The IKIGAIE Principles And Its Application In Business Personal Life – Emille Bryant
What is success? For many entrepreneurs, the answer is a frustrating chase after metrics, milestones, and the approval of others. We build businesses based on flawed definitions, and as guest Emille Bryant puts it on The Obehi Podcast, we find ourselves “unhappy when we attain it.” We present a version of ourselves to the world, hoping it will be enough to earn the label “successful.”
Learn How to Leverage Your Story through our Story To Asset Framework.
But what if true success isn’t an external destination but an internal compass? What if the key to building a thriving business and a fulfilling life lies in rediscovering the one thing that makes you want to leap out of bed every morning?
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This is the core of Ikigai, a powerful principle that can help you align your passion with your profession and achieve a life of purpose.
Insight: What Is Ikigai?
Ikigai is a Japanese concept, originating from Okinawa, that translates to “the reason why you wake up every morning.” It’s more personal and immediate than the abstract idea of “purpose.”
As Emille Bryant, a consultant, coach, and US Air Force veteran, explains, purpose often feels like something “out there,” while your Ikigai is “right here… very personal to you.”
To bring this idea to life, Emille shares a vivid memory from his childhood: the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning.
“I would leap out of bed and I would attack the Christmas tree,” he recalls. “Ikigai is that feeling of having such intense desire to open the day that you can’t sleep anymore… it’s time to go.”
This passionate energy is the wellspring of our most inspired and creative work. However, modern society often works against this state of being. Emille argues that its job is “to make you selectively blind, selectively numb, selectively deaf.”
By creating biases and distractions, it disconnects us from what is right in front of us, making us easier to manipulate. Finding your Ikigai is an act of reclaiming your senses and seeing your life and work with full clarity. It’s the first step toward self-mastery.
Lesson: How to Find Your Ikigai by Owning Your Story
If you’ve never experienced that Christmas morning feeling about your work, how do you find your Ikigai? The answer lies not in looking forward, but in looking back. Your story holds the key.
This process is central to Obehi Ewanfoh’s Story to Asset Framework, which helps entrepreneurs transform their personal narratives into powerful marketing assets. Emille’s approach reinforces this idea perfectly. He advises us to revisit our most intense experiences and memories, both positive and painful.
“When you’re looking at your most intense experiences and memories, the facade falls, who you are shows up whether you intended it or not,” Emille explains. “Those intense memories and experiences… reveal your true character.”
In those moments of high pressure or deep emotion, a recurring pattern, a common thread, emerges. For Emille, that thread was a consistent desire to help others, even during his most difficult times, like his divorces.
Despite his own pain, his natural tendency was to look outward and find ways to elevate someone else. This revealed his core character and pointed directly to his Ikigai: empowering others.
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This exercise isn’t about judgment. It’s about discovery. Perhaps your thread is a desire to fight, which could make you a powerful defender or protector. Perhaps it’s a love for creating with your hands, pointing to a future as an artist or builder.
By examining your past, you can find the authentic story of who you are. When you own your story, you uncover the foundation upon which you can build a meaningful life and legacy.
Action: Applying Your Ikigai in Life and Business
Once you identify the thread of your Ikigai, the next step is to weave it into every aspect of your life. This is where you move from roots to relevance.
In Your Personal Life
Living your Ikigai is an act of authentic self-expression. It’s about making conscious choices that reflect who you are, not just living as a consequence of your circumstances.
Emille embodies this through his deliberate choices, from wearing a dashiki to honor his African roots to the art on his walls. He says, “We are not defined by our past. We are informed by it.” Your life becomes a canvas for your Ikigai, and every choice, from your clothing to your home decor, is a brushstroke.
In Your Business
Professionally, building a business around your Ikigai is the ultimate competitive advantage. When your work is aligned with your deepest passion, learning is no longer a chore.
You naturally dive deeper, developing an expertise that is authentic and undeniable. This path aligns with Earl Nightingale’s classic definition of success: “the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.”
Your Ikigai allows you to choose an ideal worthy of your energy. As you progressively learn and grow, success becomes a natural byproduct. In a world increasingly filled with generic, AI-generated content, your unique story and passion are what make you stand out.
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As Emille notes, anyone can use a tool, but it’s the unique experience and skill of the user that creates a masterpiece. Your Ikigai is the unique perspective only you can bring.
Your Next Step
The journey to discovering and living your Ikigai begins with a single question: what is the common thread in your life’s most intense moments?
Take the time to reflect on your story. In doing so, you empower yourself to define success on your own terms and build a business that not only thrives but also brings you profound joy and fulfillment.
To dive deeper into this topic, listen to the full conversation with Emille Bryant on The Obehi Podcast. For more insights on leveraging your personal narrative for business growth, explore over 2,000 articles at AClasses Media, a hub dedicated to helping you master the art of storytelling and build a lasting legacy.
