We’ve all been working too hard lately. Time to do something fun today. Today, an ad that was posted on Craig’s List:
Seeking someone to live my life for six months
I am looking to hire a white male, aged 35, with short brown hair and a stocky build, to live my life for the next six months. Compensation is $50,000. You will go to work for me, live in my house, sleep in the same bed as my wife, and discipline my children. Applicants must only partially resemble me. It doesn’t really matter. No one pays attention anyway.
I’ll give you a long list of things to remember. You will have access to my gym, country club, and Lakers season tickets. You go to work Monday-Friday, 9am to 5pm, at an accounting firm. I’ve already done all the work ahead of time, so all you will really have to do is sit behind my desk and nod at people.
I will be taking a break from my life and will be unreachable.
Please reply with a bit about yourself and a photograph.
~~~
From “Bear Cubs For My Children” by Gary Fingercastle
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Your comments welcome, below.
Perry
P.S.: If this sounds uncomfortably familiar, maybe it’s time to shake things up a bit….
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About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
16 Comments on “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”
This reminded me of a sign I saw this morning. The top line was “Wow! your wife is Hot!” The next smaller line said “You better fix her air-conditioner”. The intriguing thing is this would make an interesting therapy. Imaging you were taking someone’s place would enable you to mentally do things you would find difficult seeing yourself doing. Thanks! You never know when something like this will come in handy. Sorry, I can’t apply, too old and out of shape but the money seems fair.
Hmmm, 6 months off, with an extra 50K to throw away on your ‘replacement’ because no-one takes you seriously anyway… Sounds like someone is about to make a clean getaway from his honest life, with a significant head start from authorities. Can I make a screenplay from this? Or has it been done?
Perry,
The work thing seems OK but the “discipline my children” thing could be scary!
This post is very timely. I got up today thinking about all the things I need to do for my website. It seems like there’s always more to do than there is time available. And regardless of whether we’re working for someone else or running our own show, it’s easy to get into a daily grind and work day after day after day without enough down time.
I’ve decided to apply the 80/20 rule to work/fun time in my life. If I work 5 days and take 2 off during the week, that’s 70% work and 30% play…but it’s impossible to really take 2 full days off, as I still have house things, pet things, car things etc. to take care of (typically on Saturdays). So today I’m working on website and house stuff for half of the day, and then taking the other half off to go do something fun.
Also, we recently made it a habit to always have fun things on the family calendar. Whether the activities are something simple like going to a movie, or more elaborate like going out of town etc., it really helps in the motivation dept. to have things to look forward to right there on the calendar!
Mark- I really appreciate Your blogging equivalent to…”thinking out loud”…ESPECIALLY in that 3rd paragraph:
“I’ve decided to apply the 80/20 rule to work/fun time in my life. If I work 5 days and take 2 off during the week, that’s 70% work and 30% play…but it’s impossible to really take 2 full days off, as I still have house things, pet things, car things etc. to take care of (typically on Saturdays). So today I’m working on website and house stuff for half of the day, and then taking the other half off to go do something fun.”
It describes–between the lines–That Great Difficulty of The “Modern” World–Namely–Allowing For “Our Work” To Stay In Balance With “Our Life” AND Undergo The Daily and Seasonal and Lifetime Changes…As People In Agrarian Economies Generally Did…more naturally.
Most People Work HARD In Order To Support BOTH–Themselves AND Their Family…At “Jobs” That Keep Them Separated From “Themselves AND Their Family”…
So That–For MANY People…Eventually…It IS Their Co-Workers–WHO ARE THERE–Helping Them & Supporting Them EVERY DAY & OFTEN INTO THE NIGHT–Who FEEL Like THE REAL FAMILY…
…while ‘those other people’ (i.e.–the wife & kids) who get to “Enjoy Life” back at that place that You’re practically killing Yourself in order to pay that HEAVY MORTGAGE & Utility Bills & Food-Clothing-Transportation-Education-Entertainment Bills…
who… over time… become… remote… strangers …to… … … You…
AND THEN–IF “Mom” IS WORKING AN ‘OUTSIDE JOB’–TOO–IT’S small WONDER THAT SUCH A HIGH PERCENTAGE of THESE “FAMILIES”…FALTER…Fail…and wind up–divorcing.
The World IS A 24/7/365 Kind of Place…
BUT WE CAN’T LIVE AT THAT RELENTLESS PACE–
We Do–IN FACT–NEED To UnPlug & KNOW That…While We ARE of INFINITE WORTH & DESTINED FOR EVERLASTING LIFE WITH GOD…
IN THIS World–EVERYBODY HAS THEIR–LIMITS…And That–As Living Being…We CAN “Stretch & Bend Ourselves” To Cover–EXTRA DEMANDS–For A While…BUT THE WORLD Has a Way of “Resetting Normal” To–THE STRETCHED CAPACITY–And DOING THIS again&Again&AGAIN UNTIL IT ALL–SUDDENLY–SNAPS BACK…To Normal…Otherwise Known As–A Recession…or depression–if things get&stay too slooooooooooow for too looooooooooooong.
Every Person & Couple & Family & Job & Career Path(s) IS DIFFERENT…So Each of US Must Apply The Principles & Test Our Limits & Figure Out What We’re BEST AT…As Well As Figuring Out–WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE–THAT SOMEONE(S) WILL PAY (US) FOR–Knowing…As Any HomeMaking Wife “Worth Her Salt” KNOWS–There Are MANY Ways To Be “Paid”–AND FIND OUR WAY…Without Losing Our Way–along the way… 8 / …AND THE BEST WAY TO SUCCEED IN THIS “TALL ORDER” IS-WAS-AND WILL ALWAYS BE…For You&Your Family To Join IN With A Good Faith Community–With Whom We Learn From & Share Burdens&Blessings&Graces And Eventually Figure Out That MOST of Life’s Burdens ARE–IN REALITY–JUST THE FLIP SIDE of GOD’S BLESSINGS…as anyone who’s watched their precious little bundles of joy grow into their big & surly teenaged years–KNOWS !!
Ahhh…An Example of One Instance [NOTE: There are USUALLY–Several] of “Some Guy’s” Mid-Life Crisis…
Which is Typically a Time when “A Guy” Returns To…the mind-set of approximately an 18 year old…
WHEN–DUDE–You’re…like–God’s Gift To The Universe–
AND ARE JUST SO ANNOYED BY THE MANY IDIOTS IN YOUR WORLD WHO SIMPLY DO NOT “GET” YOU–AND–INSTEAD…TRY TO FILL YOUR DAYS WITH PETTY DEMANDS THAT YOU CARE FOR–NOT.
Try To Remember WHAT Got You OUT of Those “Teenaged Blues”…As Opposed To What Worsened&Prolonged The Suffering–BOTH For You-AND-EveryOne-Around-YOU…AND PLUG BACK INTO WHAT (Within Legal Limits) RECHARGES YOUR BATTERIES…And UnPlug From WHAT IS Simply DOES NOT-or-No-Longer’s Working FOR YOU…OR THAT YOU ARE OVERWORKING & EXHAUSTING YOURSELF AT…Like Guys Who OVERDO The Gym Routines…or Who REALLY AREN’T As Gung-ho About “Golf” &/or “The Lakers'” Scene Anymore…But Don’t Want To Sound Like a…wimp…more interested in going home to their kids and wife–BORING…Sneer The Bully-Boyz.
The Time Comes Again&Again&Again When–
You Have To MAN UP To Those Bad-Boy Voices…
IN Yo Face AND IN Yo Head…
Figure OUT What IS TRULY…You…AND…
What NO Longer IS-OR-Never-Was-But-There-WAS-SOMETHING-About-IT-That-You-Liked-So-Much-That-It-Took-A-Looooong-Time-To-Notice-What-Was-Wrong-With…YOU&IT…
And Take The Right Courses of Action–FOR YOU&What’sTrulyYOURS…
And Get BACK To Enjoying Life Again&Together.
The biggest thing I learned from 1st-yr accounting in college was I didn’t want to be a pencil pusher. I owned a business so I took that and a course called “Mathematics of Finance”.
I insisted that my kids in college take those courses. My youngest son (cum laude, BS in business, finance major) told me in his junior year he finally understood why I took that position. “It’s *important*,” he said. Now he’s on an accelerated MBA, fluent in English, Spanish, French, and competent in Mandarin. Good kid.
As for work/play, Ray Kroc was once told, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” but replied, “That’s not true when work is play.” (From “Grinding It Out”, the biography of McDonald’s.)
I did the cubicle thing at HP for 30 years, but the last 20, I was productive enough to keep my weekly work schedule under 30 hours most of the time, and I also took plenty of breaks.
Once when I complained to my boss that I could use more work, she insisted she didn’t want me burning out. That was important because I was top in the department for total output, as evidenced by the number of people it took to replace me when I left and a year later they were asking if I’d like to return (I left due to petty company politics involving a manager elsewhere in the company — and 30 years was enough).
Now I have my own show. Office is 25 feet from where I sleep at night. But a tendency resembling ADD or ADHD prevents long hours without a break unless I get really intent on something.
