The Peak Performance Power of a Pack of Playing Cards

In 2015, I got to meet one of my heroes—the legendary Johnny Thompson. The name might not ring a bell, but if you’ve seen a magic show in your lifetime there’s a good chance you’ve been touched by Johnny Thompson’s influence.

As a magician, Johnny and his wife Pam Hayes traveled the world with their incredible act, The Great Tomsoni & Co. But Johnny wasn’t just a performer—he was a master of all things magic, consulting with and creating for some of the biggest stars in the world. At 80 years old, when I met him, he was still the lead consultant on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us.

Meeting him was a bucket-list moment for me. I was buzzing with excitement thinking about the chance to sit down with a living legend. 

But when he walked into the restaurant I experienced a moment of surprise. I knew he'd been having some health struggles, I wasn't expecting him to move so slowly. He looked uncomfortable and tired—he didn’t resemble the magic rock star I’d idolized. He seemed more like a grumpy old man just trying to get through the night. He was polite, of course, shaking my hand before we all sat down to eat. But the conversation felt awkward and stilted, as though Johnny didn’t really want to be there.

During one of the awkward silences after dinner Johnny suddenly turned to me and asked, “Did you bring a pack of cards with you?”

A smile crept across his face and I felt a surge of energy. I couldn’t get the deck of Bicycles out of my pocket fast enough. He took the cards and proceeded to blow my mind with one of the strongest card tricks I’ve ever seen.

Then he did another. And another.

The entire mood shifted around the table. The stalled conversation transformed into a night of laughter, stories, and tricks. We played with magic for three and a half hours after dinner. Johnny had become The Great Tomsoni right before my eyes. 

As we walked out of the restaurant, Pam pulled me aside and said, “Thanks for getting him to play again tonight.”

I left that night feeling like I had experienced real magic, not just in the tricks but in the transformation. Johnny’s choice to play didn’t just bring him to life—it brought all of us to life. The joy he created lit a fire in the room, and it all started with a simple choice to reach for a pack of cards.

Joy as a Peak Performance Tool

Wouldn’t we all benefit from more joy in our lives? Who doesn’t want more happiness and laughter?

Many people see joy as something to be earned—something that comes after the work is done. The belief is that work should feel serious. Joy is for weekends and vacations. 

But high performers know better. Joy isn’t just a reward for hard work. It’s a tool that fuels creativity and energy. 

Johnny didn’t wait for joy to find him that night. He chose it. He reached for the cards, and it transformed the entire evening. And it wasn’t just about fun - we all tapped into something deeper that night. 

Here are three specific reasons why joy is more valuable than you might know:

1. Joy Improves Innovation

Barbara Fredrickson’s research famously teaches us that joy broadens our “thought-action repertoires”—it helps us see possibilities and consider new perspectives. The experience of joy opens us up to "what could be" and gives us access innovative and original ways of looking at things.  Johnny’s choice to play didn’t just lift the mood—it opened up creative possibilities, and that’s exactly what joy can do in our work.

2. Joy Promotes Flow

When we experience joy the tasks we do become more autotelic—worth doing in themselves. Autotelism is a key flow trigger that helps us reach peak performance, where we’re more creative and productive in less time and with seemingly less effort. When I’m feeling like I’m in a productivity slump my goal is to find a way to play in the tasks I need to accomplish. If I can have some fun while I’m strategizing or cleaning or writing or working with spreadsheets, I can often tap into flow and reignite my productivity. 

3. Joy Prevents Burnout

High performers know that achieving long-term goals requires an enormous amount of energy. The ability to create joy in our work sustains that energy over time. When we enjoy what we’re doing, it becomes easier to keep doing it. Johnny may have been 80 years old and feeling unwell, but joy gave him the energy to keep going, long after dinner had ended.

Positive emotions aren’t just a nice-to-have—they’re associated with all sorts of mental and physical health benefits. But if we don’t incorporate them into our work, we’re missing out on the opportunity to tap into our superpowers.

How Can You Create More Joy This Week?

Where in your day can you infuse a little more play? Can you gamify a task or a meeting? Can you find a way to ideate some new approaches for serving your customers? Or maybe you can simply bring a little fun into the tasks you’ve already scheduled? 

Be like Johnny Thompson. Reach for the pack of cards. The joy you create might just be the thing that unlocks your hidden potential and helps you and your team reach peak performance.