Hi there!

If you’re feeling revived and energetic after the Fourth of July holiday and dreading the workweek, let me tell you something that might just change how you approach every single day...

We've been conditioned to believe that success requires grinding, hustling, and pushing through with serious determination. But what if I told you that the most successful people I know—the ones with that unmistakable sparkle in their eyes—have cracked a code that has nothing to do with working harder? They've discovered the Fun Formula.

The Science of Joy: What Happens When We Play

When we engage in genuine fun, our brains become absolute magic-makers. Here's what's happening behind the scenes:

Dopamine floods our system, creating that energizing feeling of reward and motivation. This isn't just about feeling good in the moment—dopamine actually enhances our ability to learn, remember, and make creative connections. It's like upgrading your brain's operating system every time you laugh.

Endorphins cascade through our bodies, those delightful natural painkillers that don't just make us feel amazing—they boost our immune system and increase our resilience. Fun literally makes us stronger, both mentally and physically.

Cortisol drops dramatically. When stress hormones decrease, everything improves—our decision-making, our creativity, our ability to see opportunities that stressed minds miss entirely.

Oxytocin levels rise, deepening our connections with others and making us more magnetic. You know that person who walks into a room and everyone gravitates toward them? These people seem to “sparkle”. They're probably running on high levels of this "bonding hormone."

The Sparkle Effect: Why Playful People Attract Success

There's something undeniably magnetic about people who know how to have fun. They possess what I call "The Sparkle"—that effervescent quality that draws opportunities, connections, and serendipitous moments like a magnet.

When you're genuinely enjoying yourself, you radiate a frequency that's absolutely irresistible. You become more approachable, more memorable, and more likely to be included in conversations and opportunities that could change your trajectory. People want to be around joy—it's contagious and transformative.

Think about the last networking event you attended. Who do you remember? Probably not the person who handed out business cards with robotic efficiency, but the one who made you laugh, who seemed genuinely delighted to be there, who turned a potentially awkward interaction into a moment of connection.

Fun at Work: The Ultimate Performance Enhancer

In professional settings, fun isn't frivolous—it's fuel. Teams that incorporate play and humor into their work culture consistently outperform their more serious counterparts. Why? Because fun breaks down barriers, encourages risk-taking, and creates psychological safety where innovation thrives. It boosts morale and trust which are keys to any successful team and business. When work feels like play, people don't just perform—they excel.

Fun also increases what psychologists call "cognitive flexibility"—your brain's ability to switch between different concepts and think about multiple things simultaneously. This mental agility is crucial for problem-solving and adapting to change.

Example: When I worked at Google, we had a famous 20% time policy, where employees could spend one day a week on passion projects. I remember using my 20% time to start a “Marketing Event Academy” where my team members and I took turns each week teaching something about event planning that we knew to the rest of the team. And then I took it a step further and started posting the recorded sessions and slide decks on a Google Website to share with the entire company so more people could share the knowledge. It was a passion project, but brought me so much joy and also boosted the morale and bonding between my team members.

Transforming Events: The Alchemy of Atmosphere

As someone who's witnessed countless events, I can tell you that the ones that incorporate “authentic fun” are the ones that create lasting impact. When people are enjoying themselves, several magical things happen:

Guard drops, connections deepen. Laughter is the universal key that unlocks authentic relationship-building. People share more, listen better, and form stronger bonds when they're having fun together.
Memory formation intensifies. Our brains are wired to remember positive emotional experiences more vividly. An event that makes people laugh, play, or feel joy will be remembered long after the serious, information-heavy ones are forgotten.
Energy becomes exponential. Fun is self-generating—the more people enjoy themselves, the more enjoyable the experience becomes for everyone. It's like creating a positive feedback loop that elevates the entire gathering.
Openness to new ideas increases. When we're having fun, we're more receptive to new concepts, more willing to step outside our comfort zones, and more likely to say "yes" to opportunities that might otherwise seem too risky.

The key to building “fun” into events is "participation without pressure"—creating multiple ways for different personality types to engage authentically. This ensures the fun feels genuine rather than forced, which is crucial for corporate settings where people might be more guarded.

Below are a few examples designed to create real human connection while naturally generating brain chemistry benefits. They're also practical enough to implement without major budget or planning overhead.

Corporate Events:

Need to assign tables? I once used “unique mathematical numbers” for the table numbering (i.e. pie or the golden number) and gave each Executive Guest a card with a definition on it about that number. They had to figure out what number the definition described to find their table. This led to playful (nerdy) competition, conversation between the guests and fun during a typically mundane part of the event.
Two-minute story exchanges for authentic networking - use something that might lead to joy, like what was your worst job early in your career? Or what was the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?
Scavenger hunts for charity - at Google, I once built a teambuilding activity where each team had a Christmas list from a family in need, and we all shopped for the items and then wrapped them together
Playful food moments often offer joy - s’mores making, displaying donuts hung from branches, or a cake-bite wall all bring delight

Social Events:

I recently hired a unique entertainment vendor, The Haikuists for a social event where they used typewriters to create custom haikus for guests (learn more on my Gianna Recommends page).
Memory lane remixes that add learning to nostalgia - I once planned a surprise 40th birthday for my husband where I bought out a Yoga Studio we loved, and had all of his friends and family as “the class”, our favorite instructor leading, and a “playlist” of all of our favorite songs together. It was not expensive, but a priceless and personal experience for him.
Hide a card with a conversation starter or joke underneath people’s salad plates.
For a recent 50th birthday, I added envelopes to everyone’s place setting and people opened them and either had to give a toast, or read a piece of trivia about the Birthday Boy. It kept everyone on their toes and was engaging and funny.

