What do you think?
Rate this book
Mastering The Game: What Video Games Can Teach Us About Success In Life
Can video games be used to teach personal and business success lessons?
Mastering The Game: What Video Games Can Teach Us About Success In Life takes a look at how the same habits and principles that lead to success when playing video games can be applied to personal and business success.
Principles are ideas that are truly timeless, and remain true independent of context, culture or time period. So what are the principles embedded in the most popular video games? Surprisingly, the list strongly resembles the most in demand traits for the workplace.
• Adaptability & Managing Change
• Personal Accountability
• Innovation
• Communication & Listening
• Teambuilding & Collaboration
• Knowledge Sharing
• Persistence & Grit
Mastering The Game provides analogies, examples, and lessons for connecting the dots between how gamers play and how successful professionals work. Are you ready to take your career to the next level?
Mastering The Game: What Video Games Can Teach Us About Success In Life takes a look at how the same habits and principles that lead to success when playing video games can be applied to personal and business success.
Principles are ideas that are truly timeless, and remain true independent of context, culture or time period. So what are the principles embedded in the most popular video games? Surprisingly, the list strongly resembles the most in demand traits for the workplace.
• Adaptability & Managing Change
• Personal Accountability
• Innovation
• Communication & Listening
• Teambuilding & Collaboration
• Knowledge Sharing
• Persistence & Grit
Mastering The Game provides analogies, examples, and lessons for connecting the dots between how gamers play and how successful professionals work. Are you ready to take your career to the next level?
294 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2015
16 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Jon D. Harrison
4 booksJonathan D. Harrison is a leadership expert, HR professional, and lifelong gamer who believes that the greatest life lessons don't always come from textbooks - sometimes, they come from boss battles, loot drops, and pixelated quests.
A TEDx speaker and the author of multiple books, including Mastering the Game: What Video Games Can Teach Us About Success in Life, and in 2025 If Video Games Have Taught Me Anything: What Video Games Taught Some of the World's Most Fascinating People.
He also illustrated a coloring book, If Video Games Have Taught Me Anything: A Video Game Life Lesson Coloring Book.
Jonathan combines 20+ years of professional development experience with a passion for storytelling and play. When he's not writing or speaking, he's leveling up in real life as a husband and father, proving that the skills honed in games - strategy, persistence, curiosity - truly can shape the way we live, lead, and learn.
A TEDx speaker and the author of multiple books, including Mastering the Game: What Video Games Can Teach Us About Success in Life, and in 2025 If Video Games Have Taught Me Anything: What Video Games Taught Some of the World's Most Fascinating People.
He also illustrated a coloring book, If Video Games Have Taught Me Anything: A Video Game Life Lesson Coloring Book.
Jonathan combines 20+ years of professional development experience with a passion for storytelling and play. When he's not writing or speaking, he's leveling up in real life as a husband and father, proving that the skills honed in games - strategy, persistence, curiosity - truly can shape the way we live, lead, and learn.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 8, 2021
I love a good book on leadership. But a leadership book that uses Tetris to illustrate productivity and Street Fighter to discuss focusing on your strengths? Well, sign me up!
I really enjoyed this book by Jon Harrison. While some may not be enticed by the video game examples, it is an enlightening read to see how video games teach more than 360 no-scopes and how being a criminal in GTA is not all it’s cracked up to be. If you’re in business, leadership, or just curious about how games can teach you a thing or two about life, pick this up!
P.S. I’d love a section on how Animal Crossing teaches about good personal finance and to be wary of crooks named Tom.
I really enjoyed this book by Jon Harrison. While some may not be enticed by the video game examples, it is an enlightening read to see how video games teach more than 360 no-scopes and how being a criminal in GTA is not all it’s cracked up to be. If you’re in business, leadership, or just curious about how games can teach you a thing or two about life, pick this up!
P.S. I’d love a section on how Animal Crossing teaches about good personal finance and to be wary of crooks named Tom.
May 29, 2018
Fun, light read
The video game references are fun but the professional guidance is not grounded enough to take hold. Instead of lightly covering many topics, I would have preferred the book focus on just a few aspects of professional growth more seriously - while maintaining the video game coloring.
