The World Needs Joy Mongers

It’s early morning in Seattle. The streets are damp, the air smells of saltwater and rain. You push through the crowd at the world famous Pike Place Market and suddenly you hear it—

A booming voice calling out an order.
A ripple of laughter spreading through strangers.
A cheer that explodes when a salmon sails high through the air and lands with a thud in waiting hands.

It’s not the sound of commerce. It’s the sound of joy.

At least we thought we were listening to fishmongers.
But looking closer, we realized: they were something else entirely.
They were Joy Mongers.

The First Visit

That first visit was more than 25 years ago. We had expected drudgery. Fish stacked in rows. Employees numbed by long hours and the sting of cold air. A job that was all duty and no delight.

But that’s not what we found.

Instead, the men behind the counter were on fire with life. They shouted with gusto, grinned wide, and tossed fish like they were tossing joy itself. They pulled the crowd into their rhythm, and the crowd responded in kind—with laughter, applause, delight.

These so-called fishmongers had found a way to transform their work. They didn’t just handle fish. They transformed the air around them.

They mongered joy.

From Market to Movement

We couldn’t shake what we’d seen. Joy this real—this contagious—couldn’t stay hidden in one corner of Seattle.

So we told their story. First in a film, then in a book, and later through workshops and programs that invited people everywhere to choose what Pike Place had chosen.

The result? A movement. Schools, hospitals, Fortune 500 companies, startups—everywhere, people recognized themselves in the story. They saw that joy at work wasn’t naïve. It was possible. And when chosen, it changed everything.

More than two decades later, the same joy still rings out at Pike Place. Because joy, once chosen, echoes.

What Joy Mongers Bring

At its heart, this is what the FISH! Philosophy has always been about: helping people and teams choose to be Joy Mongers.

• Joy in your work. Showing up with energy and purpose, even in the grind.

• Joy in your team. Building trust, laughter, and connection.

• Joy in your customers. Creating moments that turn ordinary transactions into lasting memories.

Joy Mongers don’t wait for perfect conditions. They create joy wherever they stand. And joy spreads.

Why the World Needs Them Now

Today, the workplace is heavy. Meetings stack up. Screens divide us. Stress weighs on shoulders. Too many people feel drained instead of alive.

That’s why the world needs more Joy Mongers. Not because joy is a perk, but because joy is fuel. It sparks creativity. It deepens connection. It makes work—and life—more human.

The Invitation

FISH! began with fishmongers. It continues with Joy Mongers.

And maybe it’s time your team joined the rise. Because the world doesn’t just need more work.

It needs more joy.

👉 Discover our FISH! Workshops and start building Joy Mongers in your organization