The Ikigai Podcast

What if the feeling you’re most afraid of could become your clearest compass? Our conversation with Mae Yoshikawa begins in the hard places—parental divorce, a mother’s early-onset dementia, and the sudden death of a spouse—and unfolds into a practical path for turning pain into insight. Mae introduces Kizuki, the Japanese idea of an awakening moment of clarity, and shows how these flashes can be invited through disciplined attention, safe emotional space, and a deceptively simple journaling practice.We dig into attention as the currency of consciousness and why so much of our suffering springs from where we place it. Mae explains how untrained attention leaks into loops, resentment, “why me,” and autopilot narratives that exhaust us. Through yoga, breathwork, and meditation, she rebuilt a foundation that made acceptance possible. Arugamama—what is is—doesn’t minimize grief; it removes the fight against reality so we can feel fully and act wisely. The turning point is learning to observe thoughts as thoughts and feelings as temporary signals, not edicts.Mae’s Kizuki Journaling method brings this to life. Each session weaves one theme and three finely tuned prompts with a guided meditation designed to loosen mental grooves. The first two prompts surface honest clutter; the third reframes with precision, often triggering an “aha” you can’t unsee. We share real moments from a workshop, including reconnecting with a bold, generous childhood self, a reminder that clarity often reveals what was always there. Mae also opens up about a recent insight: spotting the story that kept her small in English-language work and choosing expansion over safety.If you’re feeling stuck in a “why” loop, overwhelmed by noise, or ready to trade fear for clarity, this episode offers tools and a humane mindset to help you move. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest insight you’re taking forward. What truth can you see today that you can’t unsee tomorrow?

What if the problem isn’t workload, but identity? We sit down with coach and HR leader Tina Bagwell to explore how many of us let a single role—the job—define who we are, and why that narrow frame leads to exhaustion, disengagement, and a loss of joy. Tina’s journey starts in Okinawa, where simple rituals, community, and omotenashi left a lasting imprint that later shaped her approach to leadership, culture, and coaching.Across global teams, Tina uses the Ikigai‑9 assessment and the seven needs identified by Dr. Mieko Kamiya to help people reconnect with what truly matters: resonance, belonging, self‑actualization, and everyday life satisfaction. She shares how Millennials and Gen Z are rejecting linear careers, opting instead for rolefulness—the healthy balance of many roles across work and life. We dig into why “return‑to‑office equals engagement” is a false promise, how boards miss the human core of culture, and why simple behaviors like greetings, real conversations, and gratitude are powerful levers for trust. You’ll hear how women leaders are reframing caretaking and career, reclaiming self‑care as a valid role, and finding presence both at home and at work.Tina reframes ikigai from a buzzword to a daily practice: checking in with the seven needs during morning coffee, a walk, or a shared meal. If even one need is met, the day carries meaning. We connect this to the creator economy, where younger workers value autonomy and making things that reflect their voice—music, products, code, stories—while using technology as a tool, not a master. The conversation moves from Okinawa to boardrooms to everyday rituals, showing how remembrance, not reinvention, can transform careers and cultures.If you’re craving purpose, balance, and a more human way to work, this conversation offers practical ideas and language you can use today—whether you lead teams or lead your own life. Enjoyed this one? Follow, share with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

What if the key to better work and wiser leadership isn’t adding more tools but building a bigger vessel? Shigeki Nishimura—author, cross-cultural leadership coach, and former global executive—joins us to introduce Utsuwa, the Japanese concept of inner capacity. Drawing on two decades in Germany and a career bridging Japanese precision with European efficiency, Shigeki shows how a clay tea bowl can rewire your approach to stress, focus, and team culture.We dive into a powerful triad: ikigai as the engine (purpose), kintsugi as the mechanic (repair), and Utsuwa as the chassis (capacity). Instead of sprinting toward bigger goals with a fragile frame, he explains how to grow stability, increase margin, and keep a low center of gravity—so you can hold success without arrogance and failure without shattering. The result is spacious leadership: decisive when needed, humble by default, and relentlessly human. Expect concrete practices, from tidy-desk resets and shorter meetings to one-on-ones that create trust and autonomy. You’ll hear how emptiness—yohaku—is not a void to fear, but the space where insight lands and innovation begins.Shigeki shares a four-question diagnostic to test your capacity, plus three habits to expand it: accept your cracks, lower your center, and practice the void. We also connect these ideas to modern overload—constant notifications, social feeds, and AI—and map out how to remove noise so your best thinking can surface. If you’ve ever felt like you’re pouring an ocean of complexity into a teacup, this conversation offers a sturdier bowl and a calmer hand.If the ideas resonate, follow the show, share this episode with a friend, and leave a quick review—what will you remove this week to make room for meaning?

