July 2010

Since Sam was born, i’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on my life. Where i’m at, who I am, how i’ve grown, what I do, etc. New babies do that. They come straight from heaven and really do bring a special power.

During this introspection process, the key questions that I ask myself are the following: Am I having fun? Am I happy? Am I living a life with meaning and purpose? Am I doing things that are pleasing to God?

I’m 26. Since high school, this is what i’ve done: 2 years in Brazil on a Mormon mission, 1 year at Princeton for a little school, 4 years with Zinch working to build a company that changes lives.

I left Princeton after just a year to help found Zinch. Many called me insane for doing that — top school in the country, world class education. Perhaps it was stupid…to you. To me it was happiness. I chase my dreams. I follow my passions. I look to have fun. Starting a company from scratch is fun. It’s real fun.

I wrote an article once about doing what you love, instead of just loving what you do: There’s no substitute for passion.

Fun used to be only one thing: working my butt off on a startup to create something out of nothing. Turning a vision into reality. A reality that people use and care about. A reality that changes lives.

That was fun and still is fun. But fun means so much more now. It’s interesting how the definition of “fun” has changed over the years.

Fun is spending time with my wife. Fun is getting her to laugh. Fun is cuddling with her. Fun is making her happy and seeing her happy.

Fun is holding my new son, and hearing his strange noises. Fun is hearing him cry, because I know he’s at least alive. Fun is seeing him smile. Fun is seeing him grow. Fun is holding him tight while dancing around the house and looking at rando stuff.

Fun is hanging out with friends. Fun is playing sports. Fun is exploring the wonderful city we live in. Fun is seeing my dog catch rats in the backyard. Fun is eating good food. Fun is learning. Fun is having my family visit from Utah or us visiting them. Fun is feeling the spirit of God. Fun is knowing God. Fun is serving God. Fun is seeing positive change in peoples lives.

The list goes on…and on…and on.

There is so much fun to be had in this world. There isn’t enough time in the day to fit all the fun in.

Life is simply too short to not have fun every single day. When non-fun starts to enter life, make changes. Move on. Don’t just assume and hope tomorrow will be better. “Tomorrow” never arrives.

This idea of working crazy hard “today” (no balance) so “tomorrow” you can have fun. With each passing day, the less and less I buy it. I’m not sure I wanna let life pass me by. I don’t wanna wake up in 5 years and not know my son, or have a strained relationship with my wife.

Business success is fun. And business success requires an enormous amount of sacrifice and time. I get it. But like David O. Mckay said, “No success in the world can compensate for failure in the home.”

Hopefully life and all it entails will continue to be fun for me. I’ve had a good streak so far. I’m optimistic about the foreseeable future. But if and when things turn non-fun, I will have no hesitation to make adjustments. Happiness is what drives me. Fun is what gets me there.

Today is the day we control. Today is the day we have fun.