When you listen to someone who has made it…

And when I say “made it,” I am talking about in the sense of financial gains, wealth accumulations, or someone who is at the pinnacle of societal success.

…They describe their journey of achieving success through rose-colored glasses. The classical fairytale of success. Usually, their account of the journey is shared using general aphorisms like, “trust the process, focus on the things that you can control, have an abundance mindset.”

When you’re looking back, experiences are hard to put in perspective, especially for people who are at level 10, because it’s been a while since they’ve experienced what it was like to get to level 1.

I myself have been guilty of this, as I have built multiple consulting companies from helping people with weight loss to entrepreneurship. We’ll describe the journey from a rainbow and daisies perspective when 99.9% of the time, it’s anything but that.

As someone who very recently has clawed my way to level 1 and as I am working towards level 3, this is my attempt at documenting the journey.

Before we go further, I want to introduce two concepts:

Levels of Life

Arena of Life

Levels of Life:

For those familiar with video games, each game has different levels to it.

A level is the next stage or path available, upon completion of the current stage or level.

I view life from this lens, meaning life has different stages where new stages become available upon the completion of one stage.

For example, when you are a bachelor, you start dating, then get married.

Unlike a video game where the progression of a level is either upward or you stay at the same level, in the game of life you’re not only able to ascend, meaning you may move up to a higher level, but you can also descend down to lower levels.

When referring to people going from 0 to Level 1, here are a few examples from my own life:

Gaining muscle mass & going from weighing 115lbs to 165lbs

Being a personal trainer at a gym to opening up my own gyms

The concept of levels is just going from your current situation, then developing the skills, character traits, and beliefs to get the desired situation.

Level 0 - Weighing 115lbs

Level 1 - Weighing 165lbs

Level 0 - Working for someone else

Level 1 - Working for yourself.

Level 0 - Wanting to lose 100lbs

Level 1 - Actually losing 100lbs

Arenas for The Game Of Life:

The Arena of life is a framework that I borrow from Theodore Roosevelt from his famous quote:

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

If we continue the theme of life being a game, and in the game we have multiple levels,

The Arena is the category in which the game is being played.

The Arena is the metaphorical battleground between your v1.0 and your v2.0. It’s you at war against who you currently are, and who you want to be. It’s you doing the work that is required to get to the desired situation.

As I see the world, there are three main Arenas in the Game of Life, because human existence, for decades, has revolved around these three pillars:

Health

Wealth

Happiness

Welcome To The Arena:

When people who are playing the Game of Life at a whole different level give advice, it should always be taken with a grain of salt.

I would say not to listen to what they are saying, especially if they are describing their journey through an unrealistic perspective.

When you’re looking back, you’re approaching the memories from an ideal scene, because everything they went through has paid off big time. And since it has paid off big time, it is easy to negate those concepts and push a softer agenda on the folks who are in the Arena trying to make it to level 1. They do that by saying things like, “trust the process, focus on the things you can control, don’t worry about the money, have work-life balance”...

The reality is, when you’re in the Arena, NONE of those aphorisms get through to you.

In the Arena, there is no hope, it’s life or death, it’s all about survival.

You question whether this was the right move.

People around you question what you are doing, so the rest of the people think you are crazy.

You’re riding these highs and lows because, up until you entered the Arena, you were a spectator.

Someone who was sitting on the sidelines either judging others in the Arena or trying everything to avoid it.

Sadly, many people spend all of their life avoiding the Arena and make no progress at all.

Internally, they’ve limited their existence to eating, sleeping, working, consuming, and repeating rather than face the challenges that life presents.

“Too often the frenzied or the miserable will think that an escape — literal or chemical — is a positive good.” - Ryan H.

Surviving In The Arena

The Arena is the Rocky Cut scene; in the movie, it might last 2 minutes, but for some of us, it might last a decade.

In my journey from 0 to Level 1, I have found a few key elements that were helpful:

• Use Everything You’ve Got

• Action Solves Everything

• Switch To An Infinite Game

#1 Use Everything You’ve Got

The way to survive the Arena is to use any fuel that drives you. From my experience, many of us enter the Arena because we are running away from something. Fear can be a very strong motivator, more than reward. Even though as humans we will repeat the patterns we are rewarded for, we will always remember the fears, because the brain sees fear as a threat. This is an evolutionary response that has helped us survive.

What was the fuel that drove me?

I wanted to get the validation of my father.

I was afraid of being poor.

I wanted to prove everyone wrong who thought my goals were stupid and lofty.

Whether you’re doing this for:

Status

Money

Insecurities

Validation

Grudges

Use it all, is it useful long term? No. But it comes in handy to get started.

A famous quote by Naval R. who says, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”

Sure, playing the status game or money game can be stupid long term and does not bear any fruits. My argument is all fuel burns and produces energy, you need something to fuel you to jump into the Arena.

Use what you’ve got.

#2 Action Solves Everything

When you jump into the Arena, it can be overwhelming. That’s because it’s an Infinite game, and there are known and unknown rules; we’ll talk about this more in a bit.

In my experience, a lot of the

times you’re creating the rules as you go for whatever Arena you’re playing in. You can borrow rules from others but will need to adjust the strategy at times. This can lead to paralysis by analysis.

