the Not boring life
Secks, J.K. Rowling, Rocket Power
In a recent podcast episode I did with Miki Agrawal, founder of the companies Tushy and Thinx, I was reminded of the importance of Play.
Miki has been massively successful over and over. A big part of that success has been due to the playful nature of her brands' content... like her commercial about assholes.
Playful brands are more relatable and cool.
I grew up thinking that being an adult meant all you did was Boring but Responsible things like work a job you hate that pays the bills. Then maybe if you were lucky you could do something slightly less boring on the weekends like play golf (offended golfers can fill out a Hurt Feelings Report and reply to me directly).
Or you become a deadbeat and only do Pleasurable but Pointless things like smoke a bunch of weed and play video games (very cool on occasion, not every day).
Now I know I was lied to. There is another category called Playful And Meaningful (PAM) that is a hack for all sorts of stuff.
First, it gets you laid more.
Playful people have more secks.
In an interview with Charlie Hoehn, bonafide play expert, he told me that The Research™ shows that play is the single most attractive trait to both men and women.
Women see a playful man as safe and confident.
Men see playful women as youthful and thus fertile.
In my personal experience playfulness has been one of the top 3 characteristics I look for in friends. Up there with integrity/reliableness and courage.
The people we have the most fun with are usually the people we feel drawn to.
It's how to create Not Boring stuff
In Why Greatness Can’t Be Planned, the authors lay out a case for the idea that the only way to become great at anything is to follow what is novel and interesting. “There is no way to know what exactly you will become great at by following your curiosities and interests, but doing so reliably creates Greatness.”
Maybe part of this is because the more you follow your unique interests and cultivate your own weirdness, the more distinct you become. The more you stand out.
Like Reggie Watts. What a weird, entertaining, and talented dude.
Or Bo Burnham in this hilarious music video with 66MM views.
As Naval Ravikant says, "No one can compete with you at being you."
One of my favorite Tim Ferriss questions is "How could I make this fun?"
When asked to give a talk at a business conference last year, I sat down to start preparing and immediately thought "fuuuuuuuuck I don't wanna do this."
I asked myself "how can I make this fun?" and almost instantly thought, "I'm going to play guitar and sing a song to open it up" and "I'm going to make the audience stand up and dance." It was by far my favorite speaking gig ever, and I got a ton of great feedback.
When I created Soul Searching Adventures, I designed the exact experience that I would be thrilled to go on myself. I made myself laugh several times putting certain games or other experiences in my curriculum. People are loving these trips more than anything I've ever created.
When I write, I'm trying to write something that I would love to read. The amount of times I laugh while writing is usually a good predictor of how much positive feedback I will get.
"I write to amuse myself. It's totally for myself." -Jk Rowling
"I realized the more fun I had the better I did." -Charlie Murray says
Having fun is highly correlated with motivation. In order to create anything awesome, you have to create a lot of stuff and stick with it for a while. The only way you'll have the endurance to create a lot of stuff is by maintaining motivation.
Most importantly it's how we enjoy life the most
Play leads to laughter.
Play is connective.
Play is a flow state.
Play is fun.
Play is stress free.
Play makes you present.
And god likes us to be present. So...
Play gets you into heaven.
Play is the ultimate end in and of itself.
But it feels safer to be Boring but Responsible!
Sure does.
Luckily being more playful doesn't mean you have to change your career to being a standup comedian.
It's an attitude you can bring to any circumstance in any area of life.
When I'm at work it looks like poking fun at a colleague just like I would a close friend. This leads to a much stronger connection and a more enjoyable day.
In my relationship it's me pretending like I'm going to pee through my wife's legs while she's peeing, and then her flicking my dick like the secret Rocket Power Handshake.
Or like getting together with some friends to do Improv rather than just eat some food together.
Or like my friend JP tucking me in one night with a megaphone.
Obviously you have to pay your bills and honor your commitments. It would be unwise to quit your job tomorrow to start an online hula hooping course. Start it on the side until it's making enough money to quit your real job, or just bring the hula to work and make everyone try it before your next meeting.
A couple more things I want to share with you this week
An unbelievable YouTube channel
My friend Pat just told me about the Soft White Underbelly series. They interview homeless people, addicts, victims, and perpetrators. I rarely go on rabbit holes on YT, but when I found this series I couldn't turn it off for hours. It filled me with sadness and gratitude.
A composer/musician I can't stop listening to
I started listening to a little classical music a few years ago, especially when I'm working. I just discovered Joep Beving recently and have listened to some of his songs almost every day since.
Peace,
Michael