Digital Ikigai Part 2: Placing Your Skill on the Board

In my last post, I wrote about why Digital Ikigai begins with action, not passion, and how purpose is revealed once you start moving.

But many people get stuck there, knowing they want to move but are unsure which skill to start with or where to begin.

It can feel overwhelming. And when we're overwhelmed, we stop. (10-20 years later 😳)

But this — learning to earn online using the skills you already have — isn't about starting from scratch. It's continuing differently.

By the time we reach 50+, our careers, roles, and responsibilities have shaped us into specialists, even if we've never thought of ourselves that way.

The problem isn't that you don't have skills.

It's that you've stopped seeing them clearly because they've lived inside job titles, companies, and routines for decades.

When I work with clients in this stage, the first thing we do is separate the person from the position.

What were the abilities you used that made you effective, even if they weren't in your title?

Those abilities are often the most valuable and most transferable digital skills you already have.

The Board Is Where Clarity Begins

The "board" represents the real-world marketplaces where people are already paying for help, such as Upwork, Fiverr, and others.

Hundreds of thousands of clients are looking for help, and more than 10,000 skills are recognized.

These are ecosystems of opportunity.

Once you start exploring where your skills meet demand, everything changes. You begin to see yourself with fresh eyes.

You begin to see how what you've done for decades — coordinating, writing, organizing, researching, managing still matters and is in demand. It just needs a new container — a digital one.

What It Means to Put Your Skill on the Board

When you put your skill on the board, you:

• Choose a category where your skill fits and clients are hiring.

• List all your skills.

• Write a client-focused profile — not your résumé, but your offer (skill-based "what can you do for me today? ")

• Upload a few samples or create one small project that shows what you can do.

• Start applying — briefly, clearly, and confidently.

You don't need a business plan or a reinvention.

You need visibility.

Visibility builds validation.

Validation builds confidence.

Confidence fuels agency.

Agency allows for autonomy.

Agency + autonomy = freedom.

You're not re-entering the workforce.

You're continuing with wisdom, flexibility, and intention.

Earning online isn't about chasing a new identity.

It's about staying connected to the world — contributing, engaging, and being part of something beyond yourself.

It's about being needed, being useful, and keeping purpose alive while earning what you need to sustain yourself and your choices.

This isn't theory. It's practical, doable, and deeply human.

Agency and autonomy aren't just ideas.

They're how you take care of yourself as you age.

They're how you keep moving forward without starting over.

That's Digital Ikigai in practice.

What now?

Maybe a conversation. 😊

If this resonated, maybe you're ready to take that small but powerful first step ➡️ to see how your skills still matter in a digital world.

It's not about reinvention; it's about visibility.

Once you can see where your experience fits, everything else falls into place.

If you like, I can help you explore that.

Together, we'll look at where your skills meet demand, and how to get them "on the board."

"As you start to walk on the way, the way appears." — Rumi

Agency + Autonomy = Freedom.

Thrive Through Transition,

Jeanne 🐾🐾🌎