Man Plans, God Laughs

You might believe that it’s important to plan ahead, so you prepare plans, and backup plans, and flowcharts and decision matrices for each and every eventuality. Then setting forth on your adventure, single-mindedly marching toward your goal.

There’s an entire industry revolving around you, pushing you ever forward in the capability to plan and prepare and insure and do all those things that get you to point B quickly and efficiently.

You might also recognize that there is a flaw in this as well.

As you march along toward the promise of a brighter tomorrow, you’re missing the opportunities around you today.

The future that you’re planning for doesn’t exist. You’ve dangled a carrot on a stick in front of your face, and neglected that it’s tied to your own collar!

Your carrot-goal is an improbability that should be nice to reach, but shouldn’t be sought over the more immediate opportunities.

You’ve created your first games, for instance, so you have a product (or more) on the storefront. And in your mind, you’re imagining the next thing, or the stacks of cash you’ll be raking in, or whatever story you’re writing for yourself.

But what exists, in this moment, is the game you’ve created, and how you can make it, in whole or in part, into something better in small steps.

If you’re always hoping that tomorrow will be the better thing, stop.

Ask yourself, what’s good right now?

Then, ask yourself what’s not good right now, and what you can do to make a step toward it being better.

The future where your game or product is better? It doesn’t exist. Let real people put their money on it, and tell you why they wouldn’t do it again. Fix those things, and keep moving forward.