Here We Go: Not Joking Around

TLDR: I'm probably going to upset some educators, esports professionals, and web3 enthusiasts this week. The good news is that I've got some cool events and resources to share with you too. Read below to learn how to win a digital copy of my 5-star rated book, and get a free shout out for your business. If my weekly newsletter "Hindsight Is 20/20" is helpful to you, please subscribe to it. This edition is proudly sponsored by the gamers at TOAMS Financial , click here to catch up on past episodes of my hit gaming podcast "Level Up Your Wealth".

Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my newsletter this past week, and the new subscribers joining now! I'm humbled by your support, and I'm excited to continue delivering meaningful value to you each week. Last week's newsletter generated 5975 impressions, converted 49% of those into subscribers, and converted 9% of those subscribers into 270 article reads. Your experience may not be exactly the same as mine, but I highly recommend trying out LinkedIn newsletters to grow your personal/business brand(s).

Since we got the newsletter backstory out of the way last week, let's see if we can keep this week's edition under 3 minutes. WARNING: THIS IS THE PART THAT'S GOING TO UPSET TEACHERS. The next piece of advice I shared with kids is that experience is greater than education. It's a gem that I picked up from Sebastian "Chosen1" Burton , who dropped out of college, but still learned how to build a 6-figure gaming/brand agency. Whenever I get invited to speak to kids in school, the experience goes something like this:

ME: Raise your hands if you like playing video games

Most of the students in the class eagerly raise their hands

ME: Raise your hands if you'd like a career in the gaming industry

Most of the students in the class eagerly raise their hands

ME: Most gaming/esports careers don't require college degrees

Students' teacher quietly shake their heads at me in disappointment

I have the utmost respect for educators, and I wish more of them got the respect (and compensation) they rightfully deserve. This newsletter is by no means a knock against educators. I'm honored to teach "Esports Business & Trends" again at the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Johnson C. Smith University next spring. I can only imagine how challenging it must be for educators who now have to learn how to effectively educate without essays, because of AI. Though, with all due respect, most schools can't properly prepare their students for a career in the video gaming industry:

1. Schools have demonized the idea of playing video games for decades.
2. Most professionals who have relevant experience aren't "qualified" to teach.
3. Most educator who are "qualified" to teach don't have relevant experience.
4. The industry evolves too quickly for "approved curriculum" to be truly useful.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against (higher) education, or suggesting that it's like burning a pile of money. My point here (to end my rant and get back on topic) is that you probably remember more things you've learned through experience than things you've learned from scholastic education/books. In hindsight, that's been my experience too, with one exception - books with lessons from other people's lived experiences. Actually, two points here: education as a whole (gaming, esports, or otherwise) should be more experiential, so it's more meaningful/effective/memorable for students.

There are over 100 STEAM-related careers related to video games, including sports and entertainment. This creates amazing opportunities to use video games to get students excited about STEAM careers (like I do when I speak to students). It also creates amazing opportunities to make education more interactive and engaging for students (like I do when I teach the students in my class.) As you think about future learning opportunities for your children (or your own career), I hope my experience and advice about this is helpful to you. Let's chat in the comments: did you learn more about your career from real-world experiences, or from a formal education in grade school and college/university?

Sidenote: On the topic of esports, I never imagined that I'd be giving a shout out to someone I've regularly disagreed with in the past, but the esports outlook in Chris Smith 's 2023 market reports is impressive. Click here to learn more about it.

That's my hindsight advice for this week in just under 3 minutes. Thank you for your time, and don't forget to subscribe, because I'll be back next week with more advice and stories. If you want to learn how to get a free shoutout for your business, and other cool opportunities this week, please keep scrolling.

Cool Opportunities To Check Out This Week

WARNING: THIS IS THE PART THAT'S GOING TO UPSET ESPORTS PROFESSIONALS AND WEB3 ENTHUSIASTS. Over the weekend, I discovered that the new Creator League was secretly a campaign to quietly onboard gamers into web3, by getting some of the most popular creators in gaming to accidentally sell NFTs to their fans. The creators found out about the NFTs, and Twitter's community is having a massive argument between gamers/people who think all NFTs are scams, and web3 enthusiasts with NFTs for profile pictures. Neither group seems to understand (or want to listen) to the point the other's making, so my good friend Warren Lincoln and I are hosting a brutally candid conversation about this on Twitter spaces to clear up the confusion. You can join our conversation here this Wednesday at 5:30pm BST (which is 12:30pm EST and 9:30am PST), but don't shoot the messenger. If that link doesn't work for you, find me on Twitter @ThereAreTwoOfMe.

This Thursday at 9pm EST, I'm back with episode 11 of the "Level Up Your Wealth Podcast", where my co-host Mario J. Payne, CFP? and I discuss financial literacy from a gamer's perspective. Our special guest for episode 11 is Keisha Howard (no relation), CEO of Sugar Gamers, named by VentureBeat as one of 20 women you should know in gaming. Join us as we discuss the social good and positive impact of video games. We invite you to register here, and bring your questions/friends/family/colleagues, because Mario and Keisha will be answering your questions LIVE! This financial literacy podcast is proudly sponsored by the gamers at TOAMS Financial. You can get Mario's 2 financial literacy e-books and a consultation with him (both at no cost), and catch up on the first 6 episodes of our hit gaming podcast, on the Level Up Your Wealth page of his website here.

Those Are Cool Opportunities Marcus, But What's In It For Me?

I take absolutely NO CREDIT for the image above, nor the tremendous effort to create the amazing career resources that Amir Satvat provides to the LinkedIn community on a daily basis. That said I can't think of a better resource for anyone seeking a job (his games directory has 13K+ jobs), mentorship (his network has 464 mentors), or a critique of your resume/LinkedIn page (his network has 114 reviewers). You can find links to each of those resources in his original post here, and I'll continue to share updates of his job resources in future editions of this newsletter. Best of luck on the next chapter of your career!

I'm excited to announce the 1st winner of my weekly book raffle! Miguelangel Olave is a passionate storyteller and natural empath. Over the years, he's learned to leverage those skills to tell stories for clients and brands like Meta, Endeavor, Instagram, Facebook, and many executive personal brands. From building brand stories and social media strategies to producing videos, newsletters, outreach campaigns, and new influencer relationships, he's built a sizeable creative toolset. Click here to learn how Miguel can help you become the #1 thought leader in your space.

I'd appreciate it if you shared your candid feedback (positive, negative, or otherwise) about this newsletter with me each week in the comments, so I can continue improving it. Each week I'll select one person from the comments to receive a digital copy of my 5-star rated gaming and esports book for free (you can preview 10% of it here, if you'd like). I will also feature that person in next week's newsletter. Thank you for investing your time with me and stay tuned for more hindsight advice in next week's newsletter. Here's your friendly reminder to subscribe to my newsletter, and I'll see you in the comments section below, have a great week!

About the Author

Marcus "Esports" Howard is the CEO of?MetArena, which helps brands authentically engage their customers and employees with fun, brand-relevant video games. A?2021 LinkedIn Top Voice in Sports, Marcus has worked in the gaming industry for over 10 years. He was previously the CEO at ProjectMQ, where supported indie game studios worldwide by fixing game discovery, one of the biggest problems in the global video game industry. If you'd like excellent recommendations of video games game investment opportunities, or you want help building a sustainable esports ecosystem for your brand, you can DM him here on LinkedIn or email him at [email protected]. You can also read his premium newsletter, "Esports Is Dead - Long Live Esports!".

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