This hand determines our genetic makeup, our appearance and our talents.

By fate of our initial draw, we’re first introduced to our parents, our family members and our place of origin.

During our early years, we are clueless about how this game works.

So our parents would play the game for us, with hopes that when we’re old enough, we get wise about how to play it and win.

When we were young, we thought our parents were the best players ever. All they do is make power moves and in our innocent eyes – they always win.

We watch and observe their every play, and in our little playbooks in our head, we instinctively etch down every tactic and strategy they use, hoping to use these moves ourselves when we’re older.

During the first 20 years of our lives, the game is much easier.

We’ve not drawn the much more difficult mid-game cards like ‘Career’, ‘Marriage’, ‘Bills’ or ‘Parental Responsibility’ – so we play casually, without a care in the world.

School was a mini-game by itself where our playing style determined if we fit in, who our friends are and if we’d graduate with flying colours.

We’re taught that if we played a certain way in school, we’d succeed.

So as we graduated, we end up thinking that the next stage of the game would be a piece of cake.

And boy were we wrong.

At the Career phase, the game just got way more complicated.

Now more players are introduced.

And the lines of ‘Ally’ and ‘Enemy’ are blurred. You have to keep your eye on different players because you find that at this stage – everyone seems to be out for themselves.

And there are some nasty players who would not think twice to knock you out of the game as quickly as possible.

What’s worse – your boss is also a player, and you find yourself having to modify your playing style to him.

As you continue playing, you start to see different types of players.

Some players are cautious: painstakingly scrutinizing all the other players to see what cards are played before they make their own.

They keep their hand close to their chest and wall themselves up even when other players try to offer them ‘Trust’ or ‘Love’ cards.

These players take little risks and stubbornly cling to one strategy. As a result, they draw the same few cards over and over and take very long for their strategy to pay off.

Some players are ruthlessly competitive: gambling their cards away and making power moves, with an insatiable need to dominate everyone else.

These players quickly sacrifice their ‘Health’, ‘Relationships’ and sometimes ‘Character’ cards to draw more cards in their ‘Career’ and ‘Wealth’ deck.

Unfortunately, despite having an impressive suit of ‘Fame & Fortune’ cards to show off to other players, such an aggressive strategy yields these players a shorter game than everyone else.

And then there are the more benevolent players, who would rather win with their fellow players than win by themselves.

Their strategy is simple: give away many of their rare and valuable ‘Talent’, ‘Time’ and ‘Money’ cards for other players to take and improve everyone’s chances as a whole. 

They think: ‘why keep these cards for myself when every day I keep drawing new cards from the Main Deck?’

As a result, these players tend to be very successful in the game – drawing a steady stream of ‘Happiness’ and ‘Fulfilment’ cards while having a strong suit of ‘Relationship’ cards that can raise their luck at any point in the game.

The question is: how do you play the game of life?

What is your strategy? And has your strategy yielded you the cards you want?

Are you the type to make big, short-term power moves?

Or are you the more patient type who plays the long game?

Career, Health, Wealth, Relationships – which suit of cards have you been obsessively collecting?

And which type of cards do you tend to sacrifice without a second thought?

Remember that at any point throughout this game, we always have the choice to change our strategy and start playing a different way.

3 Tips To Play The Game Of Life & Win

Here are some tips that I’ve found to be extremely useful in playing this game.

Tip #1: Know exactly what your end game is.

There is a quote that says: ‘if you are born poor it’s not your fault, but if you die poor it’s your fault.’

When we start the game, we’re all given a hand that we don’t get to choose.

But we have many years in between to decide what our last hand of cards will be.

At your end game – what are the cards you want in your hand? And then once you’ve figured that out, you keep altering your play style until it’s one that will get you to your end game.

Throughout the way, you may have to deal with extremely difficult opponent players, bad draws and penalty cards that will make you want to quit the game immediately.

But knowing how your end game will turn out gives you that perspective to stay on course and keep playing.

This makes you a confident and forward-thinking player that other players will want to emulate.

At the end of the day – you choose what ‘winning’ means to you. And then you go on to win at your own terms.

Tip #2: Create your own strategy from scratch.

Many of us are subconsciously playing the same damn strategy we’ve learned from our parents and teachers from the start of the game.

The problem with this is that the playing style that was effective for them could be completely useless for you because you were dealt completely different cards!

Remember that they are also trying to play the game the best way they possibly can.

Take a moment to reflect on how they played the game – and then create your own strategy – one that fits who you are as an individual and the goals you’ve always wanted.

Tip #3: Be extremely generous with your ‘Talent’ and ‘Natural Gifts’ cards.

Many players are unsure of how to use their own ‘Talent’ and ‘Natural Gifts’ cards that they may have inherited from young or have unknowingly cultivated over the years.

These cards are rare because not everyone is given an opportunity to even hold the cards you’re holding.

The truth is that these cards are your unique, distinct advantage as a player. Not using them is like using a gold bar as a paperweight!

Examine all your ‘Talent’ and ‘Natural Gifts’ cards that you’ve not been using and relentlessly play them in all areas of your life so you can multiply the odds of your success!

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Decide what ‘winning’ means to you.

Formulate a strategy of your own.

Then play full out and remember to have fun!

All the best!