The Fundamentals Of Fun And The Art Of Playing!
As I begin to write this chapter to you, I’m sitting inside a plush black limo with my Underachiever pals Ed Dale and Frank Kern. We are currently en route to a killer guitar shop in Orlando Florida to strum a plethora of six-strings and to screw off like a clan of high school kids. The entire day is devoted to “Guitar Lovers” and we take this business very seriously. Of course I’m referring to “Monkey Business”, not the typical suit and tie type of business.
The majority of successful marketers that I’m friends with know how crucial it is to laugh, play, and truly enjoy life. We incorporate this optimistic and playful mindset into our recreational activities as well as our employment. Without laughter and fun, all the profits wouldn’t have nearly the same sweet taste. In my opinion, a playful attitude is one of the core fundamentals needed for success.
The importance of a playful attitude and childish fun in your daily life is massively overlooked by far too many in the world today. Not only do I believe your daily life should be action-packed with fun, but I firmly believe that your main source of income should be derived from an activity that you thoroughly enjoy doing. Without pure enjoyment from your occupation, it’s doubtful that you are truly happy in life. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to put down anyone’s livelihood or business, and I’m aware that sometimes people are stuck working lame jobs. That’s life. Most of us have been there. However, never again could I imagine myself bitterly punching in or out of a time clock for a job that I didn’t enjoy. I just don’t see it happening. Hopefully, you won’t have to go through this dilemma either.
I have to admit, though, that I’m not a normal guy. Somehow, deep within, lies a keen ability for me to find the diamonds in the ruff. Instead of viewing a glass half empty, I see it overflowing. While many perceive certain situations as problems, I consider them challenges that are worthy of my participation. This change in mindset is crucial for those of you who truly desire success.
Many moons ago I was employed as a dishwasher at the Tabor Hill Café in Portland, Oregon. I truly loved that job. Many people find it odd that I loved being a dishwasher but nothing could be further from the truth. Those days as a greasy dish dog provide some of my fondest memories in life.
First of all, I was madly in love with one of the waitresses at the cafe. She was about 6 years older then my youthful age of 18, but somehow my silly attitude was able to win her heart. All the men in their mid 20’s and 30’s were totally baffled at how a young, rambunctious, tattooed dishwashing punk could get the dream girl they all desired. Every dude in the joint wanted a stab at Erika. She was drop dead gorgeous. It was inconceivable that this princess would date a young and silly guy like me. After all, I was just a little kid who rode his skateboard to a peon dishwashing job everyday.
What the other guys in the café failed to realize is that people just want to have fun in life, and that includes Erika. The majority of these men did not enjoy their jobs like I did. Their persona was not attractive. Working in the cooking line, they were too stressed-out. In my application to the owners, I firmly stated that I wanted no promotions of any kind and wanted to remain the dishwasher for as long as I worked there. I had more then enough qualifications and experience to be a cook, but I preferred to be a dishwasher. The reason why is very simple. As a dishwasher, the responsibilities were extremely simple. Just keep the darn forks and plates clean and everybody was happy. There were no hassles, just dishes to wash. It was simple, mindless, and the pay didn’t seem bad at the time. People don’t have many expectations of the dishwasher other then keeping the plates and utensils clean. That’s all I had to do. In the meantime I was able to spend my time wooing the sexy waitress while the other guys pulled their hair out from all the cooking orders they were constantly getting bombarded with. Meanwhile, I was having fun and getting paid.
Erika was not the only reason I loved that simple dishwashing job. I had the pleasure of scrubbing plates side by side with an older black man named Booker T. Washington. This dude was a government conspiracy nut who would continually come to work with some of the greatest reading materials you could ever find. He had this method of highlighting books with five different colored pens, and each color had a specific purpose. Yellow was for quotes, red for interesting facts, and so on. Spending time with Booker T made my job absolutely thrilling. Every day I worked with him was riveting, fun, and educational. I love learning, and Booker had some amazing information to study. Sure, tons of the things he said were crazy as hell, but that’s what I liked about the guy. He was willing to question and ask things that 99.9% of the world wouldn’t dare touch with a 10 foot pole. Booker helped make my dishwashing job more fun then an amusement park. I’ll never forget that guy.
