Life is filled with many little trades.
At any moment, you are giving something and receiving something in return. You trade your time and energy for money. You trade that money for food. You trade time and effort to acquire new skills.
Some trades move you forward. Some keep you where you are. Some move you backwards. Over time, the accumulated effects of these trades become your future.
Did you know? A man traded a paperclip into a house over eBay. In only 14 transactions.
You can do the same with your life too.
Your most basic currency units are time and energy.
Some activities you ‘spend’ your units on are like investments. In the long run, you gain more than you put in.
A few examples are:
- Learning valuable skills
- Developing yourself
- Building great relationships
Communication is a valuable skill. Warren Buffett said, “I don’t have my diploma from college or from graduate school, but I have my Dale Carnegie diploma [in my office] because it changed my life.” He believes effective communication increases your worth by at least 50%.
Developing yourself also pays huge dividends. Working to eliminate limiting beliefs increases your chances of success exponentially. Imagine you had the belief, “people are always against me”. As a result, you’re unable to build working relationships and constantly sabotage romantic relationships. Resolving such detrimental attitudes removes internal barriers, paving the way for you to reach your goals.
On the other hand, negative trades make you worse off.
They consume time and energy but don’t return you anything. Gossiping, watching TV, browsing too much Facebook, and binge eating feel good in the moment but don’t create long-term value.
So how do you identify the best trades?
First, you have to know what you want. If you don’t know where you’re going, whatever you do will just be a waste of time. If you have no direction, take the necessary steps to find your path.
Once you’ve figured out what you want, identify the skills and traits you need to get there. For example, I knew I wanted to become a life coach. I invested in coaching lessons (building skills). I also needed the ability to connect with people (developing traits). I spoke to people every day until I learned to truly connect to another human being.
Finally, accept that sometimes you must endure short-term pain for long-term gain. If you want to be an artist, you know your early creations will fall short of your standards. You encounter frequent failures and rejections in the beginning. But you become great only by working through the mediocre stage, slowly building your repertoire and expertise.
In summary, to win at the game of life, follow these three tips:
- Know what you want
- Identify what you need to get there
- Endure short-term pain for long-term gain
Your future depends on what you do today. Invest your time and energy wisely.
