Does Your Life Have a Purpose?
The Japanese concept of Ikigai
During my years teaching at Broward College, I often focused on “what comes next” for my composition and technical writing students. I asked them to consider three things with regard to their careers.
What did they enjoy doing?
What were they good at?
What could they make money at?
I only recently realized that what I was teaching fits into the Japanese term ikigai. This combines the terms iki, meaning “alive” or “life,” and gai, meaning “benefit” or “worth.”
When combined, these terms mean that which gives your life worth, meaning, or purpose. It is similar to the French term “raison d’etre” or “reason for being.” The Japanese add a fourth question: Does the world need it?
It’s also a concept at the heart of the Smiling Dog Café series. Betty, who runs the café, has combined her love of coffee, her background as a grief counselor, and her ability to blend beans to create emotions. The world needs coffee and healing, and is willing to pay for both.
I feel the same way about writing (and a big thank you to all of you who have bought my books in the past and funded my own coffee habit!).
Often the characters in The Smiling Dog Café series have to find their own reasons to get out of bed in the morning, and what they can do to contribute to the world. The two teens in Grounds for Hope, Miguel and Tanya, are on that road right now. The supportive atmosphere of the café is helping them.
Recently I uploaded all the sales reports from my 15-year publishing career and asked Chat GPT to analyze read-through per series. For example, 65% of those who purchased In Dog We Trust continued on to buy The Kingdom of Dog. Since I frequently gave away copies of In Dog We Trust, that’s a pretty good continuation. I am still getting good read-through this late in the series—12% of those who read book one are still with me at book 15.
I noticed, however, that there was a big drop in readership for the book of short stories, A Litter of Golden Mysteries. I guess that’s because some people prefer novels to stories. Readership does go back up for the next novel. So here’s a reminder that all the goldens are in Kindle Unlimited, so if you never read A Litter of Golden Mysteries you can pick it up as part of your subscription and dip into a story or two. I still get paid for every page you read!
I hope your summer isn’t too hot – or at least that your air conditioning is working! Brody and Griffin get abbreviated walks and I still come home pretty sweaty.
Things are changing constantly in the Middle East but one thing remains the same—my desire to see all the hostages, living or dead, returned to their loved ones.
In love and gratitude,
Neil
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