Welcome! Today we’ll be reviewing How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams.
Review Summary
- Length: 38 chapters, 248 pages
- Cover Type: Soft
- Personal Completion Time: One day
- TL;DR Summary: The best guide available on how to life an optimal life. Funny, short, and extremely wise – a book I’d recommend to everyone; entertaining even if you don’t follow the advice provided.
- Book Link: Amazon
- Final Rating: 5 / 5 Stars
Scott Adams, of Dilbert comic fame, is an incredibly interesting, funny, and wise individual. While I can’t remember who originally recommended that I read this book, I’m very glad that they did – this book is fantastic. In short, this book is a (very) brief autobiography of Scott Adam’s life and the many strange (and often humorous) challenges that he had to tackle along the way. While discussing these challenges, Scott masterfully provides the (many) lessons that he’s picked up during the course of his life in such a digestible way it’s a wonder why he’s the only author I’ve seen do so. As an example, Scott often presents bullet point lists that are easy to remember; one example is the “book tease” he provides in the first couple of pages:
- Goals are for losers.
- Your mind isn’t magic. It’s a moist computer you can program.
- The most important metric to track is your personal energy.
- Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success.
- Happiness is health plus freedom.
- Luck can be managed, sort of.
- Conquer shyness by being a huge phony (in a good way).
- Fitness is the lever that moves the world.
- Simplicity transforms ordinary into amazing.
And this is just one example of the many, many snippets of information you’re likely to find in this book. In less than 250 pages, Scott Adams gives the reader advice on: happiness, humor, affirmations, experts, diet, luck, fitness, career aspirations, and timing. He does so in such a captivating and interesting way that I recall not being able to put this book down once I started reading it, and that I read it cover-to-cover in one sitting – it really is that good. As Scott mentions – simplicity transforms ordinary into amazing – so I’ll keep this review brief: if you’re looking to optimize your life this book is for you. I would highly recommend it to everyone (and anyone) regardless of your position in life.