Book Summary: If Life is a Game, These are the Rules
This article is based on the following book:
If Life is a Game, These are the Rules
"Ten rules for Being Human"
By Cherie Carter-Scott, PhD
Published by Broadway Book, New York, 1998
ISBN: 0767902386
139 Pages
This #1 New York Times bestseller offers some useful and understandable advice that can be applied to many
situations. The idea of life as a series of lessons can help to put things into perspective and add to
anyone's ability to deal with setbacks and reach their full potential.
Rule one - You will receive a body
Acceptance or rejection of your body only carries weight in your own mind, and your perception has no bearing on
how your body actually looks, so why not choose the ease of acceptance rather than the pain of rejection? The
choice is yours.
Rule two - You will be presented with lessons.
Each day in the school of life you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn,
whether you choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you. See these lessons as gifts, or guides along your
path toward living as your authentic self.
Rule three - There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors, victories and setbacks. The failed experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that work. Without lessons, it is difficult
to convert mistakes into valuable learning opportunities.
Rule four - A lesson is repeated until learned
Lessons will be repeated to you in various forms until you have learned them. When you have learned them, you
can then go on to the next lesson.
Rule five - Learning does not end
Your journey on earth is constantly unfolding, and while your wisdom grows and your capacity to deal with challenges expands, new lessons will present themselves. Lessons will be around as long as you live.
Rule six - There is no better than here
This rule encourages you to live fully in the present. When your 'there' has become a 'here', you will simply
obtain a there that will look better to you than your present here. Live in the 'here and now'. Avoid the continuous cycle of longing.
Rule seven - Others are only mirrors of you
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. See the qualities that you admire in others as characteristics that you have already embraced in yourself, allow them to illuminate more clearly your
own feelings of self-worth.
Rule eight - What you make of your life is up to you
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.
Rule nine - Your answers lie inside of you
All you need to do is look, listen and trust. Many answers to life's problems are available by trusting your intuition and listening to the 'little voices' in your head.
Rule ten - You will forget all of this at birth
Create ways to find your way back to your truth when you forget. Surround yourself with people who know your personal truth and are familiar with your authentic self. They can help keep you rooted.
Key thoughts:
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because characte is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think
you are."
-John Wooden, college basketball coach
"Although they only give gold medals in the field of athletics, I encourage everyone to look into themselves and find their own personal dream,
whatever that may be - sports, medicine, law, business, music, writing, whatever. The same
principles apply. Turn your dream into a goal and learn how to attack that goal systematically. Break it into bite-size chunks that seem possible,
and then don't give up. Just keep plugging away."
- John Naber, swimmer, four-time Olympic Gold Medalist
About the Author
Regine Azurin is the President of BestSummaries.com, a company that provides book summaries of the latest motivational, inspirational, self-help and personality development bestsellers.