It was the middle of a cold, wet winter in 2013. I was in my first year of business and felt like I was taking a course in what not to do rather than what to do. I’d start my day rugged up on the couch, coffee in hand and thankful I didn’t have to venture outside to go to work. Yet I was in a fog- was I investing my time in the most productive areas, or wasting all my waking hours completely? How far was I from “getting it right”?
It was at this early point in my journey that my flatmate bought the Playstation game ‘Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean’. He began playing it by himself when he came home from work, while I carried on doing whatever took my time up of an evening. After only a couple of days, he encouraged me to join him in 2 Player mode. I figured he was just being friendly at first, but he kept trying to persuade me to join him in this quest. In the end, I figured I had nothing to lose. So I sat down, picked up a controller and pressed the ‘Start’ button.
It was at this early point in my journey that my flatmate bought the Playstation game ‘Lego: Pirates of the Caribbean’. He began playing it by himself when he came home from work, while I carried on doing whatever took my time up of an evening. After only a couple of days, he encouraged me to join him in 2 Player mode. I figured he was just being friendly at first, but he kept trying to persuade me to join him in this quest. In the end, I figured I had nothing to lose. So I sat down, picked up a controller and pressed the ‘Start’ button.
In a short space of time, I was hooked. The basic premise of the game followed the storyline of the hugely successful ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ trilogy- except the characters were all in Lego form. The aim of the game was to explore the islands, caves and ships while fighting pirates, monsters and all range of characters. All the time you’d collect treasure, ad new characters to your list of available players and use your skill/ characters’ individual abilities to pass each new level, access hidden treasure and unlock the special stages on the lengthy route to completing the game. It soon became the highlight of my evening throughout that winter. Rugged up from the cold, bleak night outside, my flatmate and I would fire up the Playstation and engross ourselves for hours in new missions and stages while accumulating treasure of all sorts.
One feature of the game was the ability to increase the value of all coins and treasure collected. For a certain price, you could unlock a special feature and all ensuing treasure or coins you collected would increase by the incremental value. Early on in the game, we found a chest that would enable us to activate Treasure x3. We could afford it so I suggested we unlock this feature, but my flatmate wasn’t keen. The reason being that he’d seen a chest that would unlock Treasure x10. The price to unlock it was far greater than we could afford- but if we went back through all the stages we’d already completed and searched for hidden treasure- as well as taking the time to unlock new special stages throughout our journey- we could unlock Treasure x10 in the long run.
“Ok, let’s do it then”, I said…
One feature of the game was the ability to increase the value of all coins and treasure collected. For a certain price, you could unlock a special feature and all ensuing treasure or coins you collected would increase by the incremental value. Early on in the game, we found a chest that would enable us to activate Treasure x3. We could afford it so I suggested we unlock this feature, but my flatmate wasn’t keen. The reason being that he’d seen a chest that would unlock Treasure x10. The price to unlock it was far greater than we could afford- but if we went back through all the stages we’d already completed and searched for hidden treasure- as well as taking the time to unlock new special stages throughout our journey- we could unlock Treasure x10 in the long run.
“Ok, let’s do it then”, I said…
What followed were many long nights of frustration, having to back-track. Feeling as if we were going around in circles, meticulously searching for more coins and treasure items to ad to our booty – all so we could afford to unlock Treasure x10. A few times, we both sat there dumbfounded as to where more treasure could be lurking in this game. It felt as if we’d searched every corner already! But we pressed on all the same…
At last, after countless hours, we collected enough currency to unlock our eagerly-awaited prize. We returned to the vaunted treasure chest, and finally unlocked Treasure x10. We carried on in our quest to clock the game- and the difference was unbelievable! The numbers indicating our wealth at the top of the screen blurred every time we collected more coins- 10’s of thousands, 100’s of thousands, millions- in next to no time at all! All that time we’d spent tediously searching for more coins felt so insignificant compared to now, as we effortlessly racked up the kind of fortune that made me wish we could convert it into actual currency! I was so glad in hindsight that we took the time to fight and save for Treasure x10. It well and truly proved to be worth the struggle.
