Rendezvous with Francesc Miralles-Author IKIGAI

“At the end of the day, all we want is to be happy” a very thought-provoking statement made by Francesc Miralles while addressing the audience at Shiv Nadar School Gurgaon who were gathered on 22nd January 2020 to have a conversation with the mind behind the book ‘IKIGAI – The Japanese secret to a long and happy life’. The audience at the event not only comprised the student, teacher and parent body of Shiv Nadar School but also of book lovers from all over Delhi NCR. He began the interaction by acknowledging his deep appreciation and gratitude towards the audience and went on to explain what his book was about.

Mr. Miralles stated that according to the Japanese, everyone has an Ikigai. Some people have found their Ikigai, while others are still looking, though they still carry it within them. According to those born in Okinawa, the island with the most centenarians in the world, our Ikigai is the reason we get up in the morning. With the help of multiple anecdotes from his life which included how he found writing to be his true calling, he explained to the keen listeners how they could find their Ikigai. Following that, he spoke about the importance of prioritizing one’s happiness over money as he believed money to be a natural consequence of one’s pursuance of their passions and aspirations. The audience was extremely interactive during the session by asking Mr. Francecs multiple questions. 

When an audience member asked him how one could get the courage to change their Ikigai multiple times, he replied by giving an example of the Spanish singer – Julio Iglesias who used to be a football player but lost his ability to play due to an accident. He explained that when something doesn’t go our way in our lives and we think of it to be the end of the world, maybe, that’s the beginning of something new.  The session was an extremely enriching experience and motivated every single person in the audience to find their Ikigai