Work Is Just More Fun at the Top of Your Game

In 1977, Mohammed Ali faced off against Michael Dokes. During the fight, Dokes backed Ali into a corner. For most boxers, this is a situation to be avoided. Even with his back literally against the wall, Ali dodged 21 straight punches—and then taunted Dokes with a short dance, as if presciently channeling Laurence Fishburne’s iconic Morpheus in The Matrix: “Come on! Stop trying to hit me and HIT ME!”

I stumbled across the video of the bout, and it made me think.

I’ve always firmly believed passion plus ability plus enjoyment equals greatness. Mohammed Ali is unquestionably the greatest boxer of all time, a guy who didn’t have anything to prove and was happy to prove it, anytime, anywhere, against anyone. With 56 wins, 37 knockouts and only five losses in his professional career, and a 100-8 record in amateur boxing, Ali obviously knew a thing or two about his sport—including the importance of having fun with it.

If you’re good at what you do, but you hate it, you can’t have fun with it and there’s no point in doing it. Someone who isn’t as good at the task, but enjoys it, is going to achieve better results with greater longevity. Someone who has fun with the work, but lacks passion or aptitude for it, isn’t going to get good results in the long term.

Ali became the finest world-class boxer in history because he lived at the intersection of passion for the sport, technical skill and knowledge, and willingness to have fun. He blended all these talents by putting on a show which delighted his fans and goaded his opponents into costly mistakes. And in my career as a patent attorney, I’ve worked hard to embrace Ali’s style and work ethic in my own practice.

Some years ago, I was waiting for a flight which had been delayed by an estimated two hours. Since I had never seen a delayed-flight situation resolve itself to the benefit of the travelers, I decided to take advantage of the time and work on the claims portion of a patent application for a client, and was soon joyfully engrossed in the minutiae of the work.

The claims portion of a patent is similar to the land description in the deed to a property, because it describes exactly what the patent covers. Everything claimed in the deed or patent must be precisely noted and exactingly balanced. A deed which encompasses not only your house but those of your nearest neighbors will certainly not be accepted by the city; in much the same way, a claims description which is too broad or overreaching will be rejected by the US Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. A deed which defines the property too narrowly allows for encroachment on your property by your neighbors and could end you up with six inches of lawn and someone else’s hot tub in the backyard you paid for! Likewise, narrow claims may circumscribe the patent’s intended applications so closely that associated uses get missed, allowing for breaches of the patent owner’s intellectual property rights with no recourse.   

When I looked up from my computer, I noticed with alarm that the seating area was empty! I hurried to the gate agent and asked him what had happened. Had the flight been cancelled, or delayed to such an extreme degree that my fellow travelers had gone to seek lodging for the night?

The agent gave me a strange look.

“Mr. Rizvi, the plane left twenty minutes ago. I announced it at least four times. Didn’t you see and hear all the people around you boarding the plane?”

With some embarrassment, I admitted I hadn’t. I’d been so lost in my work and so immersed in the joy and pleasure I derive from creating an elegant patent application which protects my client, that the commotion had passed me right by. If you’ve ever been so focused on a task you enjoy that you forgot to eat or sleep, or your spouse or significant other hailed you a dozen times without you noticing, you will recognize the headspace I was in.

So, I missed my flight, which is annoying and never a pleasant ordeal. But I missed it while having fun doing something I love which helped my client, so I called it a fair trade, even when I had to call and sheepishly explain to my wife why I had to arrange for a later flight.

A few months ago, I wanted to showcase the idea that, like Ali, I and everyone who works for me lives at that intersection of talent, skill, passion and joy in our work. At my practice, I’ve carefully hand-picked a team of brilliant patent attorneys, engineers, illustrators, industrial designers, paralegals, legal assistants, and support personnel, all of whom are second to none in their fields. Every person in my practice absolutely loves what they do, and they are just as passionate about patent law and helping our clients succeed within the parameters of the law as I am.

My staff and I decided to do a short, fun informational video with a serious message about the hazards to an innovator of talking about a patent before it’s been awarded. For the video, we dressed up in Sopranos-style “Mafioso” attire and sunglasses, my staff in polo shirts, me in my most Godfather-esque suit.

The refrain was “Shut your freaking mouth!”

Of course, a number of other attorneys warned me it wasn’t a good idea. Such a video would make clients think we don’t take our work seriously. I’d be acting like a clown and casting doubt and derision on the entire field of intellectual property law, et cetera et cetera. But I did it anyway, because to my way of thinking the video shows their passion and demonstrates that yes, we work hard—but we also know how to have fun.

Mohammed Ali knew how to have fun while doing his job, and it established him as the greatest of all time. I figure I could do a good deal worse than embrace his example, because the way I see it, whatever it is you’re doing is just better when you’re at the top of your game and are able to enjoy whatever it is you’re doing. You’re able to relax, relish the challenges and have fun with it, while still taking care of business. Ali showed how it was done in the boxing ring, and I’ve tried to emulate his passion and joy in my career and personal life alike.

So far, my results prove I’ve found my intersection and I’m on the right track. If you’re good at what you do, you’re passionate about it and you genuinely enjoy it, you’ve got all the ingredients you need to be “The Greatest” in your own life. It doesn’t matter if you’re an entry-level server or the CEO of a multinational corporation; that intersection is where greatness lives.

Go be great! 

ABOUT JOHN RIZVI, ESQ.

John Rizvi is a Registered and Board Certified Patent Attorney, Adjunct Professor of Intellectual Property Law, best-selling author, and featured speaker on topics of interest to inventors and entrepreneurs (including TEDx).

His books include "Escaping the Gray" and "Think and Grow Rich for Inventors" and have won critical acclaim including an endorsement from Kevin Harrington, one of the original sharks on the hit TV show - Shark Tank, responsible for the successful launch of over 500 products resulting in more than $5 billion in sales worldwide. You can learn more about Professor Rizvi and his patent law practice at www.ThePatentProfessor.com

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