It’s Time To Laugh Your Way To Success.

It’s Time To Laugh Your Way To Success.

The story I am about to share with you happened one evening in 1983.

A group of distinguished-looking diners were sitting around a table in a posh restaurant.

All of them were top executives and working in a multinational company, except one person.

That person was yours truly.

I was the only Singaporean and junior employee who was invited to join in the meal.

It was a great honour for me.

And, if I may add, it was also a great opportunity to impress my bosses.

That evening was an informal gathering, a time to let down our hair down after a series of heavy-duty meetings and an evening of jokes, fun and laughters.

Guess who was silent the whole night?

That’s right – me.

It was not that I couldn’t spin a good yarn or tell a good joke.

I just didn’t have sufficient and relevant materials to contribute to the conversation and to do it in a prompt and proper way.

I was left sitting like a fool – tongue tied and witless.

That evening, I walked out of the restaurant feeling like an idiot.

That same evening, I committed myself to a new resolution.

I decided to be a leader who would always be armed with good jokes, wits, stories, and humour as part of my toolkit to achieve greater successes.

The purpose of using humour is not just to be a joker.

There’s nothing wrong with being a joker so as to bring more happiness, smiles and laughters to the people around you.

Humour can also be leveraged upon to help achieve a purposeful outcome and make a positive impact on others.

Help you stand out from the crowd and attract people to you.

And support you in delivering an important message in a more acceptable and memorable way.

If nothing else, it can keep you healthy and happy. And add zest to your living.

In my learning journey, I have found three important fundamentals for using humor in daily life.

1. Build up a reserve of jokes.

If you have a vast reservoir of jokes, you have more options to capitalise on them – anywhere, anytime, and in any appropriate way.

These jokes can be readily available to help you improve your relationship, work and other aspects of your life.

You can build this asset through books and online resources, learning from others, and observing different humorous situations.

I have learned that you can find humour in anything that is around you, even during the worst crisis.

If you can laugh at the worst problems, nothing can stop you on the way to success.

2. Discipline yourself to master the art and science of using humour.

Laughing and making others laugh is a serious business.

Learning to be humorous is not something that happens TO you.

It is something that happens BY you.

If you want to master the skill, you have to make a commitment to learn about it and practice it.

Discipline yourself to study the art and science of humour and reflect on it.

Develop better ways to tell a good joke and use it to achieve a positive impact.

Acquire different joke books, and learn from others on how to communicate jokes effectively.

For years, I read jokes on a daily basis. I did it while sitting on my “throne” during my morning ritual.

If I did’t laugh, nothing get moved in the toilet anymore 🙂

Till date, I have probably read and accumulated arguably the most number of joke books in Singapore.

Apply what I called the “5Rs” to improve your mastery of humour.

Read the joke books, and made it a point to rewrite, rehearse and remember jokes.

After telling a joke, review your performance to see how you could improve on your skill.

3. Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practice doesn’t make perfect.

If you practice a mistake, you will become a perfected failure. 🙂

Therefore, make sure you practice the right skills and techniques.

One of the best ways to start learning how to use humour is to imitate others.

Observe how people use humour in their daily lives.

Study how they tell jokes, use body language, and deliver the punch lines.

Copy them and try telling the same joke to your friends.

Seek feedback and develop ways to deliver the same joke in a better way.

Practice the best possible way to tell the joke.

Very often, it is not just what you say but how you say what you say that makes it funny.

In conclusion, remember that learning how to be humorous is a lifelong journey.

Please continue to learn, improve, and take action to make humor work for you.

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

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Please read my reflections and continue to teach me.

Life is FUNtastic!