August 4, 2023 • 13 mins
Do you feel there's a missing link in your marketing strategy? It might be time to incorporate 'Ikigai,' a Japanese concept that brings purpose and meticulous precision into the equation. I'm here to show you how focusing on the details, embracing who you are, and finding joy in the little things can contribute to your professional success.
In this intimate solo episode, we'll unlock the meaning of 'Ikigai' and explore how it's been a driving force in my life and career. Drawing from my 15 years of living and working in Japan, I'll share tales of sushi chefs striving for perfection and question how your purpose or mission manifests in your content. Whether you're a marketer, entrepreneur, or content creator, it's time to discover your Ikigai and take a new purpose-driven approach to marketing.
Are you ready to grow? Let's get started.
Links:
- Awakening Your Ikigai: How the Japanese Wake Up to Joy and Purpose Every Day by Ken Mogi: https://amzn.to/47kKMwA [affiliate]
Learn More:
- Buy Digital Threads: https://nealschaffer.com/digitalthreadsamazon
- Buy Maximizing LinkedIn for Business Growth: https://nealschaffer.com/maximizinglinkedinamazon
- Join My Digital First Mastermind: https://nealschaffer.com/membership/
- Learn about My Fractional CMO Consulting Services: https://nealschaffer.com/cmo
- Download My Free Ebooks Here: https://nealschaffer.com/books/
- Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/nealschaffer
- All My Podcast Show Notes: https://podcast.nealschaffer.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Did you know that 82% of consumers make purchase
decisions with purpose in mind,yet brands struggle to put
purpose into practice?
This is going to be a slightlydifferent episode of the
original marketing coach podcast, because I want to go deep into
this concept of purpose and howit can exponentially improve
(00:23):
your marketing, both personallyand for your business.
Stay tuned for this nextspecial episode of the Digital
Marketing Coach Podcast.
Hey friends, my name is NeilSchaefer, I am your Digital
(01:26):
Marketing Coach and welcome tomy podcast.
It is always an honor to bewelcoming both old friends and
listeners, as well as newlisteners.
If you are a new listener,these podcast episodes are done
half-half, half-interview andhalf-solo.
Today is going to be anothersolo episode and, as I reflect
(01:46):
on my time in Berlin workingwith my developmental editor on
my next book, it was actually atthe Berlin Airport where I saw
a book called the Little Book ofIkigai.
Now, if I were speaking, I'dsay, hey, how many of you in the
room have heard of the conceptIkigai?
It was funny because recentlyon an interview, I was actually
(02:07):
asked about the concept and Isaid, hey, how did you know?
I just picked up that book atthe airport, but as I was
reading it, it really resonatedwith me, especially because
Ikigai is a Japanese concept andI spent 15 years of my life in
Japan speaking fluent Japanese,and actually I'm on a plane
going back there right afterthis episode is released.
When you listen to it, I'llprobably be in Japan, but
(02:28):
nevertheless, I want to talkabout this because I began in
that intro about purpose and Iwant to take a step back.
So I've been interviewing a lotof potential clients these days
for my fractional CMO services.
I think that this concept of afractional CMO has begun to well
.
I won't say it's mainstream,but more and more companies
(02:48):
realize it is an option If theydon't want to work with an
agency, they don't have a bigstaff, they want to get an
outside perspective, even ifit's for a short period of time,
or they really want to movetheir business forward working
with an experienced marketingexecutive.
For all these different reasons, I am getting asked, getting
inquiries and what have you, andone of the things that I
(03:09):
explain about my role as afractional CMO is I am not
coming in with an agenda RightNow.
I have a framework.
That framework is actuallygoing to be really what my next
book is about, right, you'llhave to stay tuned for that, but
I have a framework.
But every client isfundamentally different.
They're all in differentindustries, different brands,
(03:30):
different brand legacies,different competitors.
There is no cookie cutterapproach to this, but there are
similar things that every brandneeds when it comes to digital
marketing.
But I say, look, you control myhours, right, I am just looking
for perfection.
And this is where I want totalk a little bit about IkiGuy,
and I want you to find your ownIkiGuy.
(03:51):
If you don't have one, andideally, if that's related to
marketing or your business, evenbetter.
But I want to go through thisconcept a little bit, so in this
book.
Now, the cover of this book isdifferent than the one that's
selling on Amazon, which I'llintroduce shortly, but basically
it starts by talking about asushi chef who was chosen to be
(04:12):
the sushi chef when PresidentObama went to Tokyo.
