A surprisingly simple technique

for finding your ikigai.

4 steps to uncover your life

calling:
 NAME NAME

The Japanese concept of ikigai roughly

translates to “what makes life
worthwhile.”

Mark Manson has a related framework

for finding your “life calling” — which
inspired this exercise.

These 4 steps will take about 20 mins.

But are brutally effective in discovering

your career purpose…
 NAME NAME

Step 1: What do you love doing?

Write down everything you enjoy

spending time on.

Be as specific as possible.

Make the list long. Recall your childhood

favorites, too.

Big. Small. Even medium joys.

(Bonus points for things you love doing

that most others don’t).
 NAME NAME

Step 2: What could you get paid for?

Go through the list, and cross out any

item that would probably be difficult to
get paid for…

(e.g., taking naps, eating tacos).

I know I said to list ALL of your joys,

but that was mainly to make you grateful

for how many there are. 😉
 NAME NAME

Step 3: What are you skilled at?

Go through what’s left:

What are you better at than 90% of

people?

(Or at least willing to put in the work to

become better at than 90%)?

What do friends ask for your help on?

Cross out the ones that don’t apply.

 NAME NAME

Step 4: What’s good for the world?

Last step…

Circle the things that can have a positive

impact on other people. In any way. Big
or small.

Cross out the rest.

…Now take a look at what's circled.

This combination will help you uncover

your ikigai.
 NAME NAME

—Why it works—

You’re looking for the intersection of:

1). What you love

2). What you can get paid for

3). What you’re uniquely skilled at

4). What’s good for the world

 NAME NAME

The intersection of those four is the

westernized version of “ikigai.”

WHAT
YOU LOVE
DOING

WHAT GOOD
YOU’RE IKIGAI FOR THE
SKILLED WORLD
AT

WHAT
YOU’LL BE
PAID FOR
 NAME NAME

That combination is unique to you.

Which means you have a significant

advantage in achieving it.

The reason?

“No one can compete with you on being

you.” – Naval Ravikant
Surprise! This post was an example of
my newsletter. So if you liked this, you’ll
love reading The Quiet Rich.

Why not start every Monday morning

with inspiring methods like this one?

Try it at thequietrich.co (link in bio)

 NAME NAME

Btw— I mentioned this Venn diagram is

a westernized interpretation of ikigai.

It’s more relevant for finding your “career

purpose” than your “reason for being.”

But the insights you’ll glean from the

exercise are still wildly valuable.

To learn more about the Japanese

concept of ikigai, I recommend a book
called Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a
Long and Happy Life