The people of Okinawa, Japan live the longest of any people on earth. They have more people over 100 years old than anywhere. Interestingly, they do not have a word for “retirement.” Instead, they have a word called “Ikigai” which means “a reason to get up in the morning.”
When we strip away the popular conditioning that “work is unpleasant,” we have to admit that being productive gives life meaning; a meaning we need to keep going.
Fascinating! Great post, Larry.
This is so true. My dad is 80 and my mom is 78. They both remain involved and active in serving others. It is great to see their example and the quality of life they get from this perspective.
I read a collection of essays a while back put together in a book called Ikigai by Sebastian Marshall.
The authors description:
“Ikigai’s closest meaning is *raison d’être* in French–what one lives
for, what makes your life worth living, why you inhale and exhale each
breath. But Ikigai goes further than that, to the point where your passions and obsessions can consume you … think of the artist or inventor all-consumed by his work, the boxer who lays his body and mind on the line in every fight, or the gardener whose mind is perfectly still among his creation.”
My favorite quote from the book:
“I’m not going to compare myself against people my age any more. I’m going to start comparing myself to the greatest men of all time. Instantly, I’d gone from top 1% of my peer group (people near my age, self-made, alive today), to the bottom 1% of the greatest people of all time.
I started looking at Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Tokugawa, Meiji, Augustus, Trajan, Socrates, Aristotle, Confucius, Wellington, Rockefeller, Rothschild, Medici, Zhuge, Sejong, Salah, Shah Jahan, and so on. Suddenly I was not doing excellent; in fact, I was behind schedule. In fact, I realized entirely that the path I was on did not lead to where I was capable of going.”
Do you follow Seth Godin’s daily blog? He has many gems: http://sethgodin.typepad.com
Thanks for the inspiration and also welcome to strongtown!
Absolutely! They are still climbing trees in there 90 s picking fruit!
Without goals and work we perish!! So dam much to
accomplish. So. Keep up your goals and reaching for
the stars
This TD is from a few years ago now, but I liked it, kept it and reread it from time to time. Without a job to work on or projects to complete, I think everything falls apart. The Ikigai is a perfect way to frame it.