How To WIN The Game Of Life

“The game is the structure that spins the world.”

-Anon

Many consider life a struggle…. when really it’s a GAME.

Just like in any game, there are rules, objectives, and strategies to navigate.

Within this BIG game, there are many smaller games to choose from.

These life games reflect our aims, aspirations, and priorities.

We play the games that are meaningful to us.

However, many games are rigged against you. Others give you an unfair advantage. Some payouts are worth it. Most aren’t.

Games don’t need you to know you’re playing them. They play you regardless. Many games use you without your knowledge.

Everyone plays games. Some study how to win them. Few study how to identify + choose them. This is why choosing the right game is one of the most important skills.

Wisdom = recognizing what games are worth playing and knowing how to win them.

Identify the games that align with your:

Strengths
Values
And long-term goals.

Until you learn how to play the game of life, you are getting played by it.

If you understand the game for what it is, you can play to win.

If not… NGMI.

Table of Contents

The Basics

At the base level, games need power (energy / attention) to stay on.

When you withdraw your attention, you withdraw your consent.

If everyone got up from the table, the game would cease to exist.

However, there is one “big game” we are all forced to play simply by being alive.

And that game is called “survival”.

Within this “big game” there are:

Resource constraints
Base desires
And social pressures

that push us towards various other games.

These smaller games are related to:

Minding your business
Physical / mental health
Sustain healthy relationships
Earning income and protecting it
Never letting anyone get you out of character

and more.

Your career path, daily schedule, and relationships you choose are all games.

The matrix = games of status and money. The world is marked by boundaries of contest, with its people classified as to their eligibilities.

Life is complex and most people lose in one of the games.

Being rich and having no fun = loss. Reverse is also true. Find the balance.

Levels Of Gameplay

Different levels of gameplay have different objectives and require different strategies.

Understand where you stand and adapt your approach accordingly.

Every level has different characters who need to be played differently.

(Due to the context).

People playing different levels of game often look insane to one another.

i.e.

wagies vs. entrepreneurs
the underworld vs. normal society

If you take cues from those playing a different game, you will get lost.

Few things matter more than understanding your own time horizon and not being persuaded by the actions and behaviors of people playing different games.

There’s more competition at the bottom / middle because they’re all playing the same game.

When you choose to play a better game, you leapfrog them entirely.

And there are some games you don’t get to play unless you’re all in.

How To Choose The Right Games

There’s a very large number of games you can play.

(But only a few of them ultimately make sense for YOU).

So how do you choose the right ones?

Never play any game that you can’t walk away from. If you can’t get up from the table, you shouldn’t be sitting at it.

Stick to the games you can win.

All edge comes down to being in the right game you can leverage, with an unfair advantage and unfair position.

Focus your resources on games within your control. Only play games where you are uniquely suited to win and others can’t compete. Find games only 1% of people play, with outsized rewards, using x-factors only you have.

Life is a game of probability and odds / risk management. The goal is to build a position where the odds are strongly in your favor. You also want to take the least amount of damage if you’re wrong.

Play games with EV+, not where the house has odds stacked against you.

The real game is to build a valuable position. You learn as much as possible and build skills that align to your natural assets.

The best deal in the game is complete ownership. This comes with the leverage to set your own terms.

The goal isn’t just to get rich / attain freedom / win one time etc…

It’s to get there PERMANENTLY.

A lot of people are so focused on “winning” that they completely neglect developing the skills required to keep their success.

(which is harder).

And to do so requires you to have a solid understanding of the REAL game you’re playing.

Short Games vs. Long Games

Within the game of life, there is a hierarchy of games.

Some are short games and others are long games.

The different levels of games being played is crazy, and they come with completely different levels of play.

Most play at the absolute lowest tier.

Sometimes, higher level games are disrupted by lower level ones.

And those who don’t realize this often sacrifice the outcome of their long game for the sake of winning a few “mini games”.

This is why the best strategy is to play long-term games with long-term people.

There’s a HUGE difference between “winning” for a few years and winning the long game….

The real finesse of the matrix is making people think the small game is the big game and letting them feel like they won it.

Some short term games give you instant benefits but come with a heavy delayed cost.

Longer games might be more painful upfront, but they give you a greater overall benefit.

Playing the long game = delaying gratification.

Just because a short game has ended doesn’t mean it’s consequences still aren’t playing out.

Some short games have permanent consequences.

Finite vs. Infinite Games

A finite game has checkpoints and a definite end. Infinite games can go on forever.

Finite players play within boundaries. Infinite players play with boundaries.

Only those who consent to constraints see them as constraints (guides to action).

Self-veiling is present in all finite games. The real game is played in the subtext.

Finite games are side-quests to the infinite game.

You continue infinite games by taking limits into play:

Exhaustion
Hostility of non-players
Etc

The winners of finite games earn titles. Titles represent past points in time. Titles have significance to the players who play. A title = acknowledgement that you won a game.

