The book I chose for this assignment was How To Fail At Almost Everything And Still Win Big, by Scott Adams.
1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?
The book is written by Scott Adams, the cartoonist of the famous Dilbert columns in the newspaper. The book is a memoir of Adams' in which he discusses how he took care of himself during several hardships of loss, until he eventually won big. Adams shares many of the lessons he learned throughout each part of his life, and how failure has molded who he is today.
2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
As students of entrepreneurship, we all know that entrepreneurs endure A LOT more failure than success. After all, the majority of business ideas don't even make it off the ground floor. This memoir emphasizes how students and people under the age of 30 need to stop worrying about "making it". Adams reinforces this idea by sharing what he was doing in his twenties and how he never really knew which direction his life was going in. Building your life around "systems" instead of goals, this will help keep you from getting discouraged by failure, as there is no predetermined outcome.
3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
If I had to design an exercise based on this book, I would have students focus on all the times that things didn't go the way they were supposed to, all the times the students failed. Then I would have them think about all the times they were successful: maybe it was a good test grade, or getting hired for a job. The lesson is to not be discouraged if their failures outweigh their successes. Failure is an integral step toward success.
4) What was your biggest surprise or 'aha' moment when reading the
book? In other words, what did you learn that differed most from your
expectations?
This book showed me how it is okay, even good, to fail. Here is one quote from the memoir that I will take with me: "The most important form of selfishness involves spending time on your fitness, eating right, pursuing your career, and still spending quality time with your family and friends." This quote just goes to show how many things you need to balance in your everyday life, and how each piece is incredibly important in shaping who you are.
Hi Greg!
ReplyDeleteI love your post today! I feel like you’ve learned a lot about how to ready yourself with an entrepreneur’s mindset. The last quote also means a lot to me since as an exchange student staying here for only four months, I often feel like I haven’t achieved anything special here although I’m always tired running around to this event and that. I realize now that I was pressuring myself to reach for “goals,” and that I should focus more on being “selfish” to make this experience more memorable, more worthwhile.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteIt was great to hear your takeaways from reading the book and learning the importance of failure on the path to success. I didn't know the other was the man behind the Dilbert cartoons so I think that's awesome that he could turn his story into such a helpful book. I also really liked your exercise for class on having students outline failures and successes because I think it could be really beneficial for people to reflect on what went well for them, and what didn't so they can learn from both.
Greg,
ReplyDeleteGreat review of the book by Adams, this one has been on my list to read. I agree that failures can be greatly beneficial to people as they can act as important learning experiences. The quote that has stuck with you is now sticking with me, as I need to be more selfish to make sure I have balanced my time in the best way.