Now these lessons, or epiphanies, came to me as I was getting ready to lose over $250 within 10 MINUTES of even playing the game. It was like a huge light bulb went off in my head, and it felt great…. Not because I lost EVEN MORE… but because I got a feeling of EMPOWERMENT from losing in this game and winning in another.
Here are the lessons I learned:
1. Had to Learn the Odds so I Felt Comfortable Playing, but that Comfort Costs
So let’s start with the odds of actually winning this game. Without getting too deep into a lesson on playing roulette:
Players can choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even. The croupier then spins a ball within a wheel. The ball will eventually slow down and land on the winning number / color. Boom! That’s it!
Go to Youtube if you want to see this in action.
So you would think the odds are 50 / 50 with red and black or 50 / 50 with odds and evens and so on, but it’s actually not so! There are a few slots that are zeros where you lose the table. So your odds are literally against you before you even start the game. You have less than a 50% chance of winning the table even if your bet was for an odd or even number or either color.
So what the hell does that have to do with life and business? Well, in life and business, your odds are stacked the same exact way. There will ALWAYS be a success and failure rate, and those rates are kinda like the justice system where you’re guilty until proven innocent.
“In business, you’re a failure until proven a success.”
So most would say that statement is harsh…. But If you take it into its true context, you’ll be able to ensure you’re stacking your cards so you can ultimately increase the odds of winning this game we call life.
2. When you have no Control, THAT’S when it’s called gambling
So most people will walk into a casino and say…. “Everyone here is Gambling”…. But.. That’s actually not true. There are many people who are actually taking extremely calculated risks and are able to ALWAYS leave with more than they came in with.
Now, unfortunately, as I was playing, I realized that I had absolutely NO control over the results that I received at the table. So I was literally Slave to the Odds, which is a BAD place to be in.
So what the hell does that have to do with life and business? Well, if you’re an employee at a company and you are in a position where your income and your security is based on the decisions of others, then you too are Slave to the Odds. There are jobs where you can play Not to Lose and then there are jobs where you have the ability to Play to Win, the same way on the roulette table. I could drop $1 here / $3 there, but what will that win me? My income would grow slowly if it even grew at all.
3. Listening to Friends
So for those that know me… They know that I like to gas people up.. Now the problem comes about when I’m gassing up someone who ALSO like’s to gas people up. So we basically had a ton of ego-driven ‘put your shit on the table’ types of attitudes playing the game. We also had those who were trying to give advice.
Now here is the tricky part… the people who were giving advice NEVER WON ANYTHING. But the advice they were giving made sense based on what I knew.
So what the hell does that have to do with life and business? Well in life and business, a lot of your friends and family will give you advice based on what THEY know. That can get you in trouble at times especially if you’re listening to people who are advising you on things they haven’t found much success in.
4. Diversifying My Stakes
So in the game, you’re able to diversify your odds by betting on multiple outcomes (i.e.. I can put $50 on Red and $50 on Odd). So If I get 22 Black as an outcome, I don’t lose because I won the odd but lost the color. Get it?
Now, that is great as long as you understand the game and can make it so you reduce the downside risk, which ultimately can be losing everything.
So what the hell does that have to do with life and business? I see a lot of people who put all of their eggs into one basket. If they have a job, they just do that one job and go home. And they’ll do that with the intent to one day (age 70) retire and then be able to spend their nest egg.
Only issue with that is that throughout your career you’re going to have many opportunities presented to you that would only be recognized if you decided to diversify your business building and personal development efforts.
5. Staying Consistent Helps you Win the Game
Knowing when to switch things up were also tricky… I would keep putting it ALL on Black, then Red would hit three times in a row. So I would say, let me try Red. As soon as I put it all on Red, Black would hit. So now I’m just like WTF!
So what the hell does that have to do with life and business? In Business, it pays to remain consistent. I just shared an article by Brad Costanzo at Influencive about the Invisible Skill all Successful People possess. That skill was….. ::Trumpets sounding::
Consistency
Long story short… If I would have practiced consistency while playing this game I would have won a great deal. With business, if I remained more consistent, I would have higher gains. Same with relationships.
Ultimately, I have to say, losing this game is nothing compared to the game you lose in Life and Business when you don’t the rules to the game.
I want to do some research for you to see what YOUR ODDS are. The button below leads to a short survey. This information will be processed and you’ll received your Odds of Success for your Business Venture or Career.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”grid” angled_section=”no” text_align=”center” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1484446446428{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][button target=”_blank” hover_type=”default” font_style=”normal” text_align=”center” text=”GET YOUR RESULTS” icon_color=”#f6bb2e” link=”https://sfgdigital.typeform.com/to/BzjcIf” background_color=”#f6bb2e” color=”#0a0a0a” hover_color=”#545454″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
