August 25th, 2005 by Steve Pavlina 
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I just posted a new article in the free articles section called “The Medium vs. The Message.”
This article explores two different ways to think about your career: 1) the way most people seem to think about it (the medium), and 2) an alternative way to think about it (the message). Both perspectives are valuable, but this article will encourage you to primarily adopt the second view because it can boost your motivation and increase your enjoyment of your work tremendously. It has certainly done so for me.
Enjoy the article: The Medium vs. The Message
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August 25th, 2005 at 11:19 am
Excellent article.
Working on computer games (I came here from dexterity), it often feels a bit hard to feel like you are contributing real value when the industry is often attacked as a result of a few games that don’t represent my intentions. Your article really has given me a different perspective, thanks for that.
August 25th, 2005 at 12:51 pm
Thanks for the insightful article.
I think it carries an important message for a lot of us. I saw your comment at ProBlogger a few days ago about the guy who was giving up blogging as a business – And since I have started blogging myself, I have started questioning my reasons for doing so (blogging that is). Am I bloggin to blog, or blogging to help, or blogging to make money, or ect.. etc..
I think that by blogging, I am starting to understand my ‘Message’.
This article certainly helps me to question myself.
Hmm.. hope that all makes sense.
Thanks again.
August 25th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
I’m also a game developer and I’m wondering, what value do we bring with games?
August 25th, 2005 at 1:52 pm
Mike – I have thought about this question alot. My opinion is that there is a lot of potential benefits of games for people. But the problem is that most developers don’t bother to really explore these avenues.
Games can provide all the benefits of entertainment, but games can be used to increase logical thinking, creativity, and many other benefits. I think Steve clarifies it best when he says that (games) are only the medium, the message can be pretty much whatever you want.
August 25th, 2005 at 2:35 pm
Good heavens! I never realized there are so many people working on games who don’t see any contribution that games make to society (that can’t be very motivating). I’m not going to get into details here, but games in general (as in, not computer games) have been around at least for tens of thousands of years. Computer games have just changed things a bit and allowed us to make much more complex games than we could create physically. I decided to make my contribution in the form of unique, complex and challenging strategy games (not the game I have for sale right now; it was made before I decided exactly what I want to do). The game I’m working on right now is a direct result of that. I want to serve those players who love challenging strategy games. Strategy games help develop critical thinking and are a very good exercise for the brain. I think the fact that I played a lot of strategy games when I was younger actually raised my IQ. Action games help with hand-eye coordination. I can throw things and catch things very accurately, and I think games had a lot to do with it. This is not to say that ALL games make a positive contribution, but that is true for any medium, not just games.
August 25th, 2005 at 3:13 pm
I am not a game developer. I’m an entrepreneur and I make a lots of money.
When reading the article I first thought “What a lame article! Steve just writes about some common sense things”
When I got deeper into the article, I found a deeper understanding of what I do.
Thank you for the article, Steve!
August 25th, 2005 at 6:51 pm
Thank you for that Ilya. I think that the major reason some developers have these feelings is that a career in games-development is looked down upon by members of society who choose to cast the entire industry in a negative like because of a few select games or a few select players of games. I know it is irrational to be swayed by these people but it happens.
Its nice to see an article that helps separate the medium from the message. I understand that being a game it has limits in terms of the message it can provide and the way it provides it, but within that room there is a lot of room to deliver a positive one.
I’m sure Steve has probably encountered a bit of cynicism from people who cast his role into the light created by a lot of self-help books that tout quick fixes but don’t actually promote growth at all. As I’m sure he probably encountered resistance when he too worked on games from people who see all games as GTA.
August 26th, 2005 at 5:30 am
> Because the medium is hollow by its very nature, and something hollow cannot provide lasting motivation.
*blink* That is exactly why I was quietly miserable at the last place I worked for. People had been telling me for years that the medium was all that mattered.
August 26th, 2005 at 10:41 am
This is exactly what I hate about how people approach higher education. People want to get their MA or their PhD, just to have “those letters” after their names. Who cares if you have an MA or a PhD? It’s just the degree machine. What I want to know is, what are they going to do with it? How are they going to use it to accomplish something of real and tangible value, to people other than themselves?
Don’t take this wrong — I want my degree, but I want to use it as a route towards working one-on-one with people in my community. I don’t understand the people whose egos aren’t complete without those meaningless letters, who get crappy jobs they hate and ask, “Why don’t I get paid more? I have such-and-such degree!”
In education, like in life, what you learn is directly proportionate to the kind and amount of effort you put into it. You can slide through and get a nice piece of paper and a bullet on your resume, or you can really get invovled, get connections with people you’d otherwise never have worked with, and end up with multiple bullets on your resume as a perk.
And I am so not talking about “practical” degrees. With the number of MBAs being churned out, that degree’s doing to be as “useless” as my English degree… which I landed a pretty damn nice job with right out of college, thank you very much.
That degree hanging on your wall? Sorry, kids. It’s just the medium. There’s no inherent message in it unless you make one for yourself.
August 26th, 2005 at 4:10 pm
I just want to add a supporting article to what I said about games improving my intellect and hand-eye coordination. Just saw this linked to from gamedev.net: http://www.technologybizdev.com/2005/08/26/eat-your-fruits-and-vegetables-and-play-video-games/
August 27th, 2005 at 10:19 am
Great article Steve. Very zen.
I think if someone stops and reflects on it long enough, a person should realize that ANY definition they place upon themselves is really just a sort of “container” or “delivery medium.”
“I am a game developer.”
“I am a dancer.”
“I am a PhD.”
“I am John Doe.”
“I am male.”
“I am human.”
“I am consciousness.”
Every medium offers various opportunities and limitations. Some mediums we can control a great deal, while other mediums we (seemingly) can’t control at all.
August 28th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
I played hundreds of games when growing up (and hundreds more as an adult), and I actually feel like it assisted my intellectual development, particularly my problem-solving skills.
I also feel playing lots of games helped me develop my spatial skills. Whenever I visit a new place, my brain immediately begins building a 3D map of the location, and I maintain an excellent sense of direction. I think this is a skill I developed from playing lots of lots computer games, especially adventure and RPG games where building a mental map as you explore is part of the fun. Even the old text adventure games like Zork helped me learn to make mental spatial maps in my imagination.
This skill especially comes in handy when navigating the mega-resorts in Las Vegas, which are often designed to hide the exits and keep people trapped inside as they wander through fields of slot machines.