Joel Comm has his office about 300 feet away next door.
There’s a way..
You start at ‘A’ and you want to get to ‘B’
SO, you learn the alphabet, no matter how long it takes..
You recite the alphabet constantly day and night in a constant frenzy, (your ultimate goal is to show the world the universe) and how to get there!
It’s the same principle ‘Duh’
You start on planet ‘Earth’ and you want to get to discover the universe, so you start with A, then B, then C!
Then, when you get to ‘Z’ you start with NUMBERS ‘Silly’, then you ‘Think’..
You ‘think’ like your a madman, pacing up and down, in bed tossing and turning..
You ‘Think’ ‘Think’ ‘Think’…
Your ultimate question..
How can ‘I’ convince the world, ‘we need to get to the stars’..
“I know, I have an idea!”
IF, I convince everyone that ‘I am GOD’..
Then some poeple might just beleive me ..
PHEWW, now I have the answerr…
The egyptians can turn over the Presidancy in one mighty BLOW!
(Social media sucks, by th way, I’m anti-social)
By GEEZ ..
I think youve got it ‘dear watson…’
You’re a freakin genius…
Just TELL EVERYONE they need to focus in advancing the humand race, and get to the starts now..(Because it’s always moving away YOU KNOW)…
Eventually it will be ‘out of reach’ and humans will be left to die on old planet EARTH… and the SUN will be burnt out and spent!
OH MY GOD! – were all going to DIEEEE, if we don’t ACT NOW!
Buy my new ebook on the ‘Saviour of the human race’
We can conquer the universe together, ‘Hand-in-hand’, One step at a time…
Together..
Respectfully,
Yours (Respectfully),
Crazed-Lunatic-Einstein-Was.com
—————————————–
PS: This post is fiction unless you resemble any character in this crazy story. If you ‘think’ you do, then it’s probably true..!
God Bless, and Have FUN whatever you do, (Even in your thoughts!)
Please send me a photograph of your wife.
Kidding! (And I really hope my wife never sees this or I may be looking for a new one!)
Thanks for the laugh, Perry, and for all the fine work you do.
Well Perry, you certainly know how to break the mould!
I might be poor and the work has all dried up – but can you put an entrepreneur down? There are always things for you to do, things to find – there is no way that I could put that down for six months! Seriously, there is just too much fun to be had. There is simply no other way to put it, it is just fun.
There is of course a big thankyou for having shared all your ideas with us. I have puzzled out a few of your others too ;-) but that too is fun.
Perry,
Just to be clear here before I prepare a formal application, can I ask if the impetus for this all is coming from you, or are you replacing yourself at the behest of, say, a colleague or even a family member?
Not to pry, of course. What I’m concerned about here, Perry, is whether I’ll have trouble integrating with my new family and my new colleagues.
If you find yourself at a particularly turbulent juncture, I believe I ought to sit out your life. If, on the other hand, things are going well, why then I believe I’d be quite interested in taking over your life.
Further, and this is a bit uncomfortable for me, can I replace the furniture and buy a different car? I’m not saying it’s a deal-breaker either way, but I just figured I’d ask. (Of course, I mean if I get the job — if I don’t get it I wouldn’t presume to sell your car)
I do hope you understand my concerns, and I remain always a faithful servant.
Hmmmm. I’ve often considered creating an evil twin to do my work for me while I go kite surfing….
I hadn’t thought Craiglist might offer an easier alternative.
That said, I’m sitting here in my pj’s on a Saturday morning doing some work and it’s (gasp) kinda fun.
Life. Takes all types.
Oh my God! That was hilarious! Very nice and timely. I needed a good laugh!
Oh Dear……
I suppose I should explain that comment – I’m an accountant, and I LOVE my work! Of course, I’m self-employed, hand pick my wonderful clients, it feels more like play than work – hence, “Oh, Dear.” But I suppose a lot of accountants (and other people) COULD feel this way!
Well aint this the typical life of most humans in this day and age.
In all honesty i have dropped 98% of my internet marketing and other sh*t.
And been living the life of a no income man and i am amazed at the quality of life i got without paying a dime. the super markets throw out their food a day or two before deadline (NOTE this is the stuff most expensive stuff dat ppl cant afford to buy ex innerfiles stiltion black etc)from the recylcing center i got my self 4 32 inch flat screen tv’s Several computers that just needed some touch up. dvd players porn movies (lol) a new fridge that had a fuse blown a couple of canon high quality photo printers that needed cleaning and new ink. i guess my point is you can work and live like a king or you can do no work and live even better.
Would love to but I already have the life I love, but yours does sound nice.
Happy Friday.