How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

A couple of months ago, I started reading Scott Adams blog; he's the guy that does Dilbert.  At the end of every blog, he has a line about buying his book because of some random and often unrelated fact.  Amazingly, he convinced me!  I bought the book and finished it this morning.

It is not a long book and is surprisingly autobiographical.  He outlines his system for success and posits that it might work for you too.  One of the first things he hits and repeats through the book is that 'goals are for losers.'  Wow, there's a line I've not heard.  He reasoning is that a goal is a perpetual defeat until you get there.  Many will give up before the goal is achieved.  He suggests having a system, a series of habits that will inevitably lead in the chosen direction.  By using a system, every advance becomes a success.  Really, it is almost the same thing but it changes the psychology.  He really likes to change the psychology to address problems.

Being a computer programmer and very tech savvy, Adams views his brain as a moist computer that can be programmed.  He offers many examples where he would reprogram his brain, which often comes down to forming new habits.

Personal energy enables you to do more with the finite amount of time you have.  This leads to long chapters on remaining fit and eating healthy, requirements for keeping personal energy high.  Every new skill you acquire doubles your chances for success.  Well, he admits the doubling is arbitrary but the point is that more skills will provide more opportunities.  Happiness = health + freedom.  Luck is somewhat manageable.  Conquer shyness by being a phony (that's a good one).  Lastly, simplicity turns the ordinary into the extraordinary.  I list these almost verbatim from the summary in the introduction.

Early in the book, he mentions a score of get-rich projects that he tried, almost all of which failed; Dilbert was the great success.  Among the failures were a couple of restaurants, multiple computer programs, the Dilberito, a grocery delivery service, a video-sharing site before YouTube (timing is everything; internet connections were too slow for such a site when he tried it), and many others.  The moral is that if you try lots of things, you increase your odds of success while also gaining new skills even if these ideas fail.  See, even in failure, he chose to view them as projects that gained him skills and insights to use in future endeavors.

 

Interestingly, I have never much liked the Dilbert comic despite having been in the tech field for many years.  I rarely find them funny and, even when I do, it evokes a wry smile rather than a laugh.  However, I very much enjoyed the book and will likely read another of his non-Dilbert books.  I've already sought to implement some of his suggestions.  Thumbs up!