Ikigai

A Big Idea is your streetwear brand's Ikigai

Ikigai is a Japanese word and philosophy that we can only describe with complete sentences in English.

The reason to get up in the morning.

The purpose of life.

A reason for being.

These all capture the essence of Ikigai.

I watched a Netflix mini documentary about the health and happiness of people who live beyond 100 years.

One scene featured a Japanese village on the island of Okinawa where one man said, "when I go to someone's house, the first thing I ask is 'are you well?' and the second is 'what is your Ikigai?'".

Here's the thing:

It's ingrained into their very being.

With everything they do it's on the front of their minds!

For these people, Ikigai is the clarity.

From it they may know what they are doing, where they are going, and who with.

My point is this:

Just as all action and purpose flows from the Ikigai,

so too does every output of your streetwear brand flow from the top.

For some, the top is their clothing product's profit margin.

Their Instagram pages make it clear when it is.

But remember - there is a reason we call it the bottom line.

For others, their Ikigai is their Big Idea.

Having clarity about your brand in one short phrase - something you could answer with if someone asked "what does your brand stand for?" - gives you purpose and clarity.

In other words, the WHY makes doing the WHAT a whole lot easier.

And I'm all about making content creation easier.

See if this helps:

If someone asked you today: "what's your brand's Big Idea?"

what would you say?

If you're not sure, it's time to uncover the answer.

Because it's already there.

You just may not know it yet.

Truly,

Elijah

P.S. I've made a document of 5 questions to ask yourself that will help you uncover your Big Idea - the ideology, culture, or lifestyle behind your brand. Hit reply with a yes or thumbs up and I'll send it through for free :)