At last, after countless hours, we collected enough currency to unlock our eagerly-awaited prize. We returned to the vaunted treasure chest, and finally unlocked Treasure x10. We carried on in our quest to clock the game- and the difference was unbelievable! The numbers indicating our wealth at the top of the screen blurred every time we collected more coins- 10’s of thousands, 100’s of thousands, millions- in next to no time at all! All that time we’d spent tediously searching for more coins felt so insignificant compared to now, as we effortlessly racked up the kind of fortune that made me wish we could convert it into actual currency! I was so glad in hindsight that we took the time to fight and save for Treasure x10. It well and truly proved to be worth the struggle.
It was then I had a revelation. Much like life, here was an example of patience and long-term thinking being rewarded. Of delaying a short-term fix and instant gratification for a long-term payout. Of putting up with frustration, dejection and feeling as if we were progressing at a snails’ pace, in order to now be racing, jumping and diving through levels making an easy fortune virtually every time the screen changed. Treasure x3 would have been much easier to get- but the payout wouldn’t feel half as satisfying as Treasure x10!
We clocked the game long ago- which was strangely disappointing for both my flatmate and I. There were no more levels to beat, no more monsters or skeletons or pirates to defeat. No more special stages to discover. No more characters to collect- whether it be skeleton Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard or an obscure henchman of Davy Jones’. It was the closure of a fun little window in time that lasted just a couple of months in the middle of winter. Yet the lesson I learned while playing that game stays with me to this day.
Sometimes I will feel weary about where I am, compared to where I’d ideally like to be. It could be my business, my life situation, my creative or financial pursuits. But then I think about the short-term fixes and compare them to the rewards of being patient and working away steadily. I think “Well, I could have Treasure x5 now…or I could keep going and have Treasure times TEN!” Just flashing back to ‘Lego Pirates’ and that awesome feeling of power and satisfaction as our characters ran around racking up the millions after slaving away for weeks on end…it puts everything back in sharp focus for me, and I breathe a little easier. It reminds me again that patience truly is a virtue…especially if (like me) you’re driven by a passion for finding all the different treasure waiting to be discovered in life. Who would’ve thought I’d have this kind of revelation just from sitting down to play a video game featuring Lego characters!
Many people accept Treasure x3 or even Treasure x6 and enjoy the fruits for a while…but then wonder what might have been. I don’t know what your specific idea of ‘Treasure x10’ is- but I do know that when the day comes where you not only find your Treasure x10 but you take it- you’ll not only enjoy the rewards, but also a newfound respect for the kind of person you have become on that journey. You are a person who will endure and who can stick with it, a person who doesn’t give up. A person patient enough to delay the short-term benefits for a much greater reward.
So in short? Keep hunting for that treasure!
We clocked the game long ago- which was strangely disappointing for both my flatmate and I. There were no more levels to beat, no more monsters or skeletons or pirates to defeat. No more special stages to discover. No more characters to collect- whether it be skeleton Jack Sparrow, Blackbeard or an obscure henchman of Davy Jones’. It was the closure of a fun little window in time that lasted just a couple of months in the middle of winter. Yet the lesson I learned while playing that game stays with me to this day.
Sometimes I will feel weary about where I am, compared to where I’d ideally like to be. It could be my business, my life situation, my creative or financial pursuits. But then I think about the short-term fixes and compare them to the rewards of being patient and working away steadily. I think “Well, I could have Treasure x5 now…or I could keep going and have Treasure times TEN!” Just flashing back to ‘Lego Pirates’ and that awesome feeling of power and satisfaction as our characters ran around racking up the millions after slaving away for weeks on end…it puts everything back in sharp focus for me, and I breathe a little easier. It reminds me again that patience truly is a virtue…especially if (like me) you’re driven by a passion for finding all the different treasure waiting to be discovered in life. Who would’ve thought I’d have this kind of revelation just from sitting down to play a video game featuring Lego characters!
Many people accept Treasure x3 or even Treasure x6 and enjoy the fruits for a while…but then wonder what might have been. I don’t know what your specific idea of ‘Treasure x10’ is- but I do know that when the day comes where you not only find your Treasure x10 but you take it- you’ll not only enjoy the rewards, but also a newfound respect for the kind of person you have become on that journey. You are a person who will endure and who can stick with it, a person who doesn’t give up. A person patient enough to delay the short-term benefits for a much greater reward.
So in short? Keep hunting for that treasure!