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  • The Little Book of Ikigai

  • The Essential Japanese Way to Finding Your Purpose in Life
  • By: Ken Mogi
  • Narrated by: Matt Addis
  • Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (47 ratings)

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The Little Book of Ikigai

By: Ken Mogi
Narrated by: Matt Addis
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Publisher's Summary

Welcome to ikigai, a Japanese mind-set that will change your life. Ken Mogi, a Japanese expert and best-selling writer, reveals all about this mysterious and fascinating miracle that is at the heart of Japan's record-breaking long life, astonishing appreciation of sensory beauty and inherent mindfulness.

It is extraordinary that Japanese men's longevity ranks fourth in the world while Japanese women's ranks second. But perhaps this comes as no surprise when you know that the Japanese understanding of ikigai is embedded in their daily life and in absolutely everything that they do: in their professional careers, in their relationships with family members, in the hobbies they cultivate so meticulously.

Ken Mogi identifies five key pillars to ikigai:

  • Pillar 1: Starting small
  • Pillar 2: Releasing yourself
  • Pillar 3: Harmony and sustainability
  • Pillar 4: The joy of little things
  • Pillar 5: Being in the here and now

The Japanese talk about ikigai as 'a reason to get up in the morning'. It is something that keeps one's enthusiasm for life going, whether you are a cleaner of the famous Shinkansen bullet train, the mother of a newborn child or a Michelin-starred sushi chef. The Five Pillars are at the heart of everything they do. But how do you find your own ikigai? How does ikigai contribute to happiness?

Neuroscientist and best-selling Japanese writer Ken Mogi provides an absorbing insight into this way of life, incorporating scientific research and firsthand experience and providing a colourful narrative of Japanese culture and history along the way.

©2017 Ken Mogi (P)2017 Quercus Editions Limited

What listeners say about The Little Book of Ikigai

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Ikigai

I enjoyed it and will listen again, the narrator was great and the subject made me think after it had finished

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a wonderful walk-through of a humble concept

Having not heard the word Ikigai before, as this work unfolded I realised just how much of my own self maintenance fits with this philosophy.

if you enjoy humble pursuits for their own sake, you will love this book.

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Very interesting introduction to Ikigai

An short but sweet introduction to Ikigai. The reading is good, though the production is a little bit less than perfect due to some patched audio. I understand that it probably needed to be done to fix some bad audio, though the voice/audio should be made less distracting.

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