How Joy Magnetizes Opportunity

Here's where it gets really interesting: When you're operating from a place of joy and playfulness, you're vibrating at a frequency that naturally attracts what you desire. This isn't just spiritual philosophy—it's observable psychology.

When you feel good, you:

Notice more opportunities (your brain's reticular activating system is primed for positivity)
Take more beneficial risks (confidence is higher, fear is lower)
Attract people who want to help you succeed (joy is magnetic)
Maintain persistence longer (fun activities don't feel like work)
Think more creatively (relaxed minds make novel connections)

Your Fun Formula Action Plan

Ready to inject more joy into your success journey? Here's my Gianna’s Gems pro tips for how to start:

In Life: Schedule play like you schedule meetings. Whether it's dancing in your kitchen, playing an instrument just for fun, playing with a pet, doing something artistic, cooking a new dish, or having a game night with friends, make fun non-negotiable. I journal every day and one of the questions I ask myself is “how will I bake some fun into the day”. It help give you something to intentionally look forward to, even if it just takes five minutes (which is often all I have time for, but it still makes every day more magical!)
At Work: Bring lightness to your interactions. Share appropriate humor, celebrate small wins loudly, and look for ways to make routine tasks more enjoyable and lift others up with you.
In Events: Think beyond the agenda. How can you create moments of surprise, delight, or playful interaction? Sometimes the most important connections happen during the "fun" breaks, not the formal presentations. I’ll never forget when we opened up a giant internal conference in Las Vegas with an “Elvis performance” and at the very end, our CEO at the time swapped out with one of the Elvis impersonators in full costume creating an audible gasp from everyone. It lightened the mood by showing more playful side of him before we dove into all the gravitas of annual planning and strategy.
Daily Practice: Start each day by doing something that makes you smile. End each day by reflecting on moments that brought you joy. This trains your brain to notice and create more fun. Listen to a fun dance playlist while brushing your teeth, challenge your child to “crawl like a cat or slither like a snake” instead of walking to do their chores to engage them and lift you up with laughter as well. It’s easy to make every day routines more fun by adding elements of play and lightness to them without adding any extra time and little extra effort.

The Ripple Effect

When you embrace fun as a success strategy, you don't just transform your own experience—you become a catalyst for others. You give people permission to enjoy themselves, to be more authentic, to take themselves a little less seriously. You become the person others want to collaborate with, celebrate with, and champion. I always try to bring levity and joy to my 1:1’s and team meetings and find people are so much more collaborative and engaged - even if we have a lot to cover.

Success doesn't have to be 100% serious. In fact, the most sustainable, fulfilling success often comes wrapped in joy, laughter, and genuine delight.

So here's your invitation: What if you decided that having fun wasn't something you'd do after you became successful, but the very vehicle that would take you there? The universe will conspire in your favor, especially when you're smiling. Try it.

Keep sparkling,

Gianna

What I’m Loving this week: For all my favorite vendors, partners and products, visit: https://www.giannagaudini.com/gianna-recommends

Hotel I love: The Estate, Yountville: Nestled in the heart of charming downtown Yountville in the renowned Napa Valley wine region, Estate Yountville is a romantic and luxurious lifestyle destination set on a picturesque 22-acre village-within-a-village. I recently had the opportunity to do a buyout of their Vintage House Hotel for a very special milestone birthday and it was exected flawlessly and joyfully by their incredible team partnering with my own. I loved their willingness to meet our requests for custom menus, signage, and deliver above and beyond service to all the guests. There are photos of the beautiful event on my event portfolio if you’d like a glimpse.

At The Estate Yountville, they’ve reimagined the Wine Country experience into an approachable and inviting getaway. Voted the most beautiful boutique hotel in Napa Valley, Vintage House on the North end of the Estate captures the intimate charm and serenity of Yountville. On the South end of the Estate, the modern and lively Hotel Villagio, which sits adjacent to their private vineyard, welcomes you with its bright patio and lobby bar. AND…they have a Veuve Clicquot themed spa that is decked out in orange loveliness, and even offers pool-side Veuve Clicquot foot and scalp massages! Together, these two retreats invite you to take part in the quintessential Napa Valley escape. Let me know if you’d like help sourcing this venue for your next event - I couldn’t recommend the team and property more highly.

P.S. Want to pick my brain?

Book me here 👉 intro.co/giannagaudini (check out the feedback from others who have worked with me as well in the reviews!)

Gianna's Gems

The Fun Formula: Play is Your Unexpected Secret for Success

Gianna Gaudini