‘The person I miss most is the one I could have been.’
~ George Bernard Shaw
Why do some people know what they want and have a passion for life, while others languish in confusion?
My mentor always said, continually ask yourselves things like:
What is the meaning of my life?
Is the point just to live longer, or should I seek a higher purpose?
What are you busy with today?
Will this matter 1 year from now? In 3 years? In 5 years?
The answers to these questions perhaps lie in the Japanese concept of Ikigai which translates roughly as “the happiness of always being busy.”
We all have an Ikigai – ‘a reason to live’ or ‘a reason to jump out of bed in the morning’.
It’s the place where your needs, desires, ambitions, and satisfaction meets.
A place of balance.
Small wonder that finding your ikigai is closely linked to living longer.
Finding your ikigai is easier than you might think.
Ikigai above all else is a lifestyle that strives to balance the spiritual with the practical.
This balance is found at the intersection where your passions and talents converge with the things that the world needs, and is willing to pay for.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a certain existential frustration that stemmed from the conflicting desires.
On one hand, I wanted to live a life of meaning and consequence. On the other, I wanted to enjoy the lifestyle that came along with money.
The result was an infuriating struggle between the things that made money and the things I truly cared about.
I set out to solve this with a concept I called “Enlightened Entrepreneurship” which tried to find the right balance between these seemingly conflicting goals.
However, I always felt it was missing a certain something that I could never put my finger on. I now believe that Ikigai is the refined version of the concept I was looking for.
It is, simply put, your reason for getting out of bed every morning.
One of the many mistakes I’ve made in my life was believing that money led to fulfillment.
That’s largely why I tried out different things and finally went into finance, because on a lighter note, as they say, “You have to be in money to make money”.
When I look back on those days, I can’t help but think of the James Taylor lyric “you can play the game and you can act out the part, even though you know it wasn’t written for you”.
It never felt right, but I thought that if I had money, then I could have an impact on the world.
What I learned, however, is that form follows intent.
To discover your Ikigai, you must first find what you are most passionate about. Then, you find the medium through which you can express that passion.
What I am passionate about is helping people live up to their fullest potential, to become independent, to giving them a choice to follow their passion by ensuring they have enough money to do it.
My Financial Distribution and Advisory business is simply the vehicle through which I can take these passions, apply them to the things that people need, and make a profit in the process.
In other words, Sahayak Associates, my business firm, is my Ikigai.
This is not to say that work is the most important thing in my life. That honor goes to my faith and to my family. While I’m far from perfect, I strive to make sure that my family and a few close friends always remain the center of my life.
Find your Ikigai, your ‘reason to jump out of your bed in the morning’, and Stay Blessed Forever.
#dearson