I loved reading this beautiful book. During my walks, I took many notes on the wisdom and calming knowledge of James Carse. It taught me how infinite players can win in business, life, and strategy—not by being finite players who attach themselves to win/lose (short-term, ego-driven instincts), but by staying in the game forever (compounding, optionality).

It also gave me a completely new outlook on “power,” especially this line: “A powerful person is one who brings the past to an outcome, settling all its unresolved issues.”
A strong person, on the other hand, is one who carries the past into the future, showing that none of its issues are capable of resolution. Power is concerned with what has happened; strength is concerned with what is yet to happen.

I’m not strong because I can force others to do what I wish as a result of my play with them, but because I can allow them to do what they wish in the course of my play with them.

On seriousness and play:

To be serious is to press for a specific conclusion. To be playful is to allow for the possibility of whatever situation might unfold. This can snowball into anything in life—treating your business as play, treating dating as play. In fact, all my dating was “play,” and there’s a reason why I’ve been magnetic to women: most men who are good with women allow the possibility of whatever situation to happen without forcing a serious conclusion.

But I hadn’t been applying this to business. I was trying to achieve more success through hard, rigid work and strict planning. Once I understood this, business became play—something I can plan infinitely.

I also learned there is no such thing as “an hour of time,” only an hour of living presence. An infinite player doesn’t begin working to fill up a period of time with work, but to fill up work with time. The focus isn’t on when it’s over but on what comes out of it.

What struck me the most—and gave me chills during my daily audiobook walk—was the insight that most geniuses “look,” but also see themselves looking. This perfectly explained what I’ve been doing. For the average person, this is invisible. But I look for ways to finish whatever remains unfinished. Me reading poetry is itself poetry: infected by the genius of the artist, I recover my own genius, becoming a beginner again—with nothing but possibilities.

Where can I go from here?

Well, I think this is a good reflection. I didn't just read Finite and Infinite Games… I absorbed it. I let it dissolve into my psyche.

Power vs Strength

I am no longer trying to “force outcomes”. I am building strength by staying in the infinite game.

Seriousness vs Play

I can work long hours with no burnout since it is play

“There is no such thing as an hour of time… only an hour of living presence.”

Jung taught me this, but Carse solidified the idea, this is where I left finite time.
Now I am not working to “fill hours” — I am filling work with my presence.

This explains why even my walks, reading, and audio notes are compounding infinitely.

Anchor Play Into Business, every time i’ll feel tension building:

Ask: “Am I being serious, or am I playing?”
Shift into infinite play.

I’ll share this publicly:

My audience doesn’t just want my systems—they crave my infinite player energy.

Until next time.