So I want to talk a little bitabout that sushi chef and how it
relates to the meaning ofIkiGuy, because that sushi chef
spends decades of his lifetrying to prepare the ideal
sushi, the ideal tuna.
(04:32):
He spent every morning at 2 amto go to the fish market in
hopes of finding the perfectfish for his clients and then
therefore creating the perfectsushi for his clients.
It's not about having a hugefranchise chain globally.
It's about serving his clientsin his small little Tokyo sushi
(04:53):
place that only has stools thatPresident Obama was able to go
to.
So in the book and I'll readyou some sections that I think
are really relevant to thisconversation the chef's last
name is Ono.
So the book reads you can takeit that Ono's incredible success
is due to exceptional talent,sheer determination and
(05:14):
bloody-minded perseverance overyears of hard work, as well as
relentless pursuit of culinarytechniques and presentation of
the highest quality.
Needless to say, ono hasachieved all of this.
However, more than that, andperhaps above all else, ono has
Ikigai.
It is no exaggeration to saythat he oases incredibly
fabulous success in theprofessional and private realms
(05:36):
of his life to the refinement ofthis most Japanese ethos.
Ikigai is a Japanese word fordescribing the pleasures and
meanings of life.
The word literally comes fromicky, which means to live, and
gai, which means reason, inother words, reason to live.
If we take a literaltranslation In the Japanese
language, icky gai is used invarious contexts and can apply
(06:00):
to small everyday things as wellas the big goals and
achievements.
It is such a common word thatpeople use it in daily life
quite casually, without beingaware of it having any special
significance.
Most importantly, icky gai ispossible without you necessarily
being successful in yourprofessional life.
In this sense, it is a verydemocratic concept steeped in a
(06:20):
celebration of the diversity oflife.
It is true that having icky gaican result in success, but
success is not a requisitecondition for having icky gai.
It is open to every one of usand really, if I was to define
as the book goes into moredetails and on Amazon you'll
find it under Awakening your IkiGuy how the Japanese wake up to
(06:43):
joy and purpose every day, byKen Mogi, who is a Japanese
journalist, I recommend you buythe Japanese version.
I know that there are variousversions out there.
I'll put a link in the shownotes as well, but really it is
about five elements startingsmall, focusing on the details,
releasing yourself, acceptingwho you are, not trying to
(07:04):
compare yourselves with peoplethat are more successful than
you all the time and thinkingyour failure.
Harmony and sustainability.
Relying on others.
Find ways to collaborate right.
The joy of little things.
Appreciate sensory pleasure andbeing in the here and now
finding your flow.
So, as I was reading this bookand I'm not even done with the
book yet I realized this hasbeen a part of my DNA and it's
(07:28):
why, when I talk about being afractional CMO, I am aiming for
perfection.
With every client I am lookingat, are there marketing channels
that we are not using?
And of the marketing channelsthat we are using, are we
optimizing them for everyadditional ROI, for every
additional dollar generated orlead generated or dollar saved?
(07:49):
And it is that perfection thatI aim for.
It's why I love that fractionaltitle, because I love working
with a variety of industries, avariety of challenges.
It makes me a better marketerand it makes it that when I go
to another client, I can bringall that I have learned to them.
I am able to make better sushifor that analogy with these
sushi chef.
But it's also what gives me mypassion.
(08:11):
This isn't work for me, right?
This is my passion.
I'm not going to say all of myicky guy is just work, because
it's not, obviously.
But you know, as my father mayhe rest in peace and many others
say, if you love what you dofor a living, it doesn't feel
like work, right.
So that is my icky guy right,and that's why I'm so passionate
(08:31):
about these podcasts andteaching you.
It's why I love working withclients as a fractional CMO,
even if it's only for a shortperiod of time, to serve them in
that short period of time, tohelp them cross that digital
marketing calcium, and it'sreally fueling the passion and
writing this next book of mineDetails to follow soon.
(08:52):
So, getting back to how Istarted this podcast episode,
how consumers want to work withbrands that have a mission, that
have a purpose.
What is your mission or purposeas a business and is that part
of your messaging?
Is that part of your website?
Does it come out in your blogcontent?
Does it come out in your socialmedia content?
And then my next question isyou, whether you're a marketer
(09:13):
or an entrepreneur, a businessowner, a content creator,
listening to this podcast, whatis your icky guy?
And how can you find icky guy inthe work that you do?
How can you find icky guy inthe marketing that you do?
Because if you can find thatand if you can find your flow
being in the here and now, ifyou can focus on the details,
starting small, you can fulfillyour icky guy and I think in
(09:35):
doing so, you're going to be amuch more successful and better
marketer and it'll help growyour business in that way as
well.
So mission purpose have a broadmeaning in our society.
We can take it from a brandingperspective, as I led, or from a
personal perspective, but Iguarantee you those with purpose
in life, for some the icky guyis serving a higher other,
(09:59):
according to whatever religionthey follow, and that's fine,
right, that is a very, verycommon icky guy, I believe.
But if you can find icky guy inyour work, in your business
number one, but also relate thatas part of everything you do,
it should come out naturally.
People should meet you and go,wow, that person is really
passionate about what they do.
This is a comment that I get alot.
(10:20):
I'm really blessed to be ableto get that content, but it
shows that the passion isunderstandable just through body
language, just through tone ofvoice.
So I want you to think deeplyabout that.
And, yes, this podcastrecording, as I mentioned a few
podcast episodes ago, is helpingme flesh out concept for my
next book.
(10:40):
Right, and in fact, thisconversation will probably
become part of the introductionas to why I am writing the book
that concept of icky guy, butit's a deeper concept and it
doesn't have to be personal.
If you focus on your businessbecause every founder of a
company has an icky guy as toreason why they develop that
(11:01):
business right, well, it's timefor you to really share that in
many ways through your content,through your branding, and I
want to leave you with thathomework for today.
Right?
If you have an icky guy, or ifyou found your icky guy, I'd
love if you reached out to me.
I'd love to hear from you andcontinue this conversation.
Contact me at neilneal, atneilchefercom, neal
(11:23):
s-c-h-a-f-f-e-rcom.
And if you are interested inbringing on someone whose icky
guy is perfecting digitalmarketing, feel free to reach
out for me for my fractional CMOservices.
You can go to neilshaffercomslash CMO.
And well, I'm going to get readyto go to Japan.
I am actually the Japanevangelist for TubeBuddy, one of
(11:45):
the leading YouTube tools, so Iam very much looking forward to
spending a week in Japan,meeting YouTube creators as well
as businesses that areleveraging YouTube, and seeing
how I can serve them and helpthem, not just through using
TubeBuddy, but also any way elsethat I can help them with all
the knowledge and experiencethat I have.
So that's it for me.
Make sure you follow me onInstagram.
(12:06):
That's normally where I postall of my personal photos from
all of my travels.
That's instagramcom slashneilshaffer.
It's all spelled the same way,nealschffer, and I look forward
to serving you in the nextepisode.
This is your digital marketingcoach, neal Schaffer, signing
off.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
You've been listening to your digital marketing coach
.
Questions, comments, requests,links go to
podcastnealshaffercom.
Get the show notes to this and200 plus podcast episodes at
nealshaffercom to tap into the400 plus blog post that Neal has
published to support yourbusiness.
(12:45):
While you're there, check outNeal's digital first group
coaching membership community Ifyou or your business needs a
little helping hand.
See you next time on yourdigital marketing coach.
Did you know that 82% of consumers make purchase
decisions with purpose in mind,yet brands struggle to put
purpose into practice?
This is going to be a slightlydifferent episode of the
original marketing coach podcast, because I want to go deep into
this concept of purpose and howit can exponentially improve
(00:23):
your marketing, both personallyand for your business.
Stay tuned for this nextspecial episode of the Digital
Marketing Coach Podcast.
Hey friends, my name is NeilSchaefer, I am your Digital
(01:26):
Marketing Coach and welcome tomy podcast.
It is always an honor to bewelcoming both old friends and
listeners, as well as newlisteners.
If you are a new listener,these podcast episodes are done
half-half, half-interview andhalf-solo.
Today is going to be anothersolo episode and, as I reflect
(01:46):
on my time in Berlin workingwith my developmental editor on
my next book, it was actually atthe Berlin Airport where I saw
a book called the Little Book ofIkigai.
Now, if I were speaking, I'dsay, hey, how many of you in the
room have heard of the conceptIkigai?
It was funny because recentlyon an interview, I was actually
(02:07):
asked about the concept and Isaid, hey, how did you know?
I just picked up that book atthe airport, but as I was
reading it, it really resonatedwith me, especially because
Ikigai is a Japanese concept andI spent 15 years of my life in
Japan speaking fluent Japanese,and actually I'm on a plane
going back there right afterthis episode is released.
When you listen to it, I'llprobably be in Japan, but
(02:28):
nevertheless, I want to talkabout this because I began in
that intro about purpose and Iwant to take a step back.
So I've been interviewing a lotof potential clients these days
for my fractional CMO services.
I think that this concept of afractional CMO has begun to well
.
I won't say it's mainstream,but more and more companies
(02:48):
realize it is an option If theydon't want to work with an
agency, they don't have a bigstaff, they want to get an
outside perspective, even ifit's for a short period of time,
or they really want to movetheir business forward working
with an experienced marketingexecutive.
For all these different reasons, I am getting asked, getting
inquiries and what have you, andone of the things that I
(03:09):
explain about my role as afractional CMO is I am not
coming in with an agenda RightNow.
I have a framework.
That framework is actuallygoing to be really what my next
book is about, right, you'llhave to stay tuned for that, but
I have a framework.
But every client isfundamentally different.
They're all in differentindustries, different brands,
(03:30):
different brand legacies,different competitors.
There is no cookie cutterapproach to this, but there are
similar things that every brandneeds when it comes to digital
marketing.
But I say, look, you control myhours, right, I am just looking
for perfection.
And this is where I want totalk a little bit about IkiGuy,
and I want you to find your ownIkiGuy.
(03:51):
If you don't have one, andideally, if that's related to
marketing or your business, evenbetter.
But I want to go through thisconcept a little bit, so in this
book.
Now, the cover of this book isdifferent than the one that's
selling on Amazon, which I'llintroduce shortly, but basically
it starts by talking about asushi chef who was chosen to be
(04:12):
the sushi chef when PresidentObama went to Tokyo.
So I want to talk a little bitabout that sushi chef and how it
relates to the meaning ofIkiGuy, because that sushi chef
spends decades of his lifetrying to prepare the ideal
sushi, the ideal tuna.
(04:32):
He spent every morning at 2 amto go to the fish market in
hopes of finding the perfectfish for his clients and then
therefore creating the perfectsushi for his clients.
It's not about having a hugefranchise chain globally.
It's about serving his clientsin his small little Tokyo sushi
(04:53):
place that only has stools thatPresident Obama was able to go
to.
So in the book and I'll readyou some sections that I think
are really relevant to thisconversation the chef's last
name is Ono.
So the book reads you can takeit that Ono's incredible success
is due to exceptional talent,sheer determination and
(05:14):
bloody-minded perseverance overyears of hard work, as well as
relentless pursuit of culinarytechniques and presentation of
the highest quality.
Needless to say, ono hasachieved all of this.
However, more than that, andperhaps above all else, ono has
Ikigai.
It is no exaggeration to saythat he oases incredibly
fabulous success in theprofessional and private realms
(05:36):
of his life to the refinement ofthis most Japanese ethos.
Ikigai is a Japanese word fordescribing the pleasures and
meanings of life.
The word literally comes fromicky, which means to live, and
gai, which means reason, inother words, reason to live.
If we take a literaltranslation In the Japanese
language, icky gai is used invarious contexts and can apply
(06:00):
to small everyday things as wellas the big goals and
achievements.
It is such a common word thatpeople use it in daily life
quite casually, without beingaware of it having any special
significance.
Most importantly, icky gai ispossible without you necessarily
being successful in yourprofessional life.
In this sense, it is a verydemocratic concept steeped in a
(06:20):
celebration of the diversity oflife.
It is true that having icky gaican result in success, but
success is not a requisitecondition for having icky gai.
It is open to every one of usand really, if I was to define
as the book goes into moredetails and on Amazon you'll
find it under Awakening your IkiGuy how the Japanese wake up to
(06:43):
joy and purpose every day, byKen Mogi, who is a Japanese
journalist, I recommend you buythe Japanese version.
I know that there are variousversions out there.
I'll put a link in the shownotes as well, but really it is
about five elements startingsmall, focusing on the details,
releasing yourself, acceptingwho you are, not trying to
(07:04):
compare yourselves with peoplethat are more successful than
you all the time and thinkingyour failure.
Harmony and sustainability.
Relying on others.
Find ways to collaborate right.
The joy of little things.
Appreciate sensory pleasure andbeing in the here and now
finding your flow.
So, as I was reading this bookand I'm not even done with the
book yet I realized this hasbeen a part of my DNA and it's
(07:28):
why, when I talk about being afractional CMO, I am aiming for
perfection.
With every client I am lookingat, are there marketing channels
that we are not using?
And of the marketing channelsthat we are using, are we
optimizing them for everyadditional ROI, for every
additional dollar generated orlead generated or dollar saved?
(07:49):
And it is that perfection thatI aim for.
It's why I love that fractionaltitle, because I love working
with a variety of industries, avariety of challenges.
It makes me a better marketerand it makes it that when I go
to another client, I can bringall that I have learned to them.
I am able to make better sushifor that analogy with these
sushi chef.
But it's also what gives me mypassion.
(08:11):
This isn't work for me, right?
This is my passion.
I'm not going to say all of myicky guy is just work, because
it's not, obviously.
But you know, as my father mayhe rest in peace and many others
say, if you love what you dofor a living, it doesn't feel
like work, right.
So that is my icky guy right,and that's why I'm so passionate
(08:31):
about these podcasts andteaching you.
It's why I love working withclients as a fractional CMO,
even if it's only for a shortperiod of time, to serve them in
that short period of time, tohelp them cross that digital
marketing calcium, and it'sreally fueling the passion and
writing this next book of mineDetails to follow soon.
(08:52):
So, getting back to how Istarted this podcast episode,
how consumers want to work withbrands that have a mission, that
have a purpose.
What is your mission or purposeas a business and is that part
of your messaging?
Is that part of your website?
Does it come out in your blogcontent?
Does it come out in your socialmedia content?
And then my next question isyou, whether you're a marketer
(09:13):
or an entrepreneur, a businessowner, a content creator,
listening to this podcast, whatis your icky guy?
And how can you find icky guy inthe work that you do?
How can you find icky guy inthe marketing that you do?
Because if you can find thatand if you can find your flow
being in the here and now, ifyou can focus on the details,
starting small, you can fulfillyour icky guy and I think in
(09:35):
doing so, you're going to be amuch more successful and better
marketer and it'll help growyour business in that way as
well.
So mission purpose have a broadmeaning in our society.
We can take it from a brandingperspective, as I led, or from a
personal perspective, but Iguarantee you those with purpose
in life, for some the icky guyis serving a higher other,
(09:59):
according to whatever religionthey follow, and that's fine,
right, that is a very, verycommon icky guy, I believe.
But if you can find icky guy inyour work, in your business
number one, but also relate thatas part of everything you do,
it should come out naturally.
People should meet you and go,wow, that person is really
passionate about what they do.
This is a comment that I get alot.
(10:20):
I'm really blessed to be ableto get that content, but it
shows that the passion isunderstandable just through body
language, just through tone ofvoice.
So I want you to think deeplyabout that.
And, yes, this podcastrecording, as I mentioned a few
podcast episodes ago, is helpingme flesh out concept for my
next book.
(10:40):
Right, and in fact, thisconversation will probably
become part of the introductionas to why I am writing the book
that concept of icky guy, butit's a deeper concept and it
doesn't have to be personal.
If you focus on your businessbecause every founder of a
company has an icky guy as toreason why they develop that
(11:01):
business right, well, it's timefor you to really share that in
many ways through your content,through your branding, and I
want to leave you with thathomework for today.
Right?
If you have an icky guy, or ifyou found your icky guy, I'd
love if you reached out to me.
I'd love to hear from you andcontinue this conversation.
Contact me at neilneal, atneilchefercom, neal
(11:23):
s-c-h-a-f-f-e-rcom.
And if you are interested inbringing on someone whose icky
guy is perfecting digitalmarketing, feel free to reach
out for me for my fractional CMOservices.
You can go to neilshaffercomslash CMO.
And well, I'm going to get readyto go to Japan.
I am actually the Japanevangelist for TubeBuddy, one of
(11:45):
the leading YouTube tools, so Iam very much looking forward to
spending a week in Japan,meeting YouTube creators as well
as businesses that areleveraging YouTube, and seeing
how I can serve them and helpthem, not just through using
TubeBuddy, but also any way elsethat I can help them with all
the knowledge and experiencethat I have.
So that's it for me.
Make sure you follow me onInstagram.
(12:06):
That's normally where I postall of my personal photos from
all of my travels.
That's instagramcom slashneilshaffer.
It's all spelled the same way,nealschffer, and I look forward
to serving you in the nextepisode.
This is your digital marketingcoach, neal Schaffer, signing
off.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
You've been listening to your digital marketing coach
.
Questions, comments, requests,links go to
podcastnealshaffercom.
Get the show notes to this and200 plus podcast episodes at
nealshaffercom to tap into the400 plus blog post that Neal has
published to support yourbusiness.
(12:45):
While you're there, check outNeal's digital first group
coaching membership community Ifyou or your business needs a
little helping hand.
See you next time on yourdigital marketing coach.
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