How an Addictive Personality Became the Key to Success in Sports and Leadership
- Oct 14, 2025
- 4 min read
Written by Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson has combined 20 years of experience, 5 State Titles, and one World Record into the first advancement in leadership theory in 50 years. Branson's first book, The Illusion of Competence, introduced perception-based leadership. Branson's second book, Unified Leadership Theory (2025), advances the theory further.
I discovered I had an addictive personality the hard way, by getting addicted to something. I saw my first ‘Asteroids’ arcade game in 1980. Arcade games had a short history by 1981, with Pong premiering in the early 1970s, Space Invaders in the mid-70s, and Asteroids closing out the decade. Arcades popped up on street corners across America, built on Asteroids’ success. Asteroids brought in $10 million a week in quarters at its peak in 1981, and in the summer of that year, I was the world’s greatest player.
Asteroids, like any good addiction, appeared to be ruining my 15-year-old life. I was grounded from playing Asteroids after school at one point, so I started playing during school. I earned two credits in my sophomore year, and had they not been required credits, I might still be attending high school.
Asteroids was mesmerizing. I dreamed about the game. I drew crude diagrams of gameplay while trying to solve it. I played for months on end with no signs of greatness. I had my first Asteroids marathon game nine months in, playing for three hours. I had four long games after that, culminating in the 55-hour world record.
I saw my first racquetball court after moving to Phoenix in 1979. Virtually every high school and many public parks had back-to-back rows of three-wall racquetball courts. I started playing racquetball in earnest once my interest in Asteroids waned. My life revolved around racquetball for the next 30 years.
I was nowhere close to being the greatest racquetball player on the planet, but elements of my Asteroids addiction carried over to the racquetball courts. I obsessed over the game, playing five days a week, cross-training four days a week, and working on strategy daily. My obsession with racquetball allowed me to be competitive at the highest levels well into my 40s, making two state open finals after age 45.
Not all addictions are bad. The net results of my addictions to Asteroids and racquetball were one world record, five state titles, and a brief number 9 ranking in international play.
I obtained my first leadership position at age 20 with Target. I worked a myriad of positions with a myriad of companies before being promoted to my first store manager position in 1999 with Famous Footwear.
I discovered The Illusion of Competence while working at Famous Footwear. I practiced elements of Micro-Efficiency while cleaning up Famous Footwear stores around the Southwest United States in the early 2000s. Links between leadership and efficiency were established during this time.
My leadership addiction took a turn in 2006 after attending a national conference with LensCrafters. The conference included three days of leadership training. I suspected leadership was broken, but LensCrafters' spending millions on useless “Fierce Conversations” training left me shaking my head.
I always did things differently, with more than one associate saying, “You should write a book.” I sat on the plane ride home from the conference, running the previous days through my head before concluding, I have got to write a book.
I started college in 2009 at age 44, culminating with a dual MBA and Master of Science in Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2016. The Illusion of Competence was a working theory at this time with a few loose ends.
I was managing retail stores full-time, attending college, practicing elements of The Illusion of Competence, and writing my first book, The Illusion of Competence. I was obsessed with solving leadership’s biggest problem. It doesn’t matter what you say if no one is listening, and with 70% employee disengagement, no one is listening.
I saw corporate’s use of broken leadership and was problem-solving in real time. My obsession with leadership led to the discovery of perception-based leadership, The Illusion of Competence, The Theory of Deep Understanding, Food Poisoning Theory, Process Poisoning Theory, Micro-Efficiency Theory, a static interpretation of Emotional Intelligence with a group dynamic previously unimagined, and a corporate engagement strategy, as well as a separate strategy for frontline leaders when corporate doesn’t meet its engagement obligations.
The point? Not all addicts are great, but all the greats are addicts.
Read more from Mark Branson
Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson set the world's record for the arcade game Asteroids in 1981, playing for 55 hours in a quarter. Branson then applied his concepts of greatness to winning 5 New Mexico state racquetball titles over a 15-year career. Branson then created a leadership theory from scratch, combining 30 years of leadership experience and his habit of winning into the first advancement in leadership thought since the turn of the century.
