The opening keynote at the Blissdom conference was given by Kevin Carroll. Before entering the room I had never heard his name. By the time I left I was hugging his neck with tears of joy and appreciation running down my cheeks. I’m not a crier. Honest. But, Kevin’s words struck enough heart strings to form a chord, which has turned into a song that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Perhaps some day I will share with you the personal connection I felt, and the reason for my tears. But for now, let me just tell you that his life-story is powerful. Even if you can’t connect on a personal level with the journey he’s taken to get where he is now, you’ll be incredibly touched by his story.
Part 1.
Got Play?
According to Kevin, the three most important aspects of a person’s life are: Eating, Sleeping, and Playing. We all know we die if we don’t eat or sleep, but play? How’d that one get there? The reality is, we die as a person when we exclude play from our lives. The spark we had as a child disappears. We hop on a treadmill and run like heck, but we get nowhere. Knowing what makes us tick is essential. Doing that thing is can save us.
The trick is to find what it is we love, and do lots of it. In the next few posts I’ll be sharing what it means to “discover your inspiration and chase it for a lifetime.” (Kevin Carrol)
You Can Play With Us
Play is a common denominator. It fuels the life of every human being across the globe. As a child, Kevin felt alone. Raised by his grandparents in an unfamiliar town, Kevin didn’t have friends to play with. One day, out of boredom, he wondered down to a park. There he found an abandoned red rubber ball. At first, he played alone, kicking it high in the air, creating his own little game. For the first time since the move, he was having fun. Soon, neighborhood kids gathered around him and he feared one of them would claim the ball and spoil his fun. Quite the opposite. Instead of mocking him for playing alone, demanding the ball, or flat-out bullying, they said “You can play with us.”
When I started this blogging journey I felt quite alone. I hadn’t yet discovered Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other fun things that keep us connected. I was just a girl, throwing my thoughts out into what I thought was an empty void, but having fun doing it. Then came Twitter. I started meeting, and felt surrounded by, those who already knew how to play. They knew each other and I felt like Kevin, alone on a playground, holding desperately to my ball, and hoping it wouldn’t be taken from me. What I didn’t expect was to feel welcomed; to hear “You can play with us.”
Have you Played lately?
When was the last time you really had a good time?
What did you do?
More posts will be added to this series very soon! Be sure you’re subscribed to the RSS Feed so you don’t miss them!
You are reading Working, Playing, or Both? Read more from this series of articles.
- Playing, Working, or Both? Part 1
- Playing, Working, or Both? Parts 2 and 3
- Playing, Working, or Both? Part 4
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Erica Mueller. Erica Mueller said: New Post: Playing, Working, or Both? Part 1 http://ericasays.com/2281 Inspired by @kckatalyst #redrubberball [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kevin Tea. Kevin Tea said: RT @EricaMueller: New Post: Playing, Working, or Both? Part 1 http://ericasays.com/2281 Inspired by @kckatalyst #redrubberball [...]
The last time I played and had a spectacular time I don't even remember. It was probably back when I lived out in the country and had my bikes and friends and neighbors and all that.
Really don't recall when it was which probably means it wasn't that fun after all?
We have great friends who live just a few hours away….. when we are with them we laugh so hard! It's how we play!
Oh, Eric, that is way too long! I say, make the weekend spectacular and fun. Invite some friends over and play some games, go bowling, or whatever it is you enjoy!! Life is too short not to have fun!
What fun! We rarely find time when both we and our friends can get together, but when we do, we have a blast!
Our favorite, yearly fun, is canoeing! We try and go about twice a year, more if we can! Just load a bunch of friends up and head to the river!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Tim Zager. Tim Zager said: RT @EricaMueller Playing, Working, or Both? Part 1 http://bit.ly/cQXocz [...]
“Have fun every day” is my daily mantra! Last time I had fun… earlier today when my 13 yr old son kicked my butt playing basketball.
I'm glad you're letting people know about Kevin. He knows the score!
Thanks for the cyberLUV, Erica! I truly enjoyed being a part of the Blissdom gathering. Be well, many blessings & keep chasin'…
Kevin
Your Friendly Global Katalyst
I have good friends at work who joke all the time. When it's appropriate of course. We work hard,ha,ha..
