This Japanese Concept Outlines 4 Questions for Finding Life and Career Fulfillment

I know I’m not alone when I say this has been a tough year. Personally, these past 11 months have tested me like no other. In November of 2021, I left my CMO job. Soon after, on November 30, my niece was shot during the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan. Thankfully, Kylie is still with us. She is a true survivor, and her recovery has been an inspiration for me, my family and the Oxford Community. In the wake of this unspeakable tragedy, I’ve spent the majority of my time focused on my family, embarking on a journey of deep reflection, transformative growth and powerful healing. Kylie and I have always been very close. In the midst of her recovery, I started to think more and more about my life’s purpose. In the hospital or, later, en route to countless physical therapy appointments, Kylie and I would often discuss what it means to live life with purpose. I mentioned to her that my friends and I talk a lot about ikigai: In Japanese culture, ikigai means having a sense of purpose in life as well as being motivated. Savor this moment as if it were your last breath. You can live only one day at a time, and no one can be certain that they will wake up the next morning. So let’s not postpone happiness. The best moment in your life is always this one.—Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, from Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life According to a study by Michiko Kumano, feeling ikigai means “the feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment that follows when you pursue your passions.” Psychologist Katsuya Inoue builds on that, saying that the concept consists of two aspects: "something that brings value or meaning to life," meaning what makes you happy and "a feeling that your life has value or meaning," referring to a sense of purpose. Its principles, as stated in Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia's book on the subject, are “an intersection between four distinct elements.” These four elements are what you love, what you're good at, what you can be paid for and what the world needs. Already wise beyond her 18 years, but prompted by the events of November 30, Kylie began to seriously reflect on finding her own ikigai. In the end, helping her has also helped me find mine. For those of you who are like Kylie and me and find yourself at an inflection point, I’ve outlined below a few questions to help you along your path to finding your ikigai. Patagonia Climbs. How Other Purpose-driven Brands Can Follow What do you love? Are you able to articulate what truly makes you happy? This is the perfect place to start discovering your own ikigai. If you reflect on different stages or moments in your life, there were probably activities or hobbies that motivated you and gave you energy. When you love something, you make time for it, you talk about it and your passion for it often feels contagious to others. For me, I've always loved stories, videos and movies. The art of storytelling has always amazed me, from crafting the story arc to character development to the power to make audiences feel an emotion. I want to build brands, experiences and teams that solve difficult problems and inspire with a compelling story. What are you good at? If you know the answer, great. If not, maybe you know something that you’d like to be good at. If you’re lucky, you may have found your calling early in life, perhaps something that has always come naturally to you. Or, it might be something that interests you so much that you’ve put in the extra work to become an expert. My passion for consumer insights has made me good at problem-solving and strategy. To get better at that, I invested more than 25 years in brand marketing, digital branding and digital innovation. I've also taken the time to work on personal, creative projects. The process of making helps me stay connected to one of the things that makes me happiest: creative expression. What can you be paid for? Being happy and doing what you’re good at is fulfilling. But as my friends like to remind me, you can’t always work for free. Your ikigai should be something you can get paid for to support your needs. If you have the expertise and you can add value, you can be paid for it. Over the past few years, I've become an advisor and a consultant for organizations in need of expertise in marketing and strategy, turning my professional skills toward passion projects. It's always rewarding to be able to help the companies I believe in that also happen to need guidance. What does the world need? It’s important to know that what we do has value. Trying to make the world a better place or contributing to our local communities does good and helps us feel good. Thinking beyond our individual needs and seeing the bigger picture of how we can help change the lives of others is another excellent way to discover your ikigai. My view of what the world needs has definitely played a role in finding my ikigai. It involves furthering efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion. I also believe the world needs more gender equity and women in leadership. And a personal mission is to empower the next generation to move the world forward. These are all informed by what I think the world needs for a better future. Having gone through this exercise and honed in on my own ikigai, I gained clarity about my purpose and what I wanted for my next career move. With that, I've taken on my next full-time role at AKQA: I'll be their first president and will lead their creative studios in North America. I took the time to ensure my ikigai closely complements AKQA’s stated purpose to create a better future and the agency’s culture of diversity. I look forward to working with the team to accomplish our shared goals, both in the work we create and in how we serve each other, our clients and the world around us. Meanwhile, Kylie’s story is still unfolding. One of the creative projects mentioned earlier was a mini-documentary on Kylie’s passion for tennis and her community in Oxford. It aired on the Tennis Channel during the U.S. Open in New York. I hope you’ll take a moment to watch it here. From American Idol to a Social Media Career in Tech, This Is My Portfolio of Life