The key ideas

Ganbatte! The Japanese Art of Always Moving Forward

Albert Liebermann, 2021

Why do the Japanese say “ganbatte” to each other instead of “good luck”? Around this one word, Albert Liebermann gathered Japanese proverbs, parables and stories of people who did not give up. The book is about making an effort without breaking yourself: holding on in a storm, changing course in time and growing with every step.

Who it is for

For anyone who drops things halfway or keeps waiting for the right moment to begin. And for anyone who needs something to hold on to when plans fall apart.

Talent is much more common than perseverance, but both virtues are needed for the alchemy of success.

Not “good luck” but “ganbatte”

Before an exam or a job interview, people usually wish you good luck. It sounds warm, but a strange idea hides in those words: the outcome seems to be up to chance, and little depends on you. In Japan, at a moment like this, people say “ganbatte”, which means “do the best you can and don't give up”.

The foreword was written by Héctor García, co-author of the book “Ikigai”. On the island of Okinawa he asked Ōshiro, who was 108 years old, what the secret of his long life was. The old man answered in one word: “Ganbatta”, which means “I made an effort and always did the best I could”.

The writer Albert Liebermann, who moved to Japan, gathered short stories, proverbs and rules around this word. His main idea is simple: effort matters more than luck. Effort is in your hands, while the result does not depend on you alone.

Next you will see how ganbatte helps you hold on in a storm, keep going toward a goal for years, change course in time and grow with every step.

You can't stop the wave, but you can row

One of the most famous prints in the world, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”, was made by Katsushika Hokusai. A huge wave hangs over the boats, and in the distance Mount Fuji stands calmly. No one knows what will happen to the rowers a moment later. One thing is clear: if they freeze, the wave will swallow them, and only those who row have a chance.

Liebermann sees the essence of ganbatte in this picture. We cannot stop the events that life brings, just as we cannot stop the waves. But even the biggest waves break sooner or later. And we still have a choice: to fall forwards, not backwards.

The author compares three sailors. The first rows with all his strength. The second, a beginner, misjudged the tide and went back to shore, but he came back with a lesson. The third is the worst off: he never goes out to sea at all and waits for easy opportunities. That is how a person becomes a spectator of their own life.

The words “the best you can” matter too. They allow in advance that things may not work out, since some of the circumstances do not depend on us. When you have done everything in your power, failure is no longer a reason to blame yourself.

Read in Livria

About the author

Albert Liebermann is a writer and philosopher. He studied art and literature in Europe, then moved to Japan, where he writes about creativity and personal development.

All books by this author: Albert Liebermann

Terms from the book

  • Ikigai
  • Okinawa
  • Bodhidharma
  • Ganbatte: A Japanese wish that means “do the best you can and don't give up”, a form of the verb “ganbaru”, to make an effort and hold on. In the book it is a whole way of looking at life.
  • García: Héctor García, co-author of the book “Ikigai”, has lived in Japan for almost twenty years. He wrote the foreword to this book.
  • Ōshiro: One of the oldest people in the village of Ōgimi on Okinawa. At 108 he told Héctor García that the secret of his long life was effort.
  • Hokusai: Katsushika Hokusai (1760 to 1849), a Japanese artist and master of the woodblock print. He made the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”, which includes “The Great Wave off Kanagawa”.
  • Fuji: The highest mountain in Japan, a dormant volcano and one of the country's main symbols.
  • Campoy: Jordi Campoy, a musician and producer who rewrote his first novel for ten years until it was published. He took one of Liebermann's creativity courses.
  • Daruma: An egg-shaped Japanese talisman with blank eyes. When you set a goal, you paint one eye, and you paint the second when the goal is reached.
  • Erasmus: Erasmus of Rotterdam gave the Latin proverb about the rolling stone his own reading: for him, an unmoving stone meant stagnation.
  • kyūdō: The Japanese art of archery. In the book's parable, a young man who wants to become the best archer goes to a kyūdō master.
  • Brecht: Bertolt Brecht, the German writer who wrote the “Stories of Mr. Keuner”. One of them is about a man who turns pale when he hears he has not changed at all.

All terms

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