Ikigai Keynotes

As seen by

Most people struggle to find their purpose.

Ikigai provides a map.

Ikigai is a way of life in Okinawa, Japan that comes with a map. It has four directions:

1. Do what you love

2. Do what you're good at

3. Do what the world needs

4. Do what you can be rewarded for

Ikigai is a lifestyle. It’s focused on you and how your gifts can help others. If you do what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs and what you can be rewarded for you are able to complete countless cycles of giving gifts and receiving appreciation every day. When you can participate daily with all four of these actions then you are living your full Ikigai.

My name is Tim Tamashiro. I'm the author of How To Ikigai . 

What is Ikigai?

Ikigai is an ancient philosophy that comes from Okinawa, Japan. It's means to live your life's worth by putting your special gifts to work. Although the four directions for Ikigai seem simple, in reality, for most people they are elusive. Why? 

There's a long list of reasons but perhaps the most important reason is money. Our society has always placed money at the most important contributor towards food, shelter, security and ego in daily life. Abraham Maslow showed this in his hierarchy of needs theory as far back as the 1940's. Happiness, as it turns out, has nothing to do with keeping us fed, sheltered, safe or successful. Maslow believed that as long as all four of these needs are met on a daily basis then happiness or self-actualization is voluntary.

Ikigai can be learned

Dr. Laurie Santos at Yale University has evidence that happiness is not found through a big paycheck or with a beautiful body. Santos teaches a course at Yale called The Science of Well-being. Her course is the most popular course in the 300+ year history of Yale. She provides study after study that shows how we as human beings are lousy at guessing what makes up happy. We may think that a high-paying job with an important title, a beautiful body and expensive homes and cars will bring us happiness. We are sadly mistaken. 

Evidence shows that happiness comes through intentional action. If you meditate, spend time with family and friends or do acts of kindness then your happiness levels go up. Furthermore, time affluence is a major contributor to well-being. When you're time affluent then it means you do with your time what you want to do with your time as often as possible. In other words, time affluence allows you to do what you love and what you're good at. Ikigai is a map for doing more you.

For most people the hardest part of Ikigai is to provide answers for the first two actions: do what you love and do what you're good at. I call these two answers your "half-Ikigai". If you would benefit from more happiness in your life it is imperative that you dedicate more time to exploring, investigating and experimenting to find answers for what you love and what you're good at. You might discover your Ikigai but then again it is possible that you might develop your Ikigai as well. Either way, without dedicating time and energy to more you everyday then your happiness will continue to remain where it is. More dangerously, it could sink lower and lower. 

So my tip or trick for living with more happiness is to “Do More You!” Discover your ikigai!