Cheat Codes

I remember the magical feeling of renting the Nintendo Game Genie as a child. Playing games like Super Mario Brothers was difficult and I felt like I was missing something and not getting the full experience. Game Genie would unlock new experiences.

And it did… kind of. Not to the extent that I imagined, but I recall being able to enjoy playing games not worried about having to start over from the beginning for poor hand eye coordination.

I’ve felt the same feeling towards the Game Genie with books. Reading How To Win Friends & Influence People was a game changer. I approached Rich Dad, Poor Dad with the same enthusiasm but it was more of a dud. Same with many Tony Robbins books.

Certain things have surprised me as being cheat code like devices. Khan Academy was one… where was it during my university years?? More recently, in years of running monthly challenges and experiments, there were a few of these surprise cheat codes:

• 25 minute Tomato Timer for focus
• Wim Hof method (breath holding, cold exposure)
• Ketogenic eating
• Fasting

What made them feel like cheat codes:

• They made me realize I could do things that I didn’t think I could do
• They produced new experiences
• They were challenging at first

So, the “cheat” part is a bit of a misnomer. It assumes there will be less effort required but it’s really more about figuring out the way to unlock something without using brute force.

The lesson learned is to take the time to think about what are the core issues affecting us day to day that we remove to feel much better.