I Learned About An Interesting Japanese Concept

And It’s Not Origami Or Kanban

MR. Molly Maguire
Sep 6, 2018 · 4 min read

A random conversation can turn into a breathtaking jewel in the blink of an eye.

It happened yesterday.

I was talking to a friend about her potential future ventures when the concept of ‘Ikigai’ popped into my head.

She didn’t know the term so I used that moment to switch into an arduous teaching mode (again 😊).

She’s used to that by now, I think.


What’s Your Main Gig?

Ikigai is a Japanese concept.

It literally means the ‘reason for being’ and it’s basically why you should do what you do.

Think for a second about your ‘main gig’ and answer the following four questions:

  1. Do you love what you do?
  2. Does the world need it?
  3. Are you good at it?
  4. Can you get paid for it?

Only when you can answer yes to all four questions, do you have Ikigai in your life.

I did the thought exercise for this writing gig.

by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

I love writing every day (although I’m going to enjoy my little break in 2019), I think the world needs it (only helping one person is already cool) and I’m good at it (sorry about the bragging now 😄).

The money question is a bit difficult. I’m not actually getting paid for it but I think I could.

So I’ll go out on a limb and state that writing is my ‘Ikigai’. I hope I’m saying it right.

I doubt it though.


Fooling Around With Useless Specimens

I have another gig too.

It’s being an investor and/or trader.

You probably know that by now. My friend never fails to mention how I brag too much about my profits.

But hey, the people have the right to know that I’m a profitable trader. 😝

But all kidding aside, I did the Ikigai exercise too for that gig.

I love it (although I couldn’t do it eight hours a day), I’m good at it (I’m doubling my capital every year), and I’m getting paid for it (that’s what being a profitable trader means).

by Timothy Eberly on Unsplash

Does the world needs traders?

Interesting question.

I would say yes, without traders there would be no liquidity and price discovery.

If we weren’t necessary, the market wouldn’t pay us. She doesn’t fool around with useless specimens. Those get wiped out in no time.

So I’ll go out on a limb again and say that the world needs traders and investors.

So yes, trading is also my Ikigai, just like writing.

Doing both makes sense for me.


A Step In The Right Direction

I like this concept of Ikigai.

It definitely explains why a lot of my early ventures failed horribly.

I played poker but I quit because I didn’t feel like I was contributing to society. I co-owned a failed start-up but I didn’t love it so I never put in the required hours.

I used to be an engineering student but I quit that because I didn’t feel like I loved it and I don’t think I would have been a good engineer.

by Francisco Gonzalez on Unsplash

I have been doing e-commerce work but I wasn’t good enough at customer service.

So yeah, most of the time one or more conditions where not fulfilled and as a result, it never worked out.

I’m not saying that having all four conditions fulfilled will make you truly happy.

But it’s a step in the right direction.


My friend is still looking for her future venture.

And I’m sure she’ll find her ‘Ikigai’. She’s a fighter and that’s why she’ll succeed.

It’s important in life to stay fluid and not be static.

Always Adapt.

Sooner or later, you’ll find something that checks all four boxes.

Until then, good luck on your journey!


Listen to the audio version here:

MR. Molly Maguire

Written by

Investor. Trader. Writer.

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