Lego of Your Ego and Have Fun

How the weekend with my daughter reminded me of an important lesson about creativity.

I experienced a milestone moment this weekend as a father: I introduced my almost 3-year old daughter to the joys of Lego.

Pretzel (my wife) had gotten me a MineBrick (aka a customized brick figure) for my birthday this past year and I’ve been meaning to put it together, it just never seemed to make its way to the top of the priority list - unsurprisingly.

Enter my daughter.

Pretzel was traveling this past week and my daughter was sick, so we had a lot of Papa time together. At one point, I needed to grab something from my office, she toddled along, and as we were getting ready to leave, she noticed the box on my desk.

“Papa, vas ist das?” I don’t know a lot of German, but I do know that means, “What is that?” so I explained, “it’s a Lego set… of Papa!” She was as excited as I was when I first got it, “Wooowwww! You’re papa and das ist papa!”

Given we didn’t have anything else we had to do, I asked, “Should we build it?”

“Yes, but first ananis eis.” (That means pineapple icecream.)

So after our frozen treat, we set out to build me out of Lego. We followed the step-by-step instructions, she picked out pieces for me, and helped me push them together. After about 40 minutes of Lego time (and various breaks lasting between 30 seconds to 3 hours), Lego Papa was complete.

Later, I recounted the experience with another parent in our neighborhood and I was shocked and nearly dismayed at his response, “I never really understood the fun of Legos.”

I was aghast. I asked why.

“I dunno. All you do is follow some instructions that tell you what to do. Where’s the fun or creativity in that?”

I’ve actually heard this argument before, but when it comes to humor.

One of the things we teach in our creativity workshop is a list of comedic devices. These are structures and frameworks that we know tend to elicit a laugh or a smile. One of the most common ones is called the comic triple. It’s a list of three (or more) things where the last one is unexpected. For example, the classic joke:

This is a great comedic device to learn because it’s simple to understand, easy to start using, and surprisingly effective. You can use comic triples:

To introduce yourself – “I’m Drew and I’m a keynote speaker, comedian, and Lego figurine.”, 

In a sales pitch – “Humor can help you become happier, healthier, and hotter.”

And just about any type of list, including the grocery list I made for my wife – “Don’t forget bananas, milk, and the fact that you’re gorgeous.” 😎

However, when we get to this list of 10 comedic devices, people sometimes push back. 

“I dunno. All you do is follow some instructions framework that tells you what to do. Where’s the fun or creativity in that?”

My answer to both workshop participants and my neighbor is that the fun and creativity is in the process AND in the final result. You know what’s satisfying? Finishing a Lego set and being able to look at what you’ve created. You know what’s also satisfying? Successfully making people laugh.

A meal isn’t any less delicious because you followed a recipe from a master chef, just as a joke isn’t any less funny because you used a framework that comedians use every single day.

The truth is, those instructions (aka comedic devices) actually help you build your skill in a structured way. They don’t prevent you from going off script and creating something on your own. In fact, they make it even easier for you when you do, because you know what works and which rules you can break.

For example, you can “break” the common “Rule of Three” (things are better in threes) with the “Rule of Nine” (where things becoming funnier when repeated over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again).

This past weekend with my daughter reminded me of two things:

1) If you throw your ego out the window and want to have fun (and success) quickly, be willing to follow some guidelines from people who have already done what you want to do. It’ll shortcut the learning curve and free yourself to enjoy the moment rather than try to figure out the process.

2) We should occasionally return to the joys we had as kids. You may not love them quite the same way you used to (is it me or do Fruit Roll Ups not taste as good as they used to?), but sometimes you might love them even more. 

Like Lego. My daughter and I had such a great time, we immediately built a Lady Liberty set that my sister-in-law had gifted me last year.

Step #1: have fun.

Until next time,

(an)drew

PS. I’m always looking for things to do with my toddler. If you have any suggestions, drop them in the comments.

PPS. We share more about the comedic devices in our “Humor Inventor Essentials Course.” Learn more here.