Your Career is a 50-Year Game

Your career is a 50-year game, and the default rules keep you stuck. 

In this episode, I break down the two rules that actually get you hired and promoted, regardless of your current level.

New Game Careers is built on the actual experience of going from entry-level to leading 100+ people as a 3x director. Everything here is focused on helping people build proof of value and removing the guesswork from career moves.

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Website: https://newgamecareers.com

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/new-game-...

Topics: career growth, promotions, promotable skills, proof of value, leadership development, workplace strategy, resume strategy.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Do you want to throw your laptop directly at the wall when you hear vague advice like take more initiative? Or someone says, you just need to find your why. Me too. I hate wasted time, so I'm not gonna waste yours. This is New Game Careers, the no bullshit truth about how decision makers actually decide who to hire and promote. And everything we cover is based on my experience going from entry level to senior leadership. Today, we're gonna break down how your career is structured exactly like a 50-year game. This game controls your time, your money, and your decision. Then we'll look at why the default game keeps people stuck, and more importantly, the two rules you must learn if you want to keep getting hired and promoted. If you want to level up, you have to stop playing the game you're handed and start playing the game you choose. Wanna hear something crazy? Most people spend 50 years building somebody else's business, but don't spend five hours learning how to build their own career. And they should. They should. Because your job controls your time and it controls your money. And that means something even more important. It controls your freedom, your freedom to make decisions. And yeah, work isn't everything, but it is a third of your waking hours. And I don't think it's anybody's fault that people just plug in and go on autopilot. And honestly, that's what society says is normal. Because once you graduate, it's off to the races, good luck, do your job, have a nice life. But school doesn't teach you social dynamics or the importance of perception or office politics. You definitely don't learn what makes you promotable in your HR onboarding seminar. And honestly, those things matter just as much, if not more, than everything else. But if there's one thing I've learned, is that your job is structured exactly, exactly like a 50-year game. And no, not like play the game, bro. Like an actual game. Except the game is 100,000 hours of your life, and you're the main character, and the only through line is you. And as you build skills and gain experience, you level up. Leveling up doesn't get you a trophy, it gets you a new title, it gets you more money and more control over your time and the freedom to make your own decisions. And here's the most important part. Just like any game, the game has rules, and those rules can be learned, which means promotions don't have to feel random or like some black box. So today we're going to break down your career for what it is: a 50-year game and the rules that nobody talks about that actually get you promoted. My name is Bobby. I'm the founder of New Game Careers, and this podcast exists to make you more promotable and more hireable. Everything I talk about here is based on my personal experience, going from the clueless guy asking what Outlook was on his first day to a three-time director that's now that over a hundred people. But for now, let's jump into the topic, which is the 50-year game that is your career. So let's start here. Think of it this way: if you were to zoom out on your career and look at it on a timeline, that timeline would have 50 different points on it. And those points represent a year of your career. And each one of them builds on the last. But most people get stuck on reacting to today because they can't see the force through the trees because they're too pissed off that the printer is broken, or their boss is having another conniption, or that Carl called off again for the seventh time because his cat is sick and he doesn't have a cat. And now you have to do his work and it's ruining your life. Like, right? You get the point. Like we all have those things in our day. But the truth is this unless you approach it purposely for you and plan ahead and treat it like something you actively manage, you're eventually going to be looking in the rear view, like, where the hell did those last five years go? And I say that because it happened to me. But if you can stop looking at it as a string of days or a string of jobs, it becomes easier to understand what success looks like in the long term. Because then you can actually define what right looks like for you. Then instead of your goal being get through today, it becomes what can I do today that aligns with my goals for tomorrow? I'm going to tell you right now, it's a lot more fun when it feels like a game you can actually win instead of drifting through time and space with no clue what the hell is going on. So let's talk about the real enemy, which is the default path, which is do your job, get decent at it, wait for a promotion, repeat, and all that sounds normal. But that's all designed to keep the business running. It is not designed to get you promoted. And here's the bad part. If you follow their plan blindly, you don't fall behind all at once. You drift. And the drift is dangerous because it doesn't feel like failure. Feels like little tiny pieces of success wrapped up in a normal, busy day. You're reliable. You did your tasks, nothing exploded. Cool. Here's some pizza.

unknown 4:43

Right?

