 Alright, let me start this video by thanking Grace, and Sekar, and Peridoxel, or whatever your real name is, and Justin. Thank you guys for teaching me how to pronounce Ikagai. Got a lot of comments that I wasn't pronouncing this right when I mentioned it in some of my other videos. So Ikagai is the Japanese formula for happiness and it roughly translates to a reason for being. It's when you find your purpose in the world or a meaning for life. Now I know that's kind of a little bit dramatic or deep, but I think studying this concept will give you a much better picture of what you should do with your life. A much more clear view of the direction that you should take with your career and your life in general. Now there are four big factors when it comes to Ikagai. The first one is going to be doing something that you love. So this could be dancing, sports, gently tapping the like button on my videos. Now something that you love basically is where you find a lot of pleasure in doing something like playing video games for instance. So it's basically something that you really enjoy doing and it kind of takes you away from all of your problems. Some people like to dance, some people like to cook, some people like to watch YouTube videos, some people like to play video games. Now a lot of cookie cutter advice just says for you to do whatever you love to do. Follow your passion. And while I think this is decent advice, I don't think that it's the full picture. It's just one little slice of a pie. So for instance your passion might be playing video games, but unfortunately there's not that many jobs out there for people who play games. And the few opportunities to make money that are out there generally are going to be entrepreneurial. So there's not going to be some kind of job position that you can apply for. You're going to have to make your own way, start your own business. And if you follow people who play games professionally, a lot of the time they actually lose their love for the game just because of the fact that they have to do it all the time. And they have to do it at such a high level that it's hard to enjoy. And the truth is a lot of the time these things that you really enjoy doing only bring you temporary happiness. If only GTA was real life, you could have 10 super cars, a jet, and a mansion. And this might make you happy for a very short period of time. But one thing that a lot of people don't really take into account is how much their career helps the world. This is also known as meaning or how meaningful someone's career is and how much it helps other people. This is doing things that the world needs as a career. And I did make a video on this. These are degrees that end up in careers that give back to the community or the world in general. So a great example of this one is something that the world needs is garbage men. They wake up early in the morning, they work really hard, they go out in the streets and they collect garbage so that our streets look nice and there's not a bunch of rats running around everywhere. That's awesome. Thank you so much to anybody out there who's a garbage man and you're watching this. It might not be the best or the most glamorous job out there, but it is something that truly does help society and so therefore it's very meaningful. Whereas if you played video games professionally, you could argue that that's a little bit more self-serving. You're kind of just trying to entertain yourself and it probably wouldn't have as much meaning for the world. And a lot of people would argue that jobs that are meaningful, jobs that contribute to the world long term will actually make you a lot happier than jobs that you just enjoy. And this brings me to the next point, number three here. And just to remind you, this is a personal finance channel. So we're going to be talking about personal finance, money related things here. And this is a very important thing to think about when it comes to your career. Number three is going to be what you can be paid for. At the end of the day, when it comes to a career, you do have to be a little bit practical and you have to think about what is going to put food on the table. And yes, before somebody says it down in the comments, I know that money isn't everything. Money can't buy happiness. I totally agree with that. But it puts food in your mouth, puts gas in your car, keeps your lights on. And most importantly, it pays for your internet so that you can watch my videos, enjoy them and gently tap the like button. So money absolutely isn't everything, but it definitely helps to support your happiness. And studies have actually shown that money does increase your happiness up to a certain point. Now usually these studies show that it's around $75,000 to $80,000 a year. That's going to change based on where you live and all kinds of other factors, but it absolutely does increase your happiness up to a certain level. Or in other words, you could say that it decreases your unhappiness up to a certain level. Because if you don't have enough money to pay your rent or just live a normal life, that's going to cause a lot of stress and anxiety, which is going to make you unhappy. But after you get past that certain level, yes, it is true that money does not increase your happiness. So I always say on these videos that you want to try to aim for a career where you can make at least $75,000 to $80,000 a year so that you can maximize your happiness. It's not the most important thing, but financial issues are the number one reason for divorce and they cause a lot of problems overall in your life, so you definitely don't want to ignore it. Now the last part of IkeGuy is something that you're good at. So it could be that you were born with the genetics of someone who's 6'9", a freak athlete with a photographic memory who's basically a genius like LeBron James. Or it could be someone who's really naturally good at math. We all know those people. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Some of us are extremely outgoing and personable. A lot of us are introverts which has its advantages as well. For instance, you can work for long periods of time without having to interact with other people. There's so many different things to talk about here, but basically things that you are naturally good at, things that you're naturally talented at. So again, this is what IkeGuy looks at. So let's talk about the differences between all of them and the interlap and then summarize them. So it's what you love, what you're good at, what the world needs, and what pays well. So if it's something that you love and you're also really good at it, that could be a passion. So for instance, you might really love cars, working on cars, internal engines, V8s, combustion. Maybe you're a really good driver and you like to win races. Maybe you're really good at art and you like painting on the side. Now passion can impact your life a lot. It can bring you a lot of happiness, but it's not the end all be all. Sometimes when you really enjoy doing something, it's best to just keep it as a hobby. So for instance, I really enjoy history and playing video games, but I kind of just like to keep them as a hobby. I don't want to do them