In life, we all want to win. We all want to achieve our goals and be successful. But what does it take to win the game of life? In this blog post, we will explore the concept of how to play the game of life like a video game!
Just like in video games, in life, you can become whoever you want to be, look however you want, and upgrade yourself as you see fit. The beauty of playing video games is that you can play as many lives as you want, and enter into as many different worlds as you please. In real life, you just got 1 Up!
“Video game players are artists who create their own reality within the game.”
― Shigeru Miyamoto
Who says you can’t do so in your own life?
Start thinking of life as a game – you’ll become fearless and start leveling up!
Join me [financially] imagineering your own life!
Are you Ready Player One? Click To Tweet“My friend Kira always said that life is like an extremely difficult, horribly unbalanced videogame. When you’re born, you’re given a randomly generated character, with a randomly determined name, race, face, and social class. Your body is your avatar, and you spawn in a random geographic location, at a random moment in human history, surrounded by a random group of people, and then you have to try to survive for as long as you can. Sometimes the game might seem easy. Even fun. Other times it might be so difficult you want to give up and quit. But unfortunately, in this game you only get one life. When your body grows too hungry or thirsty or ill or injured or old, your health meter runs out and then it’s Game Over. Some people play the game for a hundred years without ever figuring out that it’s a game, or that there is a way to win it. To win the videogame of life, you just have to try to make the experience of being forced to play it as pleasant as possible, for yourself, and for all of the other players you encounter in your travels. Kira says that if everyone played the game to win, it’d be a lot more fun for everyone.”
― Anorak’s Almanac, Chapter 77, Verses 11-20, Ready Player One
The Game of Life – Level 1: The Trial Run
To win the game of life, you must level up. Just like in any video game, to progress to the next level, you must complete certain tasks and challenges and grow stronger with experience.
You must first learn and experience as much as possible. Growing up and school is a great place to start – it’s like the tutorial level of the game of life. Here, you familiarize yourself with the game, get to know the main character (yes, that would be your good self), and learn how to jump, run, survive, collect coin and hopefully how to learn!
“I think that inside every adult is the heart of a child. We just gradually convince ourselves that we have to act more like adults.”
― Shigeru Miyamoto
Learn how to navigate different environments, other characters, your surroundings, and what your superpowers are.
Embrace this trial run, learn fast, and grow!
Play the game of life like a video game.
Are you ready for the next level?
The Game of Life – Level 2: Leveling Up
You’ve grown, got stronger, found your superpowers and can navigate in new environments. Beware, learning is not over yet, it will never be. As life gets more difficult, learn to adapt, to forget, unlearn, and re-learn.
You’ve completed the warm-up level, it’s time to put your character to use and start navigating the real world. This can be a daunting task, but with perseverance and courage, anything is possible.
As you continue on your journey through life, new challenges will present themselves. It’s up to you how you’ll face them and overcome them. The more challenging the task, the greater the reward!
But be warned – just like in video games, there is also the risk of coming to a “Game Over” earlier than you want or of falling or getting stuck in lower levels.
The Game of Life – Level 3: The Real World
Mamma mia!
Welcome to the real world!
I bet you didn’t know you can get that far!
You’ve successfully conquered the challenges of the entry levels, you’ve survived, and you’ve come a long way.
As you progress into the real world, you will face new challenges and tasks that are unlike anything you have experienced before. It is now time to put all that you have learned to use and navigate your way to success.
You’ve left the safe heaven of your parent’s enclosure, are depending on yourself, and can taste new levels of freedom for the first time. Maybe you’ll find a partner soon to collaborate with?
This can be a daunting but exciting task. There is no telling what lies ahead at this level – it could be a world of riches and glory or one of hardship and pain. But as with anything in life, the journey is what matters most.
“I think what’s really the most ideal thing for the player is themselves, within their own imagination, to carve out what they view as being the essence of the character.”
― Shigeru Miyamoto
When you’re young and full of expectations, don’t hold back and wait: Launch yourself into the world.
Embrace the adventure that is life and don’t be afraid to take risks.
Play the game of life like a video game.
Imagineer your dream life!
The Game of Life – Level 4: New Heights and New Challenges
As you continue to climb the ladder of success, you will reach new heights – both figuratively and literally. But with great success comes great responsibility, and this is also true in life.
- Maybe you get married and become parents.
- Maybe you get promoted and get more responsibility at your work.
- Maybe you start your own company and are now responsible for your employees and their families as well.
As you keep going through life, a few of us will take more time to explore the levels in more detail and find some hidden items and the most curious of us may even find shortcuts or warp zones.
Some people try to take on too much at once and end up scattered and stressed. They will run the hamsterwheel at full speed but might never find any “loopholes” or “shortcuts” though.
They get stuck in the same level for some time – up and down like a threadmill.
If you dare to deviate from the given path, you may find hidden 1-up blocks, plants growing into the sky, and more exciting stuff. Lesson in there!
Learn here how my passion for Nintendo got me paid more.
Think of playing smart, not hard.
Never stop exploring.
Stay curious.
As you achieve your goals and reach new levels of success, there are always new challenges that await you. You must stay vigilant and stay on top of things to win the game of life.
The higher we climb, the lower we can fall.
“You know you’ve totally screwed up your life when your whole world turns to shit and the only person you have to talk to is your system agent software!”
― Ready Player One
Sometimes life gives you shit, it might even set you back beyond the imaginable.
Let the shit of the past be the fertilizer for your future.
Don’t let this influence you, stay strong.
You’re PLAYER ONE!
The Game of Life – Level 5: The Princess is in another Castle
As you progress further in life, you will come to realize that there is no end to the challenges that lie ahead. Just like in video games, the further you get, the more difficult it becomes. But that doesn’t mean you should give up – on the contrary, it only makes the victory that much sweeter!
By this point in life, you will come to realize happiness is not a destination.
“No one in the world ever gets what they want and that is beautiful.”
― Ready Player One
Whenever you supposingly overcome all the challenges and kill yet another endboss, the game simply keeps telling you “The Princess is in another Castle!”.
Was all hard work for nothing?
Did you ever look at the little toad in greater detail? No?
You should.
Here you go:
Remember, you are NOT playing this your life to make this toad happy!
The ultimate questions for you are:
- What is my mission and vision in this life?
- How will you measure success?
- Why am I playing this game?
- What is enough?
There is no absolute win condition in life, but like with video games, you can win the game of life your way.
You decide in which direction you advance and which challenges or side-quests you go after next.
And just like all those other games with no clear end in sight, it’s worth playing and enjoying every moment of it. We all don’t know how much time we have left playing!
So keep going forward, level up your skills and abilities, learn from your mistakes, and never stop exploring new possibilities. The princess may indeed be in another castle, but as long as you keep playing the game of life – she may still be yours for the taking!
Don’t do it for toad!
Play your game of life like a video game. Click To TweetThis is your life, your game: Play it your way, like a video game!
Curious, fearless and joyfully free as could be.
The Game of Life – Level 6: The Advanced Levels
No matter how difficult things may get, always remember that you are not alone.
There are many others out there who have experienced similar highs and lows and can offer valuable advice and support along the way.
The better you manage to play life on “hard”, the easier and more fun it gets!
Learn from the players who have experienced this and higher levels a bit longer than you so you don’t have to spare your time repeating some mistakes they’ve made. Keep in mind, what got you here won’t get you there.
Stay flexible and ready to re-learn old tricks or shortcuts, and team up with like-minded players.
Find your PLAYER 2!
Keep your chin up and stay focused – with hard work and effort, you can win the game of life.
After all, it’s just a game! Nobody will make it out of here alive.
The Game of Life – Level 7: The Lost Levels
Perhaps you are at a point in your life where you feel like all of the challenges have been overcome, and it’s time to finally take a break from this never-ending game. Perhaps you simply need a new goal or challenge to focus on.
Don’t get lost in your own game!
But before you close out of this game for good, remember to pause and reflect on everything that went well and all of the lessons learned along the way. Let go of any regrets and celebrate those rare moments when you win the level – after all, we play this game to enjoy ourselves. And while there is no ultimate win condition in life, only by living fully can we truly win at playing this game called life!
What else will this game have to offer? Are we there yet?
Remember, nothing worth having comes easy.
So don’t give up now – fight until the end and claim the victory that is rightfully yours!
So what awaits you at the end?
That’s for you to find out! But one thing is for sure – it’s not going to be easy.
However, with hard work and determination, anything is possible. So keep pushing forward as you play the game of life and reach for the stars in your video game!
The Game of Life – Level 8: The Final Level
You’ve made it!
This is the final level.
Here the endboss awaits you!
You have fought your way through countless challenges and obstacles, but nothing could prepare you for what is ahead.
The endboss is the ultimate test in our game of life.
In real life, the endboss is you.
Yourself!
When we come to the end of our time, the challenges usually are our regrets, making peace, getting clear about how to measure our life, and knowingly having passed on a legacy, generational wealth, or simply everlasting memories that will make you immortal in the hearts and minds of your loved ones.
“I burned through all of my extra lives in a matter of minutes, and my two least-favorite words appeared on the screen: GAME OVER.”
― Ready Player One
Prepare yourself by understanding the regrets of the dying before you play your round of life.
You win this game if at the end you’ve managed to find YOUR princess!
Conclusion: The hidden Levels
In a computer game, you’ll usually be fighting some monster of mind-blowing proportions alongside pompous sound effects which despite your best efforts and determination, proves to be too strong and defeat seems inevitable.
But as you pick yourself up one last time and face down the final challenge, you realize that it was never really about winning or losing in the first place. It’s not about the amounts of coins collected, the respect, or social status attained, it has always been about continuing and pushing forward, no matter what life throws at you. It’s mostly about what you value in life.
In some ways, we win this game simply by playing it – because whether we win or lose, we all learn something along the way. In the end, how well we play matters more than whether or not we win! It’s all about having fun and enjoying the ride.
Eventually, at the point of passing, you may wake up as some alien takes your VR helmet off and asks you: “How was your experience today – would you like to play another round?”
“For a bunch of hairless apes, we’ve actually managed to invent some pretty incredible things.”
― Ready Player One
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- What lessons have you learned from playing video games?
- What video games tought you the most?
…let me know your answers in the comments below, I’m curious to learn more about this from you!
Never stop playing, never stop learning – the two are the same! Click To TweetThe harder you play, the more you learn and grow.
Whether you win the game of life is up to you.
So go out there and start playing!
Are you ready Player One?
This is YOUR LIFE!
Make it count.
Matt