21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big – Scott Adams

As can be taken form the tittle, the book is about failing and learning from failure. More specifically, it’s about not giving up and building upon what you have learned.

I think a major aspect of entrepreneurship is knowing you’re going to fail. So, if there’s any chance you are going to succeed , you need to be able to handle that. We’ve learned a little about this in class, and I’ve also read the bios of few entrepreneurs that seem to emphasize the fact that most of the attempts at their dreams ended in failure (for sometimes years on end). This book really makes a point in stating that random things come out of trying something dozens of different ways, and the skills, connections, and knowledge you accumulate is as – if not more – important than actually succeeding in your endeavor.

I would say a great exercise would be to go outside and fail 10 times. Ask someone on a date (politely), interview for a job, call some companies for sponsorships. Just do 10 things that you would never do ordinarily because you expect you’ll fail. Maybe you will (hell, you probably will), but that’s the point. Once you understand that failure isn’t the end of a venture (though it sometimes means you need to go a different direction), I think it helps with the mental block most people – myself included – have about not wanting to fail.

Adams does a fantastic job writing in a colloquial manner, so you feel like a friend is telling you a story. The laid back manner made it easier for me to pick up and put down (because that’s kinda how he writes the book), but I think this allowed me to read the book over a longer period of time and reflect on what was said. The biggest moment for me was when he mentioned the advice he received from a random business man on a plane. It was that once you have a job, you should immediately be looking to upgrade to a better one (which isn’t usually with the same company). This is because it may take 20-30 years to become an officer if you’re starting at the bottom, and in addition to that, there is almost always a better job out there for you. So, each position you hold should be a springboard into your next one. It’s almost pointless to stay in one spot for 20 years unless you’re happy to stay there the rest of your life. For me, I think this emphasized the fact that no matter how good you think you have it, staying stagnant will hurt you in the end. I’m in the process of making sure I’m always pursuing something new (be it a motorcycle trip, starting a program at UF, finding a new hobby, etc.), which I think I can accredit to the advice a business man gave Adams over 20 years ago.