Invitation
Three points on the journey to meaning.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life…Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs
Audio narration by David Marlow
Definition.
invitation (n.)
in·vi·tey·shuhn
request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something.
a situation or action that encourages someone to do something or makes a particular outcome likely.
Some older root meanings suggested ‘to encourage someone to go after something, pursue with vigor.’
Risk
There is a quiet invitation extended to all of us. So quiet that the noise of life often drowns it out.
Or other voices, high-pitched and demanding seem to call us. Like that nagging voice, demanding you prove who you are.
Their job is to keep us from receiving the invitation that leads to life.
It's important to silence the noise because if we don’t we will never hear the quiet invitation, the call of purpose.
Opportunity🌀
The invitation comes in three parts, the Three Invitations of Ikigai
Getting the noise down to hear that gentle voice calling us to purpose.
Uncovering and unwrapping your Ikigai
Living out your Ikigai, sharing your gifts with the world
We’ve got to be able to hear that gentle call to purpose before we can act on it.
That’s why getting the noise down is listed first.
If your life is so filled up with noise that you can't even hear that call to purpose, unwrapping or uncovering your Ikigai is all but impossible.
Even if you have uncovered your Ikigai like me, noise can hamper the ongoing ability to live it out.
Because of that getting the noise down is the first step, and it’s also the ongoing process that enables us to live out and share our Ikigai.
Story
One of the largest financial services and data processors in the world hired me to help their struggling support and engineering teams, what they called TSS. The TSS data center handled 20% of all the financial transactions in the US and supported the majority of the top 20 banks.
They were failing and hired me from GE to either turn it around or organize outsourcing the work to another company which would have resulted in huge layoffs.
I turned it around in 18 months. The key thing that made that happen? Getting the noise down.
They had 5 people in my role as VP of TSS in the prior seven years. All were removed for failing to perform. In the first few days, it became apparent to me why that had happened.
Customer complaints, technology failures, performance issues. There was so much noise I spent my entire day getting yelled at for past failures.
Noise!
There was no time to think of how to improve anything. No time for higher-level opportunities to make things better or innovate.
I immediately went about identifying the causes of the noise and reducing them. Within a month or so I had reduced the escalations to the VP (me) from 20 per week to 15.
Just enough to have a few hours a week to start making changes. I created a virtuous cycle of noise reduction and reinvestment in the next improvement and so on and so on.
Within 18 months the turnaround was so profound and positive that TSS was profiled in industry trade magazines and I was invited to give the keynote at AT&T’s Global customer conference on how to run an IT organization.
Much like the three invitations of Ikigai I…
Got the noise down
Defined a vision and purpose
Used kaizen and other improvement methods to continuously improve and reinvest in ever deeper opportunities to serve out that vision and purpose. Then share it with the world.
The cool thing is this works for individuals in much the same way.
Application.
How do you hear that quiet voice of purpose?
The Three Invitations of Ikigai encourage you to take action and do something to make a particular outcome likely, living a life of purpose.
📩 Getting the noise down to hear that gentle voice calling us to purpose.
As with the technology company example you must get the noise down in your life so that you can hear the call to purpose.
Ikiquest has almost daily articles with ways and reflections to help you get the noise down.
I’ve created seven rituals of calm to help you achieve this on your own.
The Seven Rituals
I also created a course to help you go deeper and establish enduring practices of keeping the noise down.
The Seven Rituals of Calm Course is available in Ikiquest+
📩 Uncovering and unwrapping your Ikigai
🌱 Most people want to live out their purpose, yet the vast majority can't tell you what their purpose is or describe it in any way.
🌀 Once you get the noise down imagine being able to articulate your Ikigai in a single sentence.
It is what I call your Ikiverse.
Having an Ikiverse helps clarify how to live out your Ikigai.
Being able to state it invites others to support you in your journey.
Ikiquest has almost daily articles with ways and reflections to help you uncover your Ikigai.
For those looking to go, deeper I’ve created a self-paced video lecture Discover Your Ikiverse, the beginning of a transformative journey that will guide you toward crafting a powerful and holistic statement of purpose…your Ikiverse.
📩 Living out your Ikigai, sharing your gifts with the world
Mark Twain said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
While not Mark Twain I’m going to add a third day.
The day you remove everything that distracts you from that purpose.
That’s the day you live fully into your Ikigai.
Each day in Ikiquest I share ways to live out your purpose in your life, relationships, career, and with the world. Check in here each day for helpful ideas to live out your Ikigai.
I also share reflections, meditations, exercises, and the aforementioned classes in Ikiquest+ for paid subscribers.
For those looking to go deeper or get one-on-one help, there is Ikiquest Coaching.
I encourage you to embrace the three invitations of Ikigai in the way(s) that work best for you, as they hold the key to unlocking a life filled with purpose and lasting fulfillment.
🌀Reflection.
Here are five questions to help you answer the invitation to purpose.
Think about the various dimensions of your life - your relationships, your career, and your personal growth. In what areas does noise have the biggest impact?
Have you taken a moment to truly listen to your inner calling and understand what brings you the most joy and meaning?
Reflect on the concept of "uncovering" your Ikigai - what steps have you taken or plan to take to explore and discover this profound sense of purpose within you? How can you ensure that this journey of self-discovery remains a continuous and enriching process?
Consider the profound impact of Mark Twain's quote. How does it relate to the journey of uncovering and living your Ikigai? What actionable steps can you take today to embrace your unique purpose more fully and embark on a life of lasting fulfillment?
Are there specific challenges or obstacles that arise when you try to live out your Ikigai? How can you utilize the resources available, such as Ikiquest+, including the reflections, meditations, and exercises, to overcome these challenges and stay true to your purpose?
🌀 Remember: No matter what has come before, today is a fresh start. 🌱
Let’s make things a little bit better. 🌱
You can learn more about Ikiquest+ here.
For Plus subscribers, you can access your Ikiquest+ resources here.
Need help creating your Ikiverse? Explore 1-on-1 coaching here.
So much great tidbits and perhaps to wrap it up mainly it is to get rid of the noise....unwanted distractions that cause us to lose sight of our purpose/direction/essence and reason for being! Love the quote...I use it now and again myself and so true! I can also see the sequence of your evolution from kaizen to ikigai and hopefully beyond! Peace and Joy of the day David and much appreciation for your kindness and articulate intellectual "connecting of the dots" in life to show a picture which we ourselves get to color in :)