Katya Andresen, Network for Good: How I Have Fun, Do Good

The ninth guest blogger in my have fun do good series is Katya Andresen.  Katya is the COO of Network for Good and the author of Robin Hood Marketing: Stealing Corporate Savvy to Sell Just Causes.  

She blogs at nonprofitmarketingblog.com and tweets at @katyaN4G.

Katya Andresen, Network for Good: How I Have Fun, Do Good

Britt Bravo is ahead of her time. One of the brightest thinkers out there – Seth Godin – recently posted about the importance of joy in the workplace.  For years, Britt’s been promoting this very concept - the idea of having fun while doing good. It’s a powerful idea, and I’m happy to share what I do to have fun while doing good in this guest post.

1. I act like a fan: It’s fulfilling to be an enthusiast of others. When I blog, I like to point to the good ideas of others. When I speak, I try to highlight the brilliance of new ideas that aren’t my own. I find the more I do this, and the more generous I am, the more happy I feel. It’s about approaching work from a place of sharing and abundance rather than self-absorption and scarcity. It’s more fun – and it’s more effective. Especially when it comes to the online world. We live in an economy of affection, not dollars, in the world of social media.

Psychoanalyzing how to have fun and do good

2. I consider myself a teacher: I take a few days off a year to teach at American University, and I do a lot of public speaking and training. It’s incredibly rewarding to help others, and teaching – or mentoring – gives me a sense of accomplishment. It’s also an act that is both vain and humbling. Vain, because if you teach, you believe you have something important to say. Humbling, because when you teach, you realize how much you don’t know. This brings me to…

3. I strive to be a perpetual student: I try to stay in a state of intellectual curiosity. I try to read every good book written about marketing, technology, behavioral economics, and I invite every expert who will agree to present to the Network for Good community. The mind is happiest when it’s in an expanding state. There is no better way to make work fun than to be learning all the time.

If you liked this post, you might also like:

• How to Find Your Have Fun, Do Good
• Zen Peacekeeper, Marianne Elliott, Shares How She Has Fun, Does Good
• Leonie Allan of Goddess Guidebook Shares How She Has Fun, Does Good 
• Amy Potthast, Idealist.org: How I Have Fun, Do Good 
• Amy Sample Ward, Community Builder and NPtechie: How I Have Fun and Do Good
• Jennifer Moore, Monaluna Designs: How I Have Fun, Do Good 
• Elisa Camahort Page, BlogHer: How I Have Fun, Do Good 
• Allison Jones, Millennial Leader: How I Have Fun, Do Good
• Beth Terry, Fake Plastic Fish: How I Have Fun, Do Good

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