3 Lessons Tetris and Life Have in Common (And Why They Matter Now) Part 1

Written by: Brad Pedersen

I still remember when Tetris first hit store shelves. It was 1989, I was 17 years old, and the Game Boy had just launched. Every kid wanted one; but what made it unforgettable wasn’t the device itself. It was that game; the one with falling blocks that had to be twisted, turned, and fit into perfect rows.

I was hooked. I spent hours immersed in Tetris, heart racing as each level got faster and the stakes grew higher. With less margin for error, every move mattered. The game quickly taught me something essential: order and orientation matter. A misplaced block early on didn’t disappear, it just got buried, making it harder to clear rows later. The consequences of early missteps only compounded as the game went on, often ending with an inevitable, frustrating “game over.”

If you know my story, you’ll understand why Tetris holds even deeper meaning for me. Over the past three decades, I’ve started and scaled multiple companies, many of them in the world of toys and play. That journey eventually inspired me to write Startup Santa, a book capturing my wild ride through entrepreneurial wins, losses, and the unexpected lessons that toys can teach us about life, leadership, and meaning.

That exploration hasn’t stopped. Lately, I’ve been reflecting on all those hours spent playing Tetris, and I’ve realized something: this simple game is rich with wisdom. Just like in life, Tetris rewards those who can recognize patterns, make intentional decisions, and stay aligned with their priorities. The earlier you grasp this, the better your chances of clearing the clutter and finishing well.

Over the next few weeks I am going to reveal three hidden truths that can be found within this simple yet profound game.

Lesson One: You Can't Control Which Blocks You Get

One of the most frustrating parts of Tetris is that we don't get to choose which block comes next. Sometimes the perfect piece drops at the right moment, and everything aligns; other times, we're flooded with L-shapes when all we need is a straight line to clear the row. The game doesn't care about our preferences; it just keeps sending blocks. 

Life is no different. We don't get to control what comes our way. The downturns, the diagnosis, the betrayal, the dream opportunity that suddenly slips away. None of these are the "blocks" we planned for, and yet, they show up anyway.

Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor and author of Man's Search for Meaning, offered up one of the most liberating insights: "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

While we won't always like the pieces life hands us; we always get to choose how we respond. And it is in that space, between what we can't control and how we decide to handle it, that our strength is forged.

The blocks will keep coming, whether we are ready or not. We can’t slow them down or send them back, but we can choose how we respond. Will we adapt, place them with wisdom, and stay in the game; or will we resist and react, stacking them carelessly and creating problems that only grow with time?

The Space Between Stimulus and Response

Think about the last time life handed us a block we didn’t want. Maybe it came as a setback, a closed door, or a situation that felt deeply unfair. In those moments, frustration, anger, and even helplessness often rush in. We resist reality, wishing we had been given something else. But it’s in that resistance, where we feel like victims, and we begin to give up more than just time and energy; we give up our agency.

It’s easy to lash out, shut down, or slip into avoidance. Indecision becomes a decision. When we freeze or check out, we still place the block; but doing so without intention. And those careless moves create gaps we’ll eventually have to deal with down the road.

There is another way. We can pause. We can acknowledge the frustration and still ask a better question: “Given the block I’ve received, where can I place it in a way that supports what I’m building?” We don’t have to like the situation to make something good from it.

We can choose to respond with wisdom instead of reacting in pain. And in doing so, we strengthen our resilience. Every block becomes an opportunity to grow our capacity and to lay down a stronger foundation leading to more freedom and fulfillment in the seasons ahead.

Building With What You Have

I’ve lived this principle more times than I can count.

Three of the companies I’ve started ended in disappointment or bankruptcy. Those weren’t the blocks I would’ve chosen, and when they fell into my life, they felt like game over. I wasn’t just losing a business; I felt like I was losing a piece of myself. The failure didn’t feel situational; it felt personal.

However now looking back, those losses taught me lessons I couldn’t have learned any other way. They stretched and molded me in ways that success never would have. They taught me humility, forced my growth, and revealed strengths I didn’t even know I had. 

In time, I came to see that the blocks I had once resented were the very ones shaping the foundation for what would come next. The frustrating pieces I couldn’t make sense of at the time were actually preparing me for a future level of the game.  The life I live today—filled with meaningful ventures, deep relationships, and a rare sense of freedom—is only possible because of the wisdom forged through those challenges.

Most of all, those unwanted blocks taught me that failure isn’t final; unless I choose to quit. The blocks I once thought I had misplayed left behind gaps that felt permanent. But by staying in the game, I began to see that those very spaces made room for new pieces to fit, forming a pattern I never could’ve seen in the moment.

A Reflection for Today

Take a moment and think about the blocks currently falling in your life. Which ones are you resisting? Which ones are you trying to force into places they don't fit?  Now ask yourself: what would it look like to respond instead of react? What would it look like to pause in that space between stimulus and response, and choose deliberately how to use this block in a way that will support and serve your future self?

The question isn't whether we'll get difficult pieces….we will. The real question is whether we’ll place them with intention or let them create gaps that compromise what we are building.

Next week, I'll share the second lesson that Tetris can teach us about why order and timing matter more than we think.

Until then, remember: you can't control the blocks you get, but you can always control how you place them.

P.S. When you're ready, there are three ways you can access more of our teachings:

• Visit our website for blogs, quick videos and key teachings. Click Here to access.
• Read the book Start Up Santa and discover non-obvious business lessons revealed by timeless toys. You can get it HERE or HERE.
• If you are curious about what it means to live your life to the full, then we invite you to apply for the Full Spectrum Mastermind. This is a curated experience for accomplished leaders ready to move from striving to understand how to truly thrive in life. Register now to be considered - this isn't for everyone, and that's by design.