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I - The Cake

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Hello Reader,
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Welcome to the first edition of the The Game of Life.
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I hope you enjoyed the welcome email previously sent out.
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Now as our journey begins together I want to tell you about the exact moment I began this game of life.
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And for this we need to travel back in time to the 31st May 2021, 21:03.

I had never been a big fan of birthdays. I like to reflect rather than celebrate. Reflect on what I had achieved and the blessings I had received.

As the evening approached my sister brought me a cake.

An excellent choice for someone who played an average of 10 hours Xbox a day.

And that's when it started.
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As I looked down on Tesco's finest, I truly realised I was 25 years old.

A quarter century ago I was born. A quarter century I had been on this planet.

Whatever your belief on what is young and what is old, numbers do not lie.

My teens were long gone.

I was beginning my late 20's fearful of becoming 30.

I had no prospects and no direction.

My existence itself is a miracle, and up until this date I had made a mockery of my life.

I don’t think it was any coincidence it was my sister who got me this cake. The person who is closest to me in this life. It sparked something.

I continued to sit and stare.

Flashbacks to all the childhood memories of getting up at 1am for several hours to play video games before sneaking back upstairs and pretending I had been asleep.

Getting in from school and the first sound I’d hear would be my Xbox turning on.

Getting in from college and immediately diving in Lord of the Rings Online.

Skipping college to stay at home and continue playing LOTRO.
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Thinking I’d do myself some good and leave my Xbox at home when going to university, only to laugh at the numerous other addictions I indulged in. And then I brought it back up the next year anyway...

So I continued to stare, looking at this cake.
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LOTRO had 18 months of game time alone. 18 months...? What... what about Apex? That sat at around 140 days. What about Fifa… What about Runescape… What about Star Wars Battlefront… What about Age of Empires… What about… Every other game flew through my mind.

My quick maths in this situation came to the realisation I had spent roughly 25% of my life playing video games. 6-7 years was an estimate that was not far off without knowing the specific number, but that was all I needed to realise. It could have been more… MORE.
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What was I doing?

In and out of jobs I hated with my sole focus on virtual achievements in a fantasy land. Days… if not weeks, to get a badge on a screen.

Was it worth being one of the highest ranked in LOTRO?

Was it worth getting a 10k kill Wraith?

Was it.... I won't indulge anymore, you all get the picture.

I will not sit in regret, but something had to change. I winced a little pain as I thought about what I could have achieved. I was a boy in a grown man's body.

So I took my phone out and took a picture. I sent it to my friends from the online world.

“Today is the day I retire my brothers. I will never forget the memories, but it’s time to move on.”

“Bro, we are going to miss you”

“Casual is okay man, don’t stop all together”

“What are you going to do?”

All natural responses. I needed to replace the habit, and I decided to continue with a “game” of sorts. Chess? That's a good one.

But more importantly, I needed to make money. I needed to take control and accountability in my life. I had a list of dreams pushed to the dustiest shelf in my mind to indulge a life of addiction.

“How will you make money?” I was asked.

“I heard about affiliate marketing on Twitter. I’ll start there” I said.

“You’ll be back bro” they said.

Not this time.

This cake had caused a shift.

Today was May 31st 2021.

Tomorrow was June 1st 2021.
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You can all see for yourself when it was created and the success it's achieved me now:
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Thank you for reading.
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If you enjoyed this email, a reply would be great. I want to connect with as many subscribers as possible.

And until Edition II, keep conquering this game of life.

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Thomas

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Side note:
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Today, I have started the challenge "75 Hard" with a group of friends.
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You can keep up with daily accountability on Twitter, and I will write about my experiences of it in the future.
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If you have completed 75 Hard in the past or want to join me on this journey don't hesitate to get in touch.
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Here is what's involved every day:

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