Killer Instinct – Get Some

Do have killer instinct? Do you have what it takes to make tough decisions under pressure like a super-spy? If you do, then consider yourself in a minority of the population.

Why do you need to have killer instinct? Maybe you don’t. But if your hope is to pursue highly competitive fields or pursuits then you’ll need some to get ahead. This in  part is what helps give me an edge at trading and other entrepreneurial pursuits. The good news is that you can get it if you don’t already have it. Here’s how…

Find ways to get involved with an activity that puts you under mental pressure and forces you to have to make quick decisions in a short period of time. For some people, they already get this exposure through their jobs…unfortunately, for them this is not entirely by choice. Other ways to do this that are much more fun are:

• Playing sports – especially ones that have little downtime during play (ie. tennis, basketball, etc.)
• Playing PC or Console Games – particularly real-time strategy (this may sound like a n odd option but I’ll explain more later)

For example: I regularly play paintball, Company of Heroes (my RTS game of choice right now) and poker (for fun). Not to mention my trading also reinforces the instinct but I wouldn’t recommend you use trading as a means to get it because it will cost you money (especially if you’re not yet a profitable trader).

The reason I like RTS (real-time strategy) games as a means for gaining this instinct is because you can do it whenever you want and it is economical. It also gets you thinking, well, “strategically”.

Most of games of this genre require some balance between resource management, tactical movement of forces to overcome the opponent, and an overall strategic plan to bring it all together. Ironically, these kinds of games require the same mindset needed to do well in any real-life business. More importantly, these games put you under pressure forcing you to make decisions quickly and to change your plans on-the-fly when things don’t work out as expected. Though gaming is generally leisurely, I’ve found RTS games to have this additional side-benefit.

Finally, engaging in these types of activities forces you to recognize and seize opportunities as they happen…in other words, you’ll learn to “pull the trigger” when the moment is right. Now go out there and get some.