recareering Archives - Career Coaching and Healthy Life Strategies

What's Fun Got to Do With It?

This past weekend I had the good fortune to attend an independently organized TED (Technology Entertainment Design) event in Manhattan Beach. TED is all about Ideas Worth Spreading; you can find more about this at TED.com. While I learned so much during this one day event, I’ve found myself talking about a particular presentation about play and fun and see how this ‘plays’ out in work – mine, my clients’, and my 13 year old son’s.

Michael Shore, VP of Worldwide Consumer Insights at Mattel Inc. presented valuable research about what fun means to a wide cross section of kids, summarizing this with 10 Expressions of Fun. I’ve been measuring my sense of fun against these. And, after presenting this list to my video playing obsessed son, understand more about what he gets from these games, and appreciate more what we’re all really after. In fact, fun is absolutely key to a satisfying career. Check yourself against these 10 Expressions of Fun. How much are these a part of your work and life?

Is it time for you to be fired? Laid off?

More than one of my clients needs to be fired. OK, maybe just laid off. That would be ideal. One of my clients has been wanting to make a change in his life for years actually, but he’s so loyal to his employer that he just can’t seem to leave. We haven’t been working together on this for years — he’s come back to me a few times almost ready. Now there are so many good reasons to leave; he’s ready for more challenge, ready to develop new colleagues, get a different perspective on the world, more money would be fine but not necessary. Sometimes it’s just time to grow and learn more about everything. Now we’re laughing because there’s the possibility that he’ll be let go. And the fire under him would be lit and the energy ignited for change. I’m reading Po Bronson’s book, What Should I Do… Read More