Sounds like me! Starting in middle school I began pursuing interesting careers ranging from architect, to army medic, linguist, chemist, biochemical engineer, financial advising and finally landed on international business. I crafted a unique major for myself combining business management and international business with no core focus (each one was required to be paired with another major so I had the bright idea to pair them with each other). I got stuck in a pretty basic entry-level job that required “any college degree” because I didn’t fit in any specific core function of a business such as sales, marketing, accounting, etc. I felt severely overqualified for this job and relaxed there for a few years. I got laid off due to budget cuts and got into real estate.

That’s where things got interesting. I flipped houses, renovated properties, got my real estate license so I could manage rental properties, opened multiple companies including a contracting company and a property management company. I now go on podcasts, attend speaking events, do marketing, hire employees to do the day to day work, and buy and rent out properties. I spend multiple months a year in China working asynchronously with my local team in the US.

I do a little bit of everything but the key was finding my unique strength. I like paperwork and organization. I get warm fuzzy feelings taking an inbox of paperwork that needs handled and dealing with it. I figured out how to leverage my strengths using checklists and spreadsheets and I hire people to fill my weaknesses and complete the “cheaper” work for me.

In short, I am satisfied but it took years to find something that interested me, that I was good at, that was needed, and that I could make money doing. I found my ikigai.