TL;DR: A comfortable job with a high salary can feel like a trap if it lacks meaning – a "gilded cage." Many modern jobs, as described by David Graeber, fall into the category of "Bullshit Jobs" lacking real purpose. Finding fulfillment requires seeking your "Ikigai" (生き甲斐), the Japanese concept for your reason for being. It lies at the intersection of what you love, what you're good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs. Discovering this intersection is key to a truly meaningful career and life.
Let's start with a provocative thought from Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan: "The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary."
Strong words, right? But they point to a deep truth about the potential trap of comfort and stability when it comes at the cost of meaning.
It reminds me of my own journey. Back in 2005, I was working for a multinational telecom company, managing their Asia-Pacific operations. On paper, it was a dream job: a seven-figure salary, minimal stress, monthly travel across the region with five-star hotels and meals covered, and regular 9-to-5 hours when back in the Hong Kong office. If you surveyed people on the street, it would score 10/10 on the 'dream job' scale.
But I resigned in 2009.
Why? Because the work itself felt... hollow. The role only required about half a person's effort; I could finish a week's tasks in two days. Initially, this leisurely pace was pleasant, but soon, boredom set in. I felt like a mannequin pinned to a desk by responsibilities and expectations, bathed in fluorescent light from morning till night, five days a week. The world I wanted to explore, the challenges I wanted to tackle, the things I felt driven to achieve – they all existed outside that comfortable package deal with its free breakfast and plush hotel rooms.
The Search for Meaning: Discovering 'Ikigai' (生き甲斐)
There's a Japanese word that beautifully captures this search for meaning: Ikigai (生き甲斐). It translates roughly to "reason for being" or "why you wake up in the morning." This philosophy is deeply embedded in Japanese culture, evident in the dedication of artisans – sushi masters, lacquerware craftsmen, animation legends – who devote their entire lives to perfecting one thing. In doing so, they quietly change the world and enrich their own lives, fulfilling their Ikigai.
The Modern Dilemma: Meaningless Work? (愛你所做、做你所愛)
Contrast that with the modern work reality for many. We trade huge chunks of our lives – typically 9 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Friday – for that fixed monthly salary. Our time belongs to someone else. Is the work we do always meaningful?
Anthropologist David Graeber argued in his 2019 book Bullshit Jobs that "Over 40% of work is meaningless." He defined a "Bullshit Job" as: "a form of paid employment that is so completely pointless, unnecessary, or pernicious that even the employee cannot justify its existence even though, as part of the conditions of employment, the employee feels obliged to pretend that this is not the case."
How did we get here? Before the Industrial Revolution, work was often task-oriented – farmers planted and harvested according to seasons, apprentices learned by doing alongside a master. Industrial capitalism shifted the focus to timed labor. Since then, for many, life and self have been cleaved into two distinct parts: "Work" and "Life."
Finding Your Ikigai: The Four Intersecting Circles
Ikigai offers a framework to bridge this divide. It's said to lie at the intersection of four key elements:
- What You Love: What activities make you feel passionate and alive?
- What You Are Good At: What are your natural talents and developed skills?
- What You Can Be Paid For: What skills or services does the market value?
- What The World Needs: What problems can you help solve? What value can you contribute?
When these four circles overlap, you've likely found your Ikigai.
For me, I genuinely love solving problems. Thinking through complex challenges puts me in a state of "flow," where time just disappears. It's also something I believe I'm good at – understanding how to frame solutions so clients grasp them and see the value.
Transitioning to full-time work as a solution/business architect meant this became something I could be paid for. And crucially, I believe the world needs people to share their experiences and help others navigate complexity – this has become a core theme for Mercury Technology Solution. Receiving positive feedback from clients reinforces my belief that this work has real value and meaning.
Warren Buffett once said something profound: "There is no difference between me and you. If you must find a difference, maybe it's that I get every day to do what I love the most. If you want me to give you advice, this is the best advice I can give you."
Finding and living your Ikigai isn't always easy, but the pursuit itself gives life richness and direction far beyond what any paycheck alone can provide.
Ikigai (生き甲斐) : 你的工作沒有意義，你的人生也如是
三種最有害的成癮物是：海洛因、碳水化合物、和一份固定月薪。― Nassim Nicholas Taleb ，《黑天鵝效應》作者
2005年，我當時在跨國電訊公司工作，負責亞太地區的事務。這份工作職責輕鬆、百萬年薪，每月飛各地出差旅遊，期間的五星級住宿、餐廳消費都由公司付費。出差以外在香港辦公室的時間，可以每天準時上下班。如果做街頭問券調查，這個工作一定夢幻指數滿分。但是，我在2009年辭職了。
以工作份量論，這個職位其實只需半個人力，只消兩天就可以做完一周的預定工作，這種閒雲野鶴的上班狀態，一開始是蠻愉快的，但久了，還是漸漸無聊起來。我只感覺像一模型，被責任、義務、期待，釘在辦公桌前，燈火通明，從早到晚，一周五天。我想去探索嘗試的世界，我想用生命去完成、實現的事，都在附有五星酒店房與免費早餐之外。
生命的意義在日文裡，有個專門的詞彙叫做「Ikigai」（生き甲斐），也就是每天早上你為何醒來，活着的理由。這個精神哲學深植在日本的文化裡，許多職人如壽司師傅、漆器工匠、動畫大師，傾其一生的時間只為做好一件事，默默改變世界也豐富了自己，就是貫徹着他們生命的Ikigai。
其之六：「愛你所做、做你所愛」你的時間不是你的時間
為了交換固定月薪，每周一至五早上九點到下午六點，你的人生是屬於另外一個花錢買下它的人的。「超過40%的工作沒有意義。」人類學者格雷伯，在2019年《Bullshit Jobs》（狗屎工作）中這麼說。用格雷伯給「狗屎工作」下的定義：「完全無謂、無必要或有所危害，連受僱者都沒辦法講出這份職務憑甚麼存在，但基於僱傭關係的條件，卻又覺得有必要假裝其實不然，這種有支薪的僱傭類型，就叫做狗屎工作。」
工業革命以前，農人依照時序播種收成，學徒跟隨工匠生活學習，「工作」是以成果為主的任務導向（task-oriented）型態。隨着工業資本主義興起，工作開始由原本的「任務導向」，轉變為計算時間的工時制度（ timed labor ）。從那時開始，我們大部份人的生命和自我，被活生生切割成「上班」和「生活」。
Ikigai 是由「你喜歡的、你擅長的、別人願意付錢給你、世界需要的事」這四件要素組成。
當這四件要素彼此交集在一起，那項事物可能就是你人生的Ikigai。以我自己為例，我非常享受 「解決問題」，每次去思考都會進入「心流」狀態，完全忘記時間的存在。「解決問題」也是我所擅長的事，我清楚怎樣的表達會讓客户有感、明瞭。
成為專職解决方案工作者後，就成為了收入來源，是他人願意付錢請我做的事。我認為這世界需要有人分享自己的經驗，因此這成了我公司中很重要的主題。我也期望自己可以解决問題，有時收到一些客户的回饋時，我更確信了自己的能力有其價值與意義。
巴菲特說：「我和你沒有甚麼差別。如果你一定要找一個差別，那可能就是我每天有機會做我最愛的工作。如果你要我給你忠告，這是我能給你的最好忠告了。」
Are you just collecting a salary, or are you living your purpose? It's worth asking. Find your Ikigai,
