Playing the next round

I like to look at my life as a game. Shahzad is the character, and I am the one playing him. That makes it feel lighter and more fun to me.

Being born in Pakistan was a difficult starting round for me. The first obstacle was getting out of the country and coming to the UK. Then it was finding work, working as a security officer and learning.

Learning has kept helping me move to the next round. Getting a passport was my licence to freedom.

I read Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse a long time ago. The idea of continuing to play stayed with me. It fits the way I feel about building things.

Life can feel like Tetris: I deal with what arrives, solve the problem in front of me, and then another piece appears. I use that as a picture of ongoing problem-solving. I want to keep learning how to play.

I also come back to Naval's distinction between the wealth game and the status game. I am interested in building things people value, having ownership and using tools that let the work reach further than my own hours.

Today, AI, software and media give me more ways to do that. I see a great deal of opportunity in it. Where someone starts, what they have access to and the choices they can make still matter.

Am I going to reach a point where everything is perfect and all the problems are solved? I doubt it. I enjoy working, building and solving them. I want to keep playing.