The 4-step blueprint for discovering your reason for being [Ikigai OS]
It's incredible to reflect on one of my darkest life moments with the clarity I have today.
There I was, utterly despondent sitting at my desk after my first company, Bitmaker, got acquired.
I felt directionless and profoundly discouraged, the most uncertain I've ever felt.
Naively, I was positive Bitmaker would be my magnum opus.
In barely two years we'd exploded onto Canada's tech scene.
But despite rapid growth, we ended up selling too soon for too little.
It gutted me.
This sense of failure and uncertainty even briefly had me debate moving back in with my parents.
Thank goodness I didn't go down that path.
Because afterwards, out of desperation, I somehow found the resolve to individually send 2,000 cold emails.
Little did I know how much that action would change my life...
One of those emails connected me to someone who introduced me to the Japanese concept of Ikigai - one's purpose for being.
Learning about Ikigai instantly resonated within me.
And after performing the reflection practice, it led me to my true reason for living.
Ikigai equipped me to pivot into lucrative industries that leveraged my innate talents.
I credit this guiding force for pulling me out of obscurity and catapulting my success.
Now, I zealously champion Ikigai's merits because I'm convinced discovering one's reason for being allows for profoundly impactful work.
And to pay the Ikigai gift forward, I'd like to show you how to uncover your own reason for being...
New workshop inbound...
How to rapidly grow a profitable audience (for free) with organic content.
Next week I'm going live with a brand-new workshop where I'm revealing the proven systems I’ve used to amass a following of over 16M across my channels...
All with zero ads.
>>> Click here to register
Attention is at a premium, and you can leverage this valuable resource to make your dreams a reality.
In fact, I can attribute much of my success to the audiences I’ve been able to build around my various brands.
In this free workshop, you'll learn:
- My playbook for growing a massive following online, FAST
- One of the most unexpected barriers you must overcome to grow online
- My proven process for creating content people can’t stop consuming
- The fastest way to grow on LinkedIn and X
- Strategies for cutting your content creation time in HALF (or more)
And for those of you who show up live, you'll also get access to my “90-Day Growth Checklist” for free (worth $149).
Now I do have to tell you, spots are limited for the call.
So if you're series about taking your audience and revenue to the next level in the months to come, I recommend you register ASAP.
Here's the link one more time to join.
Hope to see you there!
#1: Get honest about your talents
After my first company failed, I felt utterly directionless.
Taking stock of my innate skills like teaching and empowering others revealed bright spots I could still leverage.
Catalog your abilities and get objective insight into strengths you can monetize.
What natural talents of yours bring you joy?
#2: Identify your motivational pillars
Beyond surface pleasures, what underlying values bring you meaning?
For me, problem-solving, creating communities and connecting deeply with people represent essential pillars in any fulfilling work.
Extract themes from your own peak life experiences.
They reveal the key ingredients you need to have to live a fulfilled life.
#3: Explore market problems
Even armed with self-awareness after failure, I still needed context about societal gaps that needed solutions.
And of course, I also still needed to make money...
So I investigated emerging pain points of online users, looking for alignment with my abilities.
What problems could your offerings ease?
This is a two-part process, because you want to uncover:
- Needs that exist in the world that intersect with your core motivations and natural talents
- Opportunities that you could get paid for
#4: Connect it all on a Venn diagram
If the previous self-examination exercises still leave you slightly ambiguous about which career avenue to pursue, create a 4-circle Venn diagram.
Visually map the overlaps between your:
- Motivational zones
- Natural abilities
- Needs that intersect with your talents and core motivations
- Opportunities that you could get paid for
That center cross-section represents your calling, or your Ikigai bullseye.
And therein lies your answer to purposeful, profitable work.
My Ikigai? Helping other founders succeed.
What's yours?
I hope my story of how discovering my Ikigai transformed my life convinces you to explore this philosophical concept for yourself.
Beyond the immense clarity it brings for intentional career building, discovering your reason for being will also connect you more to what makes you feel vibrantly alive.
And to make it easier for you to complete your Ikigai practice, I've even created a custom ChatGPT prompt for you.
>>> Click here to access it.
Once your own Ikigai comes into sharp focus, I’m eager to hear your revelations and future plans.
Please share your breakthroughs with me by either replying to this email or DM'ing me on X.
Let’s win together 🥇
Matt Gray
P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 4 ways I can help you:
#1: Ready to grow your personal brand with an organic content engine to $1 million or more? Let's chat. >>> Click here to apply for your Founder Clarity Call with my team
#2: Have you seen my YouTube Channel? I'm putting a ton of energy into creating heaps of valuable content that I think you'll like. Come check out my latest stuff, and give me a like and subscribe.
#3: Promote your brand to over 107,000 subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter (booking into July 2024).
#4: Follow me on X and LinkedIn for more operating systems, marketing tips, and community-building systems.