Nick celebrates the launch of A Year of Ikigai and read the book’s introduction, separating myth from meaning and showing how purpose lives in daily moments. Nick shares why Ikigai is felt more than defined, and how small sources of value build a life worth living.This episode covers:• what ikigai means in simple, daily terms• why popular Western takes miss the point• the problem with the four-circle Venn diagram• the kanji roots pointing to protection and beauty• intrinsic values like hope, growth and social ties• personal journey from Tokyo spark to research• sources of ikigai across roles, work, hobbies and memory• ikigai-kan as the felt sense that life is worth living• book launch timing across regions and preorderYou can actually pre order the book on Amazon, but we hope you find it in your local bookstore

A single fall changed everything. When our guest, life coach and digital nomad Kiki Fukai, crashed into a tree on a routine run, she shattered her skull and—unexpectedly—found a new way to live. What followed wasn’t a quick comeback story. It was a careful rebuild guided by kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending with gold, and a daily practice of acceptance that turned constant pain into a steady reminder to live with intention.We start with the real texture of nomad life: the rush of open itineraries, the buzz of meeting new friends, and the hidden tax of shallow roots. Kiki names the missing piece as ibasho, the sense of belonging that only grows with time and return. From there, we step into the aftermath of her accident—emergency care, a 14-hour reconstruction, and months of rehab—and the quiet choices that followed: accepting what hurts, honoring what remains, and redefining identity beyond the mirror. Her story grounds big ideas in lived detail, revealing how balance, not bravado, sustains freedom.Kiki’s coaching grew from that crucible. She shares “turn pain into gift,” her approach shaped by Japanese concepts: ikigai (purpose in everyday living), wabi-sabi (beauty in the imperfect), and the layered language of acceptance—arugamama, ukeiru, uketomeru—that clears the path to action. We also dig into kotodama, the spirit of words, and yoshuku, celebrating future wins in the past tense, as practical tools that shift mindset and momentum. Along the way, Kiki opens up about an amicable divorce rooted in gratitude, a bold rebrand to Kintsugi Kiki, and new creative goals, from a book for Japanese readers to a YouTube channel bringing philosophy to life.If you’re navigating burnout, rebuilding after a setback, or simply searching for a steadier compass, this conversation offers both language and leverage. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. What part of your story could become gold?

Anxiety isn’t a malfunction to be silenced; it’s a message asking to be heard. We sit down with therapist and educator Catherine Deeks Gnocchi to rethink fear through the lenses of evolution, mindfulness-based psychotherapy, and Japanese ikigai—revealing how anxiety can guide you back to your values and toward a life that actually fits.Catherine breaks down the nervous system in plain language: anxiety mobilizes the sympathetic “protect” response, while empathy and connection restore the parasympathetic “recover” state. We trace how early defenses like fawning or avoidance become adult habits, why shame can freeze growth, and how healthy guilt, curiosity, and self-compassion help us update old patterns. Catherine shares insights from her research on anxiety and empathy among university students, why these traits can rise together in demanding environments, and how lived experience of suffering often deepens compassion.From there, we get practical. We map values-based therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Self-Determination Theory into simple steps: clarify values, spot triggers, name roles, and take small, repeatable actions that honor who you are. We explore ikigai as everyday meaning—not a grand purpose but a daily feeling found in small rituals, mindful walks, shared meals, and moments of real connection. Ibasho, a sense of belonging you can carry anywhere, becomes the anchor for authenticity across life’s roles. Along the way, two mantras keep us grounded: thoughts are not facts, and anxiety is your friend.If you’re ready to replace reflex with awareness and turn fear into direction, this conversation offers science, story, and tools you can use today. Listen, share with someone who needs it, and if it resonated, subscribe and leave a review so more people can find the show.

