What is your ikigai?

Being a gramma.

I’m retired now but being a branch and reference librarian fulfilled those conditions – on a good day. But I had to get my Master’s in Library Science first.

Playing music.

Almost went professional 50 some odd years ago.

Selling books was my favorite, but I really enjoyed all the hospitality work I did, and loved having a little business doing yacht detailing.

My problem has always been that I never knew. I still don’t.

The world needs more wooden lounge chairs and more wooden lounge love seats.
My girlfriend can throw on some ikigai pillows.

Scientific research. Love it, pretty decent at it, get paid for, hopefully will help the world someday in some way.

I tried to do a list for my profile here – HA! No one thing, and less than everything.

I probably get more calls for modeling gigs, but the work is often weird and the pay is less than glamorous. The real estate commissions are potentially good money, but sales are totally random. Paralegal work can be fascinating, but if I’m assigned to a shit case with a bad attorney it’s living hell. Bartending sometimes feels like performance art, then there are nights when the audience either wants to nail my ass or talk to their mommie.

Somehow it all pays the bills. But is it Ikagi? One hand still clapping…

I am good at teaching. I’ve taught kids and adults, both human and canine. I tried to teach fish once, but failed.

It feels meaningful and I can get paid for it already, but I’m going to school to maximize how much good it can do. Ultimately, I plan to help those that need it most.

Mine is advanced engineering with a physics flavor. I love thnking about and creating stuff that does not exist and finally seeing some of it come to fruition.
I also enjoy using tools from the R&D world to heighten my simple human senses. They allow me to see, hear and measure things we normally do not know exist.
Thermal imaging, laser doppler imaging, ultrasonics, acoustic amplification, radio, spectral imaging….
Walking in the woods with a thermal imager is magical! Oh look! There’s a squirrel nest and there’s a bee hive in that tree, and a coyote is watching me while hiding behind a tree!
And showing all of this to my grandkids makes it even better!

I work in a kitchen. I quit my old job but my new job is still kitchen work. Do I love it? Eh. But it fits the other questions.
I get paid, I’m good at it, and people need food, so.

My other ikigai is Toyota Production System in manufacturing, one piece flow and 6 Sigma! Applied in Aerospace for high dollar parts (like 51 pieces in a Jet engine that sell for $900,000 as a set)

Homeschooling is my favorite, first my own sons, then their sons.
I also enjoyed organizing various convention style meetings, many, many years ago, before “security” became the biggest focus.
One year I was a hostess on a tour bus, but unruly passengers cured me of that.
As a teenager, I was a magician’s assistant in my dad’s stage act. Playing the Magic Castle in Hollywood was the highlight of that experience.

I’m really good at helping poor people but not rich enough to be called a philanthropist and it doesn’t pay.
Basically I get stuff free from people and re-home to the needy. I love it and it’s very fulfilling.