it’s bewitched me ever since. I’m spellbound

A refreshingly simple recipe for happiness... According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai. It means your purpose – the reason you get up in the morning. The thing that fires you up and keeps you busy. Your raison d'être. ― Stylist

Curl up on the sofa with this and enjoy an insight into Japanese culture while picking up some self-care tips you may not have considered before... Ikigai offers an insight into a gentle yet focused way of life built around a sense of purpose. ― Independent

Ikigaigently unlocks simple secrets we can all use to live long, meaningful, happy lives. Science-based studies weave beautifully into honest, straight-talking conversation you won’t be able to put down. Warm, patient, and kind, this book pulls you gently along your own journey rather than pushing you from behind.

[The] Japanese art of ikigai ...Its basic message is about "authentic living". Practitioners must fill in overlapping circles that cover motivation, fulfilment, what they earn and what improves their life. The answer at the centre will be the key to a happy and long life. ― Guardian

If hygge is the art of doing nothing, ikigai is the art of doing something - and doing it with supreme focus and joy. ― New York Post

About the Author

Héctor García (Author)
Héctor García is a citizen of Japan, where he has lived for over a decade, and of Spain, where he was born. He is the author of several books about Japanese culture, including two worldwide bestsellers, A Geek in Japan and Ikigai. A former software engineer, he worked at CERN in Switzerland before moving to Japan.

Francesc Miralles (Author)
Francesc Miralles is the award-winning and internationally bestselling author of books about how to live well, together with the novels Love in Small Letters and Wabi-Sabi.

Alongside Héctor García, he was welcomed to Okinawa in Japan, where the inhabitants live for longer than in any other place in the world. There they had the chance to interview more than a hundred villagers about their philosophy for a long and happy life.