Ep. 74 EA Csolkovits: Gamifying Success

There can only be room for one winner. Success means first place on the podium, and second or third are simply consolation prizes for the best of the losers. This zero sum notion that in order for someone to win, someone else most lose is a cultural cornerstone of western society. It is hammered home in school sports lessons, in contests such as spelling bees, debating societies, and even in performance tier groups in school. But what’s worse is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Losers get chosen last, and sent to the bottom where they get no special attention, whereas winners get more and more support and before long they’re miles ahead of the pack, and there’s no way for anyone to catch up. But what if it didn’t have to be this way? Motivational speaker Jim Rohn famously stated that “you are the average of the five people you surround yourself with.” And with this podcast I’ve be surrounding myself with amazing, inspiring, wise and wonderful people who all have a take on how to live life, make it work, and turn struggles into successes. Today I’m speaking with EA Csolkovits, who wants to turn the idea of winning on it’s head by literally gamifying success. If we were to surround ourselves with people who each committed to raising the others up, like a mastermind group of individuals competing to see who could bring the most success to the others, then surely there could be no losers. This brilliant ideas echoes the convener model that we explored in episode 68 when I spoke with the fantastic Lindsay Hadley, who described how it’s possible to work together for shared success, and in doing so create a tide that raises all ships together. Whereas Lindsay Hadley worked with organisations to make it happen, EA Csolkovits works with individuals through his free GIVERS University project. It offers step by step instructions on how to create your mastermind group – which he calls a Junto, which is a historical word meaning a group of people joined together for a common purpose – and how to bring everyone together in order to help each other succeed. I think it’s a wonderful and powerful idea, and it’s delivered by a man who has enjoyed its benefits first hand. EA is a great storyteller with a great story. He’s founded many business, made fortunes, flies airplanes, has hosted radio talkshows and much more. You can find out about GIVERS University at giversuniversity.com. www.conversationsonliving.com