I went rock climbing for the first time in 5 years and was reminded why I love it so much–the same traits that help you reach the top of the wall are the same ones that will help you reach “the top” at work.

First, you need a plan. For the easier routes, you can get by with just stepping up to the wall and climbing. For the harder routes, those that are the most challenging and most rewarding, you need at least some semblance of a plan–where will you start, where do you need to end up. No plan mean no success.

Second, you’ll need some help. You could boulder on your own for as long as you want, but you’ll never be able to climb to the higher heights without assistance–a belayer there to catch you when you fall and a second set of eyes to tell you about the peg you’re missing for your right foot.

Third, you will fall. In order to progress, you’ll have to stretch and take risks. Some of those risks will pay off, others will cause you to fall and actually lose ground. But you’ll have someone there to catch you and you’ll learn. You may fail multiple times but each fall is a learning experience that will ultimately help you succeed.

So if you want to climb the corporate ladder, learn from those who climb mountains.

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I recently came across an old picture of me in my North Sycamore baseball uniform and it reminded me of the years I spent playing baseball. I wasn’t bad, but also not that good. It’s hard to do well in baseball when you’re scared of the ball whenever you go to bat.

As I think about it more, the term “home” (as in homeplate) is quite a fitting analogy for life and how we can become at “home” with ourselves.

When you stand at home to bat (or “live” in this metaphor), you’ll have people who are there to help you (base coaches), people who may distract you (the catcher), authority figures (umpires) and casual observers (fans). But most importantly, you’ll also have someone hurling opportunities at you. Fast, frightening opportunities. And while those opportunities may be scary, and there is a chance some will hurt, they’re also something for you to take advantage of.

Not every opportunity is right for you (it may be out of the strikezone). You don’t have to hit a homerun with every single one–a single or double is great. And even if you don’t get a hit at every at-bat, you know that more opportunities will come–either in the same at-bat or on another day.

And if you fail? Don’t worry, it’s par for the course. Heck, if you’re able to take advantage of even one out of four of your at-bats in life you can be in the Major Leagues.

Now here’s the scariest part. In order to really succeed, every now and then, you have to leave home. You have to go on a journey around the diamond. But the good news is that you’ll back, and when you return safe at home, you’ll be better than when you left.

I’ve been studying musical improv recently and one of the best tips I’ve learned so far is the power of the chorus–the part of the song that is deadly simple and repeated over and over (and over and over) again.  Why is the repetition of the chorus so powerful? Because the people listening can learn it and then participate–they know what to expect and they can join in.

However, if you have a song that is only verses–all the lines are different with nothing you go back to or repeat–then it’s much harder to learn the song and sing along.  It takes a much longer time, requires more repetition and often isn’t as satisfying (until you learn all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody, and then it’s great (but only for the people singing it, not for the other people at the karaoke bar)).

What’s my point? Organizations should be like songs with great choruses.  Their structure should be simplified, there should be consistency and you don’t want to change it before people have gotten a chance to learn it and then start participating in it.  Of course change will happen, the organization will evolve and you’ll move from Please Please Me Beatles to Abbey Road Beatles over time, but only after you’ve allowed your employees to grow within the organization.

So be smart about your organizational changes, plan them out and then when they’re finally implemented, let your organization sing the chorus for awhile.

I recently found an unexpected mentor, and she is awesome.

• She gives me positive reinforcement when I’ve done something right.
• She lets me know about things that are coming up so I can be ready for them.
• She doesn’t tell me where I should go, but once I’ve decided, she helps me get there.
• If I mess up, she doesn’t dwell on it or ridicule me for it, instead she helps me get back on track.
• She helps guide me, but doesn’t do anything for me, making me responsible for my own success.
• When I finally get to where I want to be, she congratulates me and says “you have arrived.”

“She” is my GPS.

I sit at the table, waiting for my meal.  I have a bib on, a bucket near by, and instructions printed on the paper placemat in front of me.  To me it’s a weird setup, but to the Bostonians around me it’s perfectly normal.  Finally, my meal arrives.

It’s a boiled lobster, still in tact from how it was taken from the sea, the only addition being rubber bands on its claws and having been boiled for 13 minutes.  This is my first experience eating a full lobster, and likely my last.

It’s not that I had a bad experience but that I’m just not that big a fan of seafood.  To have to follow instructions on how to eat something (8 steps!), to have to pinch this, snap that, tear this, drain that, just seemed like additional work.  But to people who love lobster, all the work I’m complaining about is part of what they enjoy about the experience.  The 8 steps are worth the pay-off of eating fresh lobster–the bib and bucket are essential pieces of equipment for a delicious meal and the process just makes the end result even better.  To me, it’s all extra work.

