Originally posted at Pro/Vision Coaching.

Since we are a firm of business coaches, I feel a burden of responsibility to warn you all of potential threats to your business. Our goal is to ensure the longevity and success of each small business owner with whom we work, and because of that, there is a vital news item that I must warn you about.

I have become convinced recently that the game Connect 4® is evil. You may think I have completely jumped off the cliffs of reality here, but do you know how many grams of carbohydrates are in each piece of that game? Ok, seriously, it is evil, and not just for the carb content. The effects of that game pull itself out of the fun and light-hearted past and into the scary present of the adult world in which we live and work. Take the story below about a guy named Rod Jones-Swatrzburg from West Spencer, Virginia, as published in the Secret Adult Gamer’s Monthly Circular.

“The online app version of Connect 4®, known to smartphone users as link4® has become quite a crazed sensation. With the ability to play games against live opponents any time of the day or night, countless people have succumbed to its temptations. At the center of our story is former business owner Rod Jones-Swartzburg. He started a fly-fishing business five years ago, specializing in fancy lures. His business was surviving, despite his self-admitted ability to market, and he was even getting close to being ready to hire his first employee. That is, until he downloaded the link4® app on his phone. Though the games only last a minute or so, he found himself losing hours at a time on his device. Hours turned into days; days turned into weeks; and unbreakable habits formed. Before long, no more lures were being made, supplies dwindled, and his store closed down. When interviewed next to the cardboard box he currently calls home, his only reply was, ‘May I borrow your phone for a minute?’”

This is obviously a tragic story of senseless over-obsession is a smart phone, but the temptation is real. The scariest part is that game is known as a “gateway game”. In other words, people that participate in the link4® world very easily find themselves deeper than they ever imagined, some even going all the way to the World of Warcraft® stage. According to a local gaming-health expert, “If a person walks through the online gaming door, it is rare that they are able to go back. There is a reason why the gaming community is growing exponentially (and gets used), while gym memberships grow exponentially, but never actually get used.”

Time is a precious thing, and it’s only worth spending in the right ways. It’s not renewable (such as money, carpet stains, and Charlie Sheen’s temper tantrums) and therefore must be treated with respect. Guard yourself, keep a constant watch on your profits, and never turn down a free apple pie. For these are where the rewards come.

That’s interesting, I just got a notification on my phone that someone wants to play a game…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Oyfvj5rkteE