To improve, advance, or enhance something significantly beyond its current state or performance.
This phrase originated in video gaming culture of the 1980s, where players literally advanced to higher numbered levels. It migrated into business and personal development contexts in the 1990s as gaming metaphors became mainstream communication tools.
The phrase perfectly captures our gamification of life and work, treating progress like ascending floors in a building or stages in a game. It's fascinating that we borrowed spatial metaphors from digital worlds to describe abstract advancement in the real world.
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