IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living

Nick Kemp has devoted many years of his life to understanding of the REAL meaning of Ikigai-Kan.In this seminal book, he demonstrates an incredible ability to explain a complex (and, frequently misrepresented concept) to anyone interested in adding value and joy to their life. As a long-term Master Certified Executive Coach, I'm very critical of authors who simply put other's ideas in a new wrapper. Nick Kemp has written a well-researched book that contains perspectives and freshly assembled ideas that can change and improve lives. Also, I found that his Ikigai-Gai Journal (also available on Amazon) provides a blueprint to convert Ikigai awareness into action. Thank you, Nick Kemp!

I grew up in Japan and did not pay very much attention to the meaning behind ikigai until recently. This book will take you through an authentic, and in-depth understanding of the true Japanese definition of ikigai. I appreciated that the author put a lot of effort into collecting information from many experts in ikigai rather than filling the book with his opinions. I appreciate the humbleness of this book. I had a vague understanding of the word itself and did not realize how there is so much beauty and wisdom behind it. It helped me understand the many aspects of ikigai and allowed me to put it into words, which brought me closer to the culture that I grew up in. It is a great starting point for anyone who wants to understand the true meaning and importance of feeling the ikigai. There is a lot of information packed into this book, so I advise the readers to take it slow. Read a chapter, take a walk and come back to it. I am definitely going to be mindful about the topics discussed in this book to apply them to my day-to-day life to be able to feel ikigai better.

It's a delightful rarity to come across a thoughtful and well-written book that makes the world a better place, and, "IKIGAI-KAN: Feel a Life Worth Living," meets these criteria. You won't be sorry to have opened its pages, delved in, and find yourself perhaps rethinking how to go about things.

What a painstakingly beautiful labor of love. I'm in awe of the respect Kemp demonstrates towards the Japanese culture and the topic of ikigai. The book is extraordinarily well researched, and it makes a compelling case against the banality of the Venn diagram making the rounds on LinkedIn.

I would recommend this book to anyone that really wants to live a life full of meaning and intention. A life worth living connected with your true self, your essence, connected with others with caring and empathy and connected with Nature with Love, as our mentor. Thank you Nicholas for showing the way and for this journey.

The title of this book caught my attention, “Feel A Life Worth Living” “Japanese wisdom for a fulfilling and meaningful life” The author describes that he lived in Japan for 10 years with 25 years of studying of Japanese language. He credits himself for providing feedback to this book from his personal experiences, which I found to be very little. This book is primarily focuses on references throughout the entire read. I’ll site the references here which are at the end of the book to give you a good idea of where this book was generated from & why I feel this is more of a textbook rather than an easy read on finding wisdom for a fulfilling & meaningful life. The Introduction sites 1 reference, Chapter 1 sites 17 references, Chapter 2 sites 21, Chapter 3 sites 19, Chapter 4 sites 21, Chapter 5 sites 12, Chapter 6 sites 18, Chapter 7 sites 12, Chapter 8 sites 30, Chapter 9 sites 12, Chapter 10 sites 3 & even the Conclusion sites 1. If you wish to sit back & read detailed text based on references from other individuals in order to learn how to live a fulfilling & meaningful life than this book is for you. If this type of reading is not for you I wouldn’t suggest you purchase this book. This book wasn’t for me due to all of the repetitive references. I’m an avid reader & this wasn’t an easy read. I stopped half way through as I became tired of how the author chose to explain what the Japanese word “IKIGAI-KAN” means. From my personal view I don’t recommend.

Nicholas’ book made me put into words a lot of wisdom that had been coalescing in my own mind.There is a key here to developing a life worth living, the Japanese have been doing it for generations and have many words to describe it.They are also the same people who have extreme social conditions of despair and loneliness. Read this book to find out how you can change your life, the benefits of Ikigai, and why the paradox of purposelessness exists in a society with such a deep and beautiful appreciation of life.Would love to read more about the specific people and see documentaries about this process. If Nicholas has this as another project for himself I’ll be the first to sign up!

This book is absolutely amazing. It makes you question your life in such a beautiful an intense way. Reading this book, you learn and you feel. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did!

Nick Kemp’s new book is an absolute treasure trove of information on ikigai and the cultural gifts of Japan. He manages to thoroughly educate us on the nuances of concepts, often poorly understood, and with such warm heartedness for what it means to be fully human. I have not read a book on this subject that is so comprehensive and yet leaves me imbued with the “feeling” of what makes life worth living.I love this book! And, I will be giving away multiple copies. In my opinion it is a gem that anyone can learn and benefit from. And not by becoming rich or famous or trying to be a better version of who we are. Rather it is through noticing, appreciating, and acting with both grit and gentleness on what is right in front of us every day. The side effects of these discoveries are mostly joy, fulfillment, meaning and a reason to delightedly get up in the morning.

Though I bought kindle edition so that i can go through while on the go, I should have gone for a paper back instead. I might in future for sure.With so many books on ikigai, this one is authentic and a must have kinds.1. easy read2. So many cross reference on Ikigai (views from other practitioners - mainly from Japan)3. Breaks the concept into smaller parts - easy to absorb and go back to.10/10

It’s very interesting to read the Japanese perspective on Ikigai. I’m following the author for quite some time and listening to his podcasts. The book is basically all the information collected from the Podcasts plus additional sources and resources. It is nicely written, easy to read and packed with valuable information.

I’m a coach and I’m passionate about helping people to find meaning and fulfilment in their lives. This book is just about that. And how Japanese’s words and culture bring deep meaning into concepts with a little different approach that what we do in the west. Thanks to the writer and experts for all your work 🙏🏼Fantastic book, full of wisdom but easy to read. Learned a lot from it . Thanks to

J’entends depuis quelques temps le mot ikigaï et ceux qui l’emploient décrivent cet outil de développement personnel comme étant révélateur de sa raison d’être, sa mission.J’ai donc cherché et trouvé sur internet ce fameux outil et en suivant les quelques consignes, j’ai rempli le diagramme de mots qui me parlaient, sauf qu’après 1 heure de réflexion, quelques pistes se présentaient, mais rien de transcendant à mes yeux. Entretemps, j’ai découvert ce livre sur Kindle et j’ai enfin compris que la version de cet outil, le diagramme de Venn qu’on retrouve un peu partout sur internet n’est pas le véritable ikigaï et que l ikigaï tel qu’il est vécu au Japon est une philosophie ancestrale, un art de vivre.Et toute cette philosophie est confirmée, étudiée et présentée par d’éminents chercheurs japonais que l’auteur a rencontrés et qui partagent les résultats de leurs recherches continues et permettent ainsi à l auteur de perpétuer et de diffuser cet art de vivre.Les recherches lui ont permises d ajouter bien plus d éléments essentiels à l’identification de l’ikigaï et lui permettent aujourd’hui de former des coachs sur ce sujet avec une approche holistique et scientifique et d’offrir un véritable processus d’accompagnement sur la globalité de l être humain.L’auteur est inspirant et le contenu l’est tout autant.A déguster…et plus si affinité 😊