On Being a Warrior-Preneur: Success is in PLAY

Posted by Ann Evanston on Jun 10, 2010 in Business Strategy |

On Being a Warrior-Preneur: Success is in PLAY

I had been chewing on this moment and how to create a Vlog for you and my radio show interview with Bill Browning truly inspired it. This particular morning I was mesmerized by these two boys!

How do you play?
What have you done to create silly in your life?
Where does play come into what you do?

Ann Evanston, MA, has been named by About.com as one of the Top Six Marketing Consultants, Feb 2011, and recognized in the Huffington Post for her unique approach in using Facebook to increase profits though giving. In October 2008 Ann created the Social Networking Coaching Club, a forum where you get personalized support to learn how to “discover your REAL edge” and make more online in less time with integrity.

http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

I love that @patzahn and your video was GREAT! @chrisbrogans books is awesome
http://PatZahn.com Pat Zahn

Well, just got around to watching this from my inbox yesterday…our stars are aligned Ann…not only am I reading Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents and just read today about Game Playing and why we should and do play, but I posted a “playful” youtube video of my “outtakes” from a tutorial video. I generally think we all need to LIGHTEN up…
http://samontherun.wordpress.com Samantha Janney

Hi Ann,
Great video and reminder that the more we play, the more fun we have, the more engaged and energetic we will be, the more we can do. When I start to take life too seriously or forget to keep a good balance between the two, I find I don’t enjoy myself as much, am less “fun” to be around and less productive. My children and crazy 10 month old dog help to keep me centered and are a constant reminder of the power fun can bring to any life. Thanks for your post today.
Becky Williamson

Hi Ann,

Yet another great video! I’ve always been sort of a serious, analytical person, but I absolutely resonate with what you say here. In fact, “Fun” is part of my company motto: “Life’s more FUN when you’re fit”. As a professional fitness trainer and Bay Area corporate wellness consultant, the more my team and I can put fun into our programs, the better retention we’ll have and the better results we’ll get for our clients. I also resonate with @Lee Lonitz when he comments here that he takes his work seriously, but he’s not always serious at it. I’m serious about getting clients results, but I do my best to make the experience fun for them—which creates a fun work environment for me.
Times are stressful today, and the more we can step back, take a breath and have a little fun, the happier (and therefore more productive) we’ll all be. Maybe instead of “coffee breaks” at work, Bay Area workers should have “fun” breaks .
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful wisdom.

Becky Williamson
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Going through the changes you are @eyejunkie could seem so serious and scary- your embracing play while you transition is rockstar cool!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Wow Lisa what a great story and post about how play can be so simple and we forget that- and that it's unique to each of us and loving what makes one person playful is a good thing too!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Thank you so much Sheri for sharing your life and how children are their to remind us huh? I know many adults that will “play” playing with kids, but don't actually play for REAL!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Wow @AnnieMueller your realization today is why I am so passionate about what I do thank you for your vulnerability to see how you can play even at work!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

What an honest and beautiful answer about how we THINK about play @carolyncjjones #followfriday
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

I love @DawnThomasCRS that you play as a real estate agent! #followfriday
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Going through the changes you are @eyejunkie could seem so serious and scary- your embracing play while you transition is rockstar cool!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Wow Lisa what a great story and post about how play can be so simple and we forget that- and that it's unique to each of us and loving what makes one person playful is a good thing too!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Thank you so much Sheri for sharing your life and how children are their to remind us huh? I know many adults that will “play” playing with kids, but don't actually play for REAL!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

Wow @AnnieMueller your realization today is why I am so passionate about what I do thank you for your vulnerability to see how you can play even at work!
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

What an honest and beautiful answer about how we THINK about play @carolyncjjones #followfriday
http://www.warrior-preneur.com Ann Evanston

I love @DawnThomasCRS that you play as a real estate agent! #followfriday
AnnaDornier

Ann, this video is a great reminder of how we forget how to play in our daily lives and how we take life too seriously sometimes. I find play in my everyday work and life by making my workouts fun and exciting for me and my clients. We play games during the workouts and I let at least one person shine during each session. I play around with my healthy recipes so I can keep my food flavorful and lively.