The video game references are fun but the professional guidance is not grounded enough to take hold. Instead of lightly covering many topics, I would have preferred the book focus on just a few aspects of professional growth more seriously - while maintaining the video game coloring.
November 30, 2015
What can video games teach us about success in life?
As it turns out, there’s actually a lot that we can learn about life from video games! And Jon Harrison has made it so clear in his book Mastering The Game, that you might find yourself wanting to read more about what he has to say on the topic than actually play a video game in the first place!
When Jon Harrison contacted me about reviewing his book, I was so excited to get it. I don’t have a ton of time to devote to gaming, but I have been known to dominate some Mario Kart races during my lunch break from time to time. When I finally got it, it quickly became my before-bed read and I got so into it and what he had to say that I found myself nodding in agreement with his points. You guys, if you like video games at all (or even if you know someone who does), you’ll be amazed to learn what sort of affect they are having upon us. Anything from the obvious things like reasoning skills, to the representation of allegory (renamed in this book “allegamey”) within the games themselves, I feel like I will never be able to look at even the most simple of video games in the same way again.
For most gamers (and maybe you relate), it’s more than just playing a game. It’s about a story, the journey, overcoming the challenges, and so much more. But we often aren’t conscious of the fact that it’s so meaningful for us. Sure, we may sit down to play a game hoping just to escape our own stresses for a few moments, but there’s actual value behind our actions and choices. Jon does such a fantastic job in his book of bringing this to light.
Learn more about how specific games teach us certain things, how games teach you to think ahead and foresee problems in the future, how to keep people from “mashing your buttons,” and even some lessons about how video games can teach you about better inbox management. I’m telling you, this book may not seem like you’re typical leadership/self-betterment book and that’s because it’s so much more than that. You won’t regret picking it up before you sit down to play your next game, and for even the most avid gamers you’ll gain a renewed sense of awareness.
So instead of racing to that controller, pick up this book and learn what video games can teach YOU about success in life. But then, by all means, carry on with your gaming.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
As it turns out, there’s actually a lot that we can learn about life from video games! And Jon Harrison has made it so clear in his book Mastering The Game, that you might find yourself wanting to read more about what he has to say on the topic than actually play a video game in the first place!
When Jon Harrison contacted me about reviewing his book, I was so excited to get it. I don’t have a ton of time to devote to gaming, but I have been known to dominate some Mario Kart races during my lunch break from time to time. When I finally got it, it quickly became my before-bed read and I got so into it and what he had to say that I found myself nodding in agreement with his points. You guys, if you like video games at all (or even if you know someone who does), you’ll be amazed to learn what sort of affect they are having upon us. Anything from the obvious things like reasoning skills, to the representation of allegory (renamed in this book “allegamey”) within the games themselves, I feel like I will never be able to look at even the most simple of video games in the same way again.
For most gamers (and maybe you relate), it’s more than just playing a game. It’s about a story, the journey, overcoming the challenges, and so much more. But we often aren’t conscious of the fact that it’s so meaningful for us. Sure, we may sit down to play a game hoping just to escape our own stresses for a few moments, but there’s actual value behind our actions and choices. Jon does such a fantastic job in his book of bringing this to light.
Learn more about how specific games teach us certain things, how games teach you to think ahead and foresee problems in the future, how to keep people from “mashing your buttons,” and even some lessons about how video games can teach you about better inbox management. I’m telling you, this book may not seem like you’re typical leadership/self-betterment book and that’s because it’s so much more than that. You won’t regret picking it up before you sit down to play your next game, and for even the most avid gamers you’ll gain a renewed sense of awareness.
So instead of racing to that controller, pick up this book and learn what video games can teach YOU about success in life. But then, by all means, carry on with your gaming.
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
October 12, 2015
jedna z miliardy motivacnych knih na trhu ale tento krat o tom ako je mozne vyuzit hry na vzdelavanie a sebazdokonalovanie. autor dava priklady z hier pocas svojej mladosti (80s-90s) a aj sucasnych hier
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews