Be Serious and Have Fun!

I received an email today containing an article titled "Be Serious and Have Fun!" by Dan Coughlin. I am including this excerpt below, just because I laughed explosively when I read it.

Several weeks ago I gave a keynote at 9 AM at a conference in Newport, Rhode Island. That night I had dinner with several of the attendees at the big banquet. The speech went over well and I was feeling pretty good about myself. The waiter brought a great looking salad and a small white container that I thought contained a hot Thousand Island dressing. So with a real flourish I poured it over my entire salad.

The woman sitting next to me fell on the ground laughing. When she picked herself up and sat back down, I said, “What's so funny?” With tears rolling down her cheeks, she said, “You just poured your tomato soup all over your salad.” Then I started laughing. She said, “Don’t say anything. No one will notice. Just knock over the soup bowl and I’ll tell the waiter you accidently spilled it, and ask him to bring you another one.” When the waiter brought a new salad and new soup, he leaned over and said, “Don’t worry. A lot of people thought that was the salad dressing.” Then I really laughed.

"Dan Coughlin is a business keynote speaker, management consultant, and author of "Accelerate: 20 Practical Lessons to Boost Business Momentum," which made it to #4 on the Barnes & Noble Business Bestseller List. He has been quoted in USA Today, the New York Times, and Investor's Business Daily. Dan's clients include Coca-Cola, Toyota, Boeing, Marriott, McDonald's, AT&T, American Bar Association, the St. Louis Cardinals, and more than 100 other organizations in over thirty industries. He speaks on entrepreneurial habits, quality, leadership, branding, sales, and innovation."