How the Contra Code Can Help You Succeed in Life

 A special shout out to Matt McKee- thanks for suggesting a lesson from Contra. Matt is an entrepreneur and has a passion for making a difference, marketing, technology, and sports – check out his blog and find out more at http://www.mattmckee.me/

The legendary Konami code – it is probably most famous for its use in the original Contra for the NES, when inputting Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, Start would grant you a whopping 30 lives to play through the game with – and I remember needing it.

Since then, many games have included the Contra code (or some variation of it) to provide the player with a way to increase lives, power ups, or some other advantage in the game.

The great thing about this code, is that it actually worked to help eliminate the fear of dying (something that happened quite often in Contra). With 30 lives in stock I felt so much braver.

Able to take on the world.

But real life does not always feel this way.

I still catch myself being too careful, too cautious.

Thinking thoughts like:

I’d like to write a book someday, but… I’m not just that great of a writer.

I’d like to try something new, but… I’m afraid I would just embarrass myself.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could make a site about video games & personal growth and leadership…but that’s sounds dumb. Who’d actually read that?

Sound familiar?

I know I’ve been guilty of this way of thinking, far too many times.

Up, Up, Down, Down…Why Bother?

 

Often we make excuses for not trying something new because we don’t want to fail at it. This is especially true for us perfectionists.

In fact, the more things you’re really good at, the more likely this type of thinking will pop up and try to hold you back.

The reason for this is that you set such a high standard with the work you do, that others expect you to be as good at everything else you do. I’m on a winning streak, and I don’t want to mess it up.  At least that’s what the crazy little voice inside my head tells me from time to time.

This thought is not without a certain measure of reason. I remember a student who I went to high school with. He told me that he could easily get all “A’s”, but if he managed all “A’s”, and then ended up with a “B” his parents would be upset. So he just tried a little less, got mostly “B’s” and then his parents celebrated whenever he occasionally “managed to get an A.”

Almost makes sense.

Dumb Luck is Not a Strategy

 

But the truth is: no one is an expert at anything first time.

No one picked Street Fighter 2 and dished out 8 hit combos on their first round.

No one passes the speederbike level in Battletoads, lands on the aircraft carrier in Top Gun, or does a 1 life run through of Ninja Gaiden 3 on their very first try.

Even Michael Jordan and Larry Bird were terrible the first time they picked up a basketball (Yes, I just dated myself there).

In fact, I thought about this when I saw my son pick up a basketball the other day.

Yes, he missed his first shot, but that didn’t stop him from trying again. He had a lot of fun shooting a basketball – over and over and over again – even though it wasn’t even going in the basket to start with.

What a celebration we had the first time it did go in!

What can you and I learn from this?

Don’t let fear of failure stop you from trying something new – even the best professionals were all terrible before they were great.

 Oh, and I still need the Konami code to beat Contra.

What is something you have always wanted to do but it allowed fear of failure to stop you doing? What would you do if you knew that it would not fail?