??? it's ikigai

So…this newsletter is all about my own journey to answer the call and pass on tactical, actionable, and motivational learnings I’ve accrued throughout.

But let’s focus on you for a second.

I can assume this newsletter sparked your interest because you yourself feel lost, stuck, or unfulfilled in your career and are potentially looking at beginning your own journey to answer the call.

If that’s the case, then the number one question you might be asking is:

What is my calling?

When I quit my 10-year corporate marketing job to become a spiritual coach, I knew my calling was to become a motivator on some capacity and coaching made the most sense and felt right.

I wish my plan had been a bit more fully baked, but c’est la vie.

(Don’t worry, I put together a Fully Baked Pivot plan for you so you know what you should have figured out before you quit…unlike me ??)

But fortunately, despite some stumbling, I finally found my stride and am in a great place, so don’t worry.

And that’s what this is all about, sharing my learnings so you can take the good, learn from the bad, and use it to hopefully answer your own call.

Because ultimately, the world needs you to step into your higher calling now more than ever, to spread light and serve humanity in only the way that YOU can.

But – what the hell way is that?

That’s what we’re going to explore today, using the concept of “ikigai.”

Your ikigai

It’s not exactly news that Japanese culture is totally badass.

The food, the lifestyle, the history, the art…all of it just absolutely slaps, and ikigai is just one of the concepts that reminds us why.

“Iki” means “to live”, and “gai” means “a purpose.”

So the two part word means “a purpose to live.”

Basically, the word suggests that your purpose lies at the center of 4 things:

1. What we love to do?
2. What we’re good at
3. What the world needs
4. What we can make money from

When we think of this in our career/work sense, it means that we’re doing what we’re meant to be doing because it’s at the intersection of those 4 things.

It’s not just our job our career….it’s our ikigai.?

Mark Twain made reference to this when he said:?

“do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”?

“Answering the Call” means not just discovering your ikigai, but living it.

This is what I do with my coaching clients – I help them discover their ikigai, and take steps to live it.

When we’re living our ikigai, we feel connected to our work.

Being motivated and creative comes easily because we’re fueled by joy & fulfillment.

What every successful person will tell you is that when you put purpose and joy at the forefront of your work, money flows naturally.

In keeping on theme with references to Japanese culture, in an episode of Cobra Kai I watched recently, Daniel LaRusso (played by OG Karate Kid Ralph Macchio) spotted a guy fishing on the beach that reminded him of Mr. Miyagi.

The guy was not Mr. Miyagi, but imparted some Miyagi-esque wisdom on Daniel right when he needed it when he said:

“Give the fish something good to bite, and they will bite.”

In essence, saying that as long as you are putting out something great that the world needs, the right people will find you.

As long as you discover and live your Ikigai, both your heart and your bank account will be full.