1: There are two ways to approach any situation. Two ways to approach life.
Are we playing a finite game? Or an infinite game?
“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,” writes Dr. James Carse in his book Finite and Infinite Games. An infinite game is played “for the purpose of continuing the play. . . Finite players play within boundaries; infinite players play with boundaries. . . Only that which can change can continue.”
In a finite game, we are playing the game. Not so with an infinite game.
“When we’re in the infinite game, we’re continuously changing the game. Being an infinite-player means we’re striving to continue playing and transforming the game,” Dan Sullivan and Benjamin Hardy write in 10x Is Easier Than 2x.
Naval Ravikant writes: “Play long-term games with long-term people. All returns in life, whether in wealth, relationships, or knowledge, come from compound interest.”
Because “only that which can continue can compound and grow exponentially,” Dan and Ben observe. “Only that which can change can continue. Only that which effectively adapts can successfully evolve and not be filtered-out. Evolution and compounding go hand-in-hand.”
2: Yesterday, we began exploring strategies to go 10x. Rather than 2x. Which is our default mode. Do what we’re doing. But a little better.
10x is different. We’re playing a different game. The infinite game.
One way to know if we are playing an infinite game is to ask ourselves: Am I showing up as a Buyer? Or a seller?
“To go 10x, we must be the Buyer,” Dan and Ben write. “Always Be the Buyer.”
What’s the difference? “The Buyer can walk away,” they note. “Being the Buyer means we have clear standards for ourselves, and we know what we want.”
Which is different from being the Seller. Who is “desperate to be in a particular situation,” they write, “because we think we need it.”
Dan explains: “When we have a buyer mindset, we continually use our best learnings from all of our experiences to create standards about what will be useful to our future and what won’t be.
“We always want to be upgrading our present based on the best standards we’ve created. There are always a lot of possibilities, and we have a bigger and better future plan, and that’s why we have to use the standards we’ve built to determine the best opportunities, including who will be useful for us to collaborate with.
3: Buyers seek out other Buyers to form transformational relationships and collaborations: “Wherein the whole becomes infinitely different and better than the sum of all parts,” the authors write.
This approach helps to create transformational rather than transactional relationships.
How do we know if a relationship is a transformational one?
“When neither party feels they are losing, and neither party feels they are getting the ‘upper hand’ in the deal,” Dan and Ben write.
“When someone feels they are ‘losing,’ they’re being a Seller. In transformational relationships,” they note, “there are no losers. Everyone wins in the ways they want, and no justification is required for what each party wants.”
Buyers are playing an infinite game.
“Infinite players are continually transforming and elevating themselves and their Unique Abilities,” they write. “They then form 10x or 100x synergistic and compounding relationships that transform and elevate all parties in desired ways.”
Being a buyer. Playing the infinite game. These are strategies to pursue 10x rather than 2x.
“Our bigger commitments are going to require courage, and while we’re going through a stage that requires courage, we’ll want to be in relationships with people who are also committed and in a courage stage–people who are always growing.”
More tomorrow!
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Reflection: Which type of game am I playing–a finite game or an infinite game?
Action: Discuss with a family member, friend, or colleague.