Do You Have Fun?

Bonine Brooks. (circa 1985)

I’m confident I’m the world’s worst golfer. I’ve hit houses, trucks on the road, my partner, water hazards, a houseboat and even a squirrel. What I struggle to hit are fairways and greens.

Once, I managed to hit a trap less than 30” in diameter. It was next to a green the size of a swimming pool. My partner fell out laughing and asked how I did it. I told him, “I have a special skill.”

I suck at it but I have fun. My friend, David Zeh of Polymount International, once commented. “Gillespie has a great time. He even talks when he’s putting.”

I play because I enjoy it. I don’t expect to win. I try to improve but my focus is on having a good time. Because I enjoy it, I’m never disappointed. Because I have fun, I’m invited to play often.

I share this so I can ask, do you have fun? Do you enjoy your work? Is what you’re doing all about the money or did you manage to pick a path that winds your watch?

I talk to reps every week. I’ve talked to reps every week for almost 50 years. Too many of them picked sales for purely financial reasons. These guys don’t have as much fun as they might.

My advice is to do what you love doing and do it where you love doing it. The money will take care of itself. If you love what you’re doing and where you’re doing it, you’re going to bring the best version of yourself to every detail you manage. You will excel. You’ll have fun and are sure to inspire those around you. Responsibility, opportunity and business will find their way to you. So will recognition. You’ll be successful.

If you do it for the money things will be different. You might succeed but you won’t have much fun. You’ll find yourself looking forward to other things. You’ll resent the demands of your work and it will eventually cost you success.

I got into sales because I liked it. I wrote about this a week or so ago. A guy I looked up to was a sales dude. It was clear he was happy. I wanted whatever he was eating and drinking for myself.

When I managed to earn some customers, I discovered how much I liked solving problems. Seeing an idea come to life and causing the desired outcome to occur excited me. It was obvious to my clients and I became their first call.

The problems I was asked to solve grew more complex. This made solutions more expensive. It also made competition less intense. My volume, close rate and margins grew.

It happened because I was doing something fun. I wasn’t bidding. I wasn’t trying to scheme a lower paper price or asking the boss for a discount. I wasn’t paying myself less per dollar sold just so I could sell more. I exceeded every dream I had because I did what I loved doing.

I’ve worked alongside of reps that were in it strictly for the money. Some were quite successful. But none of them were happy. They weren’t doing anything they enjoyed.

I can’t imagine anything worse. The printing business is hard. I don’t care whether you sell presses, ink, software solutions or printed pages. There are a zillion details, tons of competition and more than a few reasons why any opportunity might fail. How can anyone take on that challenge unless they love what they do?

If you love it, you’ll be successful. You’ll succeed because you’re having fun and getting paid. You’ll be spending the career portion of your life the right way. You owe this to yourself and your family.

It’s like my golf game. I play for me. When I quit enjoying it, I’ll quit doing it.

Plus, it’s good exercise. I’m outdoors, I walk, I lug around a heavy bag and I swing a golf club anywhere between 100 and 130 times each round.

What’s not to like about that?