Business Theatre and the Art of Being Human
We just talked about building the future—a world of continent-spanning data centers and AI that will reshape the American landscape. We’ve designed the hardware.
Now, let’s talk about the user. You.
What’s the most draining app on your phone? The one that kills your battery, your wallet, or your will to live?
Wrong. The most draining app isn’t on your phone. It’s the collection of personalities you run every single day, and it’s a defense mechanism born from one simple thing: the fear of being judged.
You have ‘Work You,’ a high-functioning automaton who speaks fluent Buzzword, pretends to find pivot tables exhilarating, and is a master of the passive-aggressive email. Then there’s ‘Family You,’ who can mediate a fight over the last slice of pizza and feign interest in a 20-minute story about the garden center. And let’s not forget ‘Friend You,’ who swears they can still hang like they’re 22, even though their knees now sound like someone stepping on a bag of potato chips.
We live in a world of infinite connectivity, yet we’ve become internally disconnected. We’ve built these siloed selves, these little digital boxes we live in, and we wonder why existence feels so hollow. It’s exhausting. And it’s no way to live.
Believe me, I’m speaking from experience. My own ‘character’ has been built on a mountain of failures and bad performances. It’s character-building, they say. I say it’s time for a new script.
The Infinite Game You Didn’t Know You Were Losing
The writer Simon Sinek has a concept called the “Infinite Game.” In a finite game, like football, there are known players, fixed rules, and an end. Someone wins, someone loses.
In an infinite game, the objective isn’t to win. The objective is to keep playing.
Business is an infinite game. So is marriage. So is your life. There is no “winning” life. There’s only playing it.
The problem with our siloed selves is that we’re trying to win a series of miserable, finite games. Win the promotion. Win the argument. We’re so focused on the short-term victory that we forget the entire point is to find enough joy and meaning in the process that we get to keep playing tomorrow.
The Operator's Manual: A Practical Guide to Authenticity
Let’s try a different algorithm. This isn't just a feel-good platitude; it's a strategy.
Authentic Life = (Playing Your Infinite Game - The Siloed Selves) * Gratitude
Here’s how to actually use it.
Step 1: Subtract the Performance.
You know what Business Theatre is. It’s when you use the trope language of the corporate world to make a request. That’s a siloed self. Instead of performing, try connecting. Think about the other person’s position, their stressors, their workload. Then, craft an authentic email.
* INSTEAD OF THIS: “Per my previous communication, I am writing to follow up on the synergistic action items we discussed. Please provide a status update at your earliest convenience.” (Puke… I hope your CPU gets a virus)
* TRY THIS: “Hi Fred, hope you’re having a good week. I know you’ve got (x), (y), and (z) on your plate right now. Let’s grab lunch sometime this week—you need to eat anyway, and we can chat about the project then. My treat.”
One is a transaction between two characters. The other is a connection between two humans.
Step 2: Multiply by Radical Gratitude.
This isn't about cheesy affirmations. This is about perspective. Whether you like it or not, you are making choices daily. Multiplying by gratitude is about finding the bedrock reasons to be grateful for the very context in which you get to make those choices.
It’s the realization that, despite things not being optimal, you still get to breathe. You have your family. You're an American in the Western world with running water and food, and you aren’t dealing with a warlord hell-bent on killing you for personal reasons. When you multiply by that level of gratitude, the daily annoyances shrink to their proper size.
The First Tiny Step: A Dose of Unapologetic Authenticity.
What’s the first step you can take, today? Be unapologetically authentic. Say something you feel or think simply because you think or feel it. Disregard, just for a moment, how you’ll be perceived (within reason, of course—don’t get yourself fired). Stop worrying about the person you are trying to be, and focus on the person you are.
The Pragmatist's Objection (And Why It's Right)
At this point, the hyper-pragmatic reader is thinking: "This is a lovely philosophy, but my 'Work Self' is professional, effective, and pays the mortgage. Authenticity doesn't pay the bills."
You know what? You're not wrong. I respect that. You’re going to do what needs to be done regardless of whether you read this article or not.
This isn’t about quitting your job to find yourself. This is about changing your internal state while doing the job you have to do. This is a strategy for a better outcome. Doing the necessary work with gratitude and a sliver of happiness is infinitely better than doing it while you’re miserably unhappy. It’s not about changing the task; it’s about changing the operator.
Assembling Your Self
This is a transformation, not a transaction. It’s about integration. It’s about letting ‘Work You,’ ‘Family You,’ and ‘Friend You’ merge into one, whole person. A person who can be serious and silly, focused and fun, professional and deeply human.
The great industrial and technological booms of the past built the world around us. This new era, the age of AI and instant connection, is forcing us to build the world within us.
The question is no longer, “What do I want to achieve?” but “What game am I playing, and how can I play it with enough joy and gratitude that I get to play again tomorrow?”