Online I guess it was when you re-designed my site. Doing that was kind of like going to the dentist. Scary for me because I always have done my own stuff.
Not my own dental work of course,ha,ha..
But you captured what I wanted exactly. And it was fun dealing with you.
Thanks..
Thank YOU, Kevin, for the encouragement and for sharing your remarkable
story. You're one speaker I will never forget!
Work hard, or hardly work?
In my next post you'll see what I call 'play' and how your site is a
part of that!
Ah! Basketball! It's been quite some time since I've played, er, had my
butt kicked, but I sure do enjoy it! ya know, I don't think any of our
local parks even have a place to play! What up with that?!?!? Tons of
soccer fields, but no basketball goals???
Good to meet someone who still plays!
You amaze me. When I “met” you and you helped me out in such a HUGE way with Zoe, there was no way I would have guessed that you were clutching a ball… of course by that time maybe you weren't and you had already started playing. Either way, this post right here reminds me so much of why I think you're a beautiful and intelligent woman. I feel inspired just breathing your air (I took in as much as I could during Blissdom).
I love you see playing. I started reading KC's books right after Blissdom and it's so ironic that you are talking about him because I just started The Red Rubber Ball at Work. Hopefully I can chime in with thoughts as you post and I read
Today I will be playing with the kids at the playground while Shorty has baseball practice. If it weren't for his practice… my play would probably be spent working.
Oh, dear, I believe you met me right about the time I started realizing there were others on the playground! I don't know if I was even clutching yet, or just standing there bewildered that I wasn't alone. haha
You were one of those (along with Jessica) who said “You can play with us” and made me feel so welcome. Meeting you in real-life was one of the most fabulous moments of my life because you have played such a part in building my confidence. I love you!
How was the park?
We spent ALL day outside, in the country, at my in-laws. We weeded flowerbeds, mowed, and cleaned up the yard. It looks fabulous and while it was hard physical labor, it was also PLAY! Anytime I can do something out of doors I am a happy girl!!
Erica, I needed this today. I'm once again questioning what I do online. As you know I have cut back a bit on what I'm doing. I truly just want to “Play” and have fun, but I struggle because of that green stuff we all have to have. I want to feel inspired.
Alyssa,
Keep an eye out for my future posts on the subject, and if at all
possible, read Kevin's books. Nikki said she checked the books out at
her library, so if you don't want to buy, check with your librarian
friend!! I so wish you could have heard his keynote because it was
really inspirational!! I'm already planning to buy them for myself
because I'd love to know more!!
Kevin is all about taking what it is that you LOVE to do, and turning it
into your business. I think you may have found this in your community
blog. Because it's something that involves the town and people you love,
and helps moms, you enjoy it. You don't have to turn this into a full
time business, but there is no reason you can't make money doing
something you love to do and would do anyway.
Asking my librarian to get me the book. Thanks!
I love the way you've related play to social media and the good friends we can make there, but I think there's an even more powerful message in this.
We bloggers spend way too much time playing in those virtual worlds, and not nearly enough playing for real.
I've been thinking about work / life balance a lot lately, and I've started making sure I do something every day, just for some fun. In fact, I'm about to head out on the quad, which will leave me dusty, with a sore backside, and grinning from ear to ear.
Play is an essential and powerful part of life. The first book I read about it was back in the late 60s or early 70s when one of the editors of Oz magazine, Richard Neville, wrote a book called Play Power. The second was another book called The Play Ethic by Pat Kane which is highly recommended.
At “the day job” I tell m team of nine people that work is supposed to be fun, I want them to come in and enjoy their day's work, to laugh and interact. I want them to come through that office door with a spring in their step.
In effect my blog is a sort of play where I go and play hide and seek with apps and services and then bring them back to share with my readers. I see my passion for cookery as play because I “play around” with the ingredients and through a sort of alchemy turn ingredients into a good plate of food.
Play is not just kicking a ball around or doing wheelies on bikes, it can be integrated into almost every part of your life. Do it and you will be enriched.