Life Basic Strategy Guide

By Eric Lawrence

If you’ve ever played videogames, you’d understand the concept that these electronic amusements could be considered as just “mini-games”, mere distractions within the main game that we’re all playing: the one we call life.

Life is the ultimate interactive experience, masterfully crafted by the Ultimate Creator.
All other interactive experiences made by humans are often judged by how much they can measure up to it.

Life is a complex, fully customizable, multi-faceted, epic narrative that we experience with other people in the largest, most vibrant open world ever conceived. It can be of any video game genre, depending on what we do in it. But at its core, life is essentially a role-playing game. We improve our attributes as we see fit, to enable us to accomplish our chosen quests.

In much the same way that hint books and walkthroughs are written for videogames, this guide aims to give useful advice and information about life in a practical and organized manner that’s easily accessible for whichever part in life you may be. The main objective is to provide creative and simple solutions to many of life’s daunting puzzles and challenges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eric Lawrence
• Release date: Apr 14, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463151396

Book preview

Introduction

If you’ve ever played videogames, you’d understand the concept that these electronic amusements could be considered as just mini-games, mere distractions within the main game that we’re all playing: the one we call life.

Life is the ultimate interactive experience, masterfully crafted by the Ultimate Creator. All other interactive experiences made by humans are often judged by how much they can measure up to it.

Life is a complex, fully customizable, multi-faceted, epic narrative that we experience with other people in the largest, most vibrant open world ever conceived. It can be of any videogame genre, depending on what we do in it. But at its core, life is essentially a role-playing game. We improve our attributes as we see fit, to enable us to accomplish our chosen quests.

Because of life’s highly personalized nature, no two people experience it in exactly the same way. Our decisions have different consequences. Some are easy to predict, some are not. This aspect of life makes it exciting and terrifying at the same time.

In life, there are no preset difficulty levels to choose from. We are only given preset conditions, like family members and initial environment. Random events throughout life can make our experience either less or more difficult, but to a large extent, the decisions we make can also affect how easy or hard life can be.

As we all know, life has an ending, which all of us will eventually reach in a variety of ways. It can happen anytime and anywhere. There are numerous means for us to skip to our ending, though most of us choose to see it through, mostly because we acknowledge life’s sanctity and value.

Conversely, there are also many ways to prolong life. These strategies involve healthy choices, safety precautions, and risk management, all of which shall be discussed in further detail in this guide.

When we reach the end of life, there are no restarts, retries or reboots, so we all must do our best to stay in the experience for as long as possible.

In the end, however way life plays out for each of us would be the cumulative effect of all the decisions we’ve made. For better or for worse.

About This Guide

In much the same way that hint books and walkthroughs are written for videogames, this guide aims to give readers useful advice and information in a practical, organized manner that’s easily accessible for whichever part in life they may be. The main objective is to provide creative and simple solutions to many of life’s daunting puzzles and challenges.

This guide was designed to be as complete as possible, from the early stages of childhood to the latter stages of old age.

Given life’s variety, flexibility, and unpredictability, some challenges presented in this book may not apply to you. Likewise, if you are experimental, regularly engage in deviant activities, or are not part of mainstream society, you may have experiences that aren’t discussed here.

You may use this guide to help you get through rough patches, or maybe even use it as entertainment. But don’t be too dependent on it. You wouldn’t want to use a walkthrough step by step in a videogame, because the whole experience will feel like a chore and you will be robbed of all enjoyment. Same goes for life and this guide. Use it as a reference, not an instruction manual.

It’s always good to want to do well in life. But sometimes, you also need to take a break from your quests, and just admire life and its profound beauty.

PART I: CHILDHOOD

Chapter 1 – Infancy

When you start out in life, you don’t have much control. You’re vulnerable, helpless, and at the mercy of your nursing adult, most probably your mother.

The conditions and circumstances in which you’re born would be major factors in determining what kind of life you can possibly have. Environment, family, era, health, and economic situation are the most crucial determinants of the paths that would be available to you moving forward.

Your parents may have some form of control in optimizing some of these factors, but there is absolutely no way for you to manipulate or to even know the conditions in which you would be born. The best you could hope for is to be lucky in as many of the factors as possible.

If you’re born in a hospital, you’re lucky. Some babies are born without medical attention.

If you’re born and your mother is still alive, you’re lucky. Some women die during childbirth.

If you’re born with complete body parts, you’re lucky. Some babies are born with disabilities.

If you’re born in good health, you’re lucky. Some babies are born with serious illnesses.

If you’re born alive at all, you’re lucky.

How you will look like largely depends on how your parents look like. You may look more like your mother, more like your father, or maybe a little of both. You may also inherit their physical attributes, certain vulnerabilities to diseases, or even personalities and mannerisms.

You will cry a lot. You will make a lot of mess. You will drink a lot of milk. You will put everything in your mouth. You will think the world revolves around you and, at least while you’re still a baby, your parents will think so, too.

They will take tons of pictures and videos of you, post them on social media, and make it clear to everyone that you are their pride and joy.

If you have older siblings, they would probably be taking care of you, too.

You will probably start walking when you’re a year old. A few months more and you’d be talking.

