How To Find Your Life's Purpose
Make your personal Ikigai
I’m quitting my job in 1,259 days, or thereabouts. As I contemplate (I mean panic about) life after day-job, I’m spending A LOT of time thinking about what work will be fulfilling when I walk away from that paycheck. The list includes administrative assistant, guest services at Aspen Snowmass, and ranger at the Snowmass Golf Club.
But none of those scratches the itch.
The itch to realize my true self.
My lifelong desire to realize my full potential.
This post is about that exploration. I hope you’ll learn something.
The Work I Was Always Meant To Do
“Purpose” is a personal concept. Some people just know what it is. Others have to work at it. Some people fight it. Still others ignore their purpose or don’t care.
Purpose can range all over the board. Raise a family. Support a husband, support a wife. Take care of aging parents. Design watches. Write fiction. Travel the world. Become a black belt. To some, purpose is a calling. Minister a faith. Protect the country. Serve and protect a community. Everyone gets to decide.
Or not.
That’s the fun. And the madness.
When I was twenty-four, I taught a class called Introduction to Accounting. I loved it. Teaching, that is. I enjoyed accounting, especially the orderliness. But it was teaching that I loved. Helping students grasp a topic that came naturally to me. I loved it so much, I almost pursued a PhD so I could spend my life teaching.
I hated the idea of academic politics. Instead, I chose business and technology as a career (and ironically mastered office politics).
I’m glad I did. I made lifelong friends. I built a nest egg. I traveled the world. And I skied my ass off.
But a day job is not my purpose. It was something I did to achieve other goals, and that’s fine.
As I approach a certain age milestone, my singular goal is to realize my true self. Discover my real purpose and reach my full potential.
The potential I set aside for a stable career in business and technology.
If you’ve read this far, maybe you’re asking yourself the same question.
How Do You Find Your Purpose?
In my last article, I introduced the concept of Ikigai, the Japanese construct for identifying your purpose, or as the Japanese say, “a reason for being.” It brings together four ideas, and the confluence of those ideas provides clues to your reason for being.
What the world needs: what problems can you solve, what is society searching for, what are people asking for?
What you’re good at: what skills do you have, what comes naturally to you, where do you excel, where does your energy flow?
What you can be paid for: what brings enough value to the world that people will pay for?
What you love: what floats your boat, what jazzes you, where do you find flow?
There’s a book about it if you’re interested.
Let’s unpack an example. The other day over margaritas, Jill and I were exploring ideas for my post-day-job phase (my second story). We admired Miss Excel, who teaches Microsoft Excel via digital platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Jill said that because I make so many PowerPoints at work, I should be Mr. PowerPoint. After I threw up in my mouth a little, we unpacked it through Ikigai:
What the world needs: YES: most professionals are under-skilled at using a story to influence an outcome through a presentation format.
What you’re good at: YES: I’m good at storytelling, PowerPoint making, and teaching
What you can be paid for: YES: business-to-business training is a massive opportunity
What you love: NO: after a 25-year corporate career, my life’s best work will not be teaching people PowerPoint. These are not the customers I want; this is not the stage I want to be on. Someday soon, I will make my last PowerPoint.
Purpose is Based on Values
That’s what Ikigai does: provides a framework of values. If, for example, you don’t care about getting paid, ignore it. Or add your own dimension.
Which brings me to my own slightly modified, Ikigai framework:
What the world needs: what problems can I solve, what is society searching for, what are people asking for?
What I’m good at: what skills do I have, what comes naturally to me, where do I excel?
What I can be paid for: what brings enough value to the world that people will pay for?
What you love: what floats my boat, what jazzes me, where do I find flow?
What supports Travel: seeing the world energizes me, expands my worldview, and improves my marriage
What can I show up every day and do: longevity, repetition, and habit are cornerstones of success
Let’s Run Fiction Writing Through My Ikigai
Some of you know I write fiction as a hobby. Why not focus on that as my post-day-job vocation?
What the world needs: YES. I regularly have readers clamoring for the next book.
What you’re good at: YES. I can write a cracking novel.
What you can be paid for: NO. You’re hunting $3.50 rabbits. Readers regularly complain about the cost of a book. Making money at fiction requires getting to massive scale.
What you love: YES. Making stories is my flow.
What supports Travel: YES. I write some of my best stuff on airplanes.
What can you show up every day and do: YES. I’ve been writing fiction regularly since 2014.
How About Nonfiction?
I’m a writer at heart; it’s tattooed on my arm. What about nonfiction writing, like a newsletter, nonfiction books, and ghostwriting?
What the world needs: YES. Even in a world with AI, people need human connection through mediums like the written and spoken word. More to come on why writing will become more important against an AI backdrop.
What you’re good at: YES. I’m a good writer, and I can become better.
What you can be paid for: ?? Good question, I believe so, but let’s prove it.
What you love: YES. I was born to write. I know it in my soul.
What supports Travel: YES. Writing is portable, digital distribution is everywhere.
What can you show up every day and do: YES. I can sit in front of my keyboard everyday and write. Easily.
Now It’s Your Turn
Get out a notebook or a napkin. Or find a whiteboard.
Write down your values. What’s important to you? Narrow the list to four or six.
Go to Google’s Nano Banana and use this prompt (obviously substitute your values in place of mine.
I’d like an Ikigai diagram with six overlapping circles, one for each of the following: World Needs, Good At, Paid For, You Love, Supports Travel, and Show Up Daily. Each circle should overlap like a Venn diagram, and each should be a different color.
Voilà, your very own personalized Ikigai.
Hope it helps!
Let me know what you end up with.
Welcome to Second Story
It’s a newsletter about discovering and starting the next thing.
It’s about finding purpose.
My first life story was Technology with a Fiction Writing Subplot.
I don’t know what my second story will be. Yet.
I do know that I discover and learn things about myself and about the world through writing.
Writing is tattooed on my arm.
I’m still writing fiction. Ghosts of Mendoza comes out in December.
I’m writing this channel for myself. It’s a discovery tool.
Maybe you’ll like the notes and letters, and maybe you’ll get something out of it.
I hope so.
If you’re interested, please subscribe.
If not, that’s cool too. Maybe I’ll see you in the next one.
1,259 days to go. Thanks for reading. :-)