Let me tell you a story...
In May of 2021, I was in a cab with my wife Sana, on our way to a restaurant and shopping mall in Hanoi to enjoy a Saturday together. I was literally ready to retire from trumpet playing, really having anything to do with the trumpet. In my mind, it was something that I had done and I had done it well, and I'd done some cool things.
It appeared to me that my life was going on a trajectory in which trumpet was not a part. So I had told her that I was going to quit and I was done.
And she said, "Well, James, I think that you should continue with it. I think you should stick with it."
And I said, "I would have to have a really good reason to do that."
And she said, "I'm your wife. Isn't that reason enough?"
Well, that's a good point. If your wife says that you should do something, you do it for her. So I decided that I'm going to continue to play it. And if I'm going to do it, then I'm going to do it the very best that I can with the time and resources that I have at my disposal. And I'm just going to make the absolute best of it because that's really the way that you should approach anything.
So that was, I think, in May of 2021, and I believe it was just a couple of weeks later, I had been sleeping and woke up in the morning and just this word was in my mind that it was this word that was in my mind when I woke up, it was Ikigai.
Now I am not an expert on Ikigai. In fact, I had heard the word just once or twice listening to one of my podcast production clients, Ben Greenfield, who has mentioned that word a couple of times. But that was really my exposure to the word. But there I was, I woke up and there was this word on my mind.
And it wasn't just a passing thought. It was really pressing on me. And so I went onto my smartphone and I opened up Amazon and just typed in Ikigai. I want to know more about that.
One of the first listings on Amazon was a book that was written by my guest on today's show: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
I read the book thoroughly enjoyed it. And I thought, you know, if I have a platform such as a podcast, people should know about not just about the concept of Ikigai, they should also know the person who has written about it extensively. And so I just reached out and said, "Hey, loved your book, want to do a podcast?"
And he said, yeah, absolutely.
I just love how things just kind of come together like that. It seems on the surface that they may be random, but I really don't believe that I don't believe in random meetings or random events like that.
It's just a real pleasure to bring onto the show, the author of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Hector Garcia.
In my conversation with Hector, you'll learn:
-What is an ikigai?...05:40
- Life and "worthwhile"
- Not limited to humans
- "That thing that makes you look forward to waking up in the morning"
-Why Hector is more interested in the word ikigai becoming famous than himself...
-How ikigai is understood by different cultures...10:42
-Good resistance vs. bad resistance...15:00
-How Hector discovered his own ikigai...19:00
-How to pursue your ikigai without making reckless decisions for you and your family...25:02
-Why a "real job" may be the exactly what you need to be a successful musician...28:10
-Increase your productivity while working in a state of "flow"...30:50
-What makes Japan so special?...37:45
-And much more!
Resources mentioned:
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
Steal Like an Artist
