Finals Reaction Paper

Ikigai, a term from the Japanese language which means “a reason for being.” The speaker, Ms.
Charmaine Santiago, broadly explained the meaning of Ikigai in terms of how it relates to us
Financial Management students. To find your Ikigai you need to answer 4 questions; what do I
love? (Your passion) What am I good at? (Your vocation) What can I be paid for now – or
something that could transform into my future hustle? (Your profession) And what does the
world need? (Your mission). Questions which I cannot completely answer as of now. But when
we were asked these questions I pondered for a while to see if I am able to know what my Ikigai
is, but I was in conflict with the questions being asked. I wasn’t so sure what it is a truly love or
what am I really good at or what does the world need now or 5-10 years into the future. Some
other topics that were discussed in the seminar were why people are afraid to step out of their
comfort zone. The reason why people are afraid to step out of their comfort zone is that they
don’t want responsibilities; it gets them out of their daily routines which would make them feel
uncomfortable, and lastly is that they don’t want to take risks. And another topic that was
discussed in the seminar was Financial Planning; they told us that we needed to prepare
ourselves for everything of what life has to offer. Some examples of this are Healthcare, which in
turn if you get sick you have a financial backing from the health insurance may it be long term or
short term, another example is Life insurance because pessimistically what if you die too soon,
this would just help out the people that you will leave behind, and lastly Investments these
investments could be long term or short term investments such as stock markets, properties,
money market funds, certificates of deposit and short term bonds. This seminar really gave me
the initiative that I needed to go out there and provide for my future family.