01/03/2025

Adapting a Japanese Secret to a Long Happy Life in Your Career

Four questions to ask that will create a greater career fulfillment road map

This existential question is presented by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles in their book, Ikigai, The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. Ikigai in Japanese is a combination of the words for life and purpose or value. Their book also includes the usual admonitions to eat right and exercise (Happy New Year to you, too).

I’m fresh back from my first visit to Japan and I’m enthralled by the natural beauty of the people and the country and with the beauty they create. From what I observed, the Japanese put a stunning amount of thought into their building and landscape architecture. They meticulously plan where and how to place every feature to generate the most unfolding beauty. They maximize the benefits of "borrowed scenery," that is, the natural elements that surround them.

Do It Yourself

Can you do this with your life? Nearly seven years into my second career as a diplomat-turned-public-speaking coach, I continue to greet each day feeling thankful that I found a calling for work that is both meaningful and profitable. It’s my sweet spot in the Venn diagram of the Japanese secret for happiness.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Company.