Book Summary: How to fail at almost everything and still win big — Scott Adams
How to fail at almost everything and still win big by Scott Adams is one of those surprising books. You don’t expect that much form the guy who created Dilbert. Sure he’ll have a few good stories and it will be funny. But you aren’t expecting it to completely change how you decide which project to do and which ones to ignore.
Well that is exactly what this book delivered and much more!!
I want to almost call Scott the working man’s hero. He’s been there and done it and escaped the corporate rat race. Scott worked in corporate America for 16 years and always kept his energy up by using his system of doing things that gave him more energy. Whether this was at work or little side projects. He was always working on something that made him want to get up in the mornings….
His formula for priorities is also very simple and easy to follow.
- Look after yourself first. This involves eating right, exercising, avoiding unnecessary stress and getting enough sleep.
- Look after your economics. That includes your job, your investments, and even your house.
- Look after all the other things. Your family, community, country and the world.
His reason for this “selfish”approach is that when you aren’t looking after yourself and your economics you become a burden on your family, friends and community. So first look after yourself before you try and look after anyone else.
The book has lots of great advice and here is just a 5 minute video to quickly summarise some of the main points:
The following are some of my favorite excerpts from the book:
“If you want success, figure out the price, then pay it. It sounds trivial and obvious, but if you unpack the idea it has extraordinary power.”
“Successful people don’t wish for success; they decide to pursue it. And to pursue it effectively, they need a system. Success always has a price, but the reality is that the price is negotiable. If you pick the right system, the price will be a lot nearer to what you’re willing to pay.”
“I make choices that maximize my personal energy because that makes it easier to manage all of the other priorities. Maximizing my personal energy means eating right, exercising, avoiding unnecessary stress, getting enough sleep, and all of the obvious steps. But it also means having something in my life that makes me excited to wake up.”
“Exercise, food, and sleep should be your first buttons to push if you’re trying to elevate your attitude and raise your energy.”
“A great strategy for success in life is to become good at something, anything, and let that feeling propel you to new and better victories. Success can be habit-forming. “
“The Success Formula: Every Skill You Acquire Doubles Your Odds of Success”
“If you think extraordinary talent and a maniacal pursuit of excellence are necessary for success, I say that’s just one approach, and probably the hardest. When it comes to skills, quantity often beats quality.”
“Good + Good > Excellent”
“It’s hard to become rich enough to buy your own private island but, relatively speaking, it’s easier to find a job with flexible hours. A person with a flexible schedule and average resources will be happier than a rich person who has everything except a flexible schedule. Step one in your search for happiness is to continually work toward having control of your schedule.”
“Don’t let reality control your imagination. Let your imagination be the user interface to steer your reality.”
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