Happy Tuesday!

After 11+ hours of flying and waiting, I'm now in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

While trying to settle down and orient myself, I found myself trying to guess what game(s) the people around me were trying to play in their lives.

Thus far, I've uncovered 2 must-have values to ease your play of the long-term and infinite game:

Kindness and Patience—for yourself and others.

What does it mean to play the "long-term" and "infinite" game?

At its core, playing the long-term game involves thinking about the long-term consequences of your decisions and actions.

It usually involves delaying gratification:

Recognizing that in order to have everything in the long term...

...You can't have everything in the present moment.

An infinite game is a game without a clear win/loss, so you can keep playing forever.

Why you should be kind and patient to yourself

Having kindness and patience for yourself:

• helps you focus on the small, consistent actions that will compound over time
• makes the journey feel easier

When you're starting out—be it from complete zero or trying to get to the next level—you're going to feel dumb.

You'd likely say things like...

What the heck is this?

Ugh, this feels so tough :<

I don't understand what's going on!

Right now, I'm going through the Zero-to-Noob journey.

I'm taking AI or machine learning classes this semester, without any technical background to start with.

I feel dumb when trying to prepare for class. There's also feelings of resistance and difficulty.

If I'm being unkind and impatient, I'd say things like...

Bro, why are you so dumb? Why can't you understand this?

I've read this paragraph once. It should have gone into my brain already.

(which, by the way, is not how everyone's brains work.)

With this framing, my classes start becoming a huge, almost unconquerable obstacle.

And because it seems so tough, I don't feel like doing it.

Whereas if I'm being kind and patient, I'd say things like...

This is going to be tough at first, but as I get going, I will get better.

I'm going to strive for understanding and progress, not perfection.

It's okay if I don't know everything; I can always seek guidance from my professors, teaching assistants, and friends.

All good things take time.

This helps me frame the resistance and challenges I face as learning and growth opportunities.

It reminds me that:

Just because it's difficult now, doesn't mean it will be difficult forever—

if I keep taking small steps to improve myself.

Why you should be kind and patient to others

Four of my friends and I had booked an accommodation for our first night in Buenos Aires.

We each had a check-in luggage and a carry-on luggage.

After comparing prices, we called Cabify—the local version of Uber—to get to our accommodation from the airport.

Our Cabify driver was so nice:

• He was patient with us (and my limited Spanish)
• He helped us with our luggage during pick-up and drop-off—with a smile.

At the end of the ride, he asked when we were leaving Buenos Aires.

I let him save his contact on my phone, and told him that I'll contact him if I ever need a private driver.

The next day, we had to move into our university accommodation.

We ordered a Cabify again, and got a different driver.

This second driver wasn't pleased with the amount of luggage we had. He made his frustration evident through his tonality and body language.

At the end of the ride, I felt bad and tipped him 1000 pesos—about 50% of the ride fare.

He took the 1000 pesos and said, "You should be giving me 2000 pesos. It's a lot of luggage."

The first Cabify driver was thinking long-term. He saw an opportunity to continue providing his services to us (and thus, make more money) in the future.

To do that, however, he knew that he had to foster a good relationship with us.

His kindness and patience during our ride together paid off: I felt safe enough to consider his services in the future, and got his contact details.

The second driver? His lack of kindness and patience didn't leave a good impression.

I didn't ask him for his contact, and even if he brought it up, I would've said no.

It's possible to "get ahead in life" without the help of others, but it's definitely a lot harder than if you had help.

Kindness, patience, and sincerity towards others naturally foster and nurture your relationships with others.

And those relationships can "pay off" in the long run.

But what if they take advantage of my kindness?

This is a newsletter issue for another day, but I'd love to hear your perspectives on this!

Feel free to share your thoughts via email or send me a DM on LinkedIn.