The Game for the Sake of the Game

“See things as they are, not how you wish them to be” is a common refrain of modern Buddhism that I find myself reflecting upon often. It distills a core concept of Buddhism that suffering comes from wanting something to be a certain way, and being frustrated that the reality before you is different. This week I have found myself taking a step back and trying to truly see things as they are in both my life and with Firefly.

I started Firefly in the Dark, because I saw a genuine need for something in the world: a philosophy toward emerging technology that was proactive. The architects of these new technologies have to choose not to be predatory and instead contribute to a better society, but that’s only half of it. A critical mass of users has to choose to use these creations intentionally and constructively too. Imagine AI helped you do something in two days that would have taken you a month normally. What would you do with that time? Would you do something constructive or binge a new show? Would you be intentional or complacent?

I’m very passionate about this, and I’m not seeing enough content on this topic being put out there. I want to make this a full time job so I can put my full focus into it, so at the beginning of this month I set a goal: land a sponsor – any sponsor. It didn’t need to put me in the black, just be the first. I focused on our Seattle based events since they seemed a more practical choice. We are still building a following on YouTube and podcast platforms, but I felt confident that our in-person events bringing in thirty or more techies had some potential value to a sponsor. I went hard hitting up connections, but after a few weeks, feeling pretty burnt out, I heard the refrain in my head again, “See things as they are, not how you wish them to be.”

I actually think I could have found a sponsor for these events pretty easily if it was 2019. A rookie error I see all the time, and fall victim to myself from time to time: operating on an expired model. A mix of AI uncertainty and inflated oil prices has made most industries freeze and tighten their belts. Everyone wants to see what happens next before they pull the trigger, and most people are facing more uncertainty than they have in their entire careers. When budgets get cut, ad spending is usually one of the first things to go.

This may all sound defeatist, but I actually think it was a good week. I may still get sponsors, and may still make a full time gig out of this – or maybe I’ll get a day job building AI and make content and host events on the side – that is not yet written. What I did come to realize this week is that I spent the better part of the past month getting caught up in the game for the sake of the game. I started this company because I felt I had a mission, and I was so focused on getting sponsors that I haven’t published an essay in over a month, and we missed last month’s podcast release. Discovering what a one-man show can actually get done in a month has been humbling. You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

All that time that AI is freeing up for you, for all of us, what are you doing with it? What do you want to accomplish? Putting food on the table matters. We all have to eat and pay rent, but it’s easy to get stuck in the loop of gathering resources. It’s easy to get caught up in the chase. This week, take a step back and look at what’s occupying your time and ask yourself if that is heading toward what you really want to accomplish, or are you spending the limited time that you have caught up in playing the game for the sake of the game?