27th December 2024
In the 1999 tennis book, ‘Extraordinary Tennis for the Ordinary Tennis Player,’ author Simon Ramo broke down the difference between amateur and professional tennis, writing that they were two different types of games:
》Amateur tennis is a Loser’s Game: 80% of points are lost on unforced errors. You win by avoiding errors and waiting for your opponent to make errors.
》Professional tennis is a Winner’s Game: 80% of points are won on incredible shots. You win by hitting incredible shots.
The core insight is you have to know what kind of game you’re playing.
In a Loser’s Game, there’s no point trying to hit magnificent shots. You’re better off keeping it simple & avoiding unforced errors.
In a Winner’s Game, there’s no point trying to play conservatively to avoid unforced errors, You’re better off trying to hit the elegant, perfect shots.
Here’s an important truth: Most games in life are Loser’s Games.
You don’t get “paid” for complex, magnificent shots. You get “paid” for consistently avoiding unforced errors, For being reliable, For figuring it out, For showing up & doing
what you say you’re going to do.
In most games in life, the sum of consistent, ordinary performances adds up to something extraordinary.
But intelligent people are naturally drawn to ‘sexy,’ complex answers & solutions.
Why? Because they make you sound interesting.
At a party, when someone asks about your latest investments, work projects, or health habits, the most complex, interesting answer always seems to draw the most attention:
If you say you like to buy & hold some mutual funds, people quickly move on to the person bragging about their crypto arbitrage strategy.
If you say you like to move your body and eat whole, unprocessed foods, people quickly move on to the person who is using red light therapy gene infusion to Benjamin Button themselves back into their teenage years.
The point here is that sexy “sells” when you’re in a social setting, so smart people are often sucked into it.
They start trying to play a Winner’s Game because it makes them sound more interesting.
But the pull towards complexity is a trap, because the simple, boring basics usually win in the long run.
You don’t need talent or luck to win a Loser’s Game—you just need to keep showing up.
Success in any endeavor requires you to answer two questions:
What kind of game am I playing?
Is this a game I can win?
If you can honestly answer “Yes” to the second question, you’re on the right path.
If not, you need to find a different game.
Life’s a Game, Every area of your life can be thought of as a game:
Your relationships
Your health
Your career
Your finances
In each case, the game is a long one—played over & over again until the end of your days.
You have a choice of how to play.
Occasionally, a situation may call for the elegant, perfect shot & may want to be prepared for those moments and know you have it in your back pocket and
You may want to be able to win the Winner’s Game.
But most of the time, you just need to keep the ball in play.
You just need to stay in the game long enough to let the magic of compounding do its magic.
You need to win the Loser’s Game.
As the new year approaches, decide the game you are going to play & stay blessed forever.