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The Tower
What if life were like a video game? How can we incorporate creative work and the desire to build something into our routine? What truly matters?
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
Audiobook
First published December 6, 2011
166 people want to read
About the author
Chris Guillebeau
57 books1,707 followersChris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and other books. During a lifetime of self-employment, he visited every country in the world (193 in total) before his 35th birthday. Every summer in Portland, Oregon he hosts the World Domination Summit, a gathering of creative, remarkable people. Chris also hosts Side Hustle School, a popular podcast that is downloaded more than 2 million times a month.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 16, 2011
Chris Guillebeau uses the metaphor of a video game (The Tower) to talk about how to build your life. He was playing one of those Farmville/Mafia Wars/etc. style video games where you have a little empire to take care of, and if you do stuff in the game all the time, it grows and flourishes. If you don't, you start losing your imaginary success--a clever way to keep people hooked.
He analyzed what he found so compelling in the game and came up with these:
- there was a clear goal
- he could make continuous improvement over time
- he got rewards and achievements for his efforts
- there were specific deliverables--he knew exactly what to do and when to do it in order to achieve success
- he had influence over the world within the game
- there was a clear sense of urgency
What I took away from this is the idea to incorporate as many of these factors as possible into what you're trying to do, so that you make your work as additive as a video game. That's a good idea--I think I'll do it.
It's funny, I agree with almost everything he says in this book, but I still didn't like it much. I can't say why exactly. Maybe I'm just tired of being told how to live my life, even if I agree with the message (in this case, doing meaningful work is what would make me happy and satisfied).
Also, he says, "Instead of knowledge, pleasure, or happiness, the purpose of life is to create something meaningful that will endure after we're gone." It sounds good, but I'm not sure I agree. I mean, it's apparently the purpose of his life, but I'm not sure it's the purpose of mine.
Do I really care if my stuff endures after I'm gone? I kind of think it would be nice if it did, but that's about as worked up as I can get about it. Nobody remembers the vast majority of people who died before, say, 1920. Even the ones who built buildings, wrote books, painted paintings, healed the sick--any great work you can think of--are mostly lost in the sands of time. Their buildings get torn down, their books go out of print, their paintings are damaged or lost, the sick people they healed eventually die. Does that mean their lives were pointless? I certainly don't think so.
Chris is a person who preaches a lot about helping other people, and this book is no exception. I think it's important and good to help other people, but only if you truly want to. If you're guilted into it, fuck it. I think that's part of why I didn't like this book--I don't like being told that I'm falling short if I'm not helping other people enough. If that means I'm a horrible, selfish person, so be it.
I guess what I don't like about this book is that it seems to be saying, "Here is the One Right Answer! I found it for you, now do what I say. Aren't you grateful?" when what I like about Chris is his usual message that there is no one right answer--you have to figure things out for yourself and not just do what other people tell you.
Overall, I think we should have a Celebrity Death Match style claymation battle between the legacy/service crowd and the people who say the point of life is to be happy. I want to see some ass-kicking. In fact, maybe the helpers can help by kicking their own asses. What a legacy that would be!
He analyzed what he found so compelling in the game and came up with these:
- there was a clear goal
- he could make continuous improvement over time
- he got rewards and achievements for his efforts
- there were specific deliverables--he knew exactly what to do and when to do it in order to achieve success
- he had influence over the world within the game
- there was a clear sense of urgency
What I took away from this is the idea to incorporate as many of these factors as possible into what you're trying to do, so that you make your work as additive as a video game. That's a good idea--I think I'll do it.
It's funny, I agree with almost everything he says in this book, but I still didn't like it much. I can't say why exactly. Maybe I'm just tired of being told how to live my life, even if I agree with the message (in this case, doing meaningful work is what would make me happy and satisfied).
Also, he says, "Instead of knowledge, pleasure, or happiness, the purpose of life is to create something meaningful that will endure after we're gone." It sounds good, but I'm not sure I agree. I mean, it's apparently the purpose of his life, but I'm not sure it's the purpose of mine.
