The Ultimate Skill e-Newsletter

By Mike Lipkin

The Rules Of The Game That Will Help You Win The Game Of Life.

Hi this is Mike Lipkin and welcome to this issue of The Ultimate Skill Club. If you're a frequent reader, welcome back. If you're reading this for the first time, welcome to Lipkin's world – where anything is possible as long as you use your gifts to the benefit of others.

Today, I'm going to share with you the rules of the game called The Ultimate Skill. These are the rules that define my life and make it so amazing, I feel like I'm living my ultimate fantasy every day. And I'm not kidding. These are the rules I follow in my pursuit of mastery, magic and magnificent connections.

So what is the Ultimate Skill according to Lipkin?

The Ultimate Skill is to be someone who creates opportunity for others, with others.

The Ultimate Skill is to be someone who expands the capacity of others to create remarkable results.

The Ultimate Skill is to be someone who introduces others to new possibilities.

The Ultimate Skill is to be someone who motivates others to see themselves as extraordinary.

The Ultimate Skill is to be someone who shows It Can Be Done so others believe they can do it.

In essence, The Ultimate Skill is to help others live at such a level that they thrive not just survive.

To win the game called The Ultimate Skill, you first have to understand the rules. Then you need to practice them deliberately. Then you need to play them with mastery and grace.

All of life is a game. And all of us are the players. We have our starts and our stops. We have our hits and our misses. We play on multiple teams in multiple arenas. We win some and we lose some. Sometimes we win when we lose and sometimes we lose when we win.

It's all about the learning we take away from each encounter. Ultimately, our overall won-loss record will be a direct reflection of how well we learnt to play the game. Plus some guts. Plus some stamina. Plus some well earned luck.

In your game, you may be a master. If I watched you in action, you may just take my breath away. You may be a model of how the game should be played. Others may put you on a pedestal. You may eat accolades for breakfast.

This is a new game. Whether you think you've played it before or not, I'm asking you to take on a Beginner's Mind. Bring nothing to the distinctions that follow except fascination and a desire to transform yourself and your community.

Here's a Lipkinism: Fascination is the only lens through which life should be observed. It's the antidote to frustration and cynicism. It's defined as being spellbound by your situation or company. Fascination means you sprinkle your own magic around you because as you become spellbound by others, they become spellbound by you. There is no greater compliment than finding someone spellbinding. If you look for the magic in others, you'll always find it. They will respond to your search and find a reciprocal magic in you.

There are three stages to acquiring The Ultimate Skill.

The first stage is what I'll share with you in the words that follow.

These are the rules of the game that constitute the game. I've learnt them from the thousands of people who have taught me the game over the past fourteen years, as well as the transformational Environics Social Values data.

Think about it: if you don't know the rules of the game, you are at the effect of the game. You may be able to play it for a while. But you will be overpowered by your competitors who understand it at the deepest level. The greater your understanding; the greater your range of options; the greater your probability of success.

The second stage of acquiring The Ultimate Skill is what you do with the distinctions I share with you.

Being extraordinary is a conscious habit. We become what we repeatedly do. Without action, nothing matters. But the actions must be accompanied by awareness. Know what you're doing. Know why you're doing it. Know how you're doing it so you can elevate your expertise with every act.

When concepts are bright and new, they light our way forward. Then they grow dull with time. We forget them and revert to the way we were. The past has a gravitational pull on us. So you can let your past pull you back. Or you can invite your future to pull you forward. It all depends where you're looking. We move in the direction we face. Don't look back. On Planet Earth, you cannot go there.

The problem with life is that it is so daily. The game called Transformation is played day by day, hour by hour. So imprint these distinctions on your mind. Make them the filters through which you process every experience. Catch yourself when you fall. Surround yourself with others and do the same for them.

Here's my promise to you: first you will struggle. Everything is awkward in the beginning. Don't give up. Most people never graduate beyond "dabbler status". Take on every assignment I provide you to drive the learning deeper into your groove.

You will relish your newfound power. Others will be drawn irresistibly towards you. Life will be sweet. New opportunities will call you powerfully into action. You will win and keep on winning. Defeats will merely become springboards to the Next Big Win.

Then you will lose your vigilance. You'll forget the discipline that drives The Ultimate Skill. You'll grow tired. You'll slump. Once again your cynicism will wrestle with your idealism for control of your psyche. Whichever one you feed is the one that will win. How do I know? Because that's the struggle I endure daily. It's also the theme that has permeated literature from the beginning of time. I'm writing these words to feed my idealism. It never gets easier, but I do become more masterful.

Here's another Lipkinism: Easy is your wake-up call. If something is too easy, it requires little or no consciousness. Your awareness muscles are becoming flabby. Kick it up a notch before Life kicks your butt. The wise person doesn't rely on crisis to motivate him. Do it before you're forced to do it. Inspiration and desperation don't do together.

The third stage is where you play The Ultimate Skill the way it's meant to be played. You become a champion of the game. You pass on your learning with mastery and grace. You become the one I write about. You become one of the few that inspire the many to be faster, higher, stronger, lighter, brighter, richer, happier, bigger, and bolder. That's the prize. Let's play.

Here's what I know: if you've got this far, you're already a Most Valuable Person. You've already earned the admiration of many people. So, how are you playing your game called "Being Valuable"?

Before you move on, write down the Rules of Your Game and send them to me. Your rules may be as relevant as mine. In fact, as far as you're concerned, your rules are already proven because they've got you to where you are. So what are they?

If you're like 99 percent of the delegates to my programs, you don't know precisely what your Rules of Your Game are. You kind-of, sort-of know. But you don't know precisely because you've never taken the time to define them.

Think about this: what could be more important? What could be more powerful than knowing how you can live your life in a way that makes it the kind of life you want to live? What could be more reassuring than having a game-plan that consistently delivers win-wins to you?

We may never have met so you may not know me. But you may be more of a stranger to yourself. In fact, you may your biggest source of anxiety because if you don't have a game-plan, how do you know whether you'll win the game? How do you know how you will respond to the crises and problems that are on their way to greet you right now? What we don't know is what we fear. There are many things we'll never know. But not knowing yourself is not one of them. If you use this program the way I'm asking you to use it, you'll not only know yourself – you'll love who are and who you're helping others be.

Here's the great thing about games: they're all made up. Someone got together with someone and created the rules of the game. Then they persuaded other people to play the game by the rules they made up.

Football, Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, Rugby, Cricket, Squash, Lacrosse. They're all games you recognize. They have specific rules that carry a penalty if they're broken. They have referees or umpires who enforce the rules. And they have players who understand the rules and agree to play by them or they're thrown out the game.

How about the game called Your Life? That's a game you recognize. That's definitely a game with rules that carry a penalty if they're broken. Your Life also has umpires or referees that enforce the rules. They're all the people in your life. And they'll throw you out of the game if you don't understand the rules and play by them.

So write down your Rules of Your Game. Save them. And come back to them after you've completed our program together. You'll be fascinated by your shift in perspective. And I'm willing to bet that you'll recreate your Rules of The Game so you can take your play to a whole new level. How do I know? Because the distinctions I'm about to share with you are so powerful that you will be transformed.

Stay tuned for the next issue…

- Mike Lipkin

 

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