🎮 Treat your life like a video game.

Here’s a secret I wish I knew in my twenties… you should treat your life like a video game if you want to succeed.

Gamers get a bad rap in the media, but if we approach life like they do games, we will go far.

Let me explain!

Default to action

Video games are about taking action & making things happen. This is how you get ahead in a game—and it works the same in life. Decide that your life is a role-playing game and you are the main character.

When we start the game of life, we are assigned a random no-name no-skill character.

Our job is to level up our character so we can win the game.

There is no ambiguity. No place to hide. The game tells you the truth about your skills.

Your network can help you level up your skills, support you when you fail, encourage you to keep going, and cheer with you when you succeed.

… But, most of the work is up to you.

The 5 areas in which we must level up are:

🛠️ Skills

🧠 Knowledge

💪 Health

💵 Resources

❤️ Relationships

In life, the initial challenges we face are small (learning to walk, talk, etc). But when we beat them and level up.

The better we get, the more complex our challenges get.

When we fail a challenge, we know it’s temporary. It's not because we're wrong, it's because we areunder-leveled in that area of life.

(I’m serious when I tell you that this approach completely changed my life.)

Before, when I faced challenges, I would get stressed and wonder when life would get easier.

But when does a video game get easier the more you level up?

NEVER.

(that would be a terrible game 😅)

Assume life won't get easier; your job is to get better.

Ignore your lizard brain

Our brains are hardwired for survival, *not* for impact or growth. Your brain wants to lead you into a safe, comfortable, and mediocre life.

Ignore it. Choose to do hard things until the hard things become easier.

Choose your mission

In video games, there’s always a goal or a mission you need to achieve in order to get ahead and win. Yet we don't learn this in school and how to apply it to life (besides getting a job).

This means you could be living the same day, every day, for years.

You're stuck at the same life level 😥

It reminds me of the Benjamin Franklin quote, “Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75.”

That’s where I was in my architecture job back in the day. Living the same day, day after day, feeling like something's missing, but not knowing what to do next.

How to unlock new levels

Treat life like you’re a gamer facing a difficult game level.

How do players figure the game out? They can watch someone play on YouTube so they know how to beat it.

You can do the same.

If someone in your tribe has already done what you want to do, learn from them.

Books are a perfect example of this. An expert condensed their knowledge into a book for you to learn from. This life expansion pack can be yours for $10-20!

Everything I've created in my life is because of this cheat code.

I've spent over 100k on self-education (huge ROI). The learning “cheat code” doesn't only apply to work; you can do it for ANY area.

Example: When I realized I wanted to date women? I read books and ended up marrying this babe:

Cathryn @cathrynlavery @YouTube Everything I've created in my life is because of this cheat code. I've spent over 100k on self-education (huge ROI 📈) Learning doesn't apply just to work, you can do it for ANY area. eg. When I realized I wanted to date women? I read books & ended up marrying this babe: pic.twitter.com/yqfQYknpDK Cathryn @cathrynlavery @YouTube 📖 Books are a perfect example of this. An expert condensed their knowledge into book for you to learn from. This life expansion pack can be yours for *only* $10-20. This is the strategy I used to change my life: twitter.com/cathrynlavery/… July 20th 2022 0 Retweets 18 Likes

Feed your tribe

Games are fun to play with friends — so continue to ask for help among your tribe. Help members of your tribe who are a few levels behind you in a certain area. I love to help friends with business, product development, and understanding crypto.

By all means, engage in healthy competition with like-minded people who are also leveling up. This is the fastest and most effective way to grow as a person.

Your Daily Quest

The key to making the life-to-game switch will be in your day-to-day life. Remember, small incremental changes will compound and make a huge difference.

1. Be intentional with your time
2. Plan your day before it starts (I use the Self Journal)
3. Make a plan to level up
4. Ask for help
5. Give more than you receive

Leverage Perceived Assumptions

Remember, start by examining these five areas of your life.

🛠️ Skills

🧠 Knowledge

💪 Health

💵 Resources

❤️ Relationships

Of the areas in your life that you need to level up, which one gives you the most leverage for improving the other areas?

Gary Keller, author ofThe One Thing, calls this the “domino effect” of personal growth. By focusing on the “one thing” that can most impact your life, you’ll naturally start to knock off additional areas and make incredible progress.

Some other questions to ask:

• What skill am I trying to improve?
• What action can I make TODAY that will level up one area?
• What challenges am I facing & what am I learning from them?
• Who has the cheat codes that I can learn from?
• Which areas am I underleveled?

ACTION: How can you take a single step—right now—towards improvement? Reply to this email and let me know!

Cathryn