professionally. I remember I took some history classes where I had to memorize exact dates and I had to write papers about periods of history that I'm not really that interested in. And it kind of got to the point where it was really unenjoyable. However, if I'm just able to study history the way that I want to, which is reading certain history books or listening to history podcasts, that's extremely enjoyable to me. And I love it. It's my passion, I guess you could say. A lot of people just purely follow their passion. And so they end up getting a college degree where there's just not that many jobs out there. And so they either get a job that's not very good, doesn't pay very well, it doesn't really fit any of the other criteria. Or in many cases they end up unemployed or they end up doing a job that has nothing to do with their passion whatsoever. And the worst thing is, is if you went to college, you got a bunch of student loan debt, you still have to pay it back. I'm not saying you should never go for your passion. I think that's really bad advice as well, but you do have to figure out how you can do it in such a way where you can get paid for it. And a lot of the time, unfortunately, there's not going to be that many jobs out there. You're not going to be able to just apply for a job and get a job with something that you love and something that you're also really good at. Another one of my passions, for instance, is film. I really like watching films, I like making films, and that's pretty much what I'm doing right now. I couldn't have applied for a job like this. I had to get entrepreneurial and I had to learn it on the side. So if you want to turn your passion into a career, you're going to have to get creative with it. Maybe start a business, a podcast, a YouTube channel, a blog, something along those lines. If you combine something that you're good at with something that pays well, then that's going to be what's known as a profession. So this is something like kind of like a nine to five. You might not be very passionate about it, but it pays really well. You know, you're able to pay your loans off, you're able to put food on the table, store money, you know, save money, invest it. This is kind of the practical path. And sometimes you'll hear parents and stuff telling people that they have to go down this path. And that's not bad advice, but I think you also need to keep a few things in mind. It's a good idea for you to try out new things and find something that you really enjoy doing and see if you could maybe move your career, your profession into something that you enjoy doing more. So you can use those things that you're naturally good at and the skills that you've picked up from being in this profession and then find a job that you're a little bit more passionate about. Or you could go the other way and you could, you know, get that job, get that nine to five and then build a business on the side while you're working in your nine to five. I said this a lot on the channel, but it's all about finding that balance of passion and practicality. Now let's talk about combining something that you love with something that the world needs. This would basically be a mission. This could be like a calling, something that the world really needs. So it could be something like volunteering in a different country after they get hit by a hurricane. Maybe you would be helping them build their houses up or clean up something along those lines. You're not necessarily really good at it. It's not something that's your natural talent, but it is something that the world needs. It may not be the most profitable thing to do. In fact, a lot of the time you're going to be doing it for free or you're even going to be paying to do it. So a lot of people, for instance, will have a normal nine to five job and then they'll volunteer on the side in order to get this into their life, that sense of meaning. Now let's talk about the next one, which is the combination of something that the world needs and something that also pays well. And this is what's known as a vocation. It may not be something that you have natural talent in or you're an expert in and it may not be something that you're passionate about either, but you continually improve and you try your best to become better at. So an example of a mission might be something like volunteering or maybe you're really passionate about teaching people. So you become a teacher. Now I've talked about this before on the channel. Teachers generally don't get paid very well here in the US, unfortunately. However, it is something that the world needs without a doubt. Very important for the future of our country. So a lot of the time of vocation is going to be something that you're not necessarily passionate about it. You're not necessarily really good at it, but it is something that the world really needs and you can get paid for it. If you end up in this type of situation, you want to make sure that you're moving towards finding something you are more passionate about and also something that you can get better at. So using your natural talents in your vocation or maybe switching vocations to something where you can use your talents. And you always want to be moving towards the center and the center would be Ikegai. You'll probably never get there. You're never going to find a job that's just perfect for you in every way possible. I know a lot of people on the internet try to sell the laptop lifestyle. You know, they try to sell you some kind of course that'll allow you to live a laptop lifestyle, be your own boss, travel the world. But guess what? Trust me, this is not as glamorous as it seems. There's still going to be all kinds of stuff you have to do. There's a lot of grinding. You're going to have to do lots of stuff that you don't necessarily want to do and it's not as easy as it seems. But as long as you make sure that you're always moving towards the center, your Ikegai, which is going to be different for everyone, then you're going to be better off. And again, it's all about finding that balance. It's going to be different for everyone. For instance, I came from a background where I was very poor. So I wanted to make sure that I focused on getting into a very good profession. And then I started a business on the side. Now don't get me wrong. I'm still passionate about my profession. I really enjoyed doing it. And to be honest with you, I could definitely do it for 40 years if I had to. But I'm even more passionate about starting a business on the side. And so that's what I did. My other passion of history, I basically do that as a hobby and I keep it on the side. But I took my passion of film and filmmaking and I started a YouTube channel. And at first I was really bad. All my videos looked like I was filming them on a potato and I really didn't know what I was doing. But over time, I'm getting better and better. If you haven't done it already, go ahead and gently tap that like button, hit the subscribe button, ring the notification bell and comment down below any thoughts, comments, criticisms, et cetera that you have on the video. And before you leave, don't leave. Check out my other videos right here. I made them just for you.