1) The general theme of How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big is that failure is a crucial step to success. In fact, the more you fail the better for it can improve your chances of ultimately succeeding in your endeavors, and it can be a tool for increasing personal energy.
2) This book is all about how failure can lead to success. That is a subject that has been covered in our assignments (especially Assignment 26). Just like the title of the assignment, this book is all about celebrating failure and the lessons that can be learned from failure. Adams also talked about how he took what he learned from his failures and applied it to future endeavors.
3) Adams developed a wide range of skills from all the different kinds of business ventures he pursued. He went from designing some computer games to opening two restaurants to eventually becoming a famous cartoonist. Every venture taught him something new. Apart from learning from his failures, he also gained technical skills. Saying that, the exercise I would design would be try a new 'hobby'. Libraries usually hold an array of activities that can include knitting, drawing, etc. There are usually all kinds of clubs on a college campus as well. The purpose of this exercise would be to learn a new skill, whether artistic, technical, or something else, and then write a reflection of the experience.
4) The biggest surprise for me was reading that passion does not guarantee success. Adams said that this is a common misconception. Most high-achieving people in their fields will usually cite 'passion' as one of the reasons for getting where they are. However, Adams says that success tends to induce passion, but passion does not necessarily equal success. Instead the more you succeed at something, the more passionate you feel for the endeavor. I have to say that I was also under the misconception thinking that passion can lead to success, but the way he presented passion was eye-opening.
Hi Katia,
ReplyDeleteI read this book for my last reading reflection. I really enjoyed it and Adams humor. The one take away I have been sharing with everyone is the concept of viewing life in systems instead of goals. I sort of life my life in this way. It is so important to focus on current input to reach a desire outcome, but also it is equally as important to listen to feedback and change the routing of your plans. When thinking in terms of goals, a person can become too fixated on the final result and they loose focus of the world around them and how their end result could be achieved in a more effective and efficient way. Great post! Christina
Hi Katia,
ReplyDeleteI also read this book for one of my reading reflections. I think Adams did a very good job getting his point across and allowing his readers to celebrate failure instead of become discouraged by it. I truly believe failure can lead to success. When failure occurs, it is important to understand why it happened and learn from the mistake. This way it will not happen again. This is a very important lesson Adams taught in his book. Great post!
Katia,
ReplyDeleteI also read How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big, and I found Scott Adams to offer compelling advice and subject matter. I agree with Adams over the importance of developing multiple skillsets. After learning new skills, you gain new perspectives and thoughts. Furthermore, I was surprised by Adams denying that passion leads to success. I still believe that passion creates success, but I also agree with Adams that success can create passion.