Winning the biggest game - LIFE!
How do you know when you are winning the biggest game: LIFE? How do you measure it?
Most people would think that you have won the biggest game if you are rich monetarily.
However, Joe Santoro's definition of winning at life is different, and has nothing to do with money:
You're winning at life if you:
- Live a healthy lifestyle
- Know who you are and are comfortable in your skin
- Do things you like
- Live within your means (don't spend more money than you have)
- Have friends and family who truly care about you and want to be with you.
Plenty of people are rich monetarily, yet poor in all the ways that matter most.
Money does make life comfortable and can be used for many good things. However, Francis Bacon said it well: “Money is a great servant but a bad master.”
Let's break down all the pieces of winning at life:
Laying the Foundation for Future Success
We start to win or lose the biggest game the day we are born by what we are taught and how we react.
Our personalities are influenced by our surroundings: Our parents, siblings, the things we watch on TV and the computer, what we learn at school, and the company we keep.
Attending a quality early learning center as early as possible is a big plus. Why? Because our parents, although loving and caring, are generally not trained educators. It’s very important for all parents to seek as much guidance as possible and to enroll their children in a quality program that prepares them socially and emotionally. These are called essential personal life skills and they teach things that add to emotional intelligence, or EQ. Essential personal life skills are broken down into four basic categories: Knowing Me, Managing Me, Understanding Others, and Relating to Others. These categories are the foundation for understanding and managing yourself, and learning how to interact with others.
If academics are like the car that drives you,
essential personal life skills are like the steering wheel that guides you.
You can't drive a car without a steering wheel, right?
Living a healthy lifestyle
It is very difficult to be happy and content if you’re not healthy. Portions of your health are predicated on a few things; genetics, your environment, your activity level, and what you eat. You can’t change your genes, so you have to work with what you have. However, even with the best genes, if you don’t take care of yourself you will ultimately be unhealthy.
Being healthy also includes your environment. Do not expose yourself to unhealthy situations, and take precautions. Many years ago I asked my doctor how to stay healthy. His answer was simple: "Wash your hands." We are acutely aware of this today: germs get on your hands and you ultimately touch your face, which spreads germs to you and others.
Knowing Who You Are & Being Comfortable With Yourself
Learn to love yourself. Every individual is unique and has unique strengths and weaknesses. Build on your strengths. Learn what you like and what you dislike. Learn what motivates you. If you do things you like, you will probably do them well. When you do something well, you will probably get paid well.
The expression, “You can be whatever you want to be” is not true, because everyone has limitations. If you were just 5 feet tall and wanted to be a basketball player, that would probably not happen. But if you like basketball, however, you could be a manager or possibly an owner. The key is to be comfortable with yourself and be the best you can be.
Doing what you like
If you are doing things you like to do, you have a better chance of doing them well. How do you determine what you like? It starts with honest self-evaluation. Today with the internet you have access to learning about many different jobs. Take the time with your parents and/or a career counselor and go through your options. Uncover things you might really want to do as well as the qualifications needed for that job. Also, make time for activities you enjoy doing outside of work. Leisure activities are important too!
Making enough money for your lifestyle - living within your means
Doing what you like may not lead to the highest-paying job, so your lifestyle must fit your income. If you go for the highest-paying job but do not like the work, you will never be completely happy. If you spend more money than you make, you'll end up with debt you cannot pay, and that's miserable. Don't spend more than you earn, and you'll have a comfortable life without the mental stress of debt hanging over your head.
Having family and friends who care about you and want to spend time with you
It's important to have people around you who truly love you and want the best for you. If you're a miserable person, others won't want to be around you. When you are your best self, others want to spend time with you, and having people in your life who care is vital to your wellbeing.
How do you learn all the skills needed to win the biggest game - LIFE?
Children as early as preschool, as well as in grades K-12, can learn and hone these skills when schools include a curriculum to routinely teach them as part of the school day.
We put together a program called Alive2Thrive which teaches essential personal life skills, and it's good for anyone from age 12 to 60, and is broken down into four categories:
Learning to love yourself. Being comfortable in your own skin. Understanding your strengths and weaknesses.
Guiding your thoughts in positive directions; managing your time and your emotions and responses to others; learning to take personal responsibility for your actions and behaviors.
Knowing how people of varying personality types work together; developing empathy and understanding the emotions, perceptions, and needs of others.
Enhancing communication and conversation skills, enabling conflict management, constructive resolution, teamwork and collaboration to meet goals. Being able to serve others and meet their needs.
The Alive2Thrive program is based upon single-point lessons, followed by two questions, a tip on moving forward, and a discussion. The lessons are on this website and in book form, and they are simple and achievable.
Learning these skills and practicing them daily will put you well on your way to winning the biggest game: LIFE.
BY JOE SANTORO, PHD OF LIFE
WIN THE BIGGEST GAME: LIFE
LEARN HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY, AND HEALTHY
The focus of this book is helping people understand themselves and better relate to others. All profits from this book will go to the SANTORO EDUCATION LIFESKILLS FOUNDATION.
The author’s definition of winning the biggest game is, “A person who is healthy, knows who they are, is comfortable in their skin, does what they like, makes enough money to support the lifestyle they desire, and who has family and friends who love them and truly want to be with them is winning the biggest game -- LIFE!"
By Joe Santoro, PhD of Life
BY JOE SANTORO, PHD OF LIFE
YOU ARE ALIVE 2 THRIVE: BUILDING YOUR SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS TO ENHANCE YOUR LIFE
LEARN HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY, AND HEALTHY
- Knowing Me
- Managing Me
- Understanding Others
- Relating To Others
The Power of Four lessons are short and simple, each one a single-point message along with tips on the best way to achieve results. This book is designed to be a workbook. You can use it by yourself, with others, or in groups. Mentors can use this to help others or it can also be used as a journal.
By Joe Santoro, PhD of Life
How to use santorofoundation.org
This website is a free resource of material to help improve your personal life skills and emotional intelligence. The material on this website ranges from individual “sayings” to a full curriculum program called Alive2Thrive. To help you become your best self, please review all this site has to offer. Please pass this site along to others so they can be the best they can be too!