Are gamers on average also interested in personal development?

I think that may somehow counteract the desired outcome. I know, amongst my friends, gaming is a serious detractor and obstacle to personal development. I’d be afraid that all the WoW/Bioshock/D&D/etc. references would just make the reader want to drop the reading material and get back to gaming.

I agree with you in the feeling that the examples used to illustrate principles, practices, and results could benefit by being ones to which more people can relate, but I also think that focusing on the gaming community is just as (if not more) exclusive as the tiresome number of sports analogies.

You could always write a specialized version with gamers as your target audience. :) I can definitely see some excellent parallels being drawn, and the geekier, the better. Think about how excited you get about your interests, and then apply that to the appropriate scenario. We could totally geek out if it were done well.

Sports doesn’t have to be the focus in personal development. I used to consider myself a serious gamer when I was on WoW, but that was close to 2 years ago and I found myself not playing my Xbox as much.

Since I’ve been talking to my best friend from my past, a lot of my outlooks have started changing. He’s gotten into BJJ (Brazilian Ju-Jistu) and recently tried out and got into the MMA team in his state. I know MMA is considered a sport to many, but it can be treated as exercise in general too. He’s also got me to get a PS3 which has gotten me back into gaming again, lol. So, it’s all introspective. I’m trying to find a good BJJ gym in my area and have 4 new games pre-ordered at gamestop.

I do think that MMO’s do have a problem with personal development though. When I was a regular WoW player, it consumed most of my time. That’s not good. As for MMO’s, I’d say they’re not a good start, but even something as taking a walk everyday or just some jumping jack, crunches, pushups are better than nothing.

It really depends on how badly you want it. As a gamer myself I to find myself emersed in certain games sometimes, but I do get on my Perfect Pushups every other day. I never used to exercise at all, but I’ve got a friends to motivate me. I guess motivation is key.

The problem with personal development is that you don’t have a clearly defined goal and set of rules—which is the whole reason we love games.

That said, I’m a gamer, and I love personal development.

@Beta_Orionis and @Axemusica Thanks very much for responding. I can definitely understand how gaming references could be a distractor in working towards a more successful lifestyle. I was thinking more along the lines of possibly making the journey of success into a game though. With mile markers etc, that give you “experience” and you can actually level up. Such as multiple books that each have a “class”(career) that lays out a plan on a few ways how to be successful along that path. eg. Small Business Owner, Web Design Freelancer, Real Estate Investor, etc…

I have been a gamer for over 20 years now.

My desire to win at strategy games has prompted me to hone my math skills and learn quite a bit about probability. Being a GM for various RPGs over the years has made me a fair story-teller and forced me to learn to be quick on my feet, able to react to the unexpected without being floored. It’s also made me learn to memorize stuff pretty well.

There are many other ways where I have used gaming to sharpen my mind, whether it’s developing other skills in order to be a better gamer or whether I merely use the game the to be better at other skills.