I Know How to Have Fun… And Make Things Better

I was a troublemaker growing up. Anything I could do to have fun was good enough for me.

Bring walkie talkies to school to disrupt class? Sounds like a good time.

Stay up so late playing games that you fall asleep in the same spot? I can’t imagine anything better.

Head to my grandpa’s pole barn to tinker around for hours in his curated junk pile he called ‘The Dog House’? Sounds fun, I learn more here than at school anyways.

Get bored and blow stuff up with fireworks? About time!!

Needless to say I had a very fun childhood full of avoiding all my responsibilities. I’m glad to say, I’ve learned how to have the same amount of fun with work, just less troublesome.

Why would I ever stop working? We learn best while having fun.

And because I’ve figured out how to make learning fun, I’ve figured out how to be the exact person I want to be.

My business superpower is to know when something can be better. I don’t always know what would make it better, but I can immediately see when we need to take a step back and look at the whole picture.

If something is taking more time than it should based on my past experiences, it’s instantly noticeable when something is off. 

A little buzzer goes off the moment something is boring.

BZZZ– This is just taking way longer than it should! There is a better way! Get on with your life!

Even if I’m not the one that knows what that way is, I can point out that it’s taking longer than it could. 

And sometimes that’s okay.

You hear people say “enjoy the process” and “it’s about the journey, not the destination”.

I agree.

Why would I want to rush a bonfire with my friends? I just got here.

But when you want to be somewhere, the journey takes the back seat — it’s about the destination.

Sometimes you have to take the scenic route once to realize that the destination matters a heck of a lot too. 

And if you want to get where you’re going faster, you have to learn where to save time along the way. 

Life and work are no different.

The long way is usually the first route people usually take. 

Some people never look for a faster route if it’s good enough. It’s only when they hear someone mention that they get there 30 minutes faster every time do they think “that would be nice…”

It sure is a bummer you don’t know the faster path.

Shucks…

But at least you know now!

Now it’s up to you to try for yourself and see what else is out there. 

Conclusion

It’s so easy to get stuck in a routine of ‘okay enough’ that we stop looking for a better way. 

I mean, it’s okay enough, right?

That is until you hear about Jimmy saving 30 minutes a day on his trip because he takes the express train instead of the freeway, and realize that there’s a better way to get to work.

Maybe there are other ways to save another 30 minutes too…

You won’t know what’s out there until you start looking. 

And if you know from the bottom of your heart that your work can be done easier because you’ve already seen it done better, it’s up to you to point it out. 

You may not know how to make it better, but at least you know where you should start.

Once you’ve tried enough to know what works better, see if other people have suggestions.

If you see anything done a better way by someone else, that means a better way exists. You just have to figure it out.

Do not settle.

Do not accept ‘okay enough’.

And never stop having fun; we learn best when having fun.

if you see someone taking the long way home, be polite. Ask them if they’re on a journey or trying to get somewhere.