Today we're taking a walk down memory lane personally and jettisoning off to a galaxy far, far away in an effort to bring more lightness and joy to our every day work.

The origin story of this connection that I made about a misconception about Luke Skywalker's hero-making trench run was borne from a question posed to a panel that I was invited to be part of at Social Media Marketing World in 2016.

The panel was about the power of podcasting as part of an overall marketing strategy. I was there to provide small-potatoes-ballast while on stage with podcasting legends Lou Mongello, Chris Ducker, Pat Flynn. (It would've been intimidating if these talented guys weren't such kind and classy gents.)

Now, that amazing memory aside, I also walked away from that experience with a realization that has helped me reclaim joy in my work in a way that no other story has quite been able to prod me towards.

And the realization is that Luke was not *lucky* to have been the guy who blew up the Death Star. He had something else going for him.

Practice.

And, more than just practice, he had practiced the precise skill he needed to become a future hero by doing something relatively frivolous and just-for-funsies: bulls-eying womprats in his T16 back on Tatooine.

There is absolutely something to be said for friends who give you a lift too. After all, Luke would've been toast without Han's timely return. But the practice that allowed him to even be a candidate for glory was what got him into the X-Wing in the first place.

You do need both. But the piece you have control over is inviting play that doubles as practice - even when you're not sure what you're practicing for.

After all, I wouldn't have been on that panel had I not launched my ACT & SAT prep company 2 years prior and met Lou at my very first Social Media Marketing World that same year.

I also couldn't have told you when I got my degree in theater that the skills I learned there would be put to good use by helping me narrate an audio book in the future. But they were thanks to a hand up from my friend from the last episode, Jody Maberry.

If you go even further back, I used to dream up full restaurants like the Kids' Korner Kafe, complete with menus and popcorn soup that included a little of everything from my mom's spice drawer and place settings for our "guests" - aka my cat, Arthur.

Branding, collateral, and workflows being practiced from age 9.

The thing that's so beautifully enticing about entrepreneurship is that we get to bring our whole selves to work and celebrate every nuance and quirk that makes us us.

So here's the invitation for you today: take a moment and think about the stuff you do just for the joy of doing it.

1. Reflect about how you feel when you're in the zone with that not-work-related activity.
2. Consider some of the tangible skills you're honing while you're doing it.
3. See if you can weave some of that skill set and bring that sense of flow and joyful ease to your day-to-day work.

Or, ya know, just use the Force. Whatever floats your boat. ;)

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