But the one thing I am sure of that works from experience is that: “Actions Solves Everything”

Too many people discount what they can achieve if they simply took more actions.

A statement that I repeat to myself when I am overwhelmed or feeling anxious is: “Actions alleviate anxiety”. Too many people sit in the realm of paralysis by analysis, thinking too much and not really doing anything.

According to John D. Rockefeller as he writes to his son, “Destiny is determined by our actions, not our origins.” I cannot emphasize the importance of Action enough. If there is one saving grace that allowed me to claw out of my way from 0 to Level 1, it is my ability to take imperfect action.

Actions, even if things don’t make sense, action even if you don’t know the next step, action even if you don’t feel like doing it.

Eventually, action becomes your default response to the burden of life.

“In all labor, there is profit…” Wealth, health, happiness, wisdom, love, honor, success come from the labor of the hands and the head. Take action and work hard towards the things you want, even when things don’t make sense.

Action solves everything.

#3 Switch To An Infinite Game

At first, you started playing the game to escape, to prove everyone wrong. Trust me, it’s a great way to get started, but not a great way to keep going.

After you have burned out the fuel of anger, hatred, and grudges, there is nothing left. It’s like lighter fluid, it gives things a quick spark, and also a quick burn. You will get to a point where you'll soon run out of this fuel.

You’ll realize that the people you want to prove wrong, don’t matter or care.

The people that told you you were not good enough, their opinions don’t matter.

The status you were trying to reach because you were comparing yourself doesn’t drive you.

Once the fuel runs out, you’re left looking for the next source of fuel, until you get to a point where the quick sources of fuel are no longer left.

What do you do then?

This is where burnout hits, this is where you feel lost, this is where you’ve finished 75% of the level, and you feel like you cannot keep going, because your fuel source is depleted.

You have two choices at this point, quit or find a cleaner fuel source.

The way I pushed through this phase was by switching to an Infinite Game. The concept of Infinite Game is originally from James Carse who wrote the book “Finite and Infinite Games,” and was later popularized by Simon Sinek.

There are two types of games we can play in an Arena:

Infinite Games have known and unknown players, rules are changeable, and the objective is to stay in the game as long as possible.

Most importantly, there is no defined winning or losing, just playing for survival, whoever can stay in the race the longest.

Finite Games have known players, fixed rules that all players agree upon. For example, basketball is a finite game. There are rules, players on opposing sides, start and end, and clearly defined winner and loser.

Using the quick burn fuel source is playing a Finite Game.

The players are myself and the people I wanted to prove wrong. Rules do whatever it takes to prove them wrong. Defined metrics for success, PROVE THEM WRONG.

Sounds silly when you look back from this perspective, but hey it served me well.

You might be asking why I should switch to an Infinite Game when I have made some progress playing a Finite game.

Because the type of game we choose to play will determine our trajectory. When you pick the right game, you will make decisions that align with the game you’re playing, and those decisions determine the outcome that the player gets.

The objective in an Infinite game is that you are competing with yourself, the process is purely focused on making incremental progress for as long as humanly possible. The objective in a Finite game is that you are focused on “winning,” and you will run out of will and resources to compete.

Infinite Games are focused on longevity.

Finite Games are focused on quick wins.

You cannot beat someone who refuses to give up. You cannot lose if you do not quit. The best outcomes in life come to those who are willing to play the game forever.

When Harrison Ford came to Hollywood to become an actor, there were tons of others who came to do the same. He realized that most of them were in a rush, trying to “make it,” trying to expedite the process. So Ford decided to do the opposite, he decided to play the infinite game. To wait out the competition, he decided to become a carpenter. As the other actors started dropping off as quickly as they came, there were only a few actors left, Ford being one of them.

You outlast everyone in the game, simply because of your love of the game, the drive to want to improve.

Health, wealth, and happiness are all infinite games.

You don’t just lose a bunch of weight and stop, now you have to maintain your weight loss…

You don’t just get married, now you have to maintain that marriage and relationships…

You don’t just make money and stop, you continue those actions that made you money…

When you approach life this way, you’re more tactical, less reactive, and you start to live life from a place of stillness.

This process served me well going from 0 to Level 1, and I hope it serves you as well.

TL;DR

Levels of Life:

Just like a video game, life has levels. A level is the next stage or path available, upon completion of the current stage or level. Life has different stages where new stages become available upon the completion of one stage.

Arena of Life:

The Arena is the category in which the game is being played.

There are three main Arenas in the Game of Life, because human existence for decades has revolved around these three pillars:

Health

Wealth

Happiness

The Arena is the Rocky Cut scene; in the movie, it might last 2 minutes, but for some of us, it might last a decade.

If you’re in the thick of it right now, you’re in the Arena, remember:

• Use What You’ve Got - all fuel is fuel, use it to get you started.

• Action Solves Everything - when in doubt just take action. Swing first, talk later.

• Switch To An Infinite Game - the best outcomes in life come to those who are willing to play the long game.

If you found this newsletter helpful, feel free to share it with someone using this link: https://mohammedmalik.com/newsletters/b/atglevelsoflife

Also, I would love to hear your feedback, feel free to hit ‘reply’ and let me know your thoughts.

Remember, you can’t lose if you don’t quit.

Keep living Against the Grain, friend.

Your guide,

- M. Malik