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Like, but then five years go by and you look back and think, damn, what happened? And congrats, you're good at your job, but you've outgrown it. And I've been that person and it sucked. And I can promise you, being on the other side is a thousand times better. But the reality is this the success fairy is not coming to bop you on the head like little bunny foo foo and doing the same thing every day without a plan is a losing game. So I want you to make a mental shift. If you're not proactively moving yourself forward, you are going backwards. Staying the same is not neutral, it is a net loss. So let's talk about some of the things you can do. And let's go back to the timeline. Zoom out. Where do you want to be in five years or 10 years or 20 years? Whatever that goal is, that's how you win the game. You set the destination. And a lot of people, a lot of times, have no clue what the hell that looks like. And I get it, it's hard. You can't predict the future. Things change fast. But here's a good way of looking at it. What do you want your next two moves to be? Because that's easy. That's tangible. Do you want a promotion? You want to change industries? You want a job somewhere else? Like people can usually see that and envision it in their heads. 20 years down the road, yeah, that's tough. But just at least start down the right path of what right looks like for you. But whatever that is, I'm gonna guess is some version of this. More money, a better title, a job you don't hate, a different boss, whatever, right? The list goes on. But here's the thing one thing unlocks all those. And it's always getting to the next level. Might be a new job, might be new pay, might be new responsibilities. Those are all just different levels in your career. So while you choose the destination, the path is always the same. And that's leveling up. And you know what? There's gonna be people out there that are like, I don't care about that. I don't want that. And that's fine. That's your prerogative. But let's be real. Show me somebody who says they don't want to move up three levels in pay. I'm probably gonna be able to show you a lie or two. And no, I'm not saying money makes you good or bad, but it does control your time and it controls your decisions, and nobody likes being boxed in. But let me be clear. I'm not saying work a thousand hours a week. I'm saying this. First, define the objective of the game. That's on you. And then next, you have to find out how to make that objective real. And that just boils down to two rules. First, it's figure out the things that actually get you promoted. And second, it's taking daily actions to make those things real. And because this is so instrumentally important, I'm gonna repeat that. The formula to get promoted boils down to two things. Learn what makes you promotable and take daily actions every single day to make those things real. Why do I believe this to be true? Because I literally live my life this way. And I say this with sincerity. Like I am a slow ass learner and I am not special. But the fact remains the formula works. And so I'm gonna tell the story behind this because that's why I believe it so much, because it actually happened to me. This is maybe five, six roles ago. I'm the new guy at work. I went through nine interviews to get there. The only reason I got into the interview process was because I was a recommendation and I was way underqualified. And my boss says to me, within a month of starting, you don't know much about what we do here, do you? And this guy is legit. Like he's super on point, very smart. He's been there for a while. He's the fire-breathing dragon of this organization. And I am the dude who showed up from Indiana holding a Bick Lighter. Like, for real. I was way outmatched. And so after he said, You don't know much about what we do here, I said, Nope. But I made it through nine interviews. So I might have a future in sales. And he looked at me and he was like, Damn, this dude got me in these interviews, right? But I said, Look, I'm gonna be honest with you. I might not know much about what we do here right now, but I promise you, I will not waste your time. And if you can give me the top 10 things I need to do to be successful in the role above mine, I promise you I will not waste your time. And he said, Don't you want to know how to do your job? Because obviously you can't even do that. And I was like, just humor me. Hands me the list, says 18 to 24 months before you can even think about this, but good luck. So I printed that list out, put it on my cubicle, and every single day I made it my life mission to be able to do and prove every single thing on that list. And eight months later, I walked into his office with that list in my hand, and I slid it across his desk, and we're closed at this point. So I said, you know, I can do every single thing on this list. And according to you, this is what a successful account manager looks like, and that's one role above mine. So why am I still in the role that I'm in? And he looked at me like, oh shit. Like my intent wasn't to trick him, but at the end of the day, like that was how I got my first big promotion, right? Like, that's what set me down the path. And the takeaway is this identify the things that make you promotable and be able to prove them to the people that matter. And it's real hard to argue with you when it comes time to get you promoted. So that's the first rule, which is finding out the things that make you promotable. But here's the second part because this is where most people fall off. Daily yes or no actions. If you can identify those things that make you promotable and take daily actions every single day relentlessly, you will eventually get there. And why do I believe this? For those of you not watching, I'm holding up a stack of three by five notepads right now. Why? Because they tell me exactly what to do every single day. And there are thousands of pages of little digestible yes or no actions I take every single day. It's a true story. That's how I live my life. Now, is it sexy? Yeah, probably not to most, but it's real and it's achievable. And it's not some overnight Instagram success bullshit about how you make a million dollars today. That's not real. They are intentional actions that push me closer to my goals every single day that compound over time. That's it. Every single action in those notepads is exactly how I got to where I was, to where I am. And the other side of the coin beyond that is look, it keeps me honest. It keeps me from being a victim to myself. Because, like, trust me, I would be. If I don't have a plan or I rely on my willpower, I turn into a gremlin. Like people say things to me, like, oh, you bring your lunch to work every day, you're so disciplined. And I'm like, wrong. I've just gotten good at saving me from myself. And if I have a goal to shoot for and I know exactly what to do, that's what I do. It eliminates all those chances I have to screw up. So these notepads are the reasons you're seeing or hearing me talk right now, instead of still being stuck at entry level with Cheeto fingers. Like for real. I say that to you because I believe it's the truth. And look, there's a lot of career advice out there that sounds like be a better communicator or take more initiative. But that's useless because you can't act on that. So instead of be a better communicator, what might be on the list is practice your presentation twice today in the room that you're going to be presenting it in out loud. Or instead of taking initiative, whatever that means, it's go into that meeting, take notes from everyone, and at the end of the meeting, interject and say, Here are the main three takeaways I have from this meeting, and here's my understanding of what I'm supposed to do. Like those are things you either did do or you didn't do. And here's the key, here's where it comes together. Those actions have to be aimed at the things that make you promotable. Because being busy doesn't move you forward, but being deliberate about what you're shooting for and being persistent in getting there does. And I'm living proof of that. And like I said, I am not special, I am no better than anybody else. And look, I know there's a lot here, but I've literally built my career around this, and that's why I talk so passionately about it. My business is literally built around these two rules teaching people the skills that make them promotable, and then giving them exact daily yes or no actions to make them real. So there you go. Like that is the secret sauce. And I'm not telling you it's the only way, but I can tell you it is the exact way that I got from where I was to where I wanted to be. And if you've ever wondered why it's called New Game Careers, that's why. I view it as literally a 50-year game. And you set the goal, and if you can learn those two rules, you will get there. You will be able to reach the next level. But progress doesn't happen on accident. And at the end of the day, you're in the game whether you like it or not. The question is, are you playing the game you're handed? Are you playing the game you choose for you? And honestly, that just boils down to which problems you decide to solve today. So until next week, I'll leave you with this. Your career is always gonna have problems. But if you choose the right ones, that's how you win the game. And you always have a choice.