How to Cultivate Long-Term Success
On a sun-soaked day in San Diego, Superman taught me the secret to success. I stood in front of the towering Upper Deck office building, its glass facade reflecting the piercing sunlight. Despite the gorgeous weather, a cloud of uncertainty hung over me. I had just traded the predictable path of law school for a nebulous career in game design. I had made a name for myself playing games professionally. But designing was an entirely different type of game- and I was a newb. Growing up, I believed creativity was like magic—a rare gift bestowed upon a lucky few, leaving the rest of us muggles to fend for ourselves. Standing in front of that intimidating building for my first day of work, I felt anything but magical.
As I stepped through the tinted glass doors, my new boss greeted me with a stiff handshake and led me on a whirlwind tour. Our last stop was 'the pit,' a buzzing hive of game designers engrossed in the latest Marvel vs. DC trading card game—the very project I was hired for. Desks were buried under slips of paper, notepads, and scattered cards. A nearby whiteboard was a jigsaw puzzle of charts, sketches, and diagrams. Spreadsheets monopolized computer screens, teeming with data that might as well have been hieroglyphics to me. For a moment, panic seized me. I was reminded of a recurring nightmare I had in college, where I showed up to an exam completely unprepared, written in a language I didn’t know.
I came face to face with Dave Humphreys, someone who I had known from my days on the Magic Pro Tour, who smiled and showed me the current Superman designs he was working on. I looked at the cards he presented, and a barrage of questions buzzed in my mind. The urge to ask felt almost reckless—like showing my hand in a high-stakes game.
I was gripped by a sense of impostor syndrome, worried that my basic questions would expose me as an amateur in a room full of pros. Yet my curiosity was too compelling to ignore. I took a deep breath and asked, 'What's the goal behind this design? How will you know if it's successful?'
Dave paused, as if measuring the weight of his words. 'We're aiming to capture the essence of Superman in this play pattern,' he said, his eyes lighting up. 'He is the most powerful hero in the world. Can we make the player feel like that when playing? This particular card is a rare one, something we want players to covet and build strategies around. Success for us looks like distinct, enjoyable play patterns that stand apart from other strategies.'
As he spoke, a strange thing happened. The room's atmosphere shifted. My questions, far from marking me as an outsider, had opened the door to a deeper conversation about the craft of design. Other designers in the room jumped in with thoughts, and the deepening insight exchanged was exhilarating.
That day and everyday after I asked these same questions to designers at work and those I met from other companies about every nuance of the craft. I dug deep into books on creativity and design, and I began crafting my own answers as I struggled with new challenges. I became obsessed with finding out how the art of design worked and breaking it down into steps I could repeat.
My initial work was, charitably interpreted, a steaming pile of garbage. My designs were overcomplicated, unfun and incomprehensible. I showed them to colleagues and was either politely corrected or openly ridiculed. But each failure became a lesson and I continued trying. I thought back to how miserable I was in law school to reinforce my resolve to never go back. This was my career now and failure was not an option.
I shifted the way I paid attention. I watched to see how people reacted to not just my designs but to the conversations in the room when more experienced designers pitched ideas. I noticed when someone got too attached to their position and stopped listening for new ideas. I grew attuned to which ideas would tend to get adopted and which would get discarded.
I learned that I wasn’t the only one who felt overwhelmed and intimidated by a room full of brilliant people working on the same project. Over time I grew less scared and more bold in my own work. I doubled down on my learning, iterative attempts, and ability to collaborate with others without my ego getting in the way.
I compiled the lessons learned about design in my previous book, Think Like a Game Designer. But what I didn’t include in that book is a breakdown of the meta-skills I learned during those days that can apply to any career or skill you want to develop.
In traditional Role Playing Games (RPGs), players create characters with core attributes that represent their abilities in the world. Attributes like Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, and Charisma determine your likelihood to succeed in whatever task you attempt. There is something very satisfying about having concrete numbers for each trait and working over time to improve them.
We are going to apply this principle to develop our own CORE attributes. The acronym CORE aligns with specific traits developed in a specific order that will help you navigate and thrive no matter what your goals, career path, or values:
Curiosity: Deep genuine interest in the world around you
Obsession: A relentless ability to focus on one task or subject
Resilience: The ability to use obstacles as fuel for growth
Empathy: Understanding and aligning the perspective of others
These aren't just buzzwords; they are the foundational elements that have guided me in my career, creative projects, and personal life. They're broad enough to be universally applicable but specific enough for everyone to understand, cultivate, and improve upon. Remembering the CORE acronym can help you consciously implement these attributes in situations when you need them.
Curiosity serves as the spark that connects you to the world and lets you learn about your interests and inclinations. Obsession allows you to set aside trivial distractions and master a single subject, gaining deep expertise and ability. Resilience allows you to overcome the inevitable obstacles on the path to mastery. Empathy lets you both enroll others in your mission and ensure that your work provides value to the world.
In future posts, we will dig deep into the nature of each CORE attribute along with specific steps to cultivate them. However, before we dig deeper into each attribute, it is useful to establish where you currently stand. Rating yourself on the statements below will give you initial scores to work with as a baseline. Consider this your character sheet for the game of life. Record your initial attribute scores to provide a snapshot of your current abilities. After completing some of the exercises in the following chapters, you can revisit your score to see if you’ve leveled up.
Rate yourself from 1 (not characteristic of me) to 5 (very characteristic of me) on the following statements.
Curiosity
I enjoy learning about a variety of subjects
I spend more time asking about other people and listening than talking about myself
I often get outside of my comfort zone and try new things.
When things don’t go as planned, I dig deep to understand why. I don’t accept the surface-level answer.
Obsession
I can stay focussed on one task for a long time without issue.
I am conscious of how often I switch tasks or get diverted by distraction.
Once I start a project, I always see it through to the conclusion.
I prioritize and take action on my most important tasks consistently.
Resilience
I am comfortable with uncertainty and change.
I see obstacles as learning opportunities.
I practice gratitude daily.
I have regular practices to rejuvenate myself and my energy reserves.
Empathy
I reflect back what others say, ensuring they feel heard.
I focus more on what I contribute to others than on what I receive.
I communicate my ideas clearly, confidently, and compellingly.
I am a leader and take 100% responsibility for my actions and outcomes.
Add the score for each of the above, and create your total score (4-20) for each attribute.
Curiosity _______
Obsession ________
Resilience _______
Empathy _______
Don’t worry if your attribute levels aren’t where you want them to be. The goal is to set a baseline that we can continue improving.
Want more about the C.O.R.E. system?
I’ve published a follow-up article in The Designer Newsletter (our paid subscriber publication) that explores the C.O.R.E. system further.
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In my world, curiosity and obsession are closely linked. My slight variant on CORE is CARE, where A is for Agency. In the craft of experiences, I design to provide a catalyst for meaningful action within a compelling arena of play.
Thank you Justin.