However I have to credit a man named Sylvester for teaching me to actually like dishwashing. When I was fourteen, I had a job as a dishwasher at a Mexican restaurant named Poncho’s. I started as a dishwasher, and worked my way up to prep cook and line cook. At fourteen years old, the last place in the world I wanted to be was in the dish room. I desperately desired a promotion so I could get into the kitchen. When I finally got the promotion into the kitchen it appeared as if I was on top of the world. No longer would I have to slave away over grimy dishes. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the kitchen was ten times more stressful then the dish room. Luckily, I had the pleasure of knowing Sylvester, a forty year old Buddhist man who taught me about a few simple things in life.
He started off by giving me a few Herman Hesse books. Demian was the first book followed by Siddhartha. These books were the beginning of life long mental transformation for me. Quickly I realized that happiness had nothing to do with social status, or how much money you made. Happiness came from within. Sylvester was the richest guy I had ever met, and he was a minimum wage dishwasher. I will forever cherish what Sylvester taught me as a young lad. I only wish I had spent more time with the guy.
Time is extremely limited in our short lives. Therefore, I highly recommend that you spend as much time as possible doing pleasurable things throughout your life. Hopefully, while reading this chapter, many of you will take a few moments of time to analyze your current situation in life and ask yourself, “Is there anything I could do to make every day a bit more fun?” Had mentors not challenged me to seek out fun opportunities in life, I might have missed the boat. Fortunately, I’ve been able to maintain a playful attitude, and have fun during my short stay on this planet. It’s imbedded into my core and it’s probably the number one reason I’ve done so well in every industry I’ve pursued.
One of the coolest things about making a conscious decision to inject more fun into your life is the ramifications it can have on other people. Everyone likes to hang out with the fun guy, right? Not too many people are keen on spending the afternoon with a grumpy and negative dude. When you genuinely emit fun vibes, it rubs off on others. Just a nice little comment could completely enlighten someone’s day. A simple favor might mean the world to another person. When you are a sincerely fun and loving person, it provides a great joy to know that you can easily brighten someone’s day by implementing simple elements of fun and happiness. Sometimes the little things really do matter to other people, and if you really enjoy making people smile, then it’s a win-win situation for everybody. Being a fun and playful person is beneficial in so many different ways; some are obvious, while many other reasons are quite subtle. I believe people need comic relief in life, and any time you can get someone to laugh, you’ve done a good deed in my eyes.
The truth is that almost every single person who is in decent health can commit to some type of fun activity today. There should be nothing holding you back from having an absolute blast if you truly desire happiness. Sometimes people just need a kick in the rear to get them onto the pathway to fun. Lot’s of folks are not in the daily routine of playfulness and just need a little reminder of how to break loose.
“Without play – without the child that still lives in all of us – we will always be incomplete. And not only physically, but creatively, intellectually, and spiritually as well.” —Dr. George Sheehan
Those beautiful words uttered by Dr. Sheehan remind me of another old teacher of mine. Even though he was 70 years old, Bob sure knew how to play like a young lad. That’s what I loved about the old guy. He was full of life, vibrant, and ready to pounce on the next adventure at any moment. Nothing would stop Bob from achieving whatever he wanted. I was lucky to have absorbed so much from his childlike character.
Please don’t discount the advice of being childish. I firmly believe that there is a very pivotal lesson to be learned here. Learn to be childlike in your behavior, and you will continually be blessed with miles of smiles. Believe it or not, you’re likely to make a bunch more money too. Of course, when I suggest you learn to be childlike, I’m not implying that you should act completely immature and mindless. Business is still business, and you don’t want to screw that up. I’m talking about adopting a mentality that encourages you to seek out fun opportunities around you at all times. The act of playing is beyond just a physical thing. It goes deep into your being. Once you are able to let go and truly play, it’s similar to the results of meditation that many have been struggling to attain for years.
