I have had the pleasure to present to many groups including corporate clients, professional sports organizations and community groups about how to harness the Power of Fun to prosper in business and life. It never ceases to amaze me what a mixture of emotions that I experience preparing for these presentations. A mixture of anxiety, excitement and confidence balled up into one emotional force that motivates me to leave my audiences feeling like their time with me was well spent. Nothing compares to the feeling of actually connecting with a group. It is the real payoff for any speaker.
Recently I had that connection with a group of high school students that had won a national essay contest sponsored by the Freedoms Foundation. The Freedoms Foundation, which has a beautiful campus located in Valley Forge PA, fosters the development and appreciation of our free enterprise system in high school kids. It truly was one of my favorite experiences presenting. These kids have worked hard, taking their education seriously and are full of enthusiasm and energy. It was intimidating for me as a presenter to try to connect with them but as it turned out I was re-introduced to a passion of mine. Working with and teaching children was where my path was heading before I was sidetracked by the big green guy. We talked about harnessing the Power of Fun with the express purpose of dreaming and following a defined process to reach their dreams. I developed this topic specifically for the Freedoms Foundation because “following dreams” was a theme for their stay at the Valley Forge campus that weekend. What was a surprise to me was this topic turns out to be great for all of us to discuss. So here are the crib notes just for you. Take a look and let me know what you think or just sit down with your family and talk about how we all can follow our dreams and make them reality!
F-Fun
Make sure you make the choice to be a Funster and not a Funkiller. We need to lead in fun. Everyone around us needs to know that we value fun and recognize that we won’t reach our dreams unless we start with fun.
U-Ubiquitous
You always need to start your plan with the question…”where is the fun?” Every single initiative, challenge or dream needs to contain an element of fun along the way to make it into our reality faster. Fun not only can fit anywhere it must fit in order for us to reach our dreams.
N-No
It is the battle cry of the Funkiller. Where are the Funkillers? They are everywhere and if we are to be honest we all have a little bit of a Funkiller in us. So what do we do? First recognize that the Funkillers are not in black hats and trench coats. Sometimes they are the people that love us the most or that we trust and look up to. The bottom line is that we should never let the Funkillers kill our fun. We need to heed their warnings but we will never let them kill the fun that our dreams need to become a reality.
D-Dream
This may be the most simple step but here is the thing…we have to dream while we are awake. Those are the dreams that have the best chance to become reality. So listen the T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)…”All men dream; but not equally. Those who dream by night…wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day…may act out their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
R-Refuse
This is where “Pigheaded Determination” will help you reach your dreams. Refuse to let anyone tell you that you can’t have a dream. Remember what Will Smith says in The Pursuit of Happiness. “Some people that weren’t successful reaching their dreams don’t want you to reach yours”. That is the Funkiller talking. Dream during the day and refuse to let anyone, including those who love you, tell you that your dream cannot come true!
E-Excellence
Here is a nice concept for today’s environment…if you decided to create, build or work on a plan to reach your dream do it with excellence. There are not too many corporations these days that are focused on excellence and that, in my opinion, is why we are in this current financial mess. When Bill Giles decided he wanted to create a character for the Phillies…he didn’t just call anyone…he called Jim Henson! That is having fun with excellence and if you do the same your dreams will come true.
A-Aim High
This is probably is the simplest of steps to reach your dreams and make them a reality but no less important. Always aim high when shooting for your dreams because if you miss that mark most likely you will be much further along than if you just started by setting your sights low. Aim high, shoot high and you might just hit the target!
M-Make it happen
Take the most active role possible in making your dreams come true. Make it your responsibility to be successful. Write your dreams down and put it into a plan. Look at it regularly and continue to dream while you are awake. Once that is done follow it step by step and celebrate each small success. Recognize that no successful path does not include failure as a matter of fact failure is part a many great success stories. It is your dream and only you will work at it day in and day out to manifest it in your reality!
That’s right FUN DREAMS do come true!
