Is Playing The "Game" Worth It?

Today’s Topics

• The Last Laugh Isn’t Worth Dying For 😵‍💫

• Hate The Game. Become Greater 🎮

  5 Mins Read Time

The Last Laugh Isn’t Worth Dying For 😵‍💫

By Jo

The desire to always have the last laugh will get you killed—figuratively or literally. But why do so many people crave that final word, that ultimate upper hand, even when things have clearly gone left? It’s a pride thing, and pride will blind you faster than any enemy ever could.

It’s wild when you think about how quick we are to try and “win” in situations that are already losses. You get mad that something got the best of you, or that someone walked away seemingly unscathed after you invested your heart, your time, your resources. And instead of accepting the lesson or moving forward, you try to even the score. You want to prove something—but to who?

Fairness starts to feel like a joke when you're hurting. Suddenly, if it doesn’t benefit you or restore what you lost, it's not "fair." But fairness doesn’t mean revenge. It doesn’t mean forcing yourself to “come out on top” by destroying what hurt you. That just leads to more loss—your peace, your purpose, sometimes even your life.

Everything you touch changes you, and you change it. That goes for love, work, pain, and revenge. So when you feel that urge to “get the last laugh,” pause. Think. Maybe it’s better to let the chapter close without adding fire to the page.

Let them laugh if they must. You’ve got better things to build than a grudge.

Hate The Game. Become Greater 🎮

By Marcus

Are you buying this? ⬆️

If someone told you this was a great deal, what would you say?

I’m not a fan of this classic work/life model.

Work 30+ years, maybe get some depreciating retirement benefits on the way out?

As they say, “the math ain’t mathing!”

Unconventional Times

I remember the first time I got a notice from my landlord stating my rent would be going up $100 if I renewed my lease…

I probably had the dumbest look on my face. I thinking to myself, “I didn’t get a raise at work, so what’s the deal?” And even if I did get a raise, that increase would eat into any extra income I had just worked hard to earn.

Funny enough, a few months later I was suddenly displaced from that same job, and I couldn’t afford the rent anyway. My reserves weren’t that deep. I had maybe two- or three-months’ worth of expenses covered.

It was frustrating. I’ve held multiple jobs just to keep up with basic living costs. And eventually, you realize: this system isn’t really designed to reward hard work.

A lot of people are working incredibly hard for minimum wage, and let’s be honest about the fact that there isn’t a high-paying opportunity waiting for everyone.

Extraordinary Measures

Given the environment of declining job security and the ever-inflating cost of simply having the bare essentials—it’s time to unsubscribe from this historical model.

We sometimes fall into the habit of accepting what’s broken just because the generations before us accepted it as “that’s just how it is.”

You may have been grandfathered into this old model, but now you have the power to create your own.

This is part of a natural evolution, and by taking ownership, we empower ourselves to start building a better model.

I’ll explore this further in a future article. It will be similar to the one I wrote about alternatives for students transitioning into adulthood. Next, let’s brainstorm new ways we can think about housing.

It’s time to build.