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Turn Your Business Into A Game- You'll Be Amazed at the Results...

by Brad Spencer
17 replies
Hey Warriors,

I know that thread title is a bit "leading" and I put it there because I wanted to see what would happen as a result of this conversation.

Why turn your business into a game?

Well...it all comes down to what we did as a child. Children learn by games and repetition. It's fun so they learn. It's only when we get into middle and high school that we start "hating learning" because it's all kinds of useless and impractical work.

This psychology and conditioning to "hate learning" because "learning" is associate with upper and higher education (middle school through college) means that we don't enjoy learning any more.

This is a dangerous position to be in now that the world is connected and you're now competing with 6.8 billion people.

So...on a practical basis...if you turn your business into a game meaning...

1. You have goals for "winning" ("winning" is a personal thing)
2. There are rules, conditions, and accomplishments along the way (what those are is determined by your definition is of "winning")
3. Turn daily tasks into accomplishments (3 articles per day is an accomplishment and push til you get it then reward yourself with a "prize")

You'll associate growing, learning, and building your business into a fun "game" which will become entertainment which then can become a burning passion.

While this might not work for everyone...it has worked for me and I love it. When I'm ticked about my business it's because I'm not looking at it as a game (just a personal observation of my own thoughts)

Hope this helps someone reframe what they do "online" from a negative ("learning" is boring b/c high school/college sucked) to a positive (game like a kid)

Cheers,

Brad
#amazed #business #game #results #turn
  • Profile picture of the author BionicMan1973
    Originally Posted by Brad Spencer View Post

    Hey Warriors,

    I know that thread title is a bit "leading" and I put it there because I wanted to see what would happen as a result of this conversation.

    Why turn your business into a game?

    Well...it all comes down to what we did as a child. Children learn by games and repetition. It's fun so they learn. It's only when we get into middle and high school that we start "hating learning" because it's all kinds of useless and impractical work.

    This psychology and conditioning to "hate learning" because "learning" is associate with upper and higher education (middle school through college) means that we don't enjoy learning any more.

    This is a dangerous position to be in now that the world is connected and you're now competing with 6.8 billion people.

    So...on a practical basis...if you turn your business into a game meaning...

    1. You have goals for "winning" ("winning" is a personal thing)
    2. There are rules, conditions, and accomplishments along the way (what those are is determined by your definition is of "winning")
    3. Turn daily tasks into accomplishments (3 articles per day is an accomplishment and push til you get it then reward yourself with a "prize")

    You'll associate growing, learning, and building your business into a fun "game" which will become entertainment which then can become a burning passion.

    While this might not work for everyone...it has worked for me and I love it. When I'm ticked about my business it's because I'm not looking at it as a game (just a personal observation of my own thoughts)

    Hope this helps someone reframe what they do "online" from a negative ("learning" is boring b/c high school/college sucked) to a positive (game like a kid)

    Cheers,

    Brad
    Very good article you wrote there.
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahberra
    Good tips. I really like this marketing strategy. I try to treat my business like a real job and I tend to get results this way. I have set hours each day and I stick to it. Yes, the results are slow, but slow results are better than no results.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    You know, I look at a lot of my SEO SE sites like this. A competition that I want to win.

    So instead of having a mind set of needing to rank higher to make more money it's a competition between me that the other guys... sorta like a never ending marathon.

    When I outrank another site I can do my little endzone victory dance, In your face blahblahblah.com! Who's number 1 now? When they outrank me, Oh no you didn't!

    Silly little games to make work less tedious and more fun.

    If it's not fun, what is the point?
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    • Profile picture of the author imon32red
      In some ways I do this everyday. Every night after 10 p.m. I have a spreadsheet that I fill in. It includes how much I made for the day, my monthly average, my projected earnings and etc. It really is like a game. I am full time in IM and make a decent living from it.

      I actually don't have any goals this year because my passive income exceeds what I need to make. I need to sit down and create some new goals again that are a stretch but attainable.
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      I'm not selling anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author bashirb
    Great advice!

    If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Curran Smith
      I think this could work for some people, it may take the pressure off psychologically. For others, it may not work so well. Personally I think it matters how your brain is hardwired.

      I do a lot of personal researched on the brain and nutrition and such because it interests me --some people are wired for dopamine rewards, some are more wired for serotonin hits. Fascinating stuff really.

      I like this idea, and if it works someone individually...keep it...if not, try another way; we all will find our own way eventually.

      There's this great "sales story" that you'll become a millionaire if you write down the 5 things you must accomplish the next day and then only focus on those 5 things, if you don't finish, add it to the list for tomorrow.

      That method is sort of a game as well.

      Life is a game. For those philosophically inclined, read the book Finite & Infinite Games. It will blow your head off.

