University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Happy Money
Book

Happy Money

The Japanese Art of Making Peace with Your Money

Ken Honda
Gallery Books, 2019
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Engaging
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Ken Honda, Japan’s “Happy Little Millionaire” – who enjoys a reputation for doing for money what best-selling author Marie Kondo did for tidy housekeeping – tells you how to make more money, and embrace it with joy. “Happy money“ leads to contentment and joy, but “Unhappy money” causes fear, pride or resentment. Most people believe you can’t have enough money, Honda says, but his advice is that money is flowing everywhere if you are open to it. Honda’s abundance philosophy is pretty optimistic; whether it is businesslike or not may depend on how you use it.

Summary

Your relationship with money reflects your relationship to life.

You can have two kinds of money: “Happy Money” and “Unhappy Money.” Happy Money circulates with affection, warmth and care. Unhappy Money circulates in fear, anxiety and even despair. To determine your relationship with money, you must understand your “flow.” Energy determines flow, not how much money you have. You can choose to be in Happy Money’s flow. But most people have an unhealthy relationship with money, so achieving a happy flow may not be as easy as it seems.

Ask what money means to you. Do you perceive it as enriching your life, or burdening it? Do you believe if you work hard, money will come to you? Money doesn’t work that way. It’s more like a game. Discover how you play that game to understand your attitude. Do you focus more on “winning” the money game – having more than anyone else – or, do you enjoy the process of give and take? 

You can’t control the world of money, but you can control how you feel about it. Do you think it’s unfair that some people have more money than others? You may embrace the pervasive “myth...

About the Author

Tokyo money-management guru Ken Honda’s self-development books have sold seven million copies in Japan since 2001. For more information, see kenhonda.com.

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