RE: Do you know your IKIGAI? 😉 #114
#114: in the middle of it all…
So as I told you in my previous newsletter, the past 3-4 months I’ve been taking a deep dive, challenging myself to figure out who I am at the core, my purpose and where I want to go next. During this time I did tons of research, reading, exploring and talking to mentors, friends, and colleagues to get different perspectives.
One thing I came across was the method or principle of IKIGAI, which I will show you in a later post, but simply put it's about discovering the thing you love, the things the world needs, the things you get paid for, and the things you are good at. And in the middle, the intersection of these 4 pillars, is your IKIGAI, your purpose for being.
For me - this was challenging, after all, I am an Adman, a marketer and someone that works with snappy copywriting and catchy storytelling, so to avoid falling into the trap of cliches, I had to go deep, and be fully honest with myself.
My IKIGAI, my vision statement, my reason for being is as follows;
“To use my curiosity, passion, and knowledge to make a positive impact on people around me”
So what does it mean?
Let me break it down for you;
#1 Curiosity – I love to learn new stuff, be it techniques, apps, processes, new data, insights, research, trends, etc. anything to keep me ahead of the curve, so that I can give my clients, projects, and friends that extra edge. I want to give the people around me my best at all times. Being curious gives me different perspectives, and I see something that might be used, applied or modified in a different category, but that will make a huge impact or difference in some way, shape or form.
#2 Passion – just as my company name, I truly do have “marketing at heart”. But marketing as a topic is huge, so to break it down and simplify it, it's about creating stories that sell. How to make them sell? Through a strategy, a plan, tactical assets, which means content; aka images and copy. The fundamentals of storytelling. This passion is applied both in my day to day work as a creative strategist, but also in my photography work, which is about editorial; street; fashion; and beauty photography. Again; Storytelling, Content that sells.
#3 Knowledge – comes with combining curiosity, and passion plus experience. I have done this since I was 9 years old. I am not kidding. Back then I was helping my dad in his printshop (I love the smell of paper) but I was drawing and creating stories even back then. Later, as my passion for marketing and advertising grew, I started to find interest in human behavior. Our drivers, barriers, how to make a hook; you know, the one message that can affect and make a huge difference for the brand. Over the years I have worked for some amazing agencies and companies as a creative, which later made me lead teams and being responsible for the agency’s creative output, and then later in charge of strategy and defining proper planning so that the storytelling was based on facts and insight – so that it would sell. Haha, I can go on and on about this, but that is for later.
So my mission for 2020 and beyond is to use this to make a positive impact on people around me. –› you!
Now, this can happen in many different ways, shape or forms. Either as simple as you find my content; blog posts, podcasts, videos or photography inspiring and interesting, or it can be the trigger for you to reach out and have a conversation about how I can be of service.
I want to help 3-5 brands this year really succeed with their marketing efforts, and that might be your company or brand.
Let me know by hitting that reply button and tell me what you think!
And now, here are some links to stories that inspired me;
5 Practical Ways To Recession-Proof Your Business
Facebook takes on Zoom with new Messenger desktop app
Google Publishes Location Data Across 130 Countries To Show How Coronavirus Lockdowns Are Working
If you are interested in photography, my photo book; Decisive Moments 2019, containing 100 pages with my best street photographies from last year. It's a Limited edition; with a signed book, 2 postcards, and a surprise gift (!) Please check it out, and order one if you’d like. (No pressure, hehe)