1)
What was the general theme or argument
of the book?
Overall, I enjoyed the book,
How to Fail at Almost
Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. Scott
Adams preached simplicity throughout his book and went from working behind a
desk to the creator of one of the most well-known comic strips Dilbert. Throughout the book, we learn about many of Scott’s
failures, one for example is his idea to create a dill flavored burrito. While learning about these failures he
explains the ways you can learn from these failures to become successful as
well as trying took look at the world in a different way. Scott Adams also highlights ways to think to
succeed such as passion is bullshit, stay steeped in failure, goals vs systems,
appearance matters, and deciding versus wanting. Learning from failure Scott Adams explains
that goals are for losers and day to day acting and always doing the next
step. Also, it is important to decide
and take action as opposed to just wanting something.
2)
How did the book, in your opinion,
connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?
I
think this book connected well with what we are learning in ENT3003 because it
is important to understand that failure is not the end but rather an obstacle
to overcome. Becoming a successful
entrepreneur is a process and cannot happen overnight. As Scott
Adams said one must try and fail, learn, and grow to succeed. I think understanding that failure is a part
od success is important thing to understand as an entrepreneur. Additionally, having desire, being hard working,
and having an appetite for success can put an entrepreneur on the path to
success.
3)
If you had to design an exercise for
this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?
One thing I learned from this book is the importance of affirmations to become successful. Scott Adams said that he would write down
what he wanted 15 times in a row. This
would help him stay on track and generate ideas to become successful. In the end, this affirmation led to the
creation of the Dilbert comic strip. I
think the exercise of writing down what we want 15 times in a row would be a successful
exercise and one that would not be that hard to do.
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
The
biggest surprise while reading this book was what Scott Adams said about being
selfish. Scott Adams explains that there
are three kinds of people which are selfish, stupid, and being a burden on others. Given these options, there is only one
logical choice which is to be selfish. Many
people struggle with creating a balance between being selfish and not selfish
enough. However, the example Scott Adams
has given shows that as an entrepreneur being selfish is the only way to
succeed. I would not expect being
selfish as a positive quality to consider when running a business. I now see that successful entrepreneurs must be
selfish ad dedicate countless hours of time and dedication to become successful.
I read this book, too! I thought it was a funny story and it had a lot of good advice and lessons in it. I like that both of us took away different things from the book. I thought that it was very interesting that the most surprising part to you was that he said to be selfish. That definitely surprised me, as well, but I think that it makes a lot of sense when you really think about it. It sounds like you took away some good insight from this book, like I did. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHey Max,
ReplyDeleteYou and Catherine both read the same book and by chance I read both of your posts. However, you both got different things out of the same book. For example, you both chose to do different exercises; while you chose to write something you want 15 times in a row, Catherