Zen Millionaire, Bestselling Author
Money and happiness expert Ken Honda is a bestselling self-development author in Japan, with book sales surpassing eight million copies since 2001. His latest book is called Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money (June 4, 2019, Simon & Schuster). Ken studied law at Waseda University in Tokyo and entered the Japanese workforce as a business consultant and investor. Ken’s financial expertise comes from owning and managing several businesses, including an accounting company, a management consulting firm, and a venture capital corporation. His writings bridge the topics of finance and self-help, focusing on creating and generating personal wealth and happiness through deeper self-honesty. Ken provides ongoing support through mentoring programs, business seminars, therapeutic workshops, and correspondence courses.
Ken is the first person from Japan to be voted into the Transformational Leadership Council, a group of personal and professional development leaders. He is fluent in Japanese and English; lived in Boston, Massachusetts for two years; and currently resides in Tokyo, Japan.
The Story of Happy Money
Ken was 29 when he first “retired” to welcome his newborn daughter into the world. At the time, he thought he was “done” with work. He had owned a successful consultation and accounting business, so successful it had allowed him to close up shop and spend his days with the apple of his eye. Little did he realize his “second” career, impacting millions by helping them heal their relationship with money, was about to begin.
That career started innocently enough on a beautiful, sunny day. Ken took his daughter to the park to play. While there, he witnessed a mother and her young daughter, who was about the same age as Ken’s daughter, fighting.
The mother was upset and in a hurry. She yelled, “Your mom has to go to work! So, let’s go home.” But her daughter kept saying, “We just got here. I want to play more. Please?”
After a few minutes of battle, the reluctant girl was dragged home.
Ken felt so terrible for the little girl and her mother for having to choose her job over an afternoon playing with her child, that he decided he needed to do something. Not just for that mother but for all the parents and people struggling to make ends meet. He wanted to take away everyone’s pain and frustration and stress around money.
So, that day, after he finished playing with his daughter in the park, he sat down and wrote an essay about all the wisdom he gained over the years about making money and becoming prosperous.
That essay was the start of what would become the book Happy Money. Learn more at KenHonda.com.