THE TEN PRINCIPLES
These are the ten principles of Win-Win. You can think of them as life tips, game rules, simulation parameters… whatever personally resonates. They are not compulsory, merely recommendations. Nor are they complete – this number was chosen for obvious memetic reasons, and will likely grow.
Nor are they especially original or unique; some are distillations of wisdom from various very brilliant people. Some are this player’s own insights gleaned from various personal experiences. As such, please take them as seriously or lightly as you feel appropriate. But if you want to capture the vibe of Win-Win, they’re a good place to start:
The universe is fundamentally and radically abundant. Scarcity is the exception, not the rule. As such, a mindset based in scarcity will ultimately self-defeat.
Permanence is a fool’s errand. A living universe is increasingly complex and dynamic. Be adaptive, not boring.
Do your best to grow the pie, not just take from it. In the rare case where the pie cannot grow further, only take your fair share. How you define fair is up to you. (See #4).
Love is that which enables choice. As such, true power comes from empowering others to make their own choices; to design and play their own games.
All games have consequences. Intelligence is knowing how to win a game; Wisdom is knowing which games to play in the first place.
Selflessness and Sacrifice are not as noble as they appear, for such acts are lose/win. The best acts are mutually beneficial.
A win/win game usually requires some collaboration. That said, such games can — and ideally should — contain competitive win/lose sub-games within them.
Scoring systems can be useful tools, but resist the temptation to turn them into primary goals. Don’t be a dogmatic maximalist.
While trade-offs can exist, beware of false dichotomies. A paradox often dissolves when viewed from higher dimensions.
Don’t take anything too seriously. The universe loves to play.