Before you bust out your old LiveJournal accounts and write about how big of a nerd I am because I am writing about Pokemon, ask yourself this. Why do you still have a LiveJournal account...?
First an admission. I play Pokemon. Not in the past tense but in the right fucking now tense. I play on the subway to help calm my hatred of crowds of people, I play it at home to get out of my head swimming with thoughts of how much life sucks at this very instant or sometimes even after sex....it's healthier than a post-coitus cig.
I have no shame in this declaration either. It is a fantastically well-made archetype that has been around for as long as it has because the format works. And I happen to be a master so shove that up your butt and pretend like that doesn't hurt. I know you're jealous.
But Brian, what does this have to do with success? Well hang tight and you might find out.
Pokemon, at its core, is a very simple game. Collect as many brightly colored friends as you can. Train them and make them evolve into better friends. Beat other trainers to gain street cred. Try and get really rare friends without using a master ball (because you only have one dammit!!!) Come to think of it, this sounds like a very homosexual game as well. Less wonder on why I love it?
Much like life, Pokemon never ends. There are always more to things to catch, train and beat. And if you feel like there is nothing left to do, START THE FUCK OVER AND CHOOSE A NEW ADVENTURE. That last part isn't really a good model for success unless you believe in reincarnation or the cryogenically frozen body of one Walt Disney. Let me break down the game for you by creating analogies.
THERE CAN ONLY BE SIX
Every Pokemon game has had the limit of carrying 6 different varieties at any given time. You could theoretically have them all be Pikachu's, but that would be like using a pencil to write with, drill screws with, pick your nose with, kill with and orally pleasure your favorite stuffed animals...
Not that you couldn't use a pencil for these things. It's just really hard to use it for most other things besides writing. Killing comes in a close second....always.
Let me instill unto you an idea. In my book, which will be fabulous and expensive so start saving now, I have separated life into six different categories to discover success in. Six? Why, how convenient.
They are as follows:
Career / Vocational
Spiritual
Physical
Social
Financial
Domestic
Every area of your life where you can attain success can be attributed to at least on of these categories. Obviously, there are some things, like the house that you live in, can be assessed in many of the categories. I also believe that in order to achieve the highest potential success in each area, you have to acknowledge the different aspects and people within your life to help facilitate that growth. Which option is the best to chose?
Let's go back to Pokemon. For all intensive purposes, we will use Pikachu as the example. I'd rather not because he sucks compared to most other Pokemon and the cartoon always made him out to be so much better than he would ever be in the video game. Pikachu is an electric Pokemon. This "type" or identifier tells the player a lot about that Pokemon. Everything from its strengths and weakness to what moves it might learn. Think of it like rock paper scissors with a splash of animal cruelty...
Electric is strong against Water but Weak against Ground type Pokemon. For know, let's say that the Career you want falls under the Water Category, and the Spiritual life you want falls under the Ground Category. Let's also assume that Pikachu is actually a former boss of yours who loved you and wants to give you a good reference. Having Bob (all good bosses are named Bob) write that letter for you for your dream job would yield a much higher potential for success because his type beats out the job's type. Is this making sense yet?
All right, let us also assume that you want to take a six-week fasting yoga tantric retreat in the Tibetan mountains, but you need a reference. Electric Pikachu Bob is not well equipped to help facilitate this kind of success. Not only is Electric Bob weak against ground types, but also his attacks won't have ANY effect on the Tibetan monks (if you have to ask why, please read a science book that would be issued to any fourth grader in the country...).
Essentially, once we have figured out what kind of success we want aka be the Pokemon Champion of our own lives, we can then decide which "Pokemon" to keep with us in order to balance the facilitation of success in all areas of life. BAM!
LEARNING TO PICK AND CHOOSE
Like Pokemon, life is full of choices. There are now more than 500 Pokemon available to any willing trainer. They can't all be right for you though, can they? Some of you may be thinking that I am suggesting a purge of friendships similar to "trimming the fat" on your Facebook friends page. Remember two things.
1.) A Pokemon can be a person or a thing in reference to the facilitation of your success. You define what that tool is, and only in reference to finding your goals.
2.) Even though you can only carry six with you at a time, the best trainers will have the most Pokemon saved in their boxes at the Pokemon Center and will use them all at varying points.
All this means is that you have to be a master editor when it comes to deciding what parts of your life will yield success or failure. Remember Pikachu Bob. He may help you get that dream job, but there could be other Pokemon out there who could help you find success in more than one area.
DEFEAT THE GYM LEADERS
Every game also includes at least eight major battles wherein the "Gym Leader" uses a specific type of Pokemon. Think of these are creating SMART goals for yourself.
SMART goals aren't new…but you might be, so here is a quick explanation.
They are:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
What this translates to be that every Gym Leader battle is great practice in understanding the concept of a SMART goal. This type of goal setting is important because the chances of finding victory with them are much higher than those big dreams we create in dreamland. They also help us keep track of where we have come from. A Pokemon trainer is much more accomplished after having beaten five of the Gym Leaders than one who has only beaten two. And because they are centered on specific types, you can focus your training and development in beating that single obstacle i.e. finding growth in a specific area of your life. Making sense now isn't it?!
THE GAME IS NEVER OVER
The simplest and yet most important correlation between Pokemon and Success. Successful people, just like Pokemon Masters, understand that there is always more to learn from, more to grow and more Pokemon to meet.
You’re Welcome!
LOVE AND STRUGGS
B DANN
PS-For those of you wondering why I made no mention of the Master Ball, ask yourself this. Is there a Master Ball in life that can catch the ultimate legendary Pokemon? And further more, doesn’t it feel better to use 30 Ultra balls over what feels like four hours knowing that you caught Lugia the “right” way?
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