Dream Act Plan Believe

Image Courtesy of Todd Baker

Many people are so driven to succeed that they neglect to play.  I am, or rather, was one of those people.

You see, I’ve always been driven to succeed.  But, I was so driven to succeed that my life had slipped out of balance and I found myself failing to really enjoy life.

I kept thinking that once I achieve “this” I can relax and play more.  Once I achieve “that” I can take a few hours off to go hiking, or take a vacation.

But then the next big project came along and… well…you probably know the rest of the story.

Mark Twain said, “Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions.”  Work can be play.  And play can be work.

Mark Twain also said,  “Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

My problem was that throughout my life I had a pattern of turning the things I loved to do for fun into Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Brogan’s recent article talked about how to Grow Bigger Ears in 10 Minutes.  No it’s not one of those article that teaches you how to grow bigger body parts!  (How many of us have gotten those in our spam box).   It’s an article that talks about the importance of listening to the chatter about you, and your brand.  In this article Chris teaches you one way you can use the power of Google Reader to capture that chatter about you or your company.

I couldn’t help thinking as I was reading the article that companies, for the most part, could also do a much better job of listening to their employees.  I’ve seen companies close their ears to suggestions that could save hundreds of thousands of dollars because “this is the way we do it here.”  And companies that treat their employees much like a robot, or a number, leaving their employees to think that their opinion doesn’t really matter.

• What if companies listened to the chatter of their employees?

• What if they tried to really listen to the opinions and experiences of their employees?

• What if they set out to see how they could help their employees enjoy their work experience even more?

That last question caused me to reflect about Kevin Carroll and about his experience at Nike.  I heard him speak not to long ago at the iLearningGlobal Mastery Retreat where he talked about the importance of play.

I tell you I gained some new respect for Nike that day as Kevin relayed his experiences with the company.  He basically wrote his own job description, where he was a catalyst for change.   While at Nike Kevin came up with the concept for their play commercials.

Have you seen them?  I think they’re great.

Here’s one that he showed us at the convention:

I’d love your feedback…

• What if there was a play revolution among companies?
• What can you do right now to add more play and excitement personally into your life?
• What can you do to play and more play into your life at home or at work?
• How does your work place incorporate play into their employees lives?

Take time to play.

~ Leisa

P.S. – Oh, Tag.  You’re It

Related Articles Elsewhere On This Site

• Kevin Carroll Interview
• The Red Ball Project by Kevin Carroll
• iLearningGlobal Video Review – Purposeful Play by Kevin Carroll
• Kevin Carroll – Books by Kevin Carroll, and  iLearningGlobal Faculty and Content Overview