And that’s the difference between people who are overworked and passionate about what they do.  If you don’t like the end result of what you’re doing, any extra hours are stressful and added responsibility is a burden.  But if you love what you do, the extra work only makes the results better and more responsibility is exactly what you want.  So discover your lobster, put on your bib, and start enjoying what you do.

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As a comedian, specificity of language is very important.  Changing one word can turn a joke from “sorta funny” to hilarious.  But words also express their intent, which is why I’ve recently realized how little I like the phrase “work/life balance.”  It suggests two things:

1. Work is more important than life (it comes first), and
2. One of the two is bad (you “balance the good with the bad”).

Some companies have tried to address #2 by calling it work/life effectiveness, but work is still first and effectiveness implies an emphasis on productivity, which is fine for my work but not the first word I want to use to describe my life (the word “fun” comes to mind).  So what do I suggest?

Life/Work Synergy

Wait, really?  Yes.  ”Synergy” may be a buzzword, and the phrase may sound “new agey,” but it works–it’s specific and speaks to what I want between my life and work.  I want my life and work to come together to produce something greater than the sum of their individual parts.  I want the work I do to be something that excites me and I want to do in it a way that not only enables my personal life, but also enhances it.  We spend 25% of our adult life (before retirement) working; I don’t want that 25% to just be a day-job.

I understand simply changing the phrase “work/life balance” to “life/work synergy” won’t magically make anyone’s situation what they want it to be, but thinking in that context will help.  Once you start looking for ways life and work can build on one another (instead of just looking for how to balance the two), you’ll find creative solutions to improve your circumstances.  And if an entire organization did that?  Well, I think we’d be on to something.

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I went to Cape Cod, MA this past weekend for a wedding and a short vacation from my obligations in New York. Foolishly (or so I thought), I left my phone charger in my apartment and soon realized my phone was not going to last the duration of the weekend.

As it turns out, this “mistake” was actually exactly what I needed to relax. I couldn’t constantly check my email, Twitter went a few days without an update, and anything unrelated to the wedding or my relaxation was put on hold until I returned to the city–and surprisingly the world didn’t self-destruct because I was disconnected. I was OK in an absolute emergency since I could turn my phone on to use the remaining 20% battery, but I had to be frugal with how often I really had to connect to my everyday life. I found the answer was not very often.

So if you really want to disconnect for a weekend, leave your charger at home. You won’t have the power to recharge your phone, but you will have the power to unplug.

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Do you remember your first kiss?  The excitement. The nervousness.  The curiosity.  All of it leading up to a pivotal moment in your life.  Those types of moments are hard to forget.

That’s how you should feel whenever you start something new, whether it’s a project, job or relationship.  Those “firsts” should be memorable because you are excited, nervous, and curious about where things might lead.

Because if not, what’s the point?  If you aren’t excited about becoming healthier as you start your new exercise regimen; if you don’t feel nervous about the new promotion you just received; if you aren’t the least bit curious about how a new relationship (platonic or otherwise) might pan out–what’s the point of even doing it?  Instead, find something that does make you feel that way.

Life is short, be doing something memorable.

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I traveled to my alma mater, The Ohio State University, this past weekend for The 8th Floor Improv‘s annual alumni show.  Going back to ground zero of my comedy career and meeting with my fellow alums and current members was amazingly fun and incredibly inspirational.

Sometimes going back and remembering the successes we’ve had in the past can be the inspiration and motivation we need for succeeding in the future.  Those positive memories remind us that all the hard work, long hours and stressful moments are worth it–they lead to the moments that we never forget and will reminisce about for years.

So if you’re in need of some inspiration, get nostalgic.  Think back to some of your first wins in whatever it is your doing and how it felt to achieve them.  Then pick up the hustle so you can create more memories to come back to.

Thanks 8th Floor for the boost.

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A reader sent me a link to this fun post titled Peter Pan Professions: 50 Fun Jobs That Don’t Require You to Grow Up. The list contains some interesting professions that aren’t your typical 9-5: ice cream tester, card dealer, stunt driver, hobo, etc.

Of course the important thing to keep in mind is that any of these jobs could be amazingly fun… or they could suck terribly.  Whether or not a job is fun is more about you, your attitude and what you do about your work environment than what the job responsibilities are.  Sure the role itself can help–a clown is naturally going to have more laughter in his job, but that doesn’t mean the person behind the red nose can’t be miserable.

So whether you’re a project manager or a stunt person, it’s up to you to make your work more enjoyable.  To get started, check out the How-To Humor for ways to incorporate more humor at work.

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