At the age of 29, I was earning 33 LPA.
Working in a top-tier consulting firm, with Fortune 500 clients, and some of the smartest people I have ever known.
And yet, I quit - was jobless for 3 months to figure out what I wanted to do next.
Why would I do that?
Back then, I didn’t understand.
Until I encountered the concept of Ikigai.
Ikigai is a Japanese term that doesn’t have a direct English word for it.
Loosely, it means “the reason for being” in English - or better still - “the purpose of one’s life”.
We are all looking for that - isn’t it?
The purpose of our lives.
So when you wake up today, and it feels something is missing, even though everything seems great on paper - it is because you haven’t yet found your Ikigai.
Your Ikigai has 4 parts to it:
What am I really good at?
What do I love doing?
What does the world need?
What can make me money?
Once you have something that checks all these 4 points - is when you have found your Ikigai.
So why did I leave my fancy 33L job?
I was good at it.
I really enjoyed it.
I was paid well for it.
BUT - I didn’t wake up any day feeling the world needed it.
We forced our own importance onto others, but no one willingly would say “I need their services”.
This feeling of emptiness - which I couldn’t articulate back then - was the reason for my decision.
Did I find my Ikigai after I got to know of the concept?
No!
It took another 10 years.
But knowing about Ikigai gave me a very useful tool.
Each time I found myself in a situation, I could now ask myself - “Is this my Ikigai?”
Is it something I love, something I am good at, something the world needs, something that makes me money?
If the answer was no for any of them, I knew this was not it.
And the search continued.
Today I know my Ikigai - teaching.
I love teaching, I am really good at it, the world certainly needs it, and I have found ways of making money from it.
It is what I feel is my purpose; my reason for being.
I found mine at 39.
I am sure you will find yours sooner :)
Currently reading 1929: The Inside Story of The Greatest Crash in Wall Street History by Andrew Ross Sorkin.
It is a historical narration of the crash that led to the Great Depression across the world, predominantly the US. And the remains of the worst stock market crash in global history.
Who were involved, what led to the crash, the aftermath of it - all of it is documented in the book.
Ruchi and me after a tennis match :))
Enjoying the rivers of India.
Thinking about my Ikigai, haha :)
If someone saves you from drowning, don’t blame them for how they did it.
Bad bosses have resulted in the most amazing friendships at work.
Chess was born in India around the 6th century, as Chaturanga, meaning “four limbs”: infantry, cavalry, elephants, chariots.
It travelled to Persia, where the Rajah became the Shah.
“Shah Mat” means the king is helpless.
Shah Mat became “checkmate.”
BTW - Shahmat is still used in day to day language - when we say “shahmat aa gayi” meaning “troubling is coming”.
How cool, no?
Last week I asked: Who was the first Indian to feature on the cover of TIME magazine?
The correct answer is NOT JRD Tata or SRK - it is Mahatma Gandhi (1931 Person of the Year).
Nearly 915 people got this answer right.
The lucky winner last week is Kanan Agarwal (kana****005@gmail.com)
Reply with your answer, and I will pick one random winner with the right answer.
They will get a signed copy of a book of mine :))
PS: This section is inspired by Capitalmind’s awesome weekly newsletter - you should subscribe to it - terrific personal finance content.
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You can, of course, always write to me by simply replying to this newsletter.
I love reading all your emails, even though I may not be able to reply to them all.
Yes! I READ ALL MY EMAILS. ALL OF THEM.
(Dilli mein toofani hawayon ki kasam)
until next week
stay awesome | stay focused | do epic shit
warikoo
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