The Big Happiness Interview: John Williams on how to find work that makes you happy

It’s being known as ‘The Nice Resignation’.

Employees everywhere in the world have been quitting their jobs at historic charges. Knowledge is exhibiting that just about 2 million UK adults left their job for the reason that first wave of the pandemic and in accordance with one survey 46% of UK workers plan to give up their jobs within the subsequent 12 months.

Why? ‘The pandemic, this massive traumatic occasion, has made everybody reassess life,’ says John Williams, best-selling creator of F**okay Work, Let’s Play: Do What You Love and Get Paid For It. ‘It’s been a scary time and persons are much less tolerant of staying in jobs they hate.

‘Persons are realising that there’s extra to work than the 4 partitions of an workplace and mix this with the post-pandemic seek for extra which means and connection and folks want to reinvent their work life.’

That is excellent news for John. With three best-selling cult books on profession reinvention, John helps folks uncover a satisfying work path, make the leap, and create companies and work lives that they love.

His firm The Concepts Lab has helped hundreds of individuals to begin companies and his first e book Screw Work Let’s Play was chosen by The Sunday Instances as one of many high six hottest new self-help tomes and has now been translated into 10 languages.

‘The reality is the world has modified,’ he tells Metro.co.uk. ‘It's potential for anybody to make a residing doing what they love.

‘Life is fleeting; why waste it on work that has no which means for you?’

For this weekend’s Massive Happiness Interview, we discuss to John about the way to discover the work that makes you cheerful.

It’s actually tough to be glad in case you’re in a job, that doesn’t swimsuit you, if it doesn’t match your values and also you don’t get pleasure from it.

Plus it’s arduous to achieve success in a job you hate. It’s tough to be ok with your self, in case you’re not doing effectively, your work isn’t valued, and also you’re getting criticised.

Don’t give up your job! Effectively, not immediately. Discover what you need to do when you’re nonetheless in a job.

It’s not clever to attempt to do blue sky considering whereas watching your checking account tick down. The exploratory phrase of: what do I like, who am I, and what do I need to do? – can take six months or 12 months or extra and it’s actually tough to do this if you’re blowing hundreds of kilos a month on hire or a mortgage.

So I might say keep in your job for now and begin a ‘play undertaking.’

man staring out of the window
Life is just too quick to be this bored at work (Image: Getty/Metro.co.uk)

A play undertaking is a brief undertaking, the place you’re experiencing doing the work that appears like play and producing a product or a factor of worth for others in 30 days.

It’s quick sufficient so that you can experiment and never procrastinate – you would possibly attempt to write a e book or create a weblog or dominate twitter or create a TikTok video day-after-day.

You’re not spending 30 days writing a marketing strategy or designing an internet site or brand. You’re merely stepping into motion and discovering in case your concept has legs, whether or not folks need what you need to supply and whether or not you get pleasure from it.

For those who spend three to 6 months, prevaricating and speaking about what you would possibly do, you’ll have accomplished nothing and realized nothing.

For those who put your concept into the world, then you definately instantly begin studying about what works and extra crucially what folks need from you.

I’ve seen outstanding issues develop out of a 30-day undertaking – new merchandise, new careers, new enterprise, new lives, new attitudes even nationwide actions.

Psychological analysis reveals that which means and happiness comes out of your relationships with folks. And so, your play undertaking ought to contain delivering worth for folks – be it entertaining, informing or educating them – so long as you might be impacting others in a optimistic approach.

Life is fleeting; why waste it on work that has no which means for you?’

Experiment. I’m an enormous fan of psychologist Carl Rogers, and he says that experiential studying is a factor that basically counts if you’re making massive life choices.

We’ve been taught in school that you must sit and suppose and never put your hand up till you’ve provide you with the precise reply. However the remainder of life really doesn’t work like that. It's good to expertise it for actual and hold enjoying and tweaking till it feels proper.

