Is it okay to play?
Entrepreneur-ing your way
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Until last week, I never considered my entrepreneurial pursuits as play. I have often viewed my need to have a variety of projects going as strange because thatโs how others make me feel when I share my portfolio with them.
Yet, last week, when talking to a group of early-stage entrepreneurs, I referred to one part of my portfolio as โthe space I play in.โย
A super-sharp group, one participant asked me why โplayingโ was limited to just one area of my work. I waffled as I didnโt have a good answer, so the question lingered.
Two days later, I listened to Bono talk about his creative process with Hank Paulsen in the podcast Straight Talk.
โI am still a child in the playpen,โ Bono explained, โI like a little bit of chaos.โ
And it hit me: thatโs how I feel. I love to play! (Iโm good with chaos, too.)
At that moment, I realized that my growing portfolio of work is exactly right; itโs energizing, dynamic, and filled with different charactersโฆlike play.
A look back at my career tells the tale.
Iโve rarely worn just one hat at a time. If I held a single role, I quickly pushed its boundaries. Thatโs why nearly every โjobโ Iโve ever held has been a new oneโa clean canvas for me to paint. Iโve worn so many hats at once that on more than one occasion, Iโve found myself saying, โWith this hat on, I thinkโฆโ but โWith my other hat onโฆโ
Sometimes, I needed more than one hat to achieve my aspirations; sometimes, multiple hats helped me achieve the desired impact. (Or maybe Iโm just a glutton for punishment.)
When I decided to step back in and launch ExponentialChangemakers (XCM) after recovering from corporate burnout, I had this idea that it was โbetterโ for me to have a singular focus, a view mostly informed by the advice of others who suggested that a business like XCM required full-time focus. So, I (mistakenly) turned away work that was naturally coming into my private consulting and coaching practice and focused on launching XCM.
I now know thatโs part of what felt wrong during my first eighteen months as a founder.ย What began as โplayโ quickly felt like โwork.โ [Iโve already written about how I almost burned out (again!) as an early-stage founder and if youโre feeling that way, itโs time to put yourself first and nurture that vision you once had for your business baby.]
Last summer, I paused to take stock. I realized that I still had a big vision for the future of life and work, a vision that started when I was in my corporate job and that Iโd further refined but hadnโt yet been brave enough to take on as an entrepreneur.ย
But when I saw that vision in my mind, everything Iโd been thinking about and working on clicked. Although I didnโt know how to pursue it, I felt ready to act.
But, before I did, I also decided to take the long view and stop being attached to near-term outcomes. After all, the kind of change I want to see in the world requires the long game.
This massive mindset shift helped me become much more open to what might be possible. Critically, I also (finally) stopped giving a f**k about what anyone else thinks.
Thatโs when I started this Substack and reactivated Exponential by Design, my private coaching and consulting practice. I launched a fun coaching challenge on LinkedIn and accepted an interesting project on enhancing the representation of women in the workforce in a Middle Eastern country.
I felt energized and โonโ, and ideas, clients, and conversations flowed easily.
Since then, Iโve launched and led Project Opus, a 10-week program for early-stage female entrepreneurs building their lifeโs work. (Do you see the long view in there?) The first cohort is an incredible group of women who energize me and each other as they bring their business ideas to life. I see a lot of parallels in their journeys, as beyond their business idea, theyโre finding the approaches, habits, and entrepreneurial styles that work for them. Iโm excited to grow this program later this year.
Iโve started a collaboration with my friend and colleague, Claire Harbour, called LOVE works, to bring more love and humanity into corporate leadership, culture, and business decision-making. Weโre getting our first project up and running with an ambitious program to inspire, transform and nurture leaders across a leading global media and communications company.
Iโll soon announce exciting changes to ExponentialChangemakers with my cofounder, Valerie Sutton.
This summer, Iโll be preparing my book proposal. Iโve also contacted a few others I know who are starting businesses that align with my vision, and Iโm game to support them when the time comes.
In the recent NYT article, How to Grow Old Like Isabella Rosellini, Rosellini describes herself as โdiligently following whatever amuses her. โI just play,โ she says. โIโm playful. And I became increasingly more playful with age.โ
Thatโs me. And it could be you, too. Remember, the only rules you need to follow as you reimagine your life or work are the ones you create for yourself.
Just play!
