The quick buck is in the shortcut and it can skyrocket you to unprecedented levels… for a while.

A problem faced with this method is the eventual changing of the rules. This is a common problem encountered in video games where early imbalances are exploited by players, then quickly remedied by an update from the developer.

What’s fascinating is the reaction after it happens: people get angry.

How dare someone fix an exploitation of the rules in order to balance the playing field to what it should have been!

What they’re really upset about is not knowing how to deal with a baseline. When you start to become accountable, especially to yourself, it’s a scary moment of responsibility. It’s like not knowing how to deal with the downs in life because you’ve been artificially avoiding it.

Not to mention the resentment you build towards others, that others have towards you and how you turn invisible after your game is over. You become just another, “whatever happened to…?”

The slow, steady climb, the grind, the learning from mistakes and the patience to get there builds the foundation to fall back on. And since the foundation is constantly being built up, there’s no great distance to fall when a downturn happens.