Do I really care if my stuff endures after I'm gone? I kind of think it would be nice if it did, but that's about as worked up as I can get about it. Nobody remembers the vast majority of people who died before, say, 1920. Even the ones who built buildings, wrote books, painted paintings, healed the sick--any great work you can think of--are mostly lost in the sands of time. Their buildings get torn down, their books go out of print, their paintings are damaged or lost, the sick people they healed eventually die. Does that mean their lives were pointless? I certainly don't think so.
Chris is a person who preaches a lot about helping other people, and this book is no exception. I think it's important and good to help other people, but only if you truly want to. If you're guilted into it, fuck it. I think that's part of why I didn't like this book--I don't like being told that I'm falling short if I'm not helping other people enough. If that means I'm a horrible, selfish person, so be it.
I guess what I don't like about this book is that it seems to be saying, "Here is the One Right Answer! I found it for you, now do what I say. Aren't you grateful?" when what I like about Chris is his usual message that there is no one right answer--you have to figure things out for yourself and not just do what other people tell you.
Overall, I think we should have a Celebrity Death Match style claymation battle between the legacy/service crowd and the people who say the point of life is to be happy. I want to see some ass-kicking. In fact, maybe the helpers can help by kicking their own asses. What a legacy that would be!
December 12, 2011
Found it free on his website and it sounded interesting. Decided to read it and see what he had to share. It wasn't a long read, half an hour or so, but it was interesting.
Chris is on a mission to visit every country in the world. Some of this is insight about that and some just about deciding what your dream is and pursuing it.
Chris is on a mission to visit every country in the world. Some of this is insight about that and some just about deciding what your dream is and pursuing it.
December 28, 2011
I have loved the other manifestos Chris has written but this one somehow didn't connect quite as hard with me, which is funny because I am into games like the tower one on which he's based his concept.
I read it twice and then sat and thought about it, and I think I largely already have what he talks about. I have control over my work, I know it's affecting other people in a good way, I have goals and rewards and achievements. What I am missing, a lot of the time, is a pure enjoyment of my work, having fun doing it for its own sake. Reading this manifesto made me feel that something was missing and pushed me to find that something, so I'm grateful to it for that. It's just not as earth-shattering as some of his other work has been for me.
I read it twice and then sat and thought about it, and I think I largely already have what he talks about. I have control over my work, I know it's affecting other people in a good way, I have goals and rewards and achievements. What I am missing, a lot of the time, is a pure enjoyment of my work, having fun doing it for its own sake. Reading this manifesto made me feel that something was missing and pushed me to find that something, so I'm grateful to it for that. It's just not as earth-shattering as some of his other work has been for me.
January 4, 2012
Overall, Guillebeau's call to action makes sense to me. We each have a limited time on this planet and while we may not be able to create something to rival the Sistine Chapel, we can still leave a legacy. The Tower compares one's Legacy goal to a simple mobile phone game (think of a compressed Sim City or of Farmville) which requires constant attention but with little rewards built in along the way (and of course, a few unpredictable challenges, too). It's as good a reference point as any to take and good motivation for me.
December 29, 2012
One of the best books I read this year didn’t cost me a dime.
This book is called The Tower, and it’s written by Chris Guillebeau. I think you should pick it up and give it a read yourself so I won’t spoil too much, but I’ll share with you how it impacted me this past year – and how that will affect me for years to come.
Chris’s book resonated with me in a way that few books have. He turned his focus from the tower-building game to his tower-building life, and he had the courage and the generosity to share his story. It’s not a long story, but it certainly is a full one.
This book is called The Tower, and it’s written by Chris Guillebeau. I think you should pick it up and give it a read yourself so I won’t spoil too much, but I’ll share with you how it impacted me this past year – and how that will affect me for years to come.
Chris’s book resonated with me in a way that few books have. He turned his focus from the tower-building game to his tower-building life, and he had the courage and the generosity to share his story. It’s not a long story, but it certainly is a full one.
April 18, 2015
I finished this Manifesto quickly. While I am already pondering on the issues that is reflected here, having someone with a clear-mind (at least clearer than me) helped me connect more on this book, and work-on an actionable plan regarding my life.
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February 17, 2012It was okay. I finished it because it's short, and it's not terrible. For some reason, this just didn't click with me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews