Fun-and-Passion Project Filter
Test enjoyment, people, and meaning before letting money or status decide
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 99%
After her late-night show, Singh changed how she evaluates opportunities. Her agents may still discuss compensation and scheduling, but she reserves a separate part of the decision for three fit questions: will the work be fun, are the people good to work with, and does she care about the project and its message? The mechanism corrects for the forces that drew her into late night despite initially saying no: historic status, responsibility to communities, and ego. Those reasons felt valid but did not sustain her through an intense production schedule for work she says was never her passion. The filter does not claim every day must be enjoyable. It asks whether the project's underlying experience and purpose are strong enough to support the work after novelty, money, and headlines fade.
Origin
Singh developed the filter after completing her late-night show and explained it on The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Status and duty cannot sustain every demanding project
- 02Enjoyment and genuine interest support longevity
- 03The people involved are part of the opportunity
- 04Success can mean declining work that fails the fit test
How to run it
- 1
Evaluate the practical offer
Clarify compensation, schedule, workload, control, and resources before judging the opportunity's appeal.
Pro tip Compare the promised role with the actual operating system around it.
- 2
Test for fun
Ask whether the core activity itself is likely to be enjoyable, not merely whether the announcement will feel exciting.
Pro tip Picture an ordinary hard day after the headline has passed.
Watch out Do not confuse fun with an absence of difficult work.
- 3
Test the people
Assess whether the collaborators are respectful, capable, and people you genuinely want to spend the production period with.
Pro tip Include the decision-makers who can constrain the work, not just the people making the pitch.
- 4
Test for care
State what the project says or changes and whether you actually care about that contribution.
Pro tip Separate personal conviction from a general sense of duty or prestige.
- 5
Apply the fit verdict
If the essential fit answers are no, define success as declining rather than rationalizing the opportunity.
Watch out A high-profile offer can make a weak fit look temporarily important.
In the wild
Singh first declined the late-night show because hosting was not a childhood ambition. When the offer returned, its historic significance, her sense of duty, and her ego contributed to a yes. She later said those reasons were not enough to sustain the long production days and that the experience taught her to give fun and passion explicit weight.
→ She now treats declining a project without fun, good collaborators, or genuine meaning as a successful decision.
Common mistakes
Falling for the headline
Being proud of a historic announcement does not establish that the daily work will be worthwhile.
Assuming duty supplies endless fuel
A sense of responsibility can justify an opportunity without making its workload sustainable or its craft fulfilling.
Is it for you?
Best for
People evaluating optional, intensive projects whose success depends on sustained creative or emotional effort.
Not ideal for
Essential short-term obligations where enjoyment is not a realistic or sufficient decision criterion.
From the transcript
“now we're going to talk about if i'm going to have fun”
“do i even care about the message here”
From the episode
Lilly Singh: My Deepest Insecurities Led To My Greatest Achievements