Being Honest with Partners and Embracing Failure in Entrepreneurship

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#687: Justin Gary — Taking the Path Less Traveled, The Phenomenon of “Magic: The Gathering,” How Analytical People Can Become “Creative” People, Finding the Third Right Answer, and How to Escape Your Need for Control

The Tim Ferriss Show

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Being Honest with Partners and Embracing Failure in Entrepreneurship

Being honest with people and acting in integrity is crucial in any partnership. It's important to share bad news and admit when you don't know what you're doing. Working with professionals helps you realize that failure is part of the process. Designing a great game and a great company share similarities - clear goals, feedback, and rewards.

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Brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs recruitment platform with 900M+ users, ROKA Eyewear high-quality sunglasses and glasses, and AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement.

Justin Gary (@Justin_Gary) is an award-winning designer, author, speaker, and entrepreneur. He is CEO of Stone Blade Entertainment and creator of the innovative and award-winning Ascension deck-building game series. Prior to designing games, Justin was the youngest ever Magic: The Gathering US National Champion. He has studied creativity and applied the principles of design to create dozens of products over his 20 years in the industry for brands that include Marvel, World of Warcraft, and the Wharton School of Business. Today, he designs, consults, and teaches creativity around the world as a digital nomad.

Justin is also the author of Think Like a Game Designer: The Step-By-Step Guide to Unlocking Your Creative Potential and host of the Think Like a Game Designer podcast.

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[07:43] An origin story steeped in Magic.

[11:23] A debatable past.

[16:38] The life of a full-time Magic competitor.

[18:24] A philosophy major.

[19:45] Monopoly lessons learned from a family of lawyers.

[23:28] Innovations that made Magic an instant success.

[26:40] Magic game balance considerations.

[30:06] Justin exits his Magic career with an altered mindset.

[36:43] Too cool for law school.

[41:34] Risk is relative.

[43:39] From playing games to designing games.

[46:10] A Whack on the Side of the Head.