What’s the meaning of life?
Why do some people know what they want and have a passion for life while others languish in confusion?
According to the Japanese: everyone has an ikigai — a purpose for living.
A French philosopher might call it raisin d’etre – a reason of being.
Some people have found their ikigai while others are still looking – though I believe they carry it within them.
Our ikigai is hidden deep inside of us and is often found when you sit quietly with yourself and listen keenly in.
Ikigai is the place where your passion, purpose, and profession intersect.
It’s the sweet spot in the middle where:
What you love,
What you’re good at,
What the world needs, and
what you can be paid for — meet.
It’s the reason we get up in the morning.
And according to the residents of Okinawa with the longest living people — finding your ikigai is the key to a happier and longer life.
When you arrive in Okinawa you’ll sense the incredible spark of its residents – who laugh and joke incessantly amid the lush green hills and crystalline waters – besides their healthful diet, green tea and subtropical climate — it is their ikigai that shapes their lives.
This Japanese concept of ikigai roughly translates as the happiness of always being busy.
But the centenarians busyness is different from our Western view of busyness. We often sit busy behind screens rarely acknowledging ourselves or our loved ones.
*The Okinawans are busy cherishing each new day.
*They are busy nurturing friendships.
*They are busy tending to their gardens.
*They are busy wishing every 100 year old a happy birthday.
*They are busy getting enough rest.
*They are busy eating lightly.
*They are busy walking in nature.
*They are busy most importantly with helping one another.
What are you busy with? Is it aligned with ikigai?
As entrepreneurs and leaders how can we align our businesses with purpose, our ikigai?
My ikigai is to empower 1M women to change the world, help them make 1M dollars in revenue and create 1M jobs.
Helping other women entrepreneurs succeed brings meaning and purpose to my life because I know that if there are more women entrepreneurs making decisions, creating products, providing services it would be a vastly different world.
Why?
Because entrepreneurship provides freedom, and helps us grow in ways that stretch and expand us.
When you align your business with your true purpose — it’s a truly different life.
Sit back and watch yourself and the world around you grow.
XO
Kalika