Apr 17, 2025
‘Ikigai’ by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles came as a breath of fresh air in the literary circles, especially in the self-help genre. Its ease of reading, relatability, and influence of Japanese culture made it a superhit, and here are 10 lessons to learn from its success.
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One of the biggest reasons why Ikigai was a success was that it did not have complicated jargon, exaggerated words, or phrases for which people would have to pick up the dictionary! It was simple, easy to understand, and had a storytelling-like format.
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Another lesson from ‘Ikigai’ is that people want to know, search for, and wish to discover their purpose in life. They want to know and find out what their reason for waking up in the morning is, and they just need a tad bit of acceptance.
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‘Ikigai’ is a common term now, but back when the book was released, very few people knew about its meaning or the concept. And as something new came into the self-help genre, people were interested to know more.
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Another lesson from the book is that wellness is over wealth, any day. In a world chasing money and success, ‘Ikigai’ asked people to pause for a bit and search within themselves. It told people that happiness does not just come with money but also with health.
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In the book, the authors did not try to frame perfect concepts, they tried to make people feel heard and help them relate to those concepts. And as people read about the real-life habits, they felt encouraged to do something about their lives.
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One of the most powerful lessons from ‘Ikigai’ is that a good life isn’t about extremes. Good life is not about either working nonstop or just quitting everything, it is about finding yourself one step at a time.
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Another lesson from ‘Ikigai’ is that instead of focusing on big goals and trying to achieve them in days, set daily changes for yourself no matter how small.
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‘Ikigai’ is a Japanese concept, but the book became famous worldwide. And this was another big lesson - That people are always eager to learn, no matter where the idea or concept originated from.
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‘Ikigai’ is not a very long book. Even with the biggest fonts, the book is under 200 pages, but has ideas that completely rewired some humans and their thought processes.
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While the book came out in 2016, Ikigai as a concept has been around for decades. The values of connection, purpose, prioritising your health, and more, are not new, but are relevant and timeless even today.
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