Because you don’t have the ability to control your actions in any effective or meaningful way, your primary objective as a baby is to give joy and laughter to adults, especially your parents. Thankfully, you would be able to do this without trying or even meaning to.

In conclusion, being a baby is equal parts good and bad. Good because we’d be lavished with love, affection, and attention. Bad because we’d be too young to appreciate it, and when we grow up, won’t remember any of it.

Chapter 2 – Parents

No matter what kind of people they are, how they treated you, or how you feel about them, your parents will always be the most important people in your life.

The most obvious reason is, of course, you came from their cells. You literally wouldn’t be in this world if it weren’t for them. Planned or not, they are 100% responsible for your existence.

Most of us would have our parents by our side as we grow up. Some wouldn’t be as lucky for a variety of reasons, so you should appreciate the blessing of having the chance to be close to them.

Some of us would be raised by a single parent, others would be attended to by relatives, and others would be cared for by adoptive parents. A few of us would grow up in foster homes.

Though it may be tempting to say these scenarios have higher difficulty levels in having a happy childhood, it’s not necessarily so, because many factors come into play. Some who were raised by foster parents have had happier childhoods than some who were raised by their biological parents.

Also, while happiness is one of the things we consider important for parents to give their children, it’s not the only thing they need to give them, maybe not even the most important one. This is a matter that shall be discussed in greater detail in another chapter.

You will never spend more time with your parents than in your nurturing years. Your mother, especially, will most probably be with you 24/7 while you’re still a baby. This is when bonds are formed.

Most mother-father tandems would do the good cop-bad cop routine, where the good cop would be the lenient, understanding one, and would give in to your whims, and the bad cop would be the strict, forbidding one, and would not let you have your way.

Some decisions they will make will be no-brainers (Can I please sleep over my friend’s house even if it’s a school night?), while some could be more contentious (Can I have a game console for Christmas?). Seeing things from two sides is a good way for parents to make sure they are making a sound decision.

You may not know it, but the worldview you’re going to have as an adult would largely depend on what you would see from your parents when you’re a child.

To start with, you’re going to be born into their religion. If your folks are Catholic, then you’re likely to be baptized as one, too. You’d have the chance to change religion when you grow up, but by then, you’d have been exposed to Sunday mass and bible teachings, and may have graduated from a Catholic school, so chances are, you wouldn’t really give it much thought.

You will also most probably be liking your parents’ favorite food, sport, musicians, or clothes. Many even pursue the same profession as their mother’s or father’s.

One of the more significant influences your parents will have on you is in the development of your personality and character.

If you see your parents helping a stranger in need,

you’d probably do the same.

If you see your mother drinking too much alcohol,

you’d probably do the same.

If you see your parents eating more vegetables than processed meat,

you’d probably do the same.

If you see your father paying a prostitute for sex,

you’d probably do the same.

If you see your parents having a romantic dinner every year on their anniversary,

you’d probably do the same with your partner.

If you see your father shouting and throwing things at your mother,

you’d probably do the same to your partner.

Hopefully, as you calibrate your moral compass, you’d be able to distinguish the traits

your parents have, embrace the good ones, and do away with the bad ones.

When you’re a child, giving love and respect to your parents will come naturally to you. They will be your whole world, and you, theirs. As you grow older and your world becomes bigger, their role in your life will gradually decrease.

In your pre-teen and teenage years, you may find them annoying and smothering, as you try to find yourself and figure out your place amongst your peers. You may feel like you hate them, and think they’re oppressing you, shackling your feet when you want to run, clipping your wings when you want to fly. They will tell you that they’re just looking out for you but you will have absolutely none of it, because you can very well take care of yourself.

But you will finally come around when you hit your twenties. You will realize they were right, and will again seek their advice, acknowledging their wisdom and experience. When you become an adult and become an expert in your chosen field, maybe you can return the favor and share your knowledge with them.

Chapter 3 – Siblings

You may have twelve, one, or none. If you don’t have any, you may skip to the next chapter. When you discover later on that you have a half-sibling, or suddenly have a step-sibling, then you can go back here.

It’s been famously said in a song, Be nice to your siblings. They are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future, and that is very true. Whether a brother or a sister, whether you’re one or ten years apart, your siblings are the ones you will be growing up and growing old with.

You will love them, hate them, laugh with them, cry with them, fight with them, and fight for them. You’re going to know each other’s secrets, hate each other’s guts, and be each other’s allies.

You will be sharing a lot of things with them: toys, candy bars, gadgets, bedroom, bathroom, house, parents, grandparents. As you grow older, you may even share the same school, clothes, or even friends. Sharing can often lead to questions of ownership, of which there are no hard and fast rules. Not only do the answers vary from family to family, they also vary from item to item. The parents are usually the arbiters of ownership challenges, so when in doubt, ask them.

As you clamor for the attention and approval of your parents, you may find yourself engaging in some kind of competition with your siblings. A little rivalry can be healthy. It can motivate you to accomplish feats you never thought you can. It can also be dangerous when it becomes destructive and you begin to sabotage each other, so be careful not to take it too far.

Sometimes, no matter how hard they try