How You Play Video Games = How You Live Life

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Some people see video games as a waste of time. Others see them as a hobby, an escape, or even a way to develop your skills.

Regardless of where you stand, one thing is undeniable: gaming is more popular than ever.

And as technology improves, video games are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Every year, they offer more and more immersive worlds that mimic real-life challenges and rewards. Video games are effectively microcosms of the real world.

Without the pressures and responsibilities of the real world… is it possible that some people (especially Gen Z and Gen Alpha) feel more at ease in a virtual world?

I believe the answer is yes, and that this reveals something quite profound:

How you play video games reveals how you live your life.

In today’s article, we’re going to cover:

• 3 common “personas” in video games

• What they reveal about your real-life mindset

• The key challenge that each persona must overcome

As always, you can watch this article on YouTube as well:

Let’s dive in.

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The Speedrunner

Speedrunning is a subculture within gaming where players try to beat the video game as fast as humanly possible.

Their goal is to set world records — literally beating the video game in record time.

In order to achieve the best times, they often have to skip parts of the video game, or even use exploits and glitches that the developers of the video game didn’t intend on.

Speedrunners are the overachievers in their career.

They want to min-max their salary, and are willing to job-hop every year to get paid more.

They want to be promoted as fast as possible.

They would feel a deep sense of fulfillment of being the youngest executive at their firm.

Some might even use “exploits” like nepotism (or working multiple full-time remote jobs!) to get ahead at all costs.

But they’re still following the “rules” of society. They probably still work a 9-5 job.

And because of this, their goals are likely tied more strictly to their salary.

So what do Speedrunners need to watch out for?

Speedrunners need to make sure they aren’t sacrificing too much for their career.

It’s one thing to miss out on optional side quests, but it’s another thing to sacrifice your health or your relationships for the love of the game.

This used to be me. I was the youngest sales rep at one firm, and I took pride in that. I wanted to earn more money and earn bigger promotions as fast as possible.

But I sacrificed a lot of other areas in my life for that. And looking back, that might not have been the optimal line of quests for me.

The Casual Gamer

This is the person who plays the game the “normal” way.

They go through the tutorial, they play the game at their own pace, and they have a good time doing it.

They don’t feel the need to rush through the game as fast as possible. They are content playing the game just as it was designed.

The Casual Gamer is the average person working a 9-5 job.

All things considered, they are content with their job.

Sure, they might get frustrated with work every once in a while… who doesn’t?

But they aren’t pushing themselves super hard for that next promotion.

And they aren’t eager to quit their job and start their own business or anything. That would be way too stressful.

They live an average life, and they are totally okay with it. And they’re probably the most content of the bunch!

So what does the Casual Gamer need to look out for?

Casual Gamers are most affected by the overall economy.

If there is a recession and companies start doing mass layoffs, the casual gamer is the most likely group to be affected.

There is nothing wrong with being “average”, as long as “average” is doing well.

If you’re a casual gamer, I’d recommend bolstering your emergency fund, upskilling, and making sure you’ll be okay if an economic downturn were to hit.

The Completionist

This is the person that completes every side quest in the game.

They try to find every little collectible and easter egg.

The Completionist is the entrepreneur or freelancer.

They get frustrated with the 9-5 structure, or the “main story quest”. They feel like the video game has so much more to offer.

Because of this, they are most likely to go off the beaten career path and start their own business.

They live life on their own terms.

So what does the Completionist have to look out for?

Completionists need to make sure they don’t get too distracted.

Having optionality feels great, and being able to create your own playstyle can be awesome.

But that also means that Completionists don’t have a real-life boss or main quest telling them what to do next.

Oftentimes, they literally have to “be their own boss”.

So the completionist needs to exercise good judgment every single day.

Here’s a very thought-provoking article / audio clip from Naval Ravikant about the importance of judgment:

Ask yourself “Am I working toward my own goals? Or am I getting distracted?”

This is me now. I love having full control over my life. But this lifestyle comes with the most responsibility.

The only person I have to answer to is myself, and so I need to hold myself accountable, just like a respectable leader at any organization would.

Build in Public Update

There’s an AI prompt going somewhat viral on X right now, where you turn ChatGPT / Claude / Grok into your genius, billionaire business mentor.

Here’s the full prompt:

Despite my skepticism, I tried it out.

And, to my surprise, it was actually pretty effective.

Because I’ve been using ChatGPT as an executive assistant, editor, advisor already, ChatGPT had a lot of context to work with. Using that context, ChatGPT was able to give me highly contextual advice that cut through the noise and called out some of my weaknesses.

If you are an entrepreneur, creator, or otherwise have been using ChatGPT for something work related, try it out. I’m very curious to hear about your results (I read all replies, so don’t be stranger).