I am guilty of all charges. I admit. I spend a lot of time playing games on the computer. But playing the right games can give you a few life lessons that you can use in your business.
Today I’m going to talk about EVE online, because playing Candy Crush doesn’t teach you much and EVE has two features that you won’t find anywhere else. The first is that players are almost in no way limited in how they treat each other. So scaming, robbing or hiring someone to harm someone else is allowed. Spreading hatred is forbidden, you can’t claim to be someone else. And you can’t scam people for real money. Except, if you do it with an intermediate step, that is, convincing someone to buy a in-game currency for real money and then scam those from him. That’s perfectly fine.
The second feature of the game is that they keep real distances in it. The distance between the Earth and the Sun is around 93 milion miles or 1 AU. In EVE, most star systems have 30-200AU, where would fit our solar system as well. And there are about 8,000 of them. That’s about as many stars as you can see on a clear night sky… not if you are living in London obviously.
Lesson number 1:Risk is ISK
Most players avoid risk. 85% of them live in sectors where the police still works. And they either trade, mine or build something. And their profits are minimal due to high competition. In the real world, most people are employed. There is almost no risk and they receive a little more than the minimal wage. But if they would start a business, or at least invest, their income could be much higher. So ask yourself. Do you want to take leftovers from your boss’s table and 52% of them will be taken away by government. OR would you rather be the master of your time?
Information is profit
In EVE, players can complete a few missions and get several 100 thousand. I wrote a code that checks all newly opened contracts and then picks for me the most undervalued ones. Or you can do a market research, find out what is scarce, and then produce it. Or compare prices in places A and B, and then just buy here, sell there… pure profit. Unless somebody mug’s you on the way. Game is full of muggers.
In real life, whether you go into business, you want to know how to improve your product, your site, what stocks to invest in or just what video on youtube would have the best chance of success, you have to do your research. More information equals more chance for success and therefore higher profit.
Our world is just a tiny grain of sand in the middle of nowhere
Just a few centuries ago, people thought the Earth was the center of the universe. And anyone who claimed the opposite got quick reality check by Catholic Church. I don’t want to go into complete nihilism like Rick & Morty: Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV. But EVE will give you a feeling of insignificance differently. A simple flight around the star. When you fully realize how small our Earth is. Hope you won’t go watch TV now. Remember, just as small and insignificant is any problem that prevents you from realizing your dreams.
As soon as you give someone opportunity to deceive you, he probably will
In the game you will find many stories when somebody believed someone and he ended up losing his ship or money. My grandfather gave mandate to a neighbor to represent him in the land court, and it ended up by neighbor taking part of my grandfathers land. I don’t want to say you shouldn’t trust anyone, just be careful. It’s always easier to say, “I’m sorry that I didn’t trust you, than trying to get back what you lost.”
The police is not here to protect you
There are NPC’s in EVE that make sure the system is safe. But they only chase down players who have low security status. These are the ones who often attack others. Or they come to shoot down those who shot at someone during the last 20 seconds and did not manage to escape from the crime scene. They leave thieves who loot downed ships alone.
Although real cops have on their cars: Help and protect. Sometimes they act as if they have there: To fine, bully, and maybe try to solve something if it is not too hard.
In short, you have to protect your business yourself.
The price is determined by the market
Adam Smith 300 years ago spoke about the invisible hand of the market which determines the prices of goods and services. It happened to me that I made a component that I sold for 60 million and which I could not sell for 200 thousand a week later. And all thanks to the different levels of supply on the market.
Have you ever wondered why one phone sells for 800 pounds while the other sells for 100, even though their performance is almost the same.
Or why Beats studio buds cost 6 times more than the Tozo T6 even if those who buy them rate them as worse. And the answer is simple. Supply and demand. It’s because Beats’ marketing department can attract new customers faster than construction workers can expand the factory.
So remember two things:
On the customer’s side: Things that are more expensive may not be better.
And on the seller’s side: If you can increase the demand for your goods through clever marketing, you will be able to charge more than a competitor that has a better product.
Outsource
Hire people who contribute a little bit to your business, you’ll have it faster than if you did it by yourself. Of course, you will have to give them a share of the profits. But only a madman would give them the whole sum of money they made. For example Steve Jobs. He gave only 20% of the profit to his friend, which solved his whole problem and did all the work, while Jobs was just sitting there.
In the game you can hire people who will haul something for you, thanks to the purchase of minerals from miners you do not have to spend whole day mining. Or you can hire mercenaries to eliminate your competition. There is a cruel world.
Block
Something is constantly asking for your attention. See what’s going on on TV, a new video with kittens, the latest investment of some guy will surprise you… Things that just eat your time or money. You have to learn to block them. In the game it’s easy 2 clicks and the scam-spam is gone. I wish it was that easy in real life.
Not everyone who hurts you is your enemy and not everyone who looks trustworthy is your friend
You may have heard the story of a sparrow who is incredibly cold and falls from a tree. When he suddenly walks around a cow that shits on him. He is not excited, but after a while he starts to feel warm and so he starts singing with joy. Suddenly fox goes around, she hears him, digs him up and eats him.
And lesson: Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy. Not everyone who helps you out from shit is your friend. And when you’re fine and warm, than shut-up.
EVE is full of stories of people to whom others have been kind just to scam them minutes later. And you should remember that a real friend will sometimes tell you things you don’t like or agree with.
If you can take something from today’s video, than this this:
Don’t trust anyone, take a risk and hire some dum-dum who will work for you.
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