Brainstorm. Write down each concept you've gotten for a enterprise or a aspect undertaking. Give it a day, then look at your notes and select your high 5 concepts. Write down what you would possibly battle with and determine what property you've gotten that might assist every concept when it comes to sensible abilities, work expertise and life expertise. Ask your self: what might provide you with a aggressive benefit on this enterprise or line of labor?

Say you've gotten an concept to develop an app to ship espresso to workplace employees – ask your self: are you technically minded? Have you learnt about catering companies? Sourcing espresso beans? Are you good at coding?

Select one concept and decide to ‘enjoying’ with it for 30 days. If after 30 days you realise the thought isn’t going to work, both tweak it or transfer on to your subsequent concept. Every 30-day play undertaking will educate you one thing and take you nearer to work you like.

Woman working at her desk
What in case you might do what you like – and receives a commission for it? (Image: Getty/Metro.co.uk)

Do the millionaire take a look at. Ask your self in case you had one million within the financial institution proper now and didn’t have to work for fairly some time what would you select to do? For those who can align your profession or enterprise, to the purpose the place, even in case you didn’t want the cash, you do it anyway, then you definately’re heading in the right direction.

Many individuals discover they will’t be glad in a traditional job as a result of they’re a ‘scanner’- that is time period that was initially coined by creator and coach Barbara Sher.

A scanner is any person that has a number of pursuits, a number of concepts, loves studying for the sake of studying. However as quickly as they’ve obtained the gist of it, they get bored and transfer on. They’re good at beginning issues and dangerous at ending issues.

Once I’m operating workshops, I ask who identifies with that and half the room put their hand up. It’s vital to recognise that there’s nothing mistaken with being a scanner. And it may be our best energy regardless of the world telling us that we have to concentrate on one factor to achieve success.

If we glance all over the world at the moment on the individuals who we worth, who've actually modified the world – these folks have many pursuits, be it Elon Musk, Oprah or Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs introduced in his ardour for typography, design and know-how, combined it collectively and created Apple, now the world’s most dear firm.

For those who can align your profession or enterprise, to the purpose the place, even in case you didn’t want the cash, you do it anyway, then you definately’re heading in the right direction.

I consider to be actually glad at work you want the three Ps – the intersection of play, follow, and revenue. Whenever you create this candy spot, then you definately’ll find yourself with a very good profession and life.

First determine what you like doing, even in case you didn’t receives a commission for it – one thing that feels extra like play than work.

Secondly, purpose for one thing you might be practiced at so to shortly begin to produce worth for different folks (or make investments the time to get good at it).

And suppose the way to use these items in a approach that solves an issue for folks. Meaning you’ll be capable to generate profits from it.

Whenever you put these three issues collectively – play, follow and revenue – you will be glad at work. The earlier you begin that journey and stick at it and create stuff that folks actually worth on the earth, wonderful issues will come to you.


Methods to turn into a 'participant' at work:


  1. The employee expects work to be a chore. As gamers, you place what actually issues to you on the centre of your world and fill your life with no matter you discover most fun, gratifying, difficult, rewarding and fulfilling.

  2. Gamers are musicians who're additionally start-up founders, travellers who're additionally bloggers, consultants who're additionally songwriters, comedians who're additionally psychotherapists, finance directors who're additionally campaigners. Now we will be all of who we're.

  3. irrespective of how whimsical or disparate, they could appear – typically leading to misunderstanding and mock from others. And later you emerge with style smashing inventive works and rule-breaking companies. Gamers change the sport for everybody else
  4. Gamers are usually not new-age dreamers. You play with capitalism; you discover what your market wants and see offering worth and making a living as a part of the sport. And gamers usually make more cash than employees since you love what we do (and that keenness is engaging), you might be thought leaders creating authentic options, you concentrate on creating real worth (not simply making a fast buck), and also you clear up real-world issues

F**okay Work, Let’s Play : Do What You Love and Get Paid for It (Pearson, £12.99) is out now.

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