The 6 Games In Life You Play

“How do you know what to optimize your career for?

I asked, genuinely curious.

I had thought about it, of course, but I never had a satisfactory answer.

“Well, you see, you must first know what game you’re playing,” David Fallarme explained.

“There are 6 games (there are more) that people usually play.

They are:

1. Security Game, for e.g salaryman
2. Money Game, for e.g hedge fund managers
3. Mastery Game, for e.g artist
4. Freedom Game, for e.g nomadic freelancer
5. Influence Game, for e.g politician
6. Altruism Game, for e.g social worker

To know what you want to optimize your career and life for, you must know what game to play.

The maximum you can do is a combination of 2 games, for e.g Mastery & Freedom.”

“And,” he continued.

“Most people are unhappy, or find that their careers are off because of several reasons:

1. They are playing the wrong game.
2. They are trying to play all the games.
3. They get forced by society to play the most popular game, which is the Money Game.”

I paused.

I had never thought of my career in this manner.

And yet, it seems so clear to me now.

The game I want to play is Freedom + Mastery.

Freedom to make my own choices, and Mastery to excel at something.

How about you?

What games are you trying to play?

-Si Quan Ong