Name: How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big Kind Of The Story Of My Life
ISBN: 9781591847748

How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big Kind Of The Story Of My Life

Blasting clichéd career advice, the contrarian pundit and creator of Dilbert recounts the humorous ups and downs of his career, revealing the outsized role of luck in our lives and how best to play the system. Scott Adams has likely failed at more things than anyone you’ve ever met or anyone you’ve even heard of. So how did he go from hapless office worker and serial failure to the creator of Dilbert, one of the world’s most famous syndicated comic strips, in just a few years? In How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Adams shares the game plan he’s followed since he was a teen: invite failure in, embrace it, then pick its pocket. No career guide can offer advice that works for everyone. As Adams explains, your best bet is to study the ways of others who made it big and try to glean some tricks and strategies that make sense for you. Adams pulls back the covers on his own unusual life and shares how he turned one failure after another—including his corporate career, his inventions, his investments, and his two restaurants—into something good and lasting. There’s a lot to learn from his personal story, and a lot of entertainment along the way. Adams discovered some unlikely truths that helped to propel him forward. For instance: • Goals are for losers. Systems are for winners. • “Passion” is bull. What you need is personal energy. • A combination of mediocre skills can make you surprisingly valuable.

What Hacker News says

jribApr 2021

There's a bit more detail in his book but this first resonated with me when I read Scott Adams' "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life".

Here are some of his blog posts on it:

https://www.scottadamssays.com/2013/11/18/goals-vs-systems/

https://www.scottadamssays.com/2014/01/21/goals-are-for-lose...

Personally, I don't really think of it as goals and habits being mutually exclusive. Specifically, I wholeheartedly agree with your comment, "The only way to know which habits to cultivate (or rely on) is to have a desired result in mind."

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meowzeroDec 2020

Maybe not A book, but some books that helped me change my behavior just a little bit.

Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five - if you're thinking of having children or have young children already. This book gives some good insight on possible, data-driven ways to raise a happy and smart kid. I currently have a newborn and have altered some ways I behave around her. It also helps to think about how you were raised, and if that impacted the way you are.

The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness - if you're into meditation, I think this is the book to get. I started out with Headspace and this book takes it to the next level.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life - This was an entertaining book on how Scott Adams failed and succeeded. He gives some practical tips on what he did to get to where he is. Of course, there is survivorship bias, but I found some of it helpful.

The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism - People aren't born Charismatic. You can practice it.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It - A book about negotiation. I used to hate negotiating. Heck I still do. While I might not use the exact tactics outlined in the book, it helped me realize that I should try to negotiate more. And it might have helped me to get good deals or better salary just by asking.

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teddyhNov 2019

> I like books which are sort of lessons within a biography format.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life (Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert) also fits this description.

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raztogt21Apr 2019

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams.

An extremely concise life advice book. Doesn't wander around ideas. Well-written.

Of all 'self-help' books I have read, this is the only I truely recommend.

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hvdSep 2018

Thinking of working with systems rather than towards goals. I got this idea from How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COOFBA4/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...

Learning to type - Enhanced productivity https://hkelkar.com/2014/03/02/learn-to-type-before-you-lear...

Writing a blog has been extremely rewarding. It takes effort to Blog Over the years I published a book based on the blog.

Understanding Compounding.

Learning Python for fun. Learning Python was really the stepping stone to learning other interesting things.

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SyneRyderSep 2016

In a similar vein on systems & processes & routines, another good book is How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big: Kind Of The Story Of My Life by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert). It's been one of my favorite reads this year & I keep regularly reviewing the notes I took.

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