Ikigai Career Framework
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A Japanese framework called Ikigai helps identify the sweet spot between personal fulfillment and market opportunity.
Core Components of Ikigai
- What the world wants
- What the world will pay for
- What you're good at
- What you love doing
Real World Application Example (Sam Parr's Experience)
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Identified passion for data and numbers
- Created extensive databases tracking CEO careers and success patterns
- Documented when leaders started apprenticeships
- Analyzed timing of major successes
- Maintained hundreds of pages deconstructing company operations
-
Attempted Database/Research Business
- Struggled to find appropriate problem to solve
- Couldn't identify clear go-to-market strategy
- Had passion but lacked clear market need
- Referenced successful examples like CB Insights and Pitchbook
-
Eventually Found Success with Hampton
- Aligned with personal skills
- Met market demands
- Fit within Ikigai framework sweet spot
Key Takeaways
- Success requires alignment of multiple factors
- Having skills or passion alone isn't enough
- Must solve real world problems
- Need viable business model
- Market must be willing to pay
- Personal capabilities should match market needs
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.