When submerged in the act of playing all problems seem to vanish. Obstacles become part of the game. No longer are the roadblocks huge annoyances, but they are challenges to overcome. Barriers turn into mazes, and dead ends become unexplored paths to the motherland. There are no limits to what is possible when you are in full time play mode. But it’s not easy to just enter this land of fun and games. It takes an immense amount of practice for some people. Playing seems so simple, but in reality, getting lost in playfulness is very difficult for some. Simply playing by itself can open a whole new world of enjoyment in your life. If you are so lucky to find this playful land, it will definitely help to stimulate your creativity. Ideas will bum-rush your cranium when you become truly child like. When there are no worries about what other people think, and just authentic, driven passion controls you, it’s incredibly powerful. The brainstorming potential is endless with a playful person.
There are many reasons why I chose the topics of “Fun” and “Playing” for this “Million Dollar Marketing Secrets” chapter, but there is none more important than your mental health. Personally, I don’t find any gratification in having a ton of cash if I’m not entirely happy with my life. I’d prefer working as a vendor in a professional baseball parking lot for minimum wage before I would accept a full time position at a lame corporation that I didn’t truly believe in.
Many businesses and corporations can become emotional roller coasters with gruesome side effects, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Most business entrepreneurs have ambitious goals of making it to the big time, yet they often lack knowledge of the core fundamentals of what it takes to create a wildly successful company. Anyone can become financially successful. That’s not too tough. To build a wildly successful company, however, that enriches and benefits all those involved, now that’s a sign of true achievement. When you have accomplished this, you have done a great service to yourself and to your fellow man as well. Accomplish this, and you have developed a wildly successful company.
Yesterday, I had an awesome moment while listening to an audio interview with my copywriter friends, Shaune Clarke and Brian Keith Voiles. Brian is a kid at heart who loves to read and create comic books. Now, that’s what I’m talking about! That’s the kind of fun we all need in our lives. It might be a comic book, or it could be a video game, or maybe just paddling your boat across the lake. Whatever your idea of fun is, make sure you set aside adequate time in your life for these playful activities.
Brian’s enthusiasm was undeniable, magnetic, and full of playfulness. This guy is seriously hyped up on fun stuff. It was extremely comforting to listen to that audio because it was blatantly obvious how much Brian loved his playtime. He told a story about not wanting to come out of his “Sandbox”. I totally understood the analogy he was making. In fact, it might not have been an analogy at all. It would be easy to see Brian actually playing in the sandbox with a bunch of Hot Wheels and sand castle toys. He’s not too mature to allow himself to get down-n-dirty in the sandbox and just play.
There is a big difference between trying to be childlike, and actually being 100% consumed with the task at hand. Children don’t play and simultaneously think about the mortgage payments, or homework that is due tomorrow. They are completely involved with whatever game they are playing. As adults, it’s tough to get into the frame of mind where all worries evaporate. Just acting like a kid doesn’t cut it. You have to truly be childlike. You need to be overwhelmed by the joy of playing to forget about real world problems. If you can achieve this, you have attained the power that so many of us have lost in our lives. We have forgotten how to play.
My sophomoric attitude toward business, and my silly nature online, has truly catapulted me to a position that many long for. I doubt I would have won the “Underachiever of the Year” award had I not of made silly videos and songs making fun of Frank Kern. Those acts of child’s play are some of the main reasons I’ve developed online fame. People expect to see me act like an idiot. They want to laugh, and I’m a perfect vehicle for inducing that laughter. Without the humor, idiocy, and silly pranks, it’s doubtful I would have nearly the amount of website traffic that currently comes into my sites today. Personally, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I know the last thing you expected to find in this book was some young punk kid telling you to play like you were on the Monkey Bars at the school yard. However, that’s exactly what I’m saying to you. Have some fun with your day. Take your colleagues to the Go-Cart track for lunch today. Maybe you could arrange a company softball game. You’ll be amazed at how productive employees can be when they get to have some outdoor fun together. So please, I’m begging you to explore the avenues of childlike behavior. I promise that your life, business, and relationships with others will be dramatically enriched for the better if you adopt a playful attitude.
Now, get out there and play!
Jason “Profit” Moffatt
