Ikigai: the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs.
While ikigai is not a new concept, it is newly resonant with a global population seeking a deeper sense of purpose and fulfillment. It’s not surprising that right now, we are increasingly seeing folks reexamine the balance among passion, mission, vocation, and profession in their lives.
In 2021, nearly 48 million. U.S. workers quit their jobs, and The Great Resignation seems to have continued well into 2022. Their reasons? According to the Pew Research Center, workers resigned primarily because of low pay, a lack of advancement opportunity, and feeling disrespected at their place of work. This is also reflected in the boom in unionizing happening across the country. In the words of Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor, it’s not that “no one wants to work anymore… [but that] no one wants to be exploited anymore.” And while college enrollment continues to decline for undergraduates, graduate programs (professional, master’s, and doctoral study) are seeing rising enrollment numbers. These indicators make clear that a significant portion of the labor force is leaving a job in the hopes of making their living in a more meaningful vocation.
Ikigai by Héctor García is a book that meets this moment perfectly with the numbers to back it up: year-to-date Billings and POS are both up, and the book is taking off on TikTok as well. Clearly readers are responding to this message right now, and for good reason—the introspective lessons from Ikigai can help readers turn burnout and turmoil into a more purposeful path.
