Play the Longer Game

June 07, 2021

Where thereā€™s a long game, thereā€™s a longer game.

You may have heard the old adage that itā€™s important to ā€˜play the long gameā€™. What you probably havenā€™t heard often is that thereā€™s usually a longer game, one that might deserve your immediate attention.

When I first decided to create content online, I knew Iā€™d be playing the long game.

It takes a long time to put out a body of work, hone the craft and watch it compound into successful, meaningful results.

The problem was, I wrongly assumed that the long games were over once I made that decision. So, I thought to myself how could I game the system and grow quickly. 

I quickly decided that Iā€™d make videos that people wanted to see and not necessarily those I wanted to make. First, grow quickly. Then, Iā€™d pivot.

For example, I made numerous videos for medical students. I knew my position as a newly qualified doctor gave me an ā€˜unfair advantageā€™ if I wanted to grow that way, but it wasnā€™t my ultimate aim for this particular channel.

The decision I needed to make was made more difficult because my strategy was working. Every time I made a video about medical school, I would unequivocally get better results.

A Game Within a Game

What I slowly began to think about was that my taking shortcuts could only ever come back to hinder my ultimate goal. 

If I kept putting out content I didnā€™t want to make, not only would I not have fun doing so, but Iā€™d grow an audience I never intended to keep.

Instead, I decided to make the videos I wanted to make, even if it meant slower growth. 

I chose the longer game.

People play long games all the time; rarely do they notice the longer game at play.

Choosing to be an influencer is a long game. Choosing who to influence is the longer game. Investing your money wisely is a long game. Levelling up your earning potential is the longer game.

Where thereā€™s a long game, thereā€™s often a longer, more important game that ought to be played, and making the first call doesnā€™t void you from having to make the second. 

Iā€™m still discovering the longer games that need to be played every day. 

Ask yourself, are you avoiding the longer game?

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 ā€œMost people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.ā€ ā€• Oscar Wilde

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