Ben's 1x1x1 - The Infinite Game - April 24, 2026 🚀
For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.
One thought from my week.
One interesting find/tool from my week.
One image from my life.
Let’s dive in 👇
Thought from the week
If you’re a founder, here’s your friendly reminder:
You’re playing an infinite game.
Unlike chess. Or my stash of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars (RIP, gone too soon).
Those games end.
This one doesn’t.
And yet… I catch myself constantly trying to force it to end.
“Once we launch this…” “Once we hit this number…” “Once V11 is out…”
Ah yes. V11. The version that will finally fix everything and bring me inner peace.
Narrator: it did not.
Don’t get me wrong, deadlines matter.
Urgency matters.
Momentum is everything.
But that feeling we’re chasing?
That clean, satisfying, “I’m done” feeling?
It doesn’t exist here.
You ship the campaign → there’s another one.
You fix the bug → three more pop up like a hydra.
You hit the goal → congrats, here’s a bigger one.
It’s an infinite loop disguised as progress.
And the dangerous part is… it almost feels like you’re about to arrive.
You’re not.
There is no arrival.
Just more:
- problems
- opportunities
- “strategic conferences” where you somehow end up poolside with a margarita explaining to your partner that this is, in fact, work
So every once in a while, I have to mentally grab myself by the shoulders and go:
“Hey idiot. Wrong game.”
Because while business is infinite… life is not.
My kids are getting older.
My grandparents’ memories fading.
My ability to eat deep dish pizza and get away with just one Tums.
Those are finite games.
Those actually end.
And those are the ones that matter most.
The business? It’ll still be there tomorrow.
No matter what CNBC says.
Interesting Tool/Find
The quote I’ve had written on the top of my todo list all week:
“Winners are just losers that never gave up.”
Image from my life
Parker has been a massive help covering the town of Bend with Luna posters.