✨ Feeling Misaligned? Read This.

Greetings Heroes,

This morning, during my daily meditation (I use the Calm app — highly recommend), I was reminded of a Japanese concept that always stops me in my tracks: Ikigai.

In simple terms, Ikigai means “reason for being.”It’s the intersection of four things:

What you love
What you're good at
What the world needs
What you can be paid for

When those four align, you unlock something powerful — a sense of deep purpose, direction, and joy.

For example:

A chef who uses their creativity to bring people together through food.
A coach who helps others transform because they’ve been through it themselves.
A teacher who lights up watching someone finally “get it.”

But here’s the thing…

It’s so easy to spend our lives chasing things out of obligation.

Doing what others expect.

Prioritizing survival over meaning.

Burning time, energy, and life force on things that feel… misaligned.

This is something I’ve personally struggled with for years.

There were seasons where I was doing “well” by society’s standards, but I was disconnected from my why. Empty wins. Chronic burnout. Internal friction I couldn’t explain.

Only in the last few years have I started to feel like I’m truly stepping into my Ikigai, by helping others learn emerging technologies and reconnect with their own clarity and purpose.

It’s changed everything for me.

My mental health
My motivation
My joy
My relationships
Even how I show up for myself

And I want that for you, too.

⚔️ Alignment Exercise (Drop Your Comment Below)

What do you believe your Ikigai is?

And how will you embody it this coming week?

If you’re not sure yet, that’s totally okay. You're not broken or behind.

A great place to start is with the Character Builder exercise inside our QuestOS training series. It’s designed to help you reconnect with your values, vision, and deeper purpose.

I’ll leave you with this quote that landed hard for me today:

"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day you find out why."

You don’t have to figure it all out today. But you don’t have to walk this path alone either.

We’ve got your back.

Onward, Hero.

— Taylan 🧙‍♂️

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