Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life

Ikigai is seen as the convergence of four primary elements:What you love (your passion)What the world needs (your mission)What you are good at (your vocation)What you can get paid for (your profession)

This was a mess. Surface level, vague information that you can Google under 5 minutes and still learn more than this book has to offer.

How can this claim to be about Japanese culture when it barely delves into it? The way this was put together makes it look like the authors looked up "longevity in Okinawa" on Wikipedia and then found some other random facts from around the world to fill in the rest of the pages (for some reason they thought it's a good idea to dedicate space for discussing yoga, tai chi, Viktor's Frankl and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in a book about that's supposedly about the "secrets" of the Japanese culture).

This rating is on me. I was obviously expecting too much from a book that's obviously (now in hindsight) just a marketing ploy to get some cash. You slap on an eye candy cover, add some buzzwords like "secrets", "Japanese culture", "happy life" and viola, instant hit. I guess I can see how it could be useful...for people who have never ever read about this topic.

For those still interested in this because they want to know the "secrets" of the centenarians, here you go: they take it easy while still staying active, exercise moderately, eat until 80% full and mainly veggies. There, I just saved you money. You're welcome.