Book Review: The Formula —The Universal Laws of Success

This book caught my eye at the local library. Who wouldn’t want success if it came in a simple formula?!

Albert-László Barabási is a physicist turned network scientist who decided to study success scientifically — by tracking thousands of academics , pilots, athletes, and musicians to see what made them successful, and when.

These findings come down to 5 Laws of Success:

1. Performance drives success, but when performance can’t be measured, networks drive success. It’s not what you know, it’s WHO you know. Or rather, who knows YOU. You can create something great, but it helps if people who are already known for being great know just how great YOU are.
2. Performance is bounded, but success is unbounded. There’s only so fast you can run, or how good you can make your product. But there’s no limit to how much money you can make, or how many lives you can influence.
3. Previous success x fitness = future success. It helps if you’re already known for being awesome, and then it helps to actually BE awesome. If you’re not known yet, connect with someone who is. People listen to those they know, even when it doesn’t make sense to do so.
4. While team success requires diversity and balance, a single individual will receive credit for the…