Life is a Game And Here Are The Cheat Codes
The 3 simple hacks I follow to always win... even when I lose.
“Pew Pew Pew!”
GET SOME!
Sounds of an epic alien battle echoed throughout my tiny bedroom.
I was 12 years old and Halo Combat Evolved became my new obsession.
Every level posed a new challenge, a breath taking adventure, and a chance at becoming the ultimate space marine.
But…
There was one level that I still have nightmares about till this day.
In one of the final missions1 of the game…
Our hero (Master Chief) must single-handedly infiltrate the alien headquarters, kill wave upon wave of aliens, and escape in time before the base explodes.
It took me over 40 tries before I passed this level.
I started having DREAMS of completing that mission.
Sometimes I felt so frustrated I would turn off my Xbox mid run.
The first run I lasted 5 minutes before succumbing to a horde of aliens…
then it’d be 10 minutes… then 20… then 30.
Eventually…
I read every IGN game guide there was.
I watched tutorials of other players.
I changed the difficulty from hard to easy!
and finally beat the level.
So why am I telling you a story about killing aliens?
Because…
Life is just one big game.
You may not be gunning down evil aliens, or saving a princess from a giant fire breathing turtle.
But if you’re:
Trying to earn a promotion
Learning a new skill
Overcoming a challenge
You’re playing a game :).
Here are the 3 “Cheat Codes” You Need to Win
Memorize the rules
Copy the winners
Be relentless
1. Memorize The Rules
In the words of the famous Ricky Bobby, "If you’re not first you’re last”.
Every game has rules to winning and losing— and if you don’t know the rules, you can never win.
Let’s take a promotion for example:
If your goal is to earn more money, in less time…
but your promotion requires you to work 20+ more hours per week are you really winning?
On the other hand, if your goal is to earn experience than you would “win” in this case.
2. Copy The Winners
Find those who have won in your game and copy their moves.
Want to be a creator that focuses on Women’s health?
Find role models and players that are one step ahead of you.
Connect with them, read their guides, and learn their strategies.
If I tried to finish that halo level without reading guides it would’ve taken 100+ tries.
3.Be Relentless
Another way to think about this is… to Play the Long game.
Relentless players aren’t just individuals that never give up… they’re the participants that recognize they have multiple chances in this game of life.
They’re unaffected by losing.
They don’t give up on the game, because they know in the grand scheme of things this one round is a drop in the bucket.
Every failure is a learning opportunity.
Every mishap is a chance to gather data.
So…
If you want to win EVEN while you lose…
Know the rules. Define your objectives.
Copy the winners. Find those one step ahead of you.
Be relentless. Play the long game.
and above all else?
have fun.
My favorite links this week:
My favorite Twitter extensions, headers, and tools ( For Twitter Geeks) 👈
Jeff Bezo’s First TED talk before he became global emperor 👈
The next time you feel like you're wasting time... read this👈
See you next week,
Brian “Cheat Codes” To