Life as a Role Playing Game: The Capital Founder's Quest

Ever feel like something's... off?

Like you're watching yourself go through the motions, but you're not actually the one making the choices?

We've all seen it in movies. The Matrix, Westworld, The Truman Show, Free Guy, The Thirteenth Floor. Characters live scripted lives until something clicks and they realise they can break free.

And read in books like The Simulation Hypothesis by Rizwan Virk or Are You Living in a Computer Simulation? by Stephen Hawley Martin.

Ancient traditions knew this, too. Buddhists called it Maya - the illusion. Gnostics thought we were trapped in a flawed reality. Elon Musk once said there's basically zero chance we're living in "base reality."

Whether it's literally true doesn't matter. What matters is this: most of us are running someone else's code.

I've found that treating life like a role-playing game helps cut through the noise. It gives you structure when things feel chaotic. It turns abstract problems into concrete challenges you can actually solve.

Once you make this shift, you stop drifting and start designing.

So here's the framework that keeps me sane. Maybe it'll work for you too.

Are You Playing, or Being Played?

Every game has two types of characters: players and NPCs.

Most of us start as NPCs - non-player characters running default programming. We didn't choose it. It got installed by parents, schools, marketing, culture, whatever. We inherited beliefs about what success looks like, how we should spend our time, and what we're supposed to want.

Remember Cambridge Analytica? Your emotions and reactions can be predicted and manipulated. The media's gotten even better at it since then. Half the time, you don't know what's real and what's manufactured outrage designed to keep you scrolling.

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Here's the deal: if you like the program you're running, keep it. No judgment.

But if you feel stuck, frustrated, or like you're living someone else's life... maybe it's time to pick up the controller.

In RPG terms, your body is your avatar. Your higher self - call it intuition, your inner voice, whatever you call it, that's the actual player.

Once you realise that distinction, the game changes completely.

Choosing Your Character

Step one is figuring out who you actually are, not who you were told to be.

Are you the Fighter? The Scholar? The Builder? The Wizard? The Artist?

I'm not talking about "finding your passion" - that phrase is overused and unhelpful. I'm talking about your natural archetype. The missions that pull you in, the problems you can't help but try to solve.

This takes work. There's no shortcut to understanding yourself, but it's worth doing.

At Level 1, every character starts with a baseline in four areas:

• Health & Physical Abilities – Your body, energy, resilience
• Mind & Emotional Intelligence – How you think, learn, and relate to people
• Resources – Money, time, skills you can deploy
• Social Environment – Family, friends, network, community

Some stats are naturally higher than others. That's your starting build.

The game is about improving these stats in ways that align with your quest.

If you're an athlete, physical abilities matter most. You train relentlessly.

If you're a scientist, it's knowledge and logic. You experiment, fail, iterate, until you get a breakthrough.

If you're a builder or founder, you need a bit of everything: grit, strategy, people skills, capital. You create things people actually want, and they pay you for it.

The meta goal is always the same: become a better version of yourself. Progress through the levels.

You can switch classes later. Add new skills. Take on side quests. But first you need to understand what game you're playing and where you're starting from.

Levelling Up Through Challenges

Life is structured around quests.

Some are thrilling. Some are brutal. Some feel like meaningless errands until you realise they were teaching you something critical for the next level.

Growth hurts. That's the point. It happens through challenge, discomfort, getting knocked down and figuring out how to stand back up.

You gain XP (experience points) through action - not thinking about it, not planning it, doing it. You upgrade skills. Gather resources. Form alliances. Navigate the mess of human relationships. Adapt your strategy when it's not working.

You level up by surviving the boss fights. Failures that make you question everything. Rejections that sting. Heartbreak. Identity crises. Financial setbacks.

Each one either breaks you or makes you stronger. There's no way around them.

The Capital Founder's Quest

This newsletter is about a specific quest: building things that create value and make the world better.

My business revolves around money - investments, wealth management, and financial planning. I'm building a company that helps people take control of their finances and design better systems for managing wealth.

That's the quest I'm on.

Let me be clear about something: money isn't the endpoint. It's not the final boss or the credits rolling.

Your health is still your most critical stat. Think of it like having a car for a road trip. You want one that doesn't break down halfway through.

Your environment matters too. If you're driving through a lawless wasteland full of potholes and chaos, the journey sucks. But if you're cruising through the Swiss Alps or Tuscany? Completely different experience.

Money is the fuel. It determines how far you can go and which routes are available to you.

Dr. Julie Gurner puts it perfectly: "Money buys optionality."

That's what I focus on in my world. Not money for its own sake, but what it enables:

Money buys time. Money buys freedom. Money lets you choose what you actually want to do with your life.

What This Newsletter Is About

This is my logbook and playbook combined.

I'm sharing what I've learned building a business, managing wealth, and trying to design a life that doesn't feel like someone else's script.

It's not financial advice. It's not motivational fluff. I don't do BS.

It's about tools, frameworks, and mental models that help you take control of your own game.

Here's what you'll find:

• Building a Business – Real lessons from the trenches. Growth strategies, founder psychology, what the digital economy is actually doing. What works and what doesn't.
• Money & Wealth – How to think about building, growing, and protecting wealth. We'll explore private markets, alternative investments, digital assets, emerging opportunities most people don't see.
• Life Design – How to build your personal operating system. Mental models for better decisions. Productivity strategies that actually work. Life hacks and cheat codes.

One Last Thing

This got more philosophical than I planned. That may be the right way to start.

If you're on a similar quest, welcome.

There's an old proverb:

"If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together."

On any meaningful quest, you need a guild of people who get it. People you can learn from, share resources with, and tackle bigger missions alongside.

Want to join?