Monday Memo #17

Follow the fun.

The Monday memo is food for thought to fuel your week.

Hi everyone,

Last week I shared my Art of the Possible interview with entrepreneur and possibilitarian Dan Mall, and one thing he said really stuck with me.

“Whenever I'm working with a team and they're struggling, what I coach them to do is follow the fun. What’s fun for you right now?

If you follow the fun, all the KPIs will happen. I've seen it happen a billion times already. If you follow what’s fun for you, there are so many good things that will come out of that. You’re going to hit your goals faster because you’re having fun. It’s going to be more energizing for you. You’re going to want to work more, want to stay at your job more.

If you can have the patience to let that be emergent, something good will come out of that, even if you can’t predict it right away. Even if you think, “I’m not sure where this is gonna lead” — If you follow the fun, it likely will lead somewhere good for you.”

Dan had a sticky note on his desk as a reminder that read “Am I having fun right now?” At any moment, he could just glance down at it and ask, “Wait, why am I doing this thing if it’s not even fun for me?

Exercise.

Here’s your exercise for the week: Follow the fun.

Put a sticky note at your desk, or somewhere you will see it every day, as a reminder, with the question, “Am I having fun right now?” Check it frequently. If you’re not having fun, ask yourself why.

Follow the fun.

Updates:

Collaboratories.

Our Collaboratories are like a conference, spread out over the course of a year. Twenty-four workshops, on the first and third Wednesday of every month.

On April 17th we will join Mike Rohde in a Collaboratory about sketching projects. Mike is a designer, author and artist, and friend for many years. He wrote The Sketchnote Handbook and he’s a brilliant sketcher and teacher. It’s happening a week from Wednesday, April 17th, from 9 to 10:30 AM Pacific, (that’s Noon to 1:30 PM Eastern, 5 to 6:30 PM GMT).

Upcoming Collaboratories will feature guests like Dan Klyn, Ingrid Lill, and Jorge Arango.

Collaboratories are free for members. Members also get access to recordings and AI summaries. Become a member today.

Courses.

The second cohort of Mike Parker’s excellent Liminal Explorations course starts April 11th. If you’re interested in enhancing your creativity and reducing stress by developing your relationship with your unconscious mind, this is the course for you. I joined the last cohort and really enjoyed it. Mike creates a warm and inviting atmosphere which invites every participant to explore at their own pace. Learn more.

Campfire calls.

Our Friday Campfire calls are free to join, anyone is welcome, and we talk about things that are fueling our creative energy and inspiring us. The energy is infectious. Even if you’re stuck, or don’t feel like you have anything interesting to add, if you have the time, join anyway. I promise you’ll enjoy it. Instructions to join the Friday Campfire and/or add it to your calendar.

We are running an AsiaPac Campfire experiment.

We are conducting a four-week experiment to see if there’s interest in an AsiaPac Campfire call. This will be held on Saturday mornings AsiaPac time, at 8 am IST, 10.30 am SGT, 1.30 PM AEST. This works out to Friday evenings at 7:30 PM Pacific, 10:30 PM Eastern. So a Friday late-night treat if you want to join from the US. More info here.

Collaboratories.

Collaboratories are held on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. They are free for members. Members also get access to recordings of previous collaboratories and the full email archive. You also get a warm and fuzzy feeling of being part of a community and supporting our work. It’s only $20/month or $200/year, kinda like Netflix for Possibilitarians. Become a member by upgrading your subscription.

The Collaboratories are a great way to connect on a regular basis and sample ideas of interest to our members in a fun, interactive, mini-conference format. We are planning upcoming Collaboratories with Mike Rohde, Dan Klyn, Ingrid Lill, Jorge Arango, and Mike Parker.

As of this week we have 55 members. The first 100 members will lock in the $20/month, $200/year rate.

If you’re already a member, thank you. You’re making this possible.

More information for members is “below the fold.”