What the Ikigai is going on?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means "reason for being" or "purpose in life."

Join me on Thursday September 19 at 12pm for a workshop on Mastering Time:

It’s a framework that helps individuals find fulfillment by identifying the sweet spot between what they love, what they are good at, what the world needs, and what they can be paid for.

I’ve been searching for my Ikigai, and throughout this process things continue to evolve.

For example, the title of this Newsletter has changed from Roger’s Reads to The Unthinkable, and now Success Systems this year alone.

How can the concept of Ikigai help you grow in your career?

Here’s a breakdown of the four key elements:

1. What you love (Passion): The activities or pursuits that bring you joy and make you feel alive.

2. What you are good at (Skills): The talents or abilities that you excel in and enjoy honing.

3. What the world needs (Mission): The problems you can solve or the contributions you can make to the world.

4. What you can be paid for (Profession): The skills or services that others value enough to compensate you for.

Let me share with you how I have been thinking about my own personal Ikigai recently.

• What I love:
  I genuinely love helping others, which has driven me to be a teacher for over 20 years, a coach for over 10 years, and a mentor to many. Supporting others in their growth and success brings me great fulfillment.

• What I’m good at:
  My skills are varied, but I have a unique ability to explain even the most complicated concepts in a way that can be easily understood and applied. This is likely due to my corporate experience, education, non-profit work, and significant investment in formal learning, which have all contributed to building a well-rounded skill set.

• What the world needs:
  My mission is to help people get promoted at work. I’ve seen too many individuals leave jobs too soon because they don’t understand how to create unique value for their company while fulfilling their own goals.

• What I can be paid for:
  While I’m confident I can earn money in various ways, my goal is to build a business model that isn’t tied to being paid per hour. I want to create something scalable that maximizes impact without limiting income to the hours worked.

One way to leverage the Ikigai concept is to use ChatGPT.

Try this prompt:

“I would like to create and understand my own Ikigai. Can you ask me a series of questions, one at a time, and then use this information to provide me with a draft?”

As you walk through the questions, it will unlock some ideas for you to build your first version.

This information can help you make decisions today that will support your long- term aspirations.

Take action today—start envisioning your ideal future.

Until next time,
Roger M. Thompson

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3 Ways I Can Help You:

1) LinkedIn – I post daily on LinkedIn about topics on Leadership and Personal Productivity. Consider giving me a follow if you haven’t already.

2) Success Systems - As mentioned above, I’ve started a FREE community which I am making available to you. Join here

3) Workshops – I deliver custom virtual and live workshops for companies. If this is something you are interested in exploring, feel free to reply to this email so we can book a time.