The Fun Formula: How Curiosity, Risk-Taking, and Serendipity Can Revolutionize How You Work by Joel Comm
Joel Comm is New York Times bestselling author, professional keynote social media marketing strategist, live video expert, technologist, brand influencer, futurist, and eternal 12 year old.
In this book he says he’s done everything online that’s not illegal, immoral, or fattening.
With more than two decades of experience harnessing the power of the web, publishing, social media, and mobile applications to expand reach and engage in active relationship marketing, Joel is a sought-after public speaker who leaves his audiences inspired, entertained, and armed with strategic tools to create highly effective new media campaigns.
His latest serendipitous project is as co-host with Travis Wright of the Bad Crypto Podcast, a top cryptocurrency show making the future of digital payments easy for others to understand.
Interesting fact: he once sold Encyclopedia Britannicas door to door, and he later conceived and hosted the first-ever the first internet reality TV show “The Next Internet Millionaire,” which included a past guest on The Marketing Book Podcast, Perry Marshall.
The Host’s Perspective:
Let me ask you a question. One that you might not want to answer.
Are you having fun at what you do for a living? Are you getting anywhere?
These are just three of the book’s many great ideas that particularly resonated with me.
1- Various studies have shown that people who are the most fulfilled are often the ones who have truly learned to not care what other people think. Now, that’s hard to do, but if we are aware of it it helps. Once we are aware of not only what we are thinking but why we are thinking it, we can take action and change our thinking. We can tell ourselves: I don’t have to live like that. I don’t have to put up with that. Who made these rules for me, and when did I decide that I was going to abide by their rules?
2- Follow the breadcrumbs. Our life leaves little breadcrumbs that, looking back, lead us to where we should go. And if you think back on successes you’ve had, you may notice a common thread to them – you were probably having fun. The book helps you to see the link between fun and how that can help you succeed at work and life.
3- The hustle and grind mentality toward work is a very misguided notion. As the author says, “the Hustle is a dance and grinding is for coffee beans.” You have certain skills and talents. It’s those skills, and the passion you feel when you use them, that will determine whether or not you reach your goals. It won’t be the hustle and grind you put in, because there is no guarantee that a certain number of hours worked and a certain amount of sacrifice made will get you the results you want. Plenty of people have hustled and ground their lives away and never received their reward that they thought they deserved. We hear about the people who succeeded but rarely the ones who fell by the wayside. Heading off the road of hustle and grind might actually be the path you want to take.
And here’s a bonus, for you – control is an illusion. It’s related to what the author Joel Comm calls “Joel’s Law” – What Can Change Will Change. And Change Is Good.
This book will inspire you to be human first and let the passions that come from your humanity lead you to do the things that interest you the most. That’s where the magic happens.
Listen to the Interview:
Show Notes
The Fun Formula by Joel Comm
Joel Comm (Twitter)
Joel Comm (Instagram)
Joel Comm (LinkedIn)
Digital Sense by Travis Wright and Chris J. Snook
Douglas Burdett and Joel Comm at the Inbound Conference, Boston, Massachusetts
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