"Have Fun!" That's what the post-it note hanging from my computer monitor says. A friend of mine mailed me tickets for a football game and he enclosed that note. I'm sure he gave it less than two seconds of thought when he wrote it, but for some reason, when I opened the envelope and saw that bright yellow note, it seemed too important to toss in the recycle bin. It probably has something to do with context. No one needs to tell me to "have fun" at a football game. I love sports and barring a natural disaster, it's a foregone conclusion that I will "have fun" cheering at a sporting event. It doesn't even matter if my favorite team ends up on the losing end of the contest. Trust me--I will "have fun."

What made that note stand out is that I was having a rough day at work. I was having anything but fun at the moment that I tore open the envelope. That's why the note jumped out at me and seemed like a bucket of ice water in my face. True, he wrote two words: "Have Fun!" but I read it as, "Get over yourself, chick. Lighten up a little and HAVE FUN for goodness sake!" I decided that this was a message that was deeply profound and personal and I stuck it to my computer monitor and tossed the envelope. That was about a year ago.

It's very easy to get really worked up about your work. At least it is for me. I set extremely high goals and pride myself on reaching them. When I experience set backs or make missteps, my natural tendency is to go to a very "un-fun" place.

Case in point: Just last week, a deal I have been working on for months flew apart at the last minute. The offer had been negotiated. The relocation details had been ironed out. It had all come to a beautiful conclusion until the non-compete that "shouldn't be a problem" became a huge problem and the entire deal fell apart. Months of work, hours upon hours of time invested and it was all gone in one phone call. When it was all over, I sat at my desk staring blankly out the window a little stunned when out of the blue something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I wheeled to my right and looked squarely at this visual intruder. It was the little yellow note screaming: "HAVE FUN!" In the middle of the darkness of my disappointment, a little light switched on and I actually began to smile. Life is good. I didn't have a dead deal. I just hadn't found the right candidate yet. Sure, I thought he was the right one and so did my client, but a candidate tied down by a ridiculously stringent non-compete is not a viable candidate. The bad news is that he wasn't the right one, but the good news is that the right one is still out there waiting to be found. My client is as committed as ever to finding that candidate and they have full confidence that I will lead them to that person. This is sport! We are hunting elusive prey and were temporarily thrown off the track by a decoy. It's not over. The game is still on and, sure we're behind, but we're closing the gap. There's still time on the clock. I'm a Pro Bowler, baby, and this is my arena!

There's always a way to make things fun. It's all a matter of perspective. True story--a couple years ago my dad and I went to the NFC championship game and a guy sitting behind us, who had apparently started downing Bud Light at breakfast, threw up all over my poor dad's back five minutes into the second quarter. It was really cold, but my dad's coat was a total loss. He stripped down to a t-shirt and light sweatshirt and wrapped a stadium blanket around himself. We cleaned up the mess, but the aroma lingered. Sound like a nightmare? Do you think it ruined our afternoon? Nope! We had a blast!! We cheered until we were hoarse and the Seahawks went on to secure a Super Bowl appearance. Our focus was on the ups and downs of the game and not the circumstances around it. It's a fitting metaphor. Sometimes you get barfed on in life. Not ever day ends up on the highlight film, but there's always a way to "HAVE FUN!"

My senior year of high school, our class made a video with highlights of the year and personal messages filled with reminiscence and predictions. The image that is burned into my mind is from my best friend, Andy. In his eighteen year old wisdom he says, "I don't know where you are or what you're doing when you're watching this, but I hope you're having fun. 'Cause if you're not, you're kind of missing the point."

It's tempting to end on that note, but because I must have the final word, let me add that having fun is a choice and choosing anything else is completely missing the point.