The archery target is exactly right for the Golden Circle. That framework is a target. You aim at it, you practice, and you can miss.
Here's a distinction to consider: the why you aim at is shareable. Millions of leaders can hold the same why. That's what makes it so useful for rallying a team, and it's also what makes it temporary. Project White Glove was a great why. It also had an end date.
In my work, I draw a hard line between a 'why' as Sinek defines it and a purpose.
Look again at your two stonemasons. Both of them know what they're building. The second one knows who he is while he's building it. That's a layer underneath the why, and it's the layer real ikigai works on — not the Western Venn diagram version with passion and mission and "what you can be paid for," which is basically a career quiz wearing a kimono.
Ikigai is expressing your essence and purpose in harmony with whatever you do. It answers three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do? A why only ever answers the third.
The practical form I teach is a one-sentence purpose statement — three verbs, one core value, one vision of impact. Mine is: I encourage, empower, and enable people to be all they were meant to be. Not a job. Not a quarter. Not a project. It works in a boardroom transformation and on the floor with my grandkids, and it did when I was coaching eighth-grade girls' basketball.
And you don't go find it. It's already in there. The work is getting the noise down enough to hear it.
Which is why I want to see what you'd do with this one. What does the target look like when the bullseye is inside the archer?
Oh man. That’s deep and I want to sit with it for a while. The idea that the target sits within us is an awesome extension of the metaphor. I’ll get back to you…that one is gonna sit with me for a minute. 😅
The archery target is exactly right for the Golden Circle. That framework is a target. You aim at it, you practice, and you can miss.
Here's a distinction to consider: the why you aim at is shareable. Millions of leaders can hold the same why. That's what makes it so useful for rallying a team, and it's also what makes it temporary. Project White Glove was a great why. It also had an end date.
In my work, I draw a hard line between a 'why' as Sinek defines it and a purpose.
Look again at your two stonemasons. Both of them know what they're building. The second one knows who he is while he's building it. That's a layer underneath the why, and it's the layer real ikigai works on — not the Western Venn diagram version with passion and mission and "what you can be paid for," which is basically a career quiz wearing a kimono.
Ikigai is expressing your essence and purpose in harmony with whatever you do. It answers three questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do? A why only ever answers the third.
The practical form I teach is a one-sentence purpose statement — three verbs, one core value, one vision of impact. Mine is: I encourage, empower, and enable people to be all they were meant to be. Not a job. Not a quarter. Not a project. It works in a boardroom transformation and on the floor with my grandkids, and it did when I was coaching eighth-grade girls' basketball.
And you don't go find it. It's already in there. The work is getting the noise down enough to hear it.
Which is why I want to see what you'd do with this one. What does the target look like when the bullseye is inside the archer?
Quest well,
David
Oh man. That’s deep and I want to sit with it for a while. The idea that the target sits within us is an awesome extension of the metaphor. I’ll get back to you…that one is gonna sit with me for a minute. 😅
Excellent! Love to hear that something I shared prompted reflection. So much of life is an ‘and’ which aligns with ‘why’ AND Ikigai. 🙏🏻