It’s been a busy five months since I began exploring my unique skill set and interests, and initiated the topic of ikigai. Now, I transition over to what provides me joy and excitement. Do the two concepts overlap? Perhaps somewhat, but not entirely. Maybe that has contributed to the diversity of my career so far.
At first blush, when people ask me what I love, I usually have a relatively concise and reliable response: my family, dogs, Christmas, cars, sports, and good food, especially dessert(s). Those are the ones that jump out at me. Since my last blog, when I discussed areas I consider myself skilled in, any correlation to the list above isn’t apparent. My current skill set does not support becoming an athlete, a chef, or even one of Santa’s helpers. Race car driver? Only at an amateur level. 🙂 I did consider being a veterinarian when I was younger, though that window has now passed. Interestingly enough, as I wrote previously, my first entrepreneurial venture was developing an information system/database for veterinarians to use in their clinics, rather than the index cards still prevalent in the late 80s and early 90s. Maybe I was onto ikigai before I realized it (or knew what the term meant).
To help me make the connection between my skills and things that excite me, it was my wife who bridged the gap for me. Twice a year, every year, since our kids started school, she takes a picture of them in front of our fireplace. The September picture highlights the grade they are heading into. The June picture has them reflecting on what they want to be when they grow up. It’s a beautiful annual tradition. Not surprisingly, their preferences have changed over the years (our son has switched three times, our daughter four times). It was only when I began to reflect on my childhood dreams that I realized my connection.
Growing up, most Canadian boys dreamed of making it to the NHL. I was no exception. I did realize early, probably around 10, that the dream wouldn’t turn into reality, so I began thinking about different paths. A veterinarian, a mathematician, an astronomer, and finally, an astrophysicist were the options under consideration until I finished high school. Yes, I can acknowledge it wasn’t the most exciting of lists, but those themes of dogs, numbers, and space always had me curious and excited.
We’ve talked about dogs already; the more I write, the more I wonder if I’ve missed a calling here. My interest in space has subsided over the decades, most likely when I concluded during my 2nd year of university that to be an Astrophysicist meant at least another 6 years of university. I concluded that my passion for space wasn’t that great back then. What does that leave?
Numbers! Yes, numbers. That simple, elegant system (and tool) dates back five thousand years. Does that really excite me? While I’ve known many others who have cited being a vet or an astronomer (or, more commonly, an astronaut) when growing up, I haven’t encountered many people who dreamed of becoming a mathematician as a career path. Why would I consider this field? I’ve always enjoyed numbers, data, algebra, and, yes, even calculus. It likely helped that the topic came easily (thanks, Dad). I would analyze sports playoff races with statistics and probabilities or use a scorecard to rank an upcoming significant purchase or area of keen interest – whatever was top of mind when I had a big decision to make, or just for fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this type of analysis and number crunching, and I still do.
I can’t count (there is that theme again) the number of times I’ve created (for work and fun) a simple table or spreadsheet to provide insight and analysis into what data is revealing. In today’s Lean Six Sigma era, it often resembles a modified Risk Priority Number (RPN) matrix. However, instead of relying solely on the three variables of severity, probability, and detection, these variables are adjustable based on the analysis required and then weighted accordingly. I’ve used this approach for everything from risk analysis to prioritizing capital projects, goal-setting, evaluating software, and the personal interests of identifying a preference for my next dog breed or vehicle. While the intuitive and qualitative aspects will always be taken into consideration, I usually start with empirical and quantitative data.
Returning to what I thoroughly enjoy, I now see that I missed numbers, data, and analysis. Maybe it’s not as exciting as the others described earlier, but it qualifies nonetheless. And finally, I see my tie-in between what I love and what I’m good at. Whether it’s a balanced scorecard, a dashboard or some other type of visual display showing the latest KPIs or KRs, or even standard metrics, the opportunity to create this data, reflect upon what it’s saying, and then take action is something I really enjoy doing and have developed a unique skill for. Over the recent years, the ability to take action and “do” something has been my key driver. Selecting and creating the data (or KPI) was more fun at an earlier stage, though; regardless, you need the entire chain to accomplish your goals.
While identifying my passion(s) took me a few months to work through, it has made me think about my earlier comment in my previous blog and whether people who can identify their ikigai are in the clear minority. One often hears about people working in jobs they don’t find fulfilling, or their skills aren’t a “fit.” I’ll say I’ve been in those positions a few times, and it truly is the opposite of finding one’s passion. You can muddle your way through, perhaps even accomplish some great things, but in the long term, you’re likely doing yourself and those around you a disservice. I’ve just finished reading another Patrick Lencioni book about Working Genius, and I know I’ve had a few roles where the “Sunday blues” were a common occurrence in advance of work on Monday.
Do I recommend that everyone take some time to identify their ikigai? Absolutely. Everyone has something to gain from it and very little to lose. Life is too short to do something for too long that you really don’t enjoy.
The next time I write (quicker than 5 months, I promise), I’ll see if I can connect the world’s needs (or maybe my small corner) and earn a living with what I’ve established to date. I do think the most challenging step is behind me. Passion is crucial to happiness and success.
Darren