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During a recent vacation, I read the book [Affiliate] Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Hector Garcia and Francis Morales. I found this Japanese philosophy of finding your purpose and direction in life to be really interesting, as it ties in closely with visualizing to build a business that can support the life that you want to live.
At the time, I was a little stuck because I didn’t know what my Ikigai was or how I should move forward. Then, on the same trip, I read [Affiliate] One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Dr. Robert Maurer.
This Japanese philosophy is about continuous change and small improvements. It really helped Toyota dominate the car manufacturing world for a long time. The book included an exercise that I combined with the concept of Ikigai to come up with my purpose and direction.
Finding Your Purpose is Important
The Ikigai book included a really powerful statement: “A compass is much better than a map.”
It’s true. Maps only work until you get off the trail. Then you’re in trouble. With a compass, you can find your way back no matter where you step off.
When you’re putting together a business plan, having a compass lets you adjust to feedback without losing track of where you want to be. I coach people and say, “Here is the five-step framework to do XYZ. Follow the steps.” The real challenge comes when you get knocked off one of these steps or need to pivot. A compass can help you stay on track to achieve your goals.
I’ve found two versions of Ikigai. One, known as the North American version, manifests itself as a Venn diagram with four circles that represent what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for, and what you’re good at. Then it has the different overlaps defined as your passion, your mission, your vocation, your profession. In the center is your Ikigai, which is your purpose or reason for being.
The other version, which is based on Japanese principles, translates into a reason for being or a direction and purpose in life. Tending the garden is a common representation that comes across as more organic and holistic than plotting things on a Venn diagram.
I didn’t know what my purpose was. I was sitting in a cottage with a beautiful lake view, reading these books, trying to figure it out. Then I tied the two concepts together- Ikigai and Kaizen- and came up with a framework.
Ask the Right Questions – Regularly
Imagine that you’re working at an office. One day you come in and your boss says, “What color was the car that you parked beside this morning?”
In addition to thinking that your boss is nuts for asking such a strange question, you probably wouldn’t even be able to answer it. But if they keep asking, you’ll start taking notice of the car you park beside each morning.
If the boss stops asking you about the color of the car, your brain will likely still search for the answer. According to the Kaizen book, this is a great way to implement small changes. If you keep asking the same question every day, your brain will go to work figuring out the answer and put systems in place to handle it.
I realized that you could apply this concept to answering the question of what your purpose or direction in life is. I then put together a six-step framework for finding my Ikigai.
Step One: Create a Vision Board
A vision board can be a space in your home or office. It can even be a space in your mind if you’re rarely in the same place. You visit it every day to ask questions.
Step Two: Write Out the Question
The question I chose was ‘What is my purpose?’ When choosing a question, think about how to frame it so that the answer is more meaningful to you. Avoid jargon and catchphrases that don’t resonate.
Step Three: Ask the Question Every Day
Ask yourself the question every day. Say it out loud. I used to say it two or three times and give myself two minutes just to think about it. Don’t stress out if nothing comes to mind. That’s completely normal and the answers will come later.
If you keep doing that day after day, you’ll find that eventually the question starts to answer itself. It’s funny because the answer usually comes when at some other point in the day.
Step Four: Keep a Journal Handy
You want to be able just to capture the answers as they come. Sort them and play around with those ideas. Eventually, you’ll get an avalanche of ideas coming every morning. What is my purpose? What is my purpose? What is my purpose?
Step Five: Pick a Fixed Framework
I like to do this exercise over two weeks or a month. I found that one week is too short. My brain is usually too empty for that first week. I need to get through that latency period before my brain starts working on it.
Step Six: Change the question
This is a really powerful part of Kaizen. You can change the question so it applies to some other part of your life. When you pick a two-week or one-month timeframe, force yourself to continue with the original question until you’re done. Even if you feel like you’re not getting more out of it, you may get some of those really big flashes of brilliance when you least expect it.
Conclusion
Doing this exercise for a month gave me some structure and insights I didn’t have before. I realized that one of my purposes in life was building communities that create change. That is my compass, and my supporting skills are synthesizing, connecting, and creating. I want to identify the needs and desires of people in these communities, empathize with them, and understand them.
I have an Ikigai of building communities that make big changes in the world. I was able to identify some of my strengths and how they really fit into this umbrella. I was able to identify how other areas of my life fit in. But I also got to dive into some of these challenges. I’ll be honest: I’m still exploring these today and what they mean.
I hope you find this interesting. I really thought it was important to share because I did feel stuck at one point. But this Kaizen exercise of asking a small question every day to get a small answer really helped me figure it out.
If you have questions or feedback about this episode, please leave a comment below! If you’ve tried Ikigai or Kaizen, we’d also like to know how it worked for you.
