Passion

Passion is the intersection of “what you love” and “what you are good at.” For me, this is team sports — specifically football. I love playing any type of sport, and I personally played just about all of them growing up. Football, basketball, and baseball were my favorites. I would say I am pretty decent at these sports. I played division 1 football throughout all of college. The combination of my skill set and love for the game is what caused football to become my passion.

Mission

Mission is the intersection of “what the world needs” and “what you love.” For me, this is acts of generosity. I try to be generous however I can, but as human beings, we are all pretty damn selfish. When we give, we want to get. When we share, we want something in return. When we love, we want to be loved. There is no hiding the enduring greed that is the human race. With that being said, I genuinely do enjoy sharing what I have with others — food, money, clothes, anything really. I receive a lot of fulfillment knowing I have enriched someone else’s life, no matter how small the impact. It is no secret the world needs more selflessness. So, my mission is to contribute to the lives others.

Vocation

Vocation is the intersection of “what you can be paid for” and “what the world needs.” For me, this is my ability to lead. Leadership is no different than a muscle. The more you exercise it the stronger it becomes. Growing up, I was constantly in a position where I had the opportunity to “lead.” Whether it was in sports teams or friend groups, I found myself called to lead and move groups onward and upward. Through all of this practice I have grown to become a better leader (still so much room to grow), but these leadership skills have placed new opportunities upon myself that allow me to be compensated for them… hence, my vocation.

Profession

Profession is the intersection of “what you are good at” and “what you can be paid for.” For me, this is sales. I would label myself as a very effective communicator. I have a strong feel for guiding a conversation and reaching a solution. Building rapport is something that has always came natural to me. The ability to sell has been one of the biggest drivers in my career thus far. At it’s core, sales is all about communication - communicating pain, communicating value, communicating an answer. The better you are at sales, the better you are at communicating.

Where all 4 parts meet is your ikigai.

Your passion, mission, vocation, profession — can these all really be found in one place? In one thing?

Most definitely.

The western world has taken Ikigai and sort of transformed it to become more of a “career guide.” Remember, ikigai is not just about shaping your career path… it is about finding your purpose.

What is my Ikigai?

Not that you would care, but I feel like it only makes sense to share what my ikigai is.

Where does my love for sports, ability to communicate well, drive to lead teams, and desire to share resources all meet?

My ikigai is to create new opportunities for people to prosper. What does this actually look like?

• Creating new jobs

• Bringing people to Christ

• Teaching someone a new skill

• Mentoring our youth

• Improving someone’s quality of life

I consider activities like these to all be my ikigai. Note, activities that generate the feeling of ikigai are not forced, but are typically spontaneous and dependent on your inner self.

You have likely experienced moments of ikigai at various moments in your life. I recommend spending some time to try and discover what your Ikigai is. It could take you an hour, or a month, but the pursuit of our “why” is something that deserves a little bit of thought.