Category: Lifestyle Gamification

The world is changing fast, and so must you.

This is the time to upgrade your skills for the new economy
In the past few weeks, the whole world was shaken up. Companies that seem invincible are ceasing operations and in risk of insolvency. Jobs that were thought to be the most stable are seeing the rug pulled out from under their feet. Even the strongest nations in the world (if you look at GDP) were brought down to their knees.

The world is changing rapidly, and therefore so must you. I believe the health/lockdown issues would go away in 3-8 months. But afterwards, unemployment caused by bankruptcies during the shutdown will impact us for the next 3-5 years.

During this time, I believe all the things we already knew the world was moving towards would be coming sooner than expected: 

1. Companies will take this cease-in-operations to replace their infrastructure with robotics/AI
2. Remote teams will become more popular, as companies try to continue to save money on travel/flights
3. Each individual needs to learn to use more tools to make up for a reduced but more efficient workforce
4. There will be a global surplus in “labor” (systematic work) but a global shortage in “talent” (creative and problem-solving work)
5. The world will change at an accelerating pace. What you know now may become obsolete 5 years from now

While I am preparing myself and my own team for this, I wanted to make sure this also doesn’t hit my Octalysis audience by surprise. The (half-way) good news is that, this is also an opportunity to position yourself and give yourself an edge in the new economy.

If you’ve ever watched Game of Thrones, the cunning (but villainous) character Petyr Baelish states that “Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder.” Of course, we aren’t going to purposely create chaos like a villain just to climb the ladder (aren’t they supposed to be chillin’?) – but when chaos strikes, we can and should be prepared for it.

Earlier this year the World Economic Forum published a list of Top 10 Skills in 2020. I made a 3-Part Video on Octalysis Prime to explain why these are important skills in the future, as well as what has changed since their list in 2005 (Negotiation, Quality Control, Active Listening got nerfed, while Creativity, Emotional Intelligence, and Cognitive Flexibility got buffed).

Watch Part 2: https://vimeo.com/384891095/ef3848258f
Watch Part 3: https://vimeo.com/384892323/bf549f207c

Here’s also another video I made on How to Become more Visionary as a Leader:

So what’s your plan to upgrade yourself? 

Now is the time to make a plan on how you would acquire needs skills, crafts, and upgrade your Complex Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity skills. It doesn’t have to be through my materials (of course I will try my best to keep up myself and share the latest things I’ve learned), but when things are changing so quickly, standing still would likely be the worse action of them all.

Would love to hear back on what you have been doing or plan to do to upgrade yourself for this new economy. Time to take things next level! 

Let’s get through these turbulent times together! 

Yu-kai Chou
Chief Mentor for Octalysis Prime: https://join.octalysisprime.com/op-fr/
Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-kai_Chou

Are you ready to try unleashing the Stallion within?

Many researchers, theorists, and practitioners throughout history have studied, imagined, and attempted to be more creative. Here’s Yu-kai’s take. As always, consider that creativity resides within Core Drive 3: Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback in the Octalysis Gamification framework. 

This post continues the discussion from Training the Stallion Mind to Unleash Creativity, Part 1 of 2.

Today’s post is about letting go, and letting the stallion run, and roam, free.

Unleash the Stallion: Take 3-5 Minutes to Let Go

For some of us, taking 3, much less 5 (gasp!) minutes to sit still with our eyes closed is a lot to ask.

This is your chance to let the Stallion run free.

If you’ve never tried this–or, if you’re like me, you only try it once or twice per year–you might be surprised by what happens next.

It is very likely an entire host of images and thoughts and feelings will present themselves to (or within) your conscious experience.

Maybe some of these will be useful in your creative endeavors. Or maybe not! It just might be worth your while, even if all I can tempt you with is some unpredictability and curiosity.

Isn’t this just Meditation?

There are many forms of meditation, some of which Yu-kai practiced as a child.

Letting the Stallion run free is not precisely a meditation technique. If anything, it is meditation super-lite.

You don’t need to prepare for it. You just have to sit down, close your eyes, and see what happens.

Want More Creativity?

This technique alone won’t change your life. But maybe it will become one of your Tiny Habits, which could compound over time as part of a daily routine (or help you finish writing that book!).

For more reading on this subject, I recommend Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.

Tiny Habits are powerful. But you may not know how they impacted Yu-kai’s work.

Ever wondered how Yu-kai wrote his first book, ‘Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, & Leaderboards’?

In the development of his Lifestyle Inertia Design framework, Yu-kai came across B.J. Fogg’s Tiny Habits.

Tiny Habits is part of B.J. Fogg’s larger model: Behavior = Motivation + Ability + Trigger (Prompt) [B=MAT(P)]

What are Tiny Habits?

When Yu-kai studied B.J. Fogg, the father of persuasive technology, he was intrigued by Tiny Habits.

Tiny Habits are a small task attached before or after another habit in your routine.

B.J. Fogg described his own application: Whenever I go to the bathroom, I do two pushups.

Only two?

Yes, just two. Maybe you’ll end up doing five or six, or ten. But if the goal was ten or twenty, and felt hard, you might not even start.

Lowering the pushup count increases the Ability in the B=MAT(P) equation.

With plentiful triggers (you go to the bathroom several times per day), the habit of pushups can be formed.

How Tiny Habits Helped Yu-kai Make Progress

Yu-kai had been asked to write a book about the Octalysis Gamification framework. And he wanted to write it.

He even promised attendees of an upcoming workshop that he would provide them a signed copy at the event.

The problem? Yu-kai’s approach was overly Black Hat. He didn’t want to disappoint attendees, and yet he didn’t have enough balance in the Core Drives to get him to the finish line.

Shifting from Black Hat to White Hat Motivation

Yu-kai found a solution.

After completing email or client tasks, he usually took a break with some light gaming.

He made one change, though.

Before gaming, he would read the last paragraph he’d written in his book. Can you guess what happened?

That’s right: Simply reading one paragraph piqued his internal curiosity and began a positive feedback loop of creativity that often saw him writing for several hours!

The result?

He completed the book and did so happily and productively.