Type 1 and Type 2 Fun
Diagnose which kind of fun your business lacks, then deliberately engineer it back in
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 82%
Priestley separates enjoyment into type 1 fun, which is pleasurable in the moment (a party), and type 2 fun, which is pleasurable in retrospect (six hard months that end in a launch or exit). A good business life needs both. The diagnostic move is to ask which you're lacking. If your work is meaningful but joyless, inject type 1 fun: team outings, slow morning starts, travel, comedy clubs, and deliberate rewards. If it's fun in the moment but you won't be proud looking back, add type 2 by attaching meaning through charity, a cause, or legacy. He also warns against building an 'unwinnable game': like a Mario level with no coins, a business with no wins along the way starves you of dopamine. Engineer smaller wins matched to your personal love language.
Origin
Priestley applies the outdoor-adventure 'type 1 / type 2 fun' distinction to entrepreneurship and founder wellbeing on Modern Wisdom.
Core principles
- 01Type 1 fun is enjoyable in the moment; type 2 fun is enjoyable looking back
- 02A fulfilling business needs both types, not just one
- 03A game with no wins along the way starves you of dopamine and feels unwinnable
- 04Diagnose which type you're missing, then engineer it deliberately
How to run it
- 1
Diagnose which fun is missing
Ask whether your work lacks in-the-moment enjoyment (type 1) or looking-back meaning (type 2).
- 2
Engineer type 1 fun if meaning is high
If the work is meaningful but joyless, build in team outings, travel, slow mornings, and deliberate treats.
Pro tip Match rewards to your love language: gifts, massages, or travel.
- 3
Engineer type 2 fun if the moment is hollow
If it's fun now but you won't be proud later, attach meaning via a charity, cause, foundation, or message.
Pro tip Ask what you'll want to look back on and be proud of at 80.
- 4
Design wins along the way
Break the journey into achievable near-term wins so you get regular dopamine instead of one distant payoff.
Watch out An 'only win at the very end' game feels unwinnable and drains motivation.
In the wild
Priestley met an entrepreneur grinding for three years, never taking more than 25k a month, feeling down. His symbol of success was a 150k watch, a 'sell-the-company' reward he'd never reach. Priestley found a similar 4k IWC and set five achievable tasks over five weeks that would earn the watch. The founder's energy transformed: he'd built a game with no wins along the way, and adding a near-term win 'turned the lights back on.'
→ Reframing a distant reward into a near-term earnable win restored motivation and enjoyment.
Common mistakes
Building an unwinnable game
Setting only one far-off reward with no wins along the way starves you of dopamine and makes the work feel pointless.
Optimising for only one type of fun
Chasing pure in-the-moment fun or pure meaning leaves the other empty, producing burnout or 'miserable success.'
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and high-achievers who feel their work is either meaningless or joyless.
Not ideal for
People needing clinical mental-health support rather than a motivation-design lens.
From the transcript
“type one fun is enjoyable in the moment and type two fun is enjoyable when you look back on it. And you need both.”
“you've created a game where you only feel like you win when you get to the point where a $150,000 watch is doable.”
From the episode
$0 To $1M: The New Rules For Building A Thriving Business - Daniel Priestley - #946
Daniel Priestley