I attribute much of my material success to gaming. As a teenager, I was ranked in a game because I found school terribly under-stimulating - things came naturally to me. Through gaming, I discovered my obsessive nature and I take no shame in acknowledging it. When something captivates me, it possesses me entirely. I would stay awake, feverishly perfecting techniques, spotting patterns, and pondering ways to outsmart the game. I was detached from the outcome - consumed by the desire to improve.
Eventually, I paused to reflect on the time I had dedicated to gaming and realised the transient nature of it all. If the game were to be shut down, I would have little to show for it. It was then that the metaphor clicked - the world was a game and I was the player. The ranking systems, the side quests, and the challenges of real life became far more intriguing. So, I quit cold turkey.
This experience taught me how to recognise a consuming level of excitement and focus it with such intensity that everything else becomes a blur. To chase that singular focus with an almost delusional confidence. To allow your passion to consume you entirely. To step away, strategise with foresight, and consider more than what’s immediately apparent. To detach from money, seeing it as nothing more than game currency, in order to maintain objectivity - for it is only by detaching from the outcome that you can act with precision, impartiality, and clarity.
Game on.