False advertising

One day, a business mailed out an advertising brochure that had a mustard seed attached to the reply device. Below the mustard seed was a caption that went something like this: “If you have faith as much as this grain of mustard seed and you put it on our product, you will have great success.”

A few months later, one person who had received the brochure wrote to the sponsoring company. “You will be interested to know,” he wrote, “that I planted the mustard seed that you sent me. The plant is doing exceptionally well. It has grown beautifully and is now bearing very healthy… tomatoes!”

I hope the story made you laugh. I did when I first read it.

I just love laughing and making others laugh. People say I have a sense of humor. Of course I do – I look at the mirror every day!

People also say that they love listening to my lectures. I hope they are there not only for the funny stories but for the lesson as well. Because when I speak and when I do trainings, I use laughter not only to keep my audience awake, but to serve as a creative handle to make the lesson stick deeper in the minds of my participants.

Some speakers inject even off-colored jokes to their lectures just for the sake of making people laugh. That’s not good. It cheapens the presentation and makes the speaker looks cheap, if he or she isn’t already.

But there is a deeper reason why I embrace laughter. It may sound corny to some, but it is really true. I embrace laughter because it is an instant vacation.

Doctors also tell us that a good laugh after eating is one of the healthiest things we can do. “A healthy laugh gives a workout to your stomach and chest muscles, heart and lungs. And though your blood pressure and adrenaline go up during laughter, they drop to normal or below afterward, releasing stress.”

This news is not altogether new. Aristotle, the famed Greek philosopher, said the same thing 2,000 years ago. Referring to laughter, he said, “It is a bodilyb exercise precious to health.” And a thousand years before Aristotle, Solomon wrote in the Bible, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

Famous author Barbara Johnson said, “Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. It won’t take the potholes out of the road, but it sure makes the ride smoother.”

There is plenty of laughter in our house, and all my kids are into it. We have fun together, we always try to find the funny angle to a particular thing, and we let loose a great burst of laughter every now and then. And when you visit my Mad Science office, you will find young, talented, brilliant people laughing all the time. Their having fun is the reason why they are creative.

Do not underestimate the power of laughter. Try working for a boss who looks like a vacuum-packed prune and see if any creativity will spring up in that place.

Don’t be too serious with life. No one gets out of it alive anyway. That is, of course, in our decaying planet’s perspective. But it’s totally different when we talk about eternal issues.

(Spend two whole days with Francis Kong developing your leadership skills this Nov. 24-25 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries, contact Inspire Leadership Consultancy Inc. at 632-6872614 or 09178511115.)