The Journeyby Jan Trautwein

Let your life be a game.

See the bigger story you're living, choose a quest that matters to you, turn challenges into chances to grow, and keep personal development playful.

You'll get one email to confirm. After that: word when the game opens, and the occasional piece on playing life as a game. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy

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Jan Trautwein (Creator of “Life as a Game”)3 min 36 s

Step back far enough
and your life comes into focus.

Most days, it is easy to forget that you are playing at all. You react to what appears, complete the quests in front of you, and keep moving without choosing the game for yourself.

Looking at life as an RPG creates enough distance to make a deliberate choice. You can name the main quest, notice the side quests, treat failure as feedback, and decide which skills are worth developing next.

You are not behind. You are in the middle of your own game.

  • 01

    See the game

    Zoom out and notice what you have been playing without choosing.

  • 02

    Choose the quest

    Separate what matters to you from missions handed down by others.

  • 03

    Use the feedback

    Treat setbacks as information, not a verdict on who you are.

  • 04

    Level up deliberately

    Choose the abilities that will help you play the game that matters.

Life as a RPG is one of the most useful mental models.

It gives us a wider perspective and a framework that allows us to navigate our life with more intention.

When you see yourself as both player and game designer, you can bring conscious intention to your life and decide what you want your experience to be like.

You can choose your main quest and increase your ability to stay focused.

You can make progress easier visible to stay motivated.

You can get clarity on how your character needs to level up their skills to reach the next chapter.

You can use a skill tree to make sure you are mindful with the limited skill points (time) and how you invest them.

What to expect

Ten to twenty minutes.
One honest look at your game.

  1. The wheel of life: eight areas of life rated from one to ten, drawn as a chart beside the traveller.
    Step 1

    Map where you stand

    Rate eight areas of your life, from health to fun. A quick, honest snapshot before the first question.

  2. A stop in the journey: the question about your vision, an answer, and the guide's reply asking one question back.
    Step 2

    Talk it through with the guide

    At four stops you write what is true, and the guide answers back with one question to take you further. Go deeper, or continue. It is your call.

  3. The Quest Log at the end of the journey, with the character's save file and their wheel of life.
    Step 3

    Receive your Quest Log

    Everything you discovered, gathered on one page, and a copy in your inbox.

  4. A written summary with four parts: the quest, internal obstacles, external obstacles and your direction.
    Step 4

    Read your summary

    The guide distils what you wrote into your quest, what holds you back and the direction that is emerging.

  5. A skill tree beside the traveller on a mountain path, with half of its skills completed.
    Step 5

    Keep playing with a skill tree

    Turn your quest into a skill tree of real-world challenges, and level up one season at a time.

The game opens soon

Press start.
See what the game reveals.

Bring your curiosity and your honesty. This game is still being created, and every player helps shape what it can become.

You'll get one email to confirm. After that: word when the game opens, and the occasional piece on playing life as a game. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy