13th Dec, 2021
“If you have not discovered something you would die for,” said Martin Luther King, Jr., “you are not fit to live.”
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?
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. It was, simply put, your reason for jumping out of bed every morning or finding my Ikigai.
One of the many mistakes I’ve made in my life was believing that money led to fulfilment. That’s largely why I tried out different things and finally went into financial services, 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 learnt however, is that form follows intent.
To discover your purpose, you must first find what you are most passionate about. Then, you find the medium through which you can express that passion.
Steve Jobs is a fantastic example of this idea. It’s easy to think of Steve Jobs as a titan of technology, but that would be inaccurate. Jobs was a lover of fine craftsmanship, first and foremost. Whether it was a matter of collecting handmade Japanese tea cups or obsessing over design details of various products, he wrapped himself in his passion for finely made items. Apple and Pixar were merely his chosen mediums of expression.
This is something that I can relate to. I’d be lying if I said that I always cared deeply about finance.
What I am passionate about is helping people live up to their fullest potential, to becoming independent, to giving them a choice to follow their passion by ensuring they have enough money.
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’ or purpose of life.
This is not to say that work is the most important thing in my life. That honour goes to my faith and to my family and friends. While I’m far from perfect, I strive to make sure that my family and a few close friends always remain the centre of my life.
However, there’s a difference between the things that are important in your life and your life’s work.
Life is about finding joy, fulfilment and balance in the daily routine.
Find your passion, your purpose and stay blessed forever.
( From my Book, ‘Dear Son..Life Lessons from a father now available from Amazon https://www.amazon.in/dp/1637815271 )