Finding Business Inspiration in Will Ferrell's Playful Approach to Life and Business

Quick:

What's your favorite Will Ferrell skit from Saturday Night Live?

So many to choose from…

Now: What's your favorite Will Ferrell movie?

My favorite? Stranger than Fiction.

Ferrell plays against type as a serious/bland IRS agent who finds his life being narrated by a famous novelist.

Realizing the plot of his life story is catapulting toward his imminent demise (this novelist only writes tragedies), he starts to live his life more fully and joyfully. It's funny, sweet, strange, romantic, and deep.

If you haven't seen it, please watch it.

(Notably, the first time I went to see it, I had to leave the theater to answer a call from my boss — who was calling to inform me that a dear work colleague had died very suddenly. The message of the movie went from poignant to pressing).

Will Ferrell once described in an interview his early days trying to make it as a comic:

His father sat him down and reminded him that, with the huge number of talented people in the entertainment industry, success was highly dependent on luck. Ferrell said this “anti pep-talk pep-talk” actually took the pressure off. He realized he wasn't likely to make it as an entertainer, “…so I might as well have a blast.” With this detachment from any outcome, he performed more freely, took more risks, and this fun approach actually led to his success:

"It opened all these doors, because people could read that I was so free with what I was doing.”

Isn't what we love about him how much fun we can tell he's having?

One of my core values as a business coach is that It Can (and Should) be Fun.

I'm not just saying that to be light and fluffy.

And I'm not in denial that business is hard (and tedious) sometimes.

As a therapist-turned-business-coach who's spent years studying the psychology of business & success, I assure you:

Fun matters. Fun works. (As goals-expert Jon Acuff says, “Fun Goals Win.”) Fun is the grease that keeps the gears of the machine moving.

And you don't have to be a goofball:

Being present, finding ways to enjoy the process, leaning into your YOU-ness (instead of following all the “shoulds” in your industry), taking more risks…

Having fun makes you more productive, and opens doors.

–Oh, and your clients (and potential clients) feel it emanating from you. They want to be part of it, too.

When it comes to fun, I'm serious as a heart attack. I often encounter backlash to the idea that mindset is all that important.

Who needs this “woo woo” stuff? Just find the right strategy or plan, and do the things, right?

Yes, strategy is important (I do a lot of it with my clients). Yes, numbers and data can give you big insights, and studying what actually works is more effective than the passive “if you build it they will come” approach.

Strategy matters. But Fun is another area where (as my old coach used to say):

“Soft is the new hard.” (insert naughty joke. We're talking about fun after all).

The “soft skills” matter; they make the hard outcomes happen.

And as Stranger Than Fiction reminds us: we don't have time to be so dang serious.

Have some fun in your business today. (You can start with asking, “What would [insert favorite Will Ferrell character] do?”)

And if you want to learn more about how to have more fun (and success) in your business: Call me…