Start with a vision, test it in the dojo, and forge it in a studio where code becomes sculpture. That’s the journey we explore with Tokyo-based French-Spanish artist and independent curator Baptiste Tavenir, whose life bridges Japanese martial arts, musicology, and 3D-printed fine art in ways that feel both unexpected and inevitable.We talk about the leap that changed everything: leaving a Paris lab for Budo University and discovering that discipline, patience, and community dynamics aren’t just for the mat. Baptiste shares how years of training in tankendo, jukendo, and naginata sharpened his focus and taught him how groups actually work—lessons he carried into his creative practice. When tinnitus undermined his work with sound, he translated composition into space, building a unique visual language from Polaroids, carved plastics, and modular 3D-printed forms. He explains why plastic can be beautiful, how open-source culture shaped his “modules” collection, and why he set intentional limits to keep quality high while still inviting others to play.We also confront the “made by a machine” objection to 3D printing. Baptiste unpacks the design decisions hidden inside CAD, the handwork that follows printing, and the broader history of tools in art—from cameras to presses—that mediate but don’t replace human intention. The thread running through everything is a grounded take on ikigai: the joy of making something uniquely yours, without compromising under pressure. His line lingers: fear is the enemy of ikigai.If you’re curious about where craft meets code, how martial arts can rewire creative focus, and what it takes to defend a niche against doubt, this conversation will resonate. Listen, share it with a friend who loves art or Budo, and leave a review to tell us what fear you’re ready to face. Subscribe for more stories at the edge of art, technology, and purpose.

What if your next trip did more than entertain you—what if it changed you? We sit down with Jake Haupert, founder of the Transformational Travel Council, to unpack how intentional journeys can help you stretch, learn, and grow into new ways of being. Rather than racing through bucket lists, Jake invites us to slow down, clarify our why, and design experiences that align with values, purpose, and community.We explore a practical framework built on the hero’s journey—departure, initiation, return—and show how it maps onto real travel. You’ll hear how to prepare before you go by naming the call to adventure, how to engage during the trip with reflection, play, and curiosity, and how to integrate after you return so insights become habits instead of fading with the jet lag. Jake introduces the Four Houses—introspection, bridging, expansion, integration—to guide travelers and hosts alike toward deeper connection with self, others, nature, and systems.We also tackle the hard truths: modern tourism can be extractive and superficial. Jake shares how regenerative, community-led design can align destinations, hotels, guides, and attractions around shared purpose so both places and people thrive. And we look at the role of technology, pairing AI with authentic intelligence to free up more human presence, empathy, and meaning-making in hospitality.If you’re a traveler craving purpose or a pro ready to build experiences that truly matter, this conversation offers tools, language, and next steps. Bring one guiding question to your next journey, and watch the map change under your feet. Enjoy the episode, and if it resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find it.

What if the words you use could change the way you breathe? We welcome author Saori Okada back to share the heart of her new book, Wisdom of Japan, a collection of 60 concise concepts designed to calm a rushed life and rekindle everyday meaning. Saori opens up about crafting short reflections that still feel true, and the painstaking process of pairing each idea with a ukiyo‑e print so the art deepens the lesson on the page.We journey through kokoro—the Japanese view of mind, heart, and spirit as one—and how that unity reframes courage, intention, and integrity. From yutori (spaciousness) to the proverb isogaba maware (hurry slowly), we explore practical ways to escape the spin of constant busyness. Saori brings tenderness to setsunai, the ache of nostalgia that proves we have loved well, and shows how kachou fuugetsu—flower, bird, wind, moon—invites nature to become a daily mentor for perspective and creativity.The conversation also traces wisdom from martial arts. Bushido’s yu (courage) and gi (righteousness) remind us that strength without ethics is empty, while ki (energy) threads through language and training alike—think genki as “foundational energy.” Principles like shin‑ki‑ryoku‑no‑ichi (harmonizing heart, energy, and strength) and judo’s flexibility over force offer a humane blueprint for leadership and personal growth. Along the way, we unpack shoshin (beginner’s mind) and shoganai (acceptance) as tools for resilience that don’t require hardening your heart.If you’re craving a gentler pace with more clarity and depth, this conversation offers simple practices: a page each morning, a breath under the open sky, and a renewed respect for the space that makes meaning possible. Grab Wisdom of Japan at Waterstones, your favorite indie bookstore, or Amazon. If the episode resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review—what concept will you practice this week?