How I got out of a career rut & found the confidence to take a leap of faith
Who knew that burnout, working in a sex shop and David Bowie would have been part of that journey?!
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I first came across the concept of 'Ikigai' a few days after I quit my last ever role in employment. I was working in the media industry and became incredibly burnt out and was bordering on depressed. For so long I didn’t realise what was going on, only to later discover I was living a life totally misaligned to my core values. Which (I believe) is one of the main reasons people end up burning out.
This realisation only came to me years later when I started to understand the true impact of living a life aligned with your purpose and values, but it took me years to get here.
So, where did it all begin?
My sister, Sarah, told me to read the book ‘Ikigai’ after I had admitted to her that I was totally lost and started to regret my decision of walking out of my job one day never to return. I had hit rock bottom and had nowhere else to go. I was earning a good salary, worked with some really cool brands and was often doing “fun” social work things. But I was dead inside. I found myself becoming a shell of my former self, waking up one day and not recognising who the woman was staring back at me in the mirror.
I was 29 then, with an entrepreneurial nature and rebellious streak, I knew I wasn’t going to be working for someone else forever.
I started my first business straight out of university - “Moustache Class”, a social media consultancy where I consulted local businesses on how to raise their online profiles.
A $50M business idea
I studied media and communication at Brighton university (which is where I coincidently came up with a $50M business idea ‘rent the runway’, only my distinction rated business proposal never made it past the presentation phase to my lecturer’s dismay. Ten years later it was a real business in the states. I simply lacked the know-how of getting the idea off the ground. Another reason why Found & Flourish was born! But I digress.)
And so I was putting all of my social media skills and new found media knowledge to use. It was a slow burner so to pay the rent I also managed a sex shop in the buzzing laines of Brighton (a story for another day!).
I soon decided that I wasn’t learning enough on my own (and needed a steady income stream) so worked my way up the ladder through media agencies, web design companies and recruitment firms until I got to where I was in this moment; A 29 year old consultant, earning more than her partner, winning awards for her achievements within her industry and miserable.
Why was I so miserable in that role? Well, now I know it's because my purpose is everything. And in this role, I lacked purpose and therefore my values were misaligned with my actions. I felt all tangled up, confused, missdirected and lost.
How did I find clarity?
Well, I feel I am only just now starting to feel really clear on what I want to do but the start of this journey began the day after my 30th birthday. The night before had me jumping around my living room with my sisters dancing to “Let’s dance” by David Bowie as I not only celebrated my 30th but my new sense of freedom having quit my job only 24 hours before.
Fast forward to the day after my 30th and I woke up wondering what the h*ll I had done, why did I quit my job? How was I going to pay the bills? I had a wedding to pay for, a mortgage to cover, an expensive taste in food (sushi!) - what had I done?!? It was during a complete freak out and questioning of my mental state that my sister introduced me to 'Ikigai' - the Japanese term for 'reason for being'.
She said “look at this, read the book and take some time to work out what yours is”.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Image borrowed from Calm.
Ikigai is a Japanese term that blends two words: “iki” meaning “to live,” and “gai” meaning “reason,” which translates to “a reason to live.” It's a concept that encourages people to discover what truly matters to them and to live a life filled with purpose and joy. [Source: Calm.com]
How to find your ikigai
Write a list of 10 things you love, what brings you joy?
What do you love to do that you know people would find valuable?
What can you do that would be easy to charge for?
What comes naturally to you? When are you operating in your ‘zone of genius’?
Pop the kettle on, find a comfy corner somewhere to settle into, take some time out to explore these questions, and keep a note pad (or use your notes/notion) to track your thoughts and ideas. This will take time, enjoy the process!
Have you heard of this term before? Is this new to you? Let me know :)
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear if this has resonated with you. Drop a comment or hit reply. (Hearing from you is genuinely one of the highlights of my day.) 🫶
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