I have an idea I want to share with you. I’ve never written about this idea before, but it has made my life a lot more enjoyable. Ready? Here it is…

View EVERYTHING You Do for Money As A Game

We take everything surrounding money way too seriously. Money is just paper. It’s the exact same thing as the fake money in the board game Monopoly. PAPER. For some reason we take getting this PAPER as the end-all-be-all. Imagine laying awake all night worrying because you lost some of your Monopoly money from your board game? “Honey, what’s wrong. Why can’t you sleep? I’m upset, because I didn’t collect $200 when I passed GO.”

It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense when you stop and think about it. Yet, this is exactly what we do. I’ve done it. We’ve all done it.

Why not take the same perspective we have for playing Monopoly with everything we do for money? Wouldn’t this make life more enjoyable?

Some reading this may respond, “But I have got bills to pay and I don’t have enough money.”

My answer to this is… how does taking money too seriously help with this situation? I can’t honestly think of any situation where taking money too seriously is helpful. In fact, I think it actually messes us up. If we lighten up, making money becomes a lot easier.

We all know that in any negotiation the person who cares the least about the outcome of the negotiation typically wins the negotiation. Why is this the case? Think about it. Really, the answer to this question is very important.

The idea is to take work (money) less seriously. The idea is to care less about everything surrounding work and money.

And by taking money less seriously and caring less, we win. We have more fun. We worry less. We enjoy the ride more.

This doesn’t mean we don’t try to get more money. It simply means we view everything we do for more money as a game. If we lose today, so what? We get to play again tomorrow. We just don’t worry about it.

Maybe we pull the “Go To Jail” card today…

Go to Jail Monopoly Card

and lose money in today’s game!

So what. Shrug your shoulders and keep playing. It’s just a game! Forgettaboutit.

Last month, I had several costly repairs at vacant rental properties. My plumber installed 3 different hot water tanks, a new underground gas line, and a new furnace back to back. It was very expensive. I was joking with him about how his kids would have a good Xmas. In the middle of all of this he said, “I can’t believe you’re not flipping out with all of this happening at the same time?

My reply was, “It’s just money.” Despite losing the game that particular week, I was still healthy. My family was healthy. Nobody was in a car accident. My house was still standing. We had heat. We had running water. All of my relationships with loved ones remained golden. Everything really important was perfectly fine. I just lost paper money.

My perspective was…I’m playing the game and pulled the darn go to jail card. Guess what, once the repairs were made, I got out of jail and got to keep playing. Those properties are now rented and my income pipeline is pumping again. All I have to do to get this money back, is to continue holding the asset. Time will work to my advantage and I’ll recoup my loss.

Now, since I’m playing the game, I’ve been very strategic. I had a reserve set aside for unexpected expenses. I setup this reserve because I had learned from a previous “go to jail card.” I learned how to be a better player in the game!

On a high level, we only have one life to live.

We can live this life making a big deal about every little thing (taking money too seriously), or we can create a fun game and not worry so much.

If you’re an investor, view everything you do as a game. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. When you lose, learn the lesson you need and become better at the game. No big deal.

If you’re an entrepreneur, view building your business as a fun game. Keep trying different strategies to increase your sales. If something doesn’t work, keep playing by trying something else. Every time you try you get a little better at the game. Damn it, have some fun.

Here are a few game ideas for you to consider:

How to I create an amazing lifestyle?
How do I create $20,000 a month in positive cashflow?
How do I replace my income from my J-O-B?
How do I use compound interest to set my children up to live their dream lifestyles?
How do I increase my business’s sales each month working less than 20 hours a week?
How do I systematically sell X homes a month working only X hours a week?

It’s like playing chess in real life and it makes life a lot more enjoyable.


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