Does your startup pass the 'ikigai' test?
My work motto has always been "Wake up every day and do your best at something you love and great things will happen"...Recently I heard a young legal engineer talking about his passion for what he did and he mentioned 'ikigai'. Intrigued, I checked Wikipedia and it says "The term 'ikigai' compounds two Japanese words: iki (生き) meaning "life; alive" and kai (甲斐) meaning "(an) effect; (a) result," (sequentially voiced as 'gai,' resulting in "a reason for living [being alive]; a meaning for [to] life; what [something that] makes life worth living."
The diagram really resonates with me, doing what you are good at, you love, what the world needs and what people will pay for:
It is said that the other intersections not shown are:
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What you are good at + what you love + what you can be paid for = Satisfaction but feeling uselessness
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What you are good at + what you love + what the world needs = Delight and fullness, but not wealth
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What you love + what the world needs + what you can be paid for = Excitement and complacency but sense of uncertainty
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What the world needs + what you can be paid for + what you are good at = Comfortable but feeling of emptiness
Before you take the plunge and run with your new idea, where does it sit? If you have ikigai then that's a great start.
YouTube video to learn more.
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