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5 Life Lessons From “Plants Vs. Zombies”

Some people learn all they need to know about life from kindergarten. Then there are those of us who learn the rulesof the road by playing video games!

At the risk of sounding like a warped kindergarten teacher, there’s a lot that can be learned about how to succeed inlife by looking at what it takes to win at garden warfare.

1. Conquer with Cooperation

Cooperation is the key to winning in this game. Of course, the same can be said about life in general, both personaland professional. Nobody succeeds all on their lonesome. You have to be a team player. That means you can’t makeit by being a one-man team. (Well, maybe you could, but you wouldn’t be as successful as if you partnered withothers, and you’d end up being an insufferable jerk that no one would want to be around anyway.)

The coolest thing about being part of a team? You get to enjoy the support and camaraderie of other cool, funindividuals who have different strengths — skills that you might not possess. The lesson here is that when you learnto cooperate and combine your talents with others, you increase your chances of success, both in garden warfareand the game of life.

2. Accept People For Who They Are – Whatever That Is

In this game, not all plants or zombies are created equal. Each unit has its respective strengths and weaknesses.What makes this game so unique is that you can balance teams depending on the type of professions or skill sets youprefer. Everybody has different talents (and quirks and neuroses), just as in real life.

So you’re a zombie? Look on the bright side. Focus on the things you’re good at and play to your strengths (likeeating, not thinking). This lesson will save time down the road and also pairs with Life Lesson #1 about being a teamplayer, because the best teams are made up of people with different but complementary strengths.

3. Say What? Communication Counts Look out!

If you can’t communicate well with your teammates, it’s going to be hard to win a game. Sure, there are those playersout there that can kill off your entire team and, yeah, it can be annoying. But sooner or later everyone’s time comes.

Having the ability to speak to your teammates and coordinate your attacks is definitely to your team’s advantage. Aloss of communication can lead to losing the game. Same thing applies on the job – it’s important to keep an open lineof communication. Transparency, honesty, and openness creates a positive work environment in which people canexcel. Even when it might be a prickly subject or awkward, you’re usually better off bringing it up sooner than later,when it could grow into a bigger problem.

4. Failure is Not the End of the World

Newsflash!

You’re going to make a lot of mistakes in life. At home and at work. But hey, nobody’s perfect, right? As much as wemight like to think that our, uh… “B.O.”… doesn’t stink, it still reeks just as much as the next nerd’s. Anyway, wherewere we? Oh yeah…

The important thing is to recognize your mistakes so that you can learn from them. Then take steps to make thenecessary corrections and avoid repeating those same mistakes.

Own of the most important lessons I learned early in my career was to own up to my mistakes. Just admit it when youmess up! Right away. Then once you’ve learned from the experience, move on. Many companies have withstoodgreat setbacks and failures and grown stronger from the experience. When we give ourselves permission to fail andmake mistakes, we’re able to learn and grow and improve.

5. Keep Pushing Yourself – Mentally & Physically

In order to get better at anything, you have to keep learning and improving. Education should be a lifelong pursuit. Butthat doesn’t have to mean homework, per se. It means digging into things that interest you. Complacency can kill aprofession, because it’s important to continue to grow and evolve. Learning different skillsets is important and canimprove a candidate’s value to a company.

It’s also important to take a mental break now and then and make time for the physical side. Pushing yourselfphysically doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym. It also includes many different kinds of exercise, plus diet andrest. Take care of your body now, because you only get one! Later on you’ll need to be in good shape to enjoy yourgolden years and retirement to the fullest.

About

GamingWithPops was created out of the responses I got whenever I told people I was gaming online with my Dad."You're what?" Why is this so hard to believe? I wondered. But the more Pops and I kept gaming, the more I knew Iwe had something worth sharing. Some wild adventures, witty commentary, dumb jokes, epic death scenes, and alot of good clean fun. To read more posts like this please visit our Blog section!