This is a great post. Thanks for sharing!
Julia

Sometimes I feel like all I do is play. I work with 3 year olds during the day and we are always acting silly. This year I had some difficult parents and I realized that I was not having fun at work. I hate work to feel like work.

On the side I am co-owner of a small publishing company. We always telling the authors that they must be passionate about what the write about. Your playfulness and passion shows up in your work. People are more likely to work with you if you are having fun.
http://www.passionsatplay.com/ Cheryl McDonald

Well, being an artist and designer people think that is all I do is play. Creativity can be very serious and sometimes I do forget I am supposed to be having fun! So I do try to be light and playful with clients and my watercolors particularly have a strong sense of play and dancing line about them. We do learn or are reminded of so much by watching children. If your job ain't fun, time to make a change!
http://www.SiliconValley365.com Dawn Thomas

I LOVE play! Heck, I have a photo of me with Flipper as my FB profile! Do I have those “serious,” professional photos in my files–oh ya! I believe that there are so many people in my line of business–and many other professions for that matter–that take themselves far too seriously. It's not needed and only makes most people around you feel uncomfortable.
The amount of fun I have is created by me without a doubt. When working with clients, I do have to gauge what their level of comfort to a jovial me is. For instance, I currently have a young man in contract to purchase a great home. He is single and shared with me that he would like to eventually find a nice lady and settle down (hence the purchase of the single family home). After getting to know him, and me establishing trust in our relationship, I am now at the point where I can joke around with him a little bit. I told him that I would ask him every Monday what he did over the last weekend. If he told me that he worked, I mentioned that I would “get on him” for not going out and having fun as he will never find a nice young lady if he is always at work. He gets a big kick out of me and we both laugh–developing our relationship even further in the long run!
Great vlog, Ann! Once again, you go beyond the boundaries and challenge us–which I love!
Louise Edington

Here's my comment one more time )

I try and play often. I play and laugh with my kids – when their friends aren't watching now they are older! I like working with my Au Pairs because we get to do fun meetings and laugh a lot. I laugh and do silly with my friends. I worry less than when I was younger about what people think of me and whether I'm dressed right or my make up is right etc. All this came with age for me and makes life so much more fun!
chrislwagner

Sorry, Ann I can not get my headset to work. Ugh….
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/GVRLJYBXZDUH5GZ66C4YAXPG5I CAROLYN

I was going to answer your question, “do you play,” with a “nope.” I was thinking that since I work by myself, I don't have anyone to play with. Then it dawned on me, I am playing all day long at my work! And I have fun with what I do – writing publicity and marketing material, talking on the phone while the humor flies both ways, laughing at myself and telling on myself to my cat… The days are light-hearted. Thanks for the vlog. It made me stop and realize how much of my work is play… and how much I adore that.

Carolyn CJ Jones
http://www.gatelady.com
http://www.anniemueller.com Annie Mueller

Okay, I feel a little silly but this actually brought tears to my eyes this morning. I am a playful person naturally, always joking around and having fun and being silly with my husband and kids and our friends & family. But somehow in my desire to be professional as a freelancer, I decided that playfulness couldn't be part of “the professional me.” I love what Haley said – take the clients seriously, but not ourselves. That captures it, I think, as far as how to be professional but still incorporate play and really ENJOY what you do. I just read a verse in the Psalms about “rejoicing as a strong man to run the race” and that captures what I want to be in my work: strong, disciplined, ready to run/work, but also REJOICING in that work.
Thanks for this, Ann!
http://www.designforsite.com Lee Lonitz

I believe when you have a passion for what you do, you should let your enthusiasm exude from it. When it comes to my work, I take it serious but I don't act serious all the time. Rather, I mix it up by being spontaneous, humorous and even theatrical. I tell jokes, I sing and dance (you won't see me on America's Got Talent, I promise) but I do it because it makes it more fun for others and it makes me laugh and enjoy the process even more. If you're not having fun at what you do, you shouldn't be doing it.:)
Donnam

I loved this; there are so many times when I realize that I am not having fun! And I see that in others around me that take life too seriously. Luckily, I am around people at our business that have a great sense of humor, and it is contagious. Being silly is the best! I want to be more silly!
http://home-decorating-makeovers.com/ Jennifer Duchene

Wow Ann, you made me think about how the good life is made up of silly moments of joy and giggles. I love connecting with clients and making it real by finding humor in the craziness of life changes through design. More of the fun stuff required!!!
Jen Duchene
The Home Makeover Mixtress blending Cool & Cozy Style
http://home-decorating-makeovers.com/
Sheri Watkins

Ann, thank you for a great vlog. I love that you talk about play being inspiring and use an example of children. They truly know how to do it and get creative. I work at home and my 3 yo (wild, crazy, creative, smart, mischievious…) son is always close by. Sometimes I have to stop myself from being annoyed and scolding him when I'm particular busy and remember why I do what I do… because I love it! He plays and acts silly and mischievious because he loves it and its fun! Your words today are very relevant to a post I made yesterday asking what do you do for fun? http://swatkins.aupairnews.com/ I wrote about how my husband and I have fun just doing ordinary everyday things, like spending Friday night buying groceries, LOL!
Thanks again!
Sheri Watkins
http://www.myshoppinggenie.com/pstd Lisa Ann Landry

How do you play? When delivering training I find humor in my mistakes from life and work experiences and use them as teaching points. Consequently during my seminars we laugh a lot. Participant often tell me while they felt like it was a comedy show it was the best training they have ever had.

What have you done to create silly in your life? My husband, the light of my life, is such a 2 year old at heart. I've learned a lot about play from him. He loves to wrestle and tussle around basically rough housing and isn't that what boys love to do – all of which aggravates me to no end but that his way to have fun and be silly. So to aggravate him I go throughout the house and move everything (pictures, mementos, TV, etc.) just a little it aggravates him to no end. HA! HA!

Where does play come into what you do? I take myself way to seriously so I work hard to find the humor in those things I'm so serious about and laugh. A colleague and I delivered a seminar one day in Baltimore and had to drive to Virginia to do a seminar in Arlington. As she was driving she said to me “Oh look there is the White House!” I was adamant that it was not. We got into a heated debate. I argued that the White House is in DC and we must be in the capitol of Virginia. I even said I would call someone to prove it. My colleague kept say, “I don' know I think this is the White House!” I didn't believe her until we saw the Washington Monument. Then we laugh so hard we cried. Now when either of us are in DC we call each other and laugh some more. She just call me yesterday.
Haley Montgomery

Ann, thanks for sharing this. I love that you were able to draw lessons from two little boys. That attention to the life going on around us is really the premise behind my personal blog (http://www.eyejunkie.com). But, as I'm starting a new business venture, I so appreciate the encouragement to lighten up, to not be afraid to be myself and to embrace the power in being real. My current boss, who is now retiring has always demonstrated to me the concept that “we take our clients very seriously, but not ourselves.” She's taught me to not be afraid to laugh with clients, to joke with them, to show a personal interest in them and even to laugh at our own idiosyncracies as professionals in a design field. It's a lesson you highlight with this post and one I hope to carry forward in http://www.smallpondgraphics.com
Louise Edington

I try and play often. I play and laugh with my kids – when their friends aren't watching now they are older! I like working with my Au Pairs because we get to do fun meetings and laugh a lot. I laugh and do silly with my friends. I worry less than when I was younger about what people think of me and whether I'm dressed right or my make up is right etc. All this came with age for me and makeslife so much more fun!
Stephanie Ruby Feldman

I do play…I love to go to the playground near our apartment, I swing and I slide, just as I did as a kid. My girls and I also go to the local shopping areas here called The Fountains ( in Roseville, just north of you by a couple hours) and we take photo shoots, even with people giving us odd looks. Other things I do is roll around on the floor with my cats and play with them and just be goofy, cause they do not judge and just enjoy…I am trying to add more happiness, laughter and play /silly times into my life as it has been a horrible ride this past two years and I need to do something…the first something I did to break out of my comfort zone was start my blog. That lead to talking to people in person about it, and that was scary for me…meeting new people, taking pictures with them , but it has helped me loosen up a bit, relax a bit, and I can feel “me” the old playful me slip back into place.