👉🏻 One Skill in Motion Changes Everything (Digital Ikigai Part 1)

Ikigai is a Japanese concept often described as “a reason to rise in the morning.”

Iki means “ alive,” and gai means “worth.”

As a Certified Ikigai Coach working with people 50+, I see Ikigai as a practical philosophy for staying engaged in life with agency, autonomy, and the ability to live how and where you want.

Most Ikigai conversations focus on passion. But passion doesn’t come first.

Passion is not discovered through thinking; it emerges through action, the same way freedom emerges through agency and autonomy.

Unpopular opinion? You don’t wait to feel passion. You move your way into it.

That’s why, after 50, “Digital Ikigai” begins with one usable skill in motion, not passion.

Digital Ikigai — Purpose That Funds Mobility

I use Ikigai in two distinct ways:

1.     To stay engaged and financially mobile after 50, with the option to travel long-term or live abroad without losing agency.

2.     To identify one existing skill you already have that is in demand online, and use it through project-based digital work, not a second career.

This is Digital Ikigai — purpose expressed through portable, paid skill.

How I Stepped Into Digital Ikigai

When James and I wanted to live abroad, I knew I needed a way to earn that wasn’t tied to a location.

I didn’t start with passion. I started with a skill that threaded quietly through my career — writing. It was never my job title, but it was always a skill I used and was paid for.

I used that skill to take on project-based content writing work online. That income helped fund our move abroad.

From there, I began teaching and coaching others 50+ to do the same — to take a usable skill, place it “on the board,” and build agency, autonomy, and freedom as they age.

Today, I teach and earn from Spain! This wasn't my story or my passion. I didn't arrive at Ikigai because I knew it in advance. I arrived because I wanted something, was curious, acted despite fear, and moved anyway.

Quick Skill Check — Your First Act of Agency

1.     Write down three skills you’ve used professionally that you did well, even if they weren’t your passion.

2.     Now circle one that you would be willing to use as your digital income starting point, to get on the board.

Real skills my clients over 50 are already earning online include:

- Virtual Assistance (general or niche-specific)

- Voiceover/narration

- Content writing in specific industries

- Bookkeeping and financial coordination

- Client success and communication

- Research and data gathering

These aren’t new careers. They are existing skills, placed where digital clients are already paying.

Want to See If Your Skill Pays Online?

If you want to see live how clients are paying for your skill on digital platforms, and what that looks like in real listings, I offer a complimentary 30-minute Digital Ikigai Skill Session where I walk you through it in real time.

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

Movement begins the moment you place your skill on the board. It is the first act of agency.

Use my Calendly link to schedule a time that works for you!

If this stirred something, you're closer than you think.

Jeanne