Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day
by Ken Mogi
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7:05
Author describes “ikigai” and its place in Japanese culture
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326
Jul, 2020
Spoiler:
Mogi describes the five pillars of ikigai, which came to him after much reflection, as “starting small, releasing yourself, harmony and sustainability, the joy of little things, and being in the here and now.” Too often people think of ikigai as “something big,” but it can be something so small that it seems almost trivial. He shows a popular ikigai diagram which he says is certainly not Japanese and was a surprise to him, then redraws the diagram to reflect his personal concept of ikigai.
11:44
Ken Mogi speaks in talking-head format with bullet points
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121
Oct, 2021
Spoiler:
Ken Mogi says ikigai is important for wellness, health, and keeping a balanced state of mind. When we think of our life’s purpose, we tend to think of long-term career goals or huge things we want to achieve. However, ikigai can also be something small, like taking your dog for a walk in the morning. He says it is not uncommon, in Japanese culture, for people to casually ask, “What is your ikigai?” Mogi says that running is his ikigai, as is studying the human brain.
23:32
Ken Mogi appears on the Paul Akers podcast via video call
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Mar, 2019
Spoiler:
Using examples from Japanese culture such as baseball great Ichiro Suzuki and Toyota, the author and host discuss how to combine American and Japanese culture to have the best of both worlds. Roughly speaking, Americans are sloppy and the Japanese are precise, but Mogi says that American sloppiness is needed for creativity and innovation. The Japanese are great at taking an American invention, such as manufacturing cars on a large scale, and tweaking it with the precise, detail-oriented process for which Toyota is famous.
55:23
Ken Mogi discusses ikigai with Rebound Talks via video call
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Aug, 2020
Spoiler:
Neuroscientist Ken Mogi shares that he likes to fire up his brain in two ways when he wakes up: first he looks at news on his phone, then he walks to a nearby store because the brain responds to sunshine. He says it doesn’t matter if the news we look at is bad; the brain likes novelty so it’s good to give it a jolt of something new. Although the “10,000 hour” theory has fallen out of favor, Mogi says he thinks it’s valid.
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