Ikigai: Finding Your Reason for Being

Ikigai—a Japanese concept that translates roughly to "reason for being"—sits at the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. It's that sweet spot where passion meets purpose, skill meets service.

When I first encountered this concept, something clicked inside me like tumblers falling into place in a well-oiled lock.

The Pizza Kitchen Revelation

Picture this: It's a Friday night, the orders are flying in faster than we can make them, and I'm working alongside my dad and brother in our family pizza business. The heat is crushing, my feet are screaming, and I'm sweating through my shirt. But here's the thing—I'm smiling. Not just externally for the customers, but internally, because I'm absolutely killing what's in front of me.

It felt like Sisyphus pushing that boulder up the mountain, except I was genuinely enjoying the push. That's when I first glimpsed what ikigai might feel like—that strange alchemy where hard work transforms into something approaching joy.

The Four Pillars of My Purpose

What I Love: Teaching and learning dance together in my mind like old partners. There's this moment when you're explaining something complex to someone else where you suddenly understand it on a deeper level yourself. It's like the act of teaching forces you to translate knowledge into wisdom, to move beyond just knowing facts to truly understanding principles.

I love that moment when someone's eyes light up because you've found the perfect analogy—when the sun of understanding breaks through the clouds of confusion at high noon, casting light over any wall of ignorance.

What I'm Good At: Technology has always been an extension of my thinking mind. Not in some cyberpunk way, but more like how a craftsman feels about their tools. I see patterns, solve logical puzzles, and build solutions that bridge the gap between complex systems and human needs.

Programming gave me creative mode access to build whatever I could envision. It's like having a universal tool that can become anything—a calculator, a communication device, a business solution—limited only by imagination and skill.

What the World Needs: In every conversation, in every project, I see the same need: connection. People need complex things explained simply. Businesses need technology that actually helps instead of hinders. Everyone needs someone who can translate between worlds—between technical and practical, between abstract and concrete.

What I Can Be Paid For: Here's where the rubber meets the road. I can develop software, solve technical problems, teach others to navigate digital challenges. I can build websites, systems, and solutions that create value—real, measurable value that people willingly exchange money for.

The Corporate Paradox

But here's my current puzzle: I'm in the corporate IT world, making good money at Churchill Downs, on a promising leadership track. The program is excellent, the opportunities are real, and the paycheck is nice.

Yet something whispers that there might be more impactful work than entertainment gambling systems. Not that there's anything wrong with that industry—it serves its purpose and employs thousands. But is this my ikigai, or just a well-paying job that uses my skills?

The Teaching Thread

What keeps coming back is this: every profound understanding I've gained came through teaching someone else. When I explain complex systems to my parents, when I help a colleague debug their thinking (not just their code), when I simplify the complicated—that's when I feel most alive.

Teaching isn't just what I'm good at; it's how I learn best. It's my favorite form of service. And increasingly, it's what I'm being paid for, even in the corporate world.

The Path Forward

Maybe ikigai isn't a destination but a compass. It points toward work that simultaneously challenges and fulfills, that pays the bills while feeding the soul. For me, that seems to be at the intersection of technology, education, and genuine service.

Whether that leads back to the pizza business (with a tech twist), toward independent consulting and teaching, or through some path I haven't yet imagined—I'm learning to trust the compass.

The ancient Greeks had a word, pronoia—the belief that the universe is conspiring to help you. Maybe ikigai is simply aligning yourself so clearly with your nature that the conspiracy becomes obvious.

What's your ikigai? What would happen if you stopped pushing against your nature and started pushing with it instead?