There are no winners of the infinite game. The best players can change the rules to extend the play. Those who make the rules dominate play.

Infinite players embrace the abstractness of finite games. They take them playfully, not seriously.

Artists don’t fit into society because they don’t take their places seriously. They openly see its roles as theatrical.

Outcomes stop mattering as much once you see through the game. (Which is a grand comedy). In a clown world, be a joker.

Playing the status game never ends because it depends on the environment. This makes it impossible to be #1 in all games.

This is why many people who have “fuck-you money” never say “fuck you”. They’ve invested too much of their identity into status games.

Status games such as:

Chasing cars
Chasing watches
Chasing parties, etc

are finite.

Infinite games on the other hand give you infinite joy.

The game itself is the point. Your outlet is the game, not the results of it.

(Taking on challenges you enjoy).

Life is an ongoing learning process. Stay open to new opportunities, be willing to adapt your strategies, and never stop growing and evolving.

Victory is finding the synthesis that matters to YOU.

This “sweet spot” is also known as “Ikigai”.

Rigged Games

Real life has changing rules, hidden rules, and rules that aren’t “fair”.

There are many games where even if you “win” you lose.

The only way to win many games is to not play them in the first place.

If you don’t like the game at the table, don’t sit down.

If you’re fucked up or down bad it’s because you’re playing the wrong game.

And the reason why a lot of people end up in that position is because they don’t realize there’s a game in the 1st place.

Play stupid games with stupid people, win stupid prizes.

Be aware of those kinds of petty games, but don’t play them. Many are rigged. Often quite obviously.

If you follow the “rules” you’re playing someone else’s game (which means you’re already in a losing position).

If you’re in a wrong low leverage lane to begin with, then you pretty much failed before you started. The lane pick is everything

Don’t play un-winnable games. If you do, people will take from you.

Never fight anyone at their game, on their playing field, by their rules.

If you aren’t prepared, your chances of losing are increased. Surprising your opponent makes you more likely to win. To be prepared for surprise is to be trained and educated.

Example: Casino is a rigged game.

Once you figure out the rigged games of:

you won’t have any more questions about life.

Health and money lead to happiness. From there you have mass girls.

The only way to beat a rigged game is to play by different rules.

There are no rules for life, only universal laws.

There are ways that work, and there are ways that don’t work.

Rules are only valid if you freely CHOOSE to play by them.

Many people play rigged games without realizing it.

Being “in the streets”
Working a wagie job
Buying into the mainstream “life path”™

Positive-sum games are best.

What game are you being asked to play?
Are you being set up to fail?
Are you in a zero sum game?

Quit or win. Don’t lose.

There is unlimited value in perceiving the hidden rules of worldly games and playing past those obstacles.

Social Games

Society is a species of culture.

Different social circles / cultures are different games.

The truth of social life is that it’s a set of hallucinatory games organized around symbols.

These games are an act of shared imagination, with different codes and a different “language”.

Playing different games brings you into different social worlds. Spending time in different social worlds brings you into contact with different games.

Games bring people to hang out in shared territory. They are circumstances that justify feelings, actions, and narratives.

The social interactions within these spheres are transactional games of status + resources + emotional exchanges. Wealth is not so much possessed as it is performed.

Regardless of the level, people just want to drag you into their games. So get around people who play better ones.

The organization of ritual “games” and their repetition / elaboration is the basis for the construction of culture. Behavior is imitated, abstracted into play, formalized into drama and story, crystallized into myth and codified into religion. A consistent behavior pattern becomes integrated into character.

Most people are playing games so subtle they aren’t even aware of them.

You can’t befriend people who are playing toxic games or are blind to other games going on.

Broken people play broken games.

Surround yourself with people who uplift and support your goals, rather than dragging you into unproductive games.

The best games are built on universally verifiable truths.

Clearly defined values protect you from so much. They make you immune to certain games.

Creating Your Own Narrative / Game

You win the game of life by taking ownership of yourself through crafting your own narrative and defining your values.

Don’t let societal expectations dictate the game you play.

Instead, forge your own path.

You will achieve enlightenment through the act of creating systems and values that enable and support your own self-reliance.

Most can’t do this because playing “linear” games is too irresistible for them.

However, beating the system > “winning” the normie game.

One leads to actual freedom, while the other creates the illusion of it.

Conclusion

Our world is a hierarchy of games
Games need attention to stay on
There are short-games and long-games
Many games are rigged
Different levels require different strategies
Most people lose because they choose the wrong games
Choose a game where you have an unfair advantage + unfair positioning
Don’t let society choose your game. Create your own narrative.

By embracing these principles and applying them to your life, you can effectively navigate the complex game of life and increase your chances of success and fulfillment.

Remember, the ultimate goal is not just to win once but to thrive permanently by playing the right games with the right people and filling your life with purpose + passion.

A master player plays as though the game is already in the past.

Want to learn more?