Living a Monopoly Lifestyle

Need a last minute Christmas gift?  A board game is something that both (fun) adults and children will equally enjoy.  There are timeless classics like;  Candy Land, Shoots and Ladders, Trouble, Battleship, and, my personal favorite, Monopoly.

As a kid I had a competitive mean streak in me that would challenge any professional athletes.  Losing in a game of Monopoly was simply not an option.  If I felt like my chances at winning, via bankrupting my opponents, had been nixed, I simply flipped the board.  Literally.  Pieces, money, properties and cards went soaring.  

As you can imagine, finding people to play Monopoly with eventually became pretty difficult.  

I'm happy to say that I've shed my sore losing with age....and maturity....and many solo Monopoly matches.  There's a lot that can be learned from the best selling board game of all-time, that pertains to success in life.

- Investing In The Best Properties - You already know Boardwalk and Park Place are the primest of prime real estate.  You pay big fake bucks for them, but boy is it worth it.  Let your opponent land on one of those spaces, and you'll see your reward.  Same in life.  Sometimes investing in the best gets you the biggest returns.  And in the end, you'll almost always get what you pay for.

- Chance - Land here, pick a card, and you may become a little richer.  Remember winning first prize in a beauty competition?  Or a bank error in your favor?  Maybe these aren't realistic for you and I, but taking chances in life can often result in positive outcomes - which is why we get excited about "chance".  Sure, something negative may happen, but it's the possibility of something positive happening that gets our juices flowing.  Get out of your comfort zone in 2012, and start seeing new outcomes.

- Pass Go, Collect $200 - You make it all the way around the board, without going bankrupt, and you collect $200.  This checkpoint gives you a financial shot in the arm and allows you to keep on trucking, or thimble-ing, whichever you choose.  Same in life.  Give yourself checkpoints en route to accomplishing your goals, and then reward yourself for reaching them.  

- Be The Banker - Let's face it, the banker is the best job in board gaming.  You have a fake $20,000 at your "disposal".  Come on, be honest, have you ever slipped an extra $10....$20....$5,000 maybe, into your stack?  There's something to be learned about having that kind of power.  It teaches honesty, fairness, and as a kid, it allows your imagination to run wild with the possibility of what you could do if you had all of the banks money.  Work hard to earn and save more, and feel that same wave of excitement as an adult.

There are many other lessons that I took away from this childhood favorite.  From paying utilities, to math, to leveraging "assets" and paying up on my responsibilities.  Think about it, if you owe somebody rent in Monopoly, you can't say "Yea, sorry for the delay, but the check is in the mail, I swear!".  You pay up, even if that means shedding some valuable property to do so.

Some of the nostalgia is being taken away though.  Monopoly now comes in video game form, and with electronic banking.  Instead of cash, you get credit cards!  I don't know about you, but I like the idea of having a sweaty fist full of fake dough and counting the spaces in advance as my fellow players land on a Boardwalk full of hotels!!!  Ha Ha Ha Ha!  Pay up sucker!  Daddy's gonna have a green Christmas!!

Living Like A Mental "Little Person"

That's the politically correct way of referring to someone who is a mental midget.  Someone who's thinking has shrunk far beyond what it once was.  The top 10% of the population control 93% of our countries wealth, with the top 1% controlling 42% of that!  When it comes to success in life, you must be "this" tall to ride this ride, and those height requirements START at colossal and grow from there.

It may seem like nearly every book I reference is "one of my favorites", but this one truly is on my shorter list of "if I was stranded on an island....." list - The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Shwartz.  He quotes Michelangelo right out of the gates when he writes "The problem with most men is not that they aim too high and miss, it's that they aim too low and hit."

There is an epidemic running rampant throughout workplaces and within relationships, and that epidemic is called contentment.  I'm not suggesting that we be ungrateful for what we have in life, but if you're sick of something, or you wish something were better, or even just different, stop settling for what you have.  The "well, this is just the way it is" way of thinking is getting us nowhere, and only more of what we already have.

The culprit behind this epidemic is me, myself and I.  Or in your case, you, yourself....and.....you again.  That's the good news!  Good because we can control our thinking, and we can remove ourselves from our own self-inflicted ruts.  So, if you don't like your weight, think healthier thoughts, put a plan of action behind it and get to sweating.  If you can't see yourself in a healthier light, I can guarantee that you'll remain unhealthily in the dark.  If you're not satisfied with where you are professionally, start thinking larger, like you're the CEO of "You Inc." and go to work making your company the best it can be.

I'm not talking about naive Ra-Ra type self-talk though.  I'm talking about cultivating bigger and better thoughts inside of that brain of yours, and using it as a catalyst towards getting you from where you are to where you want to be.  It starts, and unfortunately for many of us, it also ends with the size of our thinking.

One of the worst thought constrictors that exists today are those closest to us.  Friends, co-workers and family members that aren't thinking the same sized thoughts that you are, and can't fathom; loosing 25 pounds; saving a million dollars for retirement; traveling to Europe; getting out of debt, etc. etc. One of the most important, and equally as difficult, tasks you must tackle on your road to success is separating yourself from those who want to keep you on the kiddie rides in life.  I strongly suggest that you grab your mallet, let them be the mole, and go and get your whack-a-mole on!

I once read that if Bill Gates were walking down the street, and dropped a $100 bill, it would actually COST him more money to bend down and pick it up, than it would to just leave it and continue on his wealthy way!!  Ok, his thinking is probably a little more robust than the average persons is, as are his results.  That's the point.  Think bigger and you might start being inspired to grow bigger, achieve more and go from being a mental midget (not meant to offend) to someone who thinks in gargantuan proportions!