Most Improved Player (MIP) award

So, I think I mentioned previously, I have been playing an ad hoc version of Success Now with a few friends, Dennis & Mike. Also, my Granddaughter is playing as well!

Anyway, last night I awarded Dennis, the first Success Now Most Improved Player award for bringing a long held goal into reality, with his first free online breathing session. I am thrilled to have been a part of making this happen and enjoyed working, err I mean playing, to make it happen. You can find out more about him and his 'work' here. 

And would you believe there are delays in getting the app released? Ha, working in the software industry most of my life, and I am not surprised, but anxious to see the results. Patience ... Just extended the deliverable date another 5 days until June 6th. Well, what can I say? Persevere!

Just gotta share this

Hi all,

We're moving right along here. Not a huge milestone, but an exciting one nevertheless. Today I received final artwork on the launch icon for the game. 

It's amazing working with someone on the other side of the world. The artist is from Pakistan and I think his work is excellent. What do you think?

Success can be fun! That's what I hope to accomplish with this game, sharing the tips, technologies and secrets of success to the whole world, but especially to those who believe they have no hope of success.

Pulling the trigger

Yes, pulled that ol' trigger yesterday morning. Being a bit of a perfectionist (I've been called anal), I had to work feverishly a couple of 16 hour days to get everything ready to hand over to the developer. So, wow, just like a real job!

Anyway, he should have the first phase done by June 1st. This includes the core functionality, but will be missing a few screens and features that will be in the next phase and in Level 1 of the game once it's released.

So many things to do to get ready for that, such as get a website up and running. Get a mailing list together, cut a video for my YouTube channel, etc.

Looking for Alpha & Beta testers if anyone is interested. This can be a one-time thing, or ongoing since I plan on continuous development for the rest of my (long) life.

The difference between Alpha and Beta testers is that Alpha testers generally have to
- know how to install an app that doesn't come from the approved store, and or use an Android emulator.
- be able to use a screen capture and screen recorder software, or learn how to use them.
- realize that the app (in worst case scenarios) can cause your device to malfunction
- understand that features will be incomplete, missing or not function correctly.
- communicate regularly with me regarding the results of your testing.

Beta testers - much of the same, but less risk. All features should be there and working, but some may not be quite polished, and you get to play with the app before anyone else sees it - and sometimes make suggestions that improve the product substantially!

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am releasing an Android version first, because worldwide, 85% of smartphones run the Android OS compared to Apple's iOS at 13% (data here).

However, I hope to have an iOS version out within a month or two after the Android Release.

And the winner is ...

So yeah, of 3 vendors who made it onto the shortlist, only one stood out. His name is Umer and he was the closest to implementing my design correctly, gave me fast turnaround on suggested revisions and was pleasant and easy to communicate with over Zoom. I will be giving him the specs for phase 2 tonight and hoping to get a good quote sometime tomorrow.

Umer is from Pakistan and has a B.Sc in Computer Science.

So, phase 2 will give me an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), a term that I resisted for quite a while in my day job, but have been coming to terms with as an entrepreneur with a small budget. It basically means that you will be able to accomplish the core functions that the app was designed for, but most of the bells & whistles (the really cooler stuff) will not be present until later. That's life (sigh).

But I will move this ahead as fast as I can. I'm hoping for at least a preliminary (Alpha) version of the MVP within the next 1 to 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, I've been having a lot of game fun with my two buds, Dennis & Mike, playing a Head-to-Head version of the game using a spreadsheet posted on Google Drive. Kinda clunky, but it does the job. This has got me revved so much that I've been popping out of bed at 4:30 just to get started on the day. Sure cured that TV binging problem!

 Here's a recently tweaked version of the Scheduled Intentions screen and a screenshot of the New Intention screen.

I think my 16-year old granddaughter is going to design the next theme for the game. It will be interesting to see what she comes up with, being a Media Arts sophomore at a prestigious all-arts high school in San Francisco.

Stay tuned, remain calm. Success is not only coming, Success is Now!

Apollo (aka Len)

Progress has been made

So, since my last post, 3 days ago, I have -

• Bought & set up skeleton website at SuccessNow-TheGame.com.
• Includes contact form and link to this blog.
• Had our logo professionally designed. 

• Contracted with 2 developers for an initial 3 pages of the game to see who has the best & most cost-effective implementation of my design. Should have these available for installing on any Android Device by Tuesday of next week. Let me know if you want to be an Alpha or Beta tester.
• Added logo and links to the website & blog to my outgoing emails.
• Added 2nd Player for an ad hoc offshoot of the game for Head-to-Head play between 2 players. It uses an Excel spreadsheet and its kinda clunky, but is exciting enough to be folded into one of the next levels of the game.
• Supported my friend and fellow Player, Dennis Crow in establishing free breathwork sessions, with the first session being tonight at 5:00 pm PST. Check out his Facebook page.

An exciting journey has begun, that gets me popping out of bed in the morning with ideas and purpose! Yeah!

It's Coming ...

​Well, it's been a few years since I've blogged, but it's time has come.

The image to the left is the template for the screens in my upcoming app, SUCCESS NOW! - The Game.

The game is envisioned as an infinite-level MMOG/MOG (Massively Multi-player Online Game) that teaches, enforces and guides players in the art and science of being successful in any and all areas of their lives. Sounds serious? Well,sort of - the effects on a player's life can be dramatic, yet the concept is as simple as the game of Go and could take a lifetime of fun play to completely master!

The core concept of the game is intentionality, and the creation of intentions. Basically, anything you can think of that you might like to do can become an intention. We often use other words to categorize these thoughts, ideas, and fantasies that we'd like to make happen - such as tasks, goals, activities, projects and so on - and they are in the game as well at later levels.

The difference is that an intention, as defined in the game, has a specific and simple definition that helps to maximize your chance of completing it successfully.

An intention is a commitment to a brief and concise statement of an activity, easily quantifiable, with an estimate of the effort involved and a target date.

You write your intention down in the app (and get 5 Success Bucks), and during the day, you complete intentions  by swiping right for Success  (100 points) or left for Failure (5 points).

Each day, intentions targeted for completion that day are compared to those that you complete. You get a score of 100 for those completed, 5 for failures and 0 if they expire without completion. If you have no intentions, you get a 0 for the day.

Scores are added up and averaged to get your total score for the day and that score is added to your Success Factor Chart along with your Success Factor for the entire time you've been playing the game.

Like the image on the left.

You can schedule your intentions for completion at a specific date and time or leave them unscheduled, but still targeted for completion on a certain date. 

Tracking your intention is easy, with sortable views of your intentions by target date, scheduled date and unscheduled.

So far, I have 27 screens for Level 1 of the game. Success Bucks, Power Ups and in-app purchases are on the drawing board - even a way to make money from just playing the game! 

I'm currently evaluating several vendors for helping me bring the game into being.

My intention is to release the first level of the game by July 1st!

Stay tuned. Stay interested, and help me make it so.