      Ok, ramble concluded.

      GM
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      • Profile picture of the author Brad Spencer
        Originally Posted by Garage Media View Post

        I think this could work for some people, it may take the pressure off psychologically. For others, it may not work so well. Personally I think it matters how your brain is hardwired.

        I do a lot of personal researched on the brain and nutrition and such because it interests me --some people are wired for dopamine rewards, some are more wired for serotonin hits. Fascinating stuff really.

        I like this idea, and if it works someone individually...keep it...if not, try another way; we all will find our own way eventually.

        There's this great "sales story" that you'll become a millionaire if you write down the 5 things you must accomplish the next day and then only focus on those 5 things, if you don't finish, add it to the list for tomorrow.

        That method is sort of a game as well.

        Life is a game. For those philosophically inclined, read the book Finite & Infinite Games. It will blow your head off.

        Ok, ramble concluded.

        GM
        Totally true and I agree with your idea. I'm not sure the differences chemically in teh brain between dopamine and serotonin...however I'm fascinated by different motivation styles.

        I'm super psyched to learn personally...probably why I buy so many IM products that aren't immediately accretive to earnings b/c I love synthesizing new ideas from the things I read. That's my game. Come up with a unique twist on something common and make it better, faster,cheaper or easier...that's sort of my business model. This comes from my desire to live life as a game.

        Freud would probably love me I'm sure.

        Cheers,

        Brad
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  • Profile picture of the author chasnsx
    IM is a sideline for me rather than my day job, but I always have treated it like a game. The way I see it, mouse clicking is mouse clicking, whether you do it to play Mafia Wars, or to create money making websites. The difference is, if you play Mafia Wars you get play money, and if you make websites, you get real money.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    Why apply it to business? Why not turn your life into a big MMORPG game where you have to raise stats, grind for gold and skills and get epic rewards!

    Just as an example: doing pull ups increases my strength stats.
    Reading a Wiki article increases my intelligence stats.
    Flirting gives charisma bonus, etc...

    lol
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrea Wilson
    Seems contradicting to the other marketers that says we should treat our online business seriously, ermm..a job that is. Treating online marketing as a game is looking at the things in a different light. its more fun that way, less stressful.

    Andrea
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Gardner
    Thanks for sharing this. It blows my mind. So much so, both my intelligence and motivation leveled up.

    Seriously though, I think a lot of us would benefit greatly from adopting this mindset. Especially if we regularly tweak the rules and prizes for optimum performance.

    Now, I'm off to level up my article marketing...
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  • Profile picture of the author Espen Samuelsen
    Yes, this is what I try to do each day, even though of course if you don't "win", some days it'll be harder to play the game. But then after a few days you get some new ideas and get really pumped to get back to "beat the game"! :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author PaulMark
    Thanks Brad.

    Mark and I were teaching this on a webinar yesterday. The "treat this like a business" can be a lot of pressure for some and can turn a person into an impersonal salesman.

    The game mentality has helped us a ton!

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by PaulMark View Post

      Thanks Brad.

      Mark and I were teaching this on a webinar yesterday. The "treat this like a business" can be a lot of pressure for some and can turn a person into an impersonal salesman.

      The game mentality has helped us a ton!

      Paul
      I couldn't agree more. Sometimes being too serious about your business can have detrimental effects, causing you to lose interest and motivation because of all the pressure you're putting yourself through. Treating it like a game takes a lot of it off, and then it just becomes something challenging and fun where you strive to outdo yourself each time! This simple mindset change can have a great positive impact on your business, and I certainly know that it has for mine.

      Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author Brad Spencer
      Originally Posted by PaulMark View Post

      Thanks Brad.

      Mark and I were teaching this on a webinar yesterday. The "treat this like a business" can be a lot of pressure for some and can turn a person into an impersonal salesman.

      The game mentality has helped us a ton!

      Paul
      Totally...when I started "gaming" my systems, pushing them to the limits, breaking my own rules to see what would happen, etc things just got a lot more fun to me.

      I always stick with quality but I've played around to see what that actually means. Sometimes longer videos work better, sometimes not.

      This business really is a game though b/c it's not like we have to spend 2 billion dollars on researching a drug only to find out in 3rd stage clinical trials that it doesn't work.

      That type of stuff will never happen in IM.

      Cheers,

      Brad

      Originally Posted by laozi View Post

      Yes, this is what I try to do each day, even though of course if you don't "win", some days it'll be harder to play the game. But then after a few days you get some new ideas and get really pumped to get back to "beat the game"! :-)
      Embrace that feeling and you'll get a lot more done and make a lot more money. That's the honest truth.

      Enjoying the game and the ups and downs of it really will get you further than worrying about some goal. Having fun each day usually leads to your goal

      Brad
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