Stack the Deck: It's been called silly. But it's fun and it works. So, you're welcome.

"You're leaning in a little too heavy to this whole 'cards' metaphor. Are you a gambler or something?"

The questions flipped every imposter syndrome switch at once.
This is stupid. I should scratch it.

It is, after all, a brand built on clichés: "Bet on yourself," "Find Your Ace." "Play Your Cards."

But (I argued to myself) when I think of winning the game of life, I don't think of casinos or gambling or money.

I think of cabins and growth and meaning.
I think of sitting on an actual deck—probably in the mountains, maybe on the beach—stacked with food, family, and friends. Playing cards with people I love. Talking, laughing, and learning.

To me, that's hitting the jackpot.

So, I kept "Stack the Deck" and all its clichés.
And with them, I'm going to turn the tables and flip their meanings.
I'm going to rewrite the rules and redefine what it means to win.
And, I'm going to have some fun doing it.

Duality in a Deck of Cards

For some cards conjure up the ideas of casinos. For me, it's cabins.

Whatever the backdrop a deck of cards brings to your mind, there is another duality about a deck of cards I love to play with. A deck of cards is the physical manifestation of the finite and the infinite co-existing in the palm of your hand.

In one view, a deck of cards is finite.
Each deck is the same: 52 cards, four suits, 13 cards per suit... and a couple of jokers thrown in for good measure.
The deck mirrors time: 52 weeks, four seasons, 13 weeks per season.

In another view, a deck is as close to the infinite as my brain can process.
The number of possibilities a deck can be shuffled is 8 x 10^67.

80,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

I'm told that number is larger than the number of atoms on the earth. I cannot comprehend the enormity of either, so I don't know. Maybe it is.

I'm told that another way to conceptualize a number this big is to think about it in seconds.
Take that deck of cards and position yourself at the beginning of the Big Bang. Now, start shuffling. Once per second.

By the time you reach present day, you still will not have shuffled all of the potential combinations that exist in that deck you're holding. Nope. You have to keep up the shuffle-per-second for millions of years into the future.

If a deck of card mirrors time, reality, and what is the shuffle represents potential, imagination, and what could be.
All of that, in the palm of your hand.
All you have to do is start shuffling.

It's a Game: It's Supposed to Be Fun

There's one other reason I refuse to let go of a deck of cards as metaphor for my framework. A deck of cards represents a game. Using that deck reminds us that all of this is just a game and games are supposed to be fun.

Somewhere along the line, I forgot to have fun.
I treated life like a game to be won.
But, somehow, even when I was technically “winning,” I wasn’t having any fun.

Most people assume that just because you're winning, you're having a good time.
But when you’re playing the wrong game, what looks like a win can still feel like a loss.

With Stack the Deck, we play with those ideas as well.

I'm not going to show you how to win someone else’s game; I'm going to show how to play your own.

Discard that cards that aren't helping you, draw new cards when you want.
But most of all, learn from the game and have fun doing it.
Remember, your possibilities are endless.

So, if you’re ready for that, pull up a seat.

I’ll deal you in.