I finally worked out how to win at Monopoly recently. You see, my old strategy had been ineffective; trying to spread myself too thinly as opposed to using the military concept of massing of forces. Now my strategy is to build up my properties even if it means mortgaging everything else, as well as keeping a reserve just in case you draw the wrong card from the Chance pile.

It is funny, but how you play a game teaches you a lot about how you live your life. I learnt a lot about investment strategies by playing the game Cashflow from Robert Kiyosaki (click here to find out more). You might think that games can’t possibly be effective mechanism for teaching and learning, but delivered in the right way and with an effective debrief, they can be outstanding education tools.

The thing about learning through games is you can never be certain what the lessons will be, as the learnings for each individual playing the game will often be different. You will learn whatever lesson you need to learn at that particular moment! You might learn a completely different lesson by playing the same game or you might learn the same lesson playing a different game, especially if you still haven’t really got the message.

Today, I was teaching business games with year 7 students in East London, and throughout the day there were lots of lessons. One of the biggest lessons from today, and this applies to YOU as much as it did to the students today, is that in most instances you only get ONE CHANCE, and that every opportunity you have should be taken with both hands. If you don’t get it right first time, there often isn’t a second time. Whether you are in front of the investors in the Dragon’s Den, meeting a potential life partner or simply being there for your family, how you show up speaks volumes to the people around you as well as your unconscious mind.