This is a year late, but they’ve been showing highlights from X-Games 12 a lot in Singapore lately, so yeah.

Last year, in Summer X, Travis Pastrana pulled off what should be impossible, a double backflip on a Motocross bike. It was an unbelievable feat, and seeing it again now (even though I saw it last year) still amazes me.

But watching the repeats and the interviews (multiple times), one thing that’s struck me. Before he attempted it, he went to his mother and said something along the lines of “I wanna go for the double. And if anything happens, I just want you to know that I love you and I’m just having fun.”

Note his last phrase. “I’m just having fun.” I think that’s really important. And I think it’s why he’s the best at what he does (5 Gold medals in 6 Moto-X Freestyle events kind of speaks for itself). And it’s why he has the ability to re-write history and revolutionize the sport that way, and to take it forward. He’s enjoying what he does. He’s “just having fun.” It’s not for the fame, the money or anything else. It’s purely because he enjoys it.

The key to being someone significant and to succeed in what you do is to have fun in what you are doing.

What about you? Are you doing what you’re doing for the rewards? Or are you “just having fun”?