5 Japanese Mental Models You’ll Wish You Knew Sooner

Life Is Short, but Most People Make It Shorter With Excuses.

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There was a man whetting his axe one evening.

His neighbor, who lived next door, leaned over the fence and spoke, “Why practice for so long? You could already be chopping wood.”

The man looked up. “If I cut with a dull knife, I’ll work all day and get only blisters. If I sharpen first, the work will get done before night.”

We all swing harder rather than sharper. We just add more apps, more meetings, more hours, and wonder why everything won’t just feel simpler.

Instead of working like a laborer, you should be thinking better.

And the Japanese have a handful of models that sharpen the blade instead of wearing you out swinging.

Today, I want to introduce you to the 5 Japanese mental models that could blow your thinking wide open in the best possible ways.

1. Ikigai

They inform you that your sweet spot is where four overlapping circles:

• What you enjoy
• What you’re good at
• What the world needs