“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
– Dale Carnegie

At first glimpse, this quote may seem rather superficial or just plain obvious! However, before you dismiss this post as irrelevant, I’d ask you to bear with me for a moment. For when taken in the context of sustaining motivation and movement towards successful goal completion, there is actually great wisdom in focusing upon the fun factor. Think of a time when you did NOT manage to carry through and successfully complete a task – were you enjoying the journey to get there?

Now think of some factors that make things fun for you – perhaps this could include bouncing ideas around with team-mates or enjoying small rewards along the way. For Anna and I, fun includes sharing our completed weekly team assignments with each other via long-distance phone calls (accountability works wonders!), planning travels combining work and play, and creating a sense of legacy by making our programs available pro-bono to worthy community organizations.

When viewed with this telephoto lens from the “sky-box” vantage point, we are able to get the bigger picture.  We align our goals with our value of having fun – enjoying the scenery along the path – as well as reaching the final destination, and in doing so we improve our chances of success.  And the more we focus on the fun element, the more we realize that this is really a serious matter ;-).