Shonda Rhimes, the titan behind Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder, is responsible for some 70 hours of television per season, and she loves to work. "When I am hard at work, when I am deep in it, there is no other feeling," she says. She has a name for this feeling: The hum - a buzz, rush that keeps me going for hours - action, creativity, God’s whisper in my ear..

You can’t help but strive for greatness at any cost. Workaholic? Genius? Fear of failure? I am the hum.. nothing but that hum?

After years of 15-hour work days including weekends the hum stopped - overused, overworked, burnt out. The work she loved so much started to taste like dust.

Her kids were 12, 3 and 1 at that time. One day her littel girl asked "Wanna play?"

It caused an instant storm in Shonda

"I have no time to play, I am not good at playing, I am not interested, I don't like it as much as I like working. I feel stiff, delirious and confused,..."

But she said YES, put her phone away and started to play. Her little one felt encouraged to ask again and she said YES every time.

Slowly after a few weeks her "hum" came back and new doors opened in her brain:

"The more I play the happier I am and the happier my kids are."

"It frees me from my workaholic guilt"

"It takes only `15 minutes of UNINTERRUPTED time".

"The more I play, the more free my mind becomes".

"I said yes to less work and more play".

"I play and play and play and wonder why I ever stopped playing."

"Work doesn't work without play."

"Play is about joy and joy is the opposite of work."

"The real 'hum' is joy-specific, not work-specific."

Curious to experience this life-changing Power of Play for yourself?

Join a small group of progressive parents for Parent Playtime on Tuesday 9/14 during your lunch break from 12-1 pm PST.

Learn more and register HERE

Use code PARENT1 and save 50% until 9/9/21

Genius Exercise of the week:

Brain Hug - Stop over-thinking and enjoy more creativity