Book Review: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big

“Persistence is useful, but there’s no point being an idiot about it.”

Scott Adams, the man behind the famous Dilbert comic, has an honest conversation about the pursuit of a healthy and successful life in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. Adams describes his many failures and how they paved the way for him to become the successful speaker, author and cartoonist that he is today.

Adams explicitly lists his many failures and describes his successes, especially in the first part of the book. He does so brilliantly, being sagacious without belittling himself. Thus, reeling in his reader. His advice is thought provoking and rarely prescriptive. He focuses on describing what works for him and why he thinks that it can work for the reader as well. This lends a conversational flow to the book.

Adams is also very comprehensive in his advice. He does not limit himself to professional or academic situations, his winning strategy encompasses the pursuit of happiness, food & exercise habits, affirmations, party-conversations and behavioral observations as well. On each topic, he is succinct, thorough and frank. He is very clear about when he is describing something that works for him and might work for the reader (such as affirmations and food habits) and when he is stating a rule that can be reasonably generalized (such as behavioral observations and the importance of correct grammar). As a reader, this leaves you with many different ways in which you could learn from Adams’ intelligence, observations and experiences.

Personally, I found the book to be compelling and engaging. I would recommend it to anyone looking for some practical motivation. The book reminded me that working towards maintaining a healthy, introspective and ambitious lifestyle will drastically increase my likelihood of success, something that can be forgotten if the daily humdrum takes over.