How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-06-26 09:53:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Scott Adams
- ISBN：0241003709
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Summary
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 strategy he has used since he was a teen to invite failure in， to embrace it， then pick its pocket。
No career guide can offer advice for success 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 what he learned for turning one failure after another into something good and lasting。 Adams reveals that he failed at just about everything he’s tried， including his corporate career， his inventions， his investments， and his two restaurants。 But there’s a lot to learn from his personal story， and a lot of humor along the way。 While it’s hard for anyone to recover from a personal or professional failure， 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。
• You can manage your odds in a way that makes you look lucky to others。
No career guide can offer advice for success 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 what he learned for turning one failure after another into something good and lasting。 Adams reveals that he failed at just about everything he’s tried， including his corporate career， his inventions， his investments， and his two restaurants。 But there’s a lot to learn from his personal story， and a lot of humor along the way。 While it’s hard for anyone to recover from a personal or professional failure， 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。
• You can manage your odds in a way that makes you look lucky to others。
Reviews
Oscar
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Liked his approach and how he explains the sum of different habilities to achieve the great goal。 Maybe we are not genius but we can get great things combining and learning related knowledge。
Loren Isakson
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An enjoyable read from the creator of the comic strip Dilbert。 Scott Adams describes a wide range of past personal and business experiences in this book。 I liked his specific suggestions regarding how to first improve one’s diet and overall fitness level which can， in turn， lead to improvements in many other professional areas。
Joshua
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Lots of advice， much practical， some questionable。 That said， it's two parts self-help to one part autobiography。 The man attributes some of his success to ideas that won't resonate with or work for everyone， but I liked that he included them。 It stressed the fact that I was reading the words of an otherwise pretty average dude who stumbled his way into success， and not another popsci book written by a journalist。Going by his own account， Scott doesn't seem to have faced much diversity in his li Lots of advice， much practical， some questionable。 That said， it's two parts self-help to one part autobiography。 The man attributes some of his success to ideas that won't resonate with or work for everyone， but I liked that he included them。 It stressed the fact that I was reading the words of an otherwise pretty average dude who stumbled his way into success， and not another popsci book written by a journalist。Going by his own account， Scott doesn't seem to have faced much diversity in his life， so I would take the word "Everything" in the title with a grain of salt。 His positive attitude and diligence in healing two career-crippling health problems were inspiring， but otherwise his failures consisted of business setbacks once he was already quite rich。 While the insights he provides can easily map over into other areas of your life where you may experience failure， the tone of self-assured optimism proved a little grating given the shallow dimensions of his own。 Overall it's a book I'd recommend， though not as the last book you'll ever need to Win Big。 。。。more
Werner Wildenboer
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Feedback: what a awesome book， very practical and actionable 💪 he really simplified life。 The goal vs system part I think is life changing
Zoe K。
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3 stars for Scott's wittiness。 Not genius， but definitely a book you can still enjoy and read to the end。 3 stars for Scott's wittiness。 Not genius， but definitely a book you can still enjoy and read to the end。 。。。more
Aaron
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Overall I’m not sure what to say about this book。 One of my main thoughts is just that it’s not what I expected。 The synopsis had me expecting primarily a biography of an interesting sounding man with some lessons on success sprinkled in。 What I read was a self help book from a self-deprecating and highly opinionated cartoonist that seemed to lack focus。 He had some interesting points， so I’m not fully disappointed but I expected a more cohesive and centered work。
Rohit Rao
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One of my favourite books。 Well written。 Classy humour。 And valueable wisdom。 Especially recommend for younger readers as having this wisdom early on makes it easier to form a strong philosophical foundation to life。
Karl Schumann
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Audible book
Sean Keet
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Interesting “A good book。 Plenty of good actionable tips and insights and laced with humour。 I like the call to try things and pick up skills as they become like a superpower。
Evan
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I can’t recall why I asked for this as a birthday gift。 Not why I asked for it as a gift。 No library system I have access to had a copy， physical or electronic。 Why I asked for it in the first place。 I must have read somewhere that Scott Adams was an interesting guy with some very specific ideas of success。 Anyway， this is a grab bag of how to do things the。。。right way？ That doesn’t sound right。 It’s more the optimal way。 How systems trump goals。 How adding skills equals value。 How to prioritize I can’t recall why I asked for this as a birthday gift。 Not why I asked for it as a gift。 No library system I have access to had a copy， physical or electronic。 Why I asked for it in the first place。 I must have read somewhere that Scott Adams was an interesting guy with some very specific ideas of success。 Anyway， this is a grab bag of how to do things the。。。right way？ That doesn’t sound right。 It’s more the optimal way。 How systems trump goals。 How adding skills equals value。 How to prioritize。 I have to assume some might be chafed by some of his more dispassionate ideas （prioritize health and finance first， then family） but I appreciated the logic （because without health and finance， you are a burden）。 But that’s about as much a disclaimer as I can muster - might not be for everyone， but for me， it was well written， engaging， and actionable。 。。。more
Madalin MD Deaconescu
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It is sure a nice book that improved my way of seeing success and the way to be successful。This book reiterates some super important methods/ ideas: - Exercise daily- Eat healthy food- Sleep well- Take care of yourself/ Learn as much as you canAnd most important: Goals are for losers， systems are for winners （same as James Clear said）- Fall in love with failure and embrase it。
Fer Tostado
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This book is kind of a halfway between self help and the story of its author， Scott Adams， famous by his comic Dilbert。 What I actually enjoyed about his book is how he is an example about how you are never to late to pivot in your life， despite de fact of supposedly failing in several other aspects in his life， which eventually all made sense and were used during his future success。 He accepts that he's no virtuous or genius， but just a guy that it is never giving up and willing to learn from t This book is kind of a halfway between self help and the story of its author， Scott Adams， famous by his comic Dilbert。 What I actually enjoyed about his book is how he is an example about how you are never to late to pivot in your life， despite de fact of supposedly failing in several other aspects in his life， which eventually all made sense and were used during his future success。 He accepts that he's no virtuous or genius， but just a guy that it is never giving up and willing to learn from trying different things in life。 。。。more
Bruce Morgan
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Unusual advice， but very interesting。 Everything you learn adds to your range of skills， even if the project fails。 Apply "Systems" instead of chasing dreams。 Well worth reading。 Unusual advice， but very interesting。 Everything you learn adds to your range of skills， even if the project fails。 Apply "Systems" instead of chasing dreams。 Well worth reading。 。。。more
Tai Tai
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solid life advice but not much on relationships
Aeishna
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One of the most enjoyable， witty and genuinely helpful self-help books I've come across。 One of the most enjoyable， witty and genuinely helpful self-help books I've come across。 。。。more
Jeevan Kadam
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It’s basically a list of suggestions that could improve one’s chance of success。 Thought process described in book is pretty good。You may not want to / be able to implement all of the suggestions based on your own situation/context， however， Scott has presented the content in humorous way which makes it easier to give it a once-over quickly。There are few important suggestions:--> Managing schedule according to personal energy levels as much as possible--> Learning new skill doubles the chance of It’s basically a list of suggestions that could improve one’s chance of success。 Thought process described in book is pretty good。You may not want to / be able to implement all of the suggestions based on your own situation/context， however， Scott has presented the content in humorous way which makes it easier to give it a once-over quickly。There are few important suggestions:--> Managing schedule according to personal energy levels as much as possible--> Learning new skill doubles the chance of success --> Understand the underlying systems/processes and leverage that understanding to get results while spending energy optimally。For anyone looking for books on similar topics， I would also recommend Hell Yeah or No by Derek Sivers which covers thoughts around what’s worth doing， fixing faulty thinking， and getting things done。 。。。more
Mike Beder
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An interesting and enjoyable read…thanks for the enablement to drink more coffee ☕️。
Davis Parker
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This is a pleasant， pithy read that starts strong but fades towards the home stretch。 Adams's discussions of energy， systems vs。 goals， and skill development are insightful and encouraging， but he lacks the philosophical depth to give the book any real punch。 His discussion of fitness and diet are relatively banal and seem to function primarily as copy to fill out the back half of the book。 Granted， that doesn't make them wrong， just maybe not worth the time。My recommendation is to pick this one This is a pleasant， pithy read that starts strong but fades towards the home stretch。 Adams's discussions of energy， systems vs。 goals， and skill development are insightful and encouraging， but he lacks the philosophical depth to give the book any real punch。 His discussion of fitness and diet are relatively banal and seem to function primarily as copy to fill out the back half of the book。 Granted， that doesn't make them wrong， just maybe not worth the time。My recommendation is to pick this one up but don't be afraid to put it down once you lose interest。 。。。more
Niko Em
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Amazing and funny book！ Love it！
HariKrupa Padmanabhan
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It's a wonderful book。 Something you should be going back to ever so often just as a reminder。 It's a wonderful book。 Something you should be going back to ever so often just as a reminder。 。。。more
Sean Hannifin
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The main idea is simple and sounds like good advice: The most important factor to achieving professional success is luck。 And the best way to get lucky is to give yourself many opportunities to do so。 Rather than focusing on lofty concrete goals， focus on a system that allows to try new things that improve your overall chances of getting lucky even when specific ventures fail。Book is also written in a nice casual and humorous tone without all the pointless filler fluff of a lot of modern non-fic The main idea is simple and sounds like good advice: The most important factor to achieving professional success is luck。 And the best way to get lucky is to give yourself many opportunities to do so。 Rather than focusing on lofty concrete goals， focus on a system that allows to try new things that improve your overall chances of getting lucky even when specific ventures fail。Book is also written in a nice casual and humorous tone without all the pointless filler fluff of a lot of modern non-fic。 。。。more
Keven Wang
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I think Scott Adams is an acquired taste。 But I did enjoy reading this book。 Probably better in audiobook version if he narratives it。
Diarmaid Smyth
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Great insights but sometimes I did skip a section or two。 You will definitely find some value in it
Kavya
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This book "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big " written by Scott Adams - his writing is so involving ，he goes on talking about various theories of life in a non philosophical way。👍Loved every single page of this book。 This book "How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big " written by Scott Adams - his writing is so involving ，he goes on talking about various theories of life in a non philosophical way。👍Loved every single page of this book。 。。。more
Connor Swenson
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Wow， this book is incredible。 Scott is funny， smart， and his observations on success are directly relatable to my own personal experience。 This is one of the best self-help books I've read in a long time。It reinforced my belief that energy management > time management。It reinforced my belief that willpower is a losing strategy。It reinforced my belief that good things come through hard work， patience， and luck。 Wow， this book is incredible。 Scott is funny， smart， and his observations on success are directly relatable to my own personal experience。 This is one of the best self-help books I've read in a long time。It reinforced my belief that energy management > time management。It reinforced my belief that willpower is a losing strategy。It reinforced my belief that good things come through hard work， patience， and luck。 。。。more
Carol Elam
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Love Scott Adams。 Great insight， ways to make you think， and good information。 Good on his youtube channel also。 Also， Dilbert is entertaining。
Harry Harman
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Focus on systems not goals。Planning to lose 5lbs is a goal。 Eating the right foods in the right amounts is a system。
Du Nguyen
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Scott Adams starts the book with a disclaimer not to take advice from a cartoonist。 That's one of the two things you should really take from this book。 Adams is a good storyteller， as the creator of Dilbert you'd expect some ability to tell stories。 It makes this book super readable and almost tricks you to subscribe to the things he says。 But as I was putting my critical thinking hat on I didn't think this book to be any good at all。 Almost everything that Adams advises （but then also says that Scott Adams starts the book with a disclaimer not to take advice from a cartoonist。 That's one of the two things you should really take from this book。 Adams is a good storyteller， as the creator of Dilbert you'd expect some ability to tell stories。 It makes this book super readable and almost tricks you to subscribe to the things he says。 But as I was putting my critical thinking hat on I didn't think this book to be any good at all。 Almost everything that Adams advises （but then also says that it's not advice） is something that came from his world view， his life story， his anecdotes。 And then he conveniently finds the facts that and correlations that support it。 Even worse are the failures which aren't really failures？ Like getting promoted a bunch of times because he had some luck in not being discovered for his self-described lack of skills。 Or growing up in a stable family and being good in school but not getting into Cornell because he applied too late。Something disturbed me a bit in which he mentions how he was twice not promoted because he was a white male， which does suck if it was really the reason for him not being promoted （again， after acknowledging that he does not have the skills to even have been promoted to his current position）， but also points to a lack of understanding of his own situation in life and how he may have had privileges others didn't have。 All of this combines to a picture of a person who's reframed his life into a struggle where he was the victim and somehow overcame these struggles with some amazing insight that mostly are quite common sense。The only thing worth anything here is the adjacent skills theory （that having two skills that combine into something unique is better than being great at only one skill， unless world-class at it） and the idea that habits > goals。 One can be grasped through someone else's blog post and the other is better served with reading Atomic Habits by James Clear。I cannot recommend this book， and if reading it， be very critical of what Adams is trying to sell here。 。。。more
Adel
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Informative。
GPetrov
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