The Game Club

Entrepreneurs contributing to other entrepreneurs

The foundation for the Game Club concept is first causing a shift in mindset from focusing on personal gain to committing towards a collective success. This in turn will actually result in higher personal gain, even though it’s not visible at first.

Nikolas D. Kristof at the New York Times shares a unique insight on altruism and cites giving as one of our basic human pleasures (full article here – thanks to Hari Tammana for the link):

…I interview people who were busy but reluctantly undertook some good cause because (sigh!) it was the right thing to do. Then they found that this “sacrifice” became a huge source of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Brain scans by neuroscientists confirm that altruism carries its own rewards. A team including Dr. Jorge Moll of the National Institutes of Health found that when a research subject was encouraged to think of giving money to a charity, parts of the brain lit up that are normally associated with selfish pleasures like eating or sex.

The implication is that we are hard-wired to be altruistic. To put it another way, it’s difficult for humans to be truly selfless, for generosity feels so good.

“The most selfish thing you can do is to help other people,” says Brian Mullaney, co-founder of Smile Train, which helps tens of thousands of children each year who are born with cleft lips and cleft palates. Mr. Mullaney was a successful advertising executive, driving a Porsche and taking dates to the Four Seasons, when he felt something was missing and began volunteering for good causes. He ended up leaving the business world to help kids smile again — and all that makes him smile, too…

Consider altruism as an untapped source of personal gain. By supporting other entrepreneurs/startups in your pod you just don’t know what might be possible…