Many games have been invented during the history of the world. Out of curiosity I did a little research to discover which one originated first. There are a few options in the running and I’ve included the origin of a few other popular games, in case you’re interested.
- There is archaeological evidence found in Jordan that the game Mancala (players sow and capture seeds) was played as early as 6,000 B.C.
- Checkers and Backgammon originated around 5,000 B.C.
- The board game Wei Qi (try to surround more territory than your opponent) was invented in China in 2,500 B.C.
- Wrestling is the oldest “sport style game” with its first recorded win/loss in the 776 B.C. Olympics (the first Olympics ever)
- Chess originates back in 600 A.D.
- Surprisingly, Mahjong didn’t come out until the late mid- or late-1800’s (I would have guessed it to be a much older game)
- Monopoly wasn’t invented until 1902
- And the first video game ever was Pong in 1972 (a few years later, my dad brought home a Atari’s home version of Pong and my older brother and I would play it for hours)
Aside from Wei Qi, I’ve played all of these games. Shout out to my parents for their efforts to “culture” their children with a wide variety of experiences.
While all these games are great, but they don’t hold a candle to the diversity, intensity, thrill and strategy of the game “Entrepreneurship.” It is easy to lose sight of the fact that entrepreneurship can (and often should be) consider the ultimate game every invented.
Think about it, entrepreneurship has it all…
- The forward thinking strategy and positioning of Chess
- The unfolding adventure of Dungeons and Dragons
- The diversity of knowledge required in Trivial Pursuit
- The people reading and sometimes luck found in Poker
- The financial management and decision making in Monopoly
- The wordsmithing creativity in Scrabble
- The communication and acting skills required in Charades
- The relationship nuances of The Dating Game
- The world conquering drama of Risk
Entrepreneurship requires all of these attributes (and those of pretty much every other game ever invented) all rolled into one beautiful game.
And don’t even get me started on sports, because entrepreneurship has the last second thrills and “get back up when you’re knocked down” attributes of the Olympics, World Cup, World Series, Heavyweight Boxing Championship. As an entrepreneur, you get your own little game seven, the series is tied, there are three seconds left on the clock, moment every single month. What an adrenaline rush!
Speaking of adrenaline rushes, entrepreneurship also has the head spinning, wow moments of from every extreme sport that exists. Is skydiving really more death defying than being an entrepreneur? Nope. Not really. Even that dude (Felix Baumgartner) who parachuted from space in 2012 didn’t have more guts than you did when you took the giant leap to become an entrepreneur.
Every entrepreuner has felt this adreline rush…except without the risk of death.
Entrepreneurship has it all, rolled into one beautiful package.
There are times when entrepreneurship may feel like life and death, as it can require every morsel of capability you have inside your soul to somehow survive. But in the end, it’s just a game. The most beautiful game ever created. And I love it.
Next time it feels like everything in your business is just hanging in the balance, don’t forget, at the end of the day, it is just a game.
