How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Dilbert cartoonist and bestselling author
Scott Adams is about what works and what doesn’t in the game of life. This book
is packed with fresh insight about the simple things anyone can do to become successful,
and I really enjoyed reading it.
“Goals are for losers, systems are for
winners,” Adams likes to say. It sounds jarring and counter-intuitive, but what
he means is, setting up a regular system to follow is always more effective
than setting goals. Goal-oriented people mostly fail and feel unsatisfied. (Example―if
your goal is to lose 20 pounds, you will constantly think that you are not at
your goal until you reach it.) A more effective and satisfying approach is to
set up a system that you follow on a regular or daily basis that gives you a
reasonable expectation that doing so will get you to a better place. (And—I liked this part—Adams recommends
the systems you set up minimize the need for willower, since we all have a
limited storehouse of willpower.)
Other important ideas: be fairly average at
several skills rather than being an expert at one thing. Start developing yourself in several areas such
as public speaking, business writing, conversation, overcoming shyness, proper
grammar, persuasion, and others. Don't underestimate the benefits of personal
energy... it's so important to realize that diet and fitness are vital to keeping
your energy up. If you get diet and fitness right, the other things fall into
their places more easily.
This is a humorous, easy-to-read book with lots
of insight and fresh perspectives. This would be an ideal book for someone who
has just graduated from college and is beginning their career. I wish this book had been available when I was in my mid-20s. It is unfortunate that most people in
their twenties today probably don't know who Scott Adams is, since Dilbert is
probably not well-known among millennials (somehow I doubt they read comics). Click here to buy from Amazon.
