Does your seven-year-old self want to play today?

This was not a question most people expected to be asked at the 2017 Conscious Capitalism Conference in Philadelphia. But from the moment people sat down in the big comfy armchair to get their caricatures drawn, they knew something was different.

They paused when I asked if I could visit with their seven-year-old self. They looked quizzical when I requested they tap into their child’s mind and tell me what play was like in the early stages of their lives. I asked them, “What did you love to play when you were seven?” “What was our favorite game or activity?” These questions caused them to pause, unlock their memory banks and reconnect with a more simple time in their lives. I witnessed their faces change from stressed to relaxed as they began to remember their lives decades ago.

While we visited and they relaxed into the chair, renowned caricature artist, Nathan Lueth, captured each person in a whimsical drawing depicting “the child” engaged in a favorite pastime, as a beloved character or immersed in a magical place. When the drawings were revealed the reactions were priceless. Many smiled, some laughed and a few even cried.

I asked each person to use his/her caricature to remind him or herself of the importance of allowing more play into every day. I then challenged people to take the time to experience, as an adult, these magical times in their lives. Because we know that play relaxes you and slows down your nervous system. It encourages your creative mind to run free. It unlocks places in the brain that we have all left dormant for too long. And play is a wonderful gateway for reconnecting with your true purpose in life.