What is the "Key" to Winning at Life or in Business?

Good morning, you absolutely amazing person, you. Or good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whenever, middle of the night, whenever you're watching this video, I'm still continuing on that whatever creator sends my way is going to be my video for today. And today we're going to talk about the video game analogy, which is something I've been using in youth seminars for years. But I just realized how much it relates to being in business. So if you're an entrepreneur or an owner of a small or medium sized enterprise, you probably want to watch this video. Or if you know someone like that, you might want to share it with them. Let's talk about it. Bonjour. Hi, everybody. My name is Andy Boucher. I'm Red Thunderbolt, woman of the Loon clan. I, a proud member of Seine River first nation in Treaty 3 territory in Northern Ontario. And as I mentioned in the opening, we are talking about the video game analogy. So for those who have followed my career, and by the way, if you're new here, welcome. I love that you're here. Subscribe so you don't miss anything. And if you're returning, welcome back, my friend. I love hanging out with you. Now, as I mentioned, if you followed my career, you know that it started with me working in First Nation communities exclusively. I wanted to help indigenous peoples like my family and friends, overcome the things that used to cripple me. As Ed Mylett loves to say, you are most qualified to help the person you used to be. That's definitely where my career started. I was working primarily with the indigenous women in the community. But then by request, I started working with youth. And if there's one thing youth hear on a regular basis, they get slammed for playing video games. I just don't look at them that way. And I'm happy to see that the reports of late are backing up what I always suspected. So what I started telling the youth is they already have the skills they need to succeed, succeed in life. To achieve whatever they want, what they have to do is apply to life the exact same skills they use to win their video game. So to explain it to them, I described a creepy castle that has a bunch of, you know, hidden rooms and hallways and just icky, creepy. The idea is, make it through the castle, stay away from the bad guys, gather the tools you need, make it to the end, and there's the pot of gold or whatever it is at the end. So imagine you're in this hallway and you come up on a room and you decide to go into the room and you check it out and you poke around and check for any traps. You're being very cautious. And you discover that there's absolutely nothing in the room except right in the middle of the floor is a golden key. You know those master keys that, you know, open absolutely everything. So at this point, I would ask the youth, if you want to win the video game, what do you do at this point? Well, it takes them about a half second to yell out, yeah, pick up the key. And then I asked them why and they kind of him and ha. And finally someone will say, because it's going to unlock something. The reality is, anyone who's ever played a video game, if you come across a key, I guarantee you you're coming across a locked door or a locked chest or something. At some point in the game, you pick up the key. So at that point, I also point out to the youth that math class is a key. Learning how to express yourself, whether orally or written, is a key. Learning how to take care of yourself is a key. Learning how to maintain your health and take care of your body is a key. Sitting with an elder and listening and learning is a key. We have to get better at picking up the keys. And when it comes to running your own business, you have to have a certain level of confidence in your skills or in the products you're offering. But you're definitely on a learning journey and you have to be humble enough to pick up the keys. You got a chance to take a course. Take the course. Now, I'm not talking about being insecure and spending all your money and taking all the courses and never starting your business. There's way too many people like that. Start your business. But as you go along and realize what you need to do, get those skills, pick up those keys. So in the video game, it continues. And they come to the next room, they go in, do their check again, and in this case they find out there's absolutely nothing in the room. Nothing. Nothing good, nothing bad. And again, I asked the kids, what would you do? And they say, like, get out of the room, right? Absolutely. Because like any other video game, they only have a certain amount of time and to get to the end and win all the prizes. So they are not going to waste time staying in that room. To the adults watching, are you stuck in a room that is neither good or neither bad and you're just wasting time there? Do you news know someone who is someone you should probably share this video with? When it comes to business, you are either growing or dying. There is no Choice. So you can't become complacent, you can't think it's just going to run on its own, or you're going to find out you ran out of time. Next they go and they continue on and there's all these different rooms I get them to, but at one point in the game, I tell them that they run out of energy, they ran out of time. I asked the kids, if you want to win this game, what do you do at that point? And every single one of them says, you start again. You reset the game and you start again. And I remind them that if only we would apply that to life, because how many of us are either scared to try because we may not succeed the first time, even though there's a whole bunch of things in life that we didn't succeed the first time and eventually crushed it, or they give up after the first try. You've heard the saying, you're not just starting over, you're starting over with experience this time. The second time that kid plays the game we've been talking about, he's racing into the first room, grabs the key, runs right past the second room that doesn't have anything. And. And now because of his wisdom and experience, he's saved time and he's getting through it faster. I cannot even count how many things I've tried in my 15 years in business and had to start again and did it with more knowledge. Lockdown. I used to only do live events. When lockdown hit, I lost $48,000 in 24 hours. But by the time I took two, three days of grieving and freaking out because you got to do that, you got to honor the journey. But then I realized, you know what? I've started from nothing before, except I have 10 years experience now. I know how to develop a product, I know how to develop an online course, and I know how to market it. I wasn't starting from zero, I was starting from experience. So you gotta find the keys, you gotta find the people that'll help you. And the one thing I always used to love, and this is what came to my mind this week when we got to the end of this two page video game analogy. I was the only motivational speaker on the planet telling the participants to stay on the couch. And what I meant by that is on the couch, they have the controller, they're in charge of the game. They don't jump into the game. You don't jump into the insanity. Whatever's going on in your community or with your friends or family, stay on the couch. You can offer advice, you can offer guidance because you're at a safe distance, you can see better, you're not in the middle of the insanity and. But you don't put the controller down and jump in the middle of the insanity. And that's what I remembered this week. Because as you know, if, well, if you're on my email list, you know, I just expanded my team and added two more staff people, including a general manager. That is like the best decision I ever made. It has allowed me to work on my business again instead of in my business. And I can tell you right now, the view and the peace from the couch is way better than when I was in the middle of the insanity and trying to run a business. Don't jump in, stand back, be the guidance. Be the eagle flying over and seeing everything. Don't look down on people. Just use what you see to. To guide those who can't see. I hope that made sense. And as always, if you want, send me an email and I will send you a copy of the video game analogy. I hope that resonated with you. I have tons to share with you this week. Just not really sure what it is yet. Until tomorrow. I love you. Take care. Bye. Bye.