As you might expect from the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams
is skeptical of the value of life advice from a cartoonist,
even if he is that cartoonist. Even so, Adams has had very great success in his profession,
so he might be doing something right even if he has a very wrongheaded
explanation of it.
That is a point Adams makes in his book How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win
Big. Some things work even if we don’t understand them. Some beliefs help
us move toward the life we want even if they aren’t correct—often even if we
know they’re wrong. Adams expresses skepticism about a lot of things, and
encourages his readers to use discernment, but he is willing to use what works
with our without a good explanation.
One of those things is affirmations.
Adams does not believe that affirmations shape the universe, or that the human
mind or will or being has the ability to do such a thing. In a late chapter of
the book, he speculates on why they might have some effect or, more likely, how
people might convince themselves that affirmations work. In any case, Adams
correlates some of his greatest successes to his use of affirmations.
Of course, Adams’ life has not been one
of uninterrupted success. The title of the book acknowledges his failures. He
doesn’t get hung up on them. His view was that if he learned
something or gained a new skill from a failed enterprise, he still gained
something. In his estimation, “every sill you acquire doubles your odds of
success.”
“Odds” is a good way to put it. When it
comes down to it, success is a matter of luck. Adams believes that you can take
steps to improve your ability to take advantage of the luck that comes your way
The way you do this is by implementing
good systems. Adams doesn’t believe in goals. You feel like a failure if you
haven’t achieved your goal; you lose your motivation when you complete your
goal. Systems are things you can continue doing as long as they are useful. If
you do something to implement your system, you’ve succeeded. A system is
anything you do regularly in improve the likelihood that you’ll be happy in the
long run.
To Adams, happiness is
the heart of success. If you can sustain happiness, you’re successful in the
ways that matter most. He describes it as a “chemistry experiment.” The idea is
that we know a lot about what makes us happy and we just need to find the right
mix of elements that fits our particular needs. To be happy one needs to
maximize control over their schedule,
find ways to improve skills for a long time (especially in their careers and
hobbies), imagine a better future, take care of health
(diet, exercise and sleep), help others, and reduce daily decision-making
by creating routines.
The book includes a host of other
advice. Most of this advice is told in the context of Adams’ life story. He
particularly focuses on his business and career failures (from which he learned
useful things), the rise of Dilbert
and his battle with a unique health problem.
If you’re interested in this book, you
may also be interested in
Adams, Scott. How to Fail at Almost Anything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of
My Life. New
York: Portfolio/Penguin,
2013.
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