You Know The Glory, Not The Story!: 25 Journeys Towards Ikigai

Book excerpt: The Japanese word, Ikigai means 'reason for being'. Think of what you love, what you are good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs. When these come together, you get your Ikigai. However, Ikigai can be beyond these four components and doesn't have to include any or all of them. The moments each day where you live fully — engaging in a hobby or pursuit, learning, connecting with people, being useful, choosing empathy over apathy, and being in the present — and the small joys that inhabit those moments make your Ikigai. You can have more than one Ikigai and it can change with time. You already have your Ikigai and just need to discover it!The book unveils the life journeys of 25 teens that left India for the uncharted waters of Singapore in the 1990s and early 2000s. Each story started with engineering and took the person to one's calling — dance, filmmaking, entrepreneurship, mountaineering, philanthropy, research, and even monkhood. Did they find their Ikigai? Uncover the pages to find out!