Throughout my youth, my mother would point out to me those relatives and neighbors who were successful by her standards. “That person is very successful, she would say.” She used a simple standard – visible wealth. They were the winners. They were who I should aspire to be.

But as I grew to understand the idea of winning, the culture of winning, the process of winning, and the rewards of winning, I realized that the construct of success is a fabrication built upon imagination and assumptions. SLANT. Our story today is about the game of life. Of inherited rules and referees. Of inherited language and meaning. It is about inherited constructs such as winning and success that fail to embrace Nurture, Equality, Truth, Systems, complexity and a Proof Process.

Here are Merriam Webster’s dictionary definitions of both “winner” and the closely related term, “success”

Winner
a : one that is successful especially through praiseworthy ability and hard work
b : a victor especially in games and sports
c : one that wins admiration

Success
b : favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.

What we know consciously and subconsciously, and what we do, are often disconnected.

In sports, we know every player comes with an inheritance of genetics and resilience, along with life experience. Certain mixes of genetics, resilience and experience result in better players. Those that play the game the best are more valued than those performing at a lesser level. That is the construct of the game. The focus is on winning. But winning is a fabrication. Most of us cannot even imagine another focus for a game other than winning. That is the essence of SLANT.

Any game, including the game of life,  can be played to be played. Players, fans, commentators and reporters can feature significant moments, individual achievements, smart decisions, teamwork, effort, improvement, and sheer exuberance. Or just enjoy the experience.

If winning must be a part of your construct, then any game, including the game of life, need not have a single “winner”, or “first, second and third place”.

Who said a winner must be the first or the top three? How about grouping achievement by time segments, by standard deviation bands, by significant components, by improvement, by strategy, by teamwork, by sportsmanship, by entertainment value, by effort, by overcoming adversity…?

But who said we even have to have a winner?

Recognition rather than judgement is consistent with Nurture, Equality, Truth and Systems. If someone is not living up to their potential or achieving a specific objective, recognition of that within a systemic context is more valuable than resorting to judgement. If someone or something does not meet your criteria for engagement, you can easily choose other options.

Wanting to do your best, accomplish everything you put your mind to, within the constraints of your inheritance and life experience, in the embrace of Nurture, Equality, Truth and Systems, is what we believe in. This is not the same as creating the mirage of an enemy or competitor that you want to defeat, when the only enemy, the only competitor, is the damaging construct of SLANT. The only competition we have is within ourselves.

At Y Worlds, our winners are those that practice
                                                          achieve
                                                          transfer
                                                          propagate
                                                          perceive
                                                               Nurture, Equality, Truth and Systems.

The idea that we attend a soccer game only to see our team win is a mirage of SLANT.
The idea that we only play a game of soccer in order to win is a figment of SLANT.
The idea that we won a war is a distortion of Truth.
The idea that we tolerate the pervasive lies that underly big time politics, athletics and finance
is a magnificent example of SLANT.

Wanting to win at all costs means exactly what it says. Nurture, Equality and Truth become secondary. Systems are manipulated to become engines for the success of some at the expense of others.

The idea that being laid off, sick, impoverished or beaten down in innumerable ways makes us unsuccessful is the embodiment of SLANT.

The game of life is about experiencing it to the fullest. No judgement is necessary about the quality of play. No one lives up to their fullest potential. The most valued subconscious and conscious attribute in life is positive self perception, followed closely by compassion, resilience and inclusiveness.

One can achieve these states through innumerable combinations of heredity, inheritance, thought and action. One can be unplugged or fully plugged into CAL-Computer Aided Life. One can be isolated or surrounded. One can be self sufficient or fully dependent.

Nurture is to live the life that you can and to enable others to live theirs. 
Equality is to love yourself and perceive all others as having the same inherent value. 
Truth is the open embrace of systemic learning.

What is is. 
What you were and are is all you could be. 
What you have inherited is your game. 
What you will be is the player of your game. 
And your legacY lives forever through the ripples of everything you are, everything you touch and how you played the game.

At Y Worlds, we play by NETS rules. Play with us. You cannot lose. 

Learn more about NETS, legacY, and Y Person

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