Lesson 3: Figuring out your purpose
It’s okay to not know the perfect answer to the question. Write whatever comes to your mind. Sometimes, it’s about discovering the answer, and other times it’s about creating an answer (i.e. opening up to possibilities). The point is to brainstorm, you can always change the answers as you go along.
- What would I do if I had all the time and money I wanted?
- What would I do if I were guaranteed to succeed, and what would I dare to do, even if I might fail?
- What brings flow or awe/wonder to you? (check out this post for more on flow and awe)
- What do I want to become a master/genius at?
- What am I willing to suffer for?
- What are the things I am most proud of?
- What do I love so much that I would pay to do it?
- What’s my ideal work setting/environment?
- What kind of company, boss, manager, clients, partners or co-workers do I want to work with? (ethic, culture, values, and character)
- How can I get paid to do what I love? – If you want to make a living out of it (the thing you’d on a Saturday morning if you have nothing else to do)
- What does my ideal day look like ? ( be as specific as you can)
- Fast-forward to 5–10 years — What does the ideal scenario look like? ( be as specific as you can)
- How do I want to be known after I die? What imaginary awards would I’d like to get?
- The 110-year old version of you — What do they tell you to do?
- You’re on your deathbed — Do you have any regrets? What are your wishes?
- What is it that you and only you can do? ( no space for comparison — only inspiration)
Once you’ve gone through the questions, take some time to think about what your Ikigai (the reason to get up in the morning) could be. You don’t have to know the answer right away. But it’s a good Japanese concept to think about.
Note: You can replace “what you are good at” with “what you can or want to be good at”.
Bring together your service mindset (to be a servant), craftsman mindset (to be the best you can be), and passion mindset (which could also be a mix of multiple passions) to figure out how you can be your unique self and bring unique value to the world.
After the exercise, if you’re still stuck and need ideas to explore, you could take a look at this list of passions and my post on play personalities.[/text_block]
