No brand can succeed without a WHY.

Specially, personal ones.

I’m in the business of democratizing access to visually impactful and strategically efficient brands.

But even the best designed brand will go nowhere without a WHY.

And even if it could could, you shouldn’t want it to.

You will be the one building it behind the scenes. The one writing every word to make it sound authentic. And faking authenticity gets very tiring, very fast.

As my dear friend Grace N. once said: “Authenticity is not a construction, it’s a reflection.”

So, how do you find your WHY?

There are many frameworks out there, but I like one best; the Japanese concept of IKIGAI.

Most people immediately think about their why in terms of what they like to do and what they are good at. Both are essential of course. But IKIGAI includes two other key factors that I consider equally fundamental, if not more.

• What the world needs

• What you can be paid for

The first brings into question how we can be of service to others and the world. How can we use our skills and gifts to drive humanity forward. A calling for a mission. A calling for a purpose that goes beyond ourselves.

Something that we severely lack in society as a whole nowadays.

But something that can make our lives truly fulfilling.

The second point I like because it removes the naiveté and wishful thinking of many other frameworks. Whether we like it or not life costs money. Everything from nourishment, to housing, entertainment... Freedom itself depends on money. But it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice true passion and fulfillment because of it.

There’s no point lamenting on how things should or shouldn’t be.

There’s only the effort to pursue a better future.

Finding the ways in which you can make all of these circles of yours overlap, finding your IKIGAI, finding your WHY, is the way to build a life that doesn’t relegate happiness to what you do outside of work.

So before you start thinking about brand design, target audiences, content strategies, etc., think about your IKIGAI.

Even if you’ve already started your branding journey. Think of your IKIGAI. Much like everything else in life it is bound to be in a constant state of change and evolution.

Seek that clarity.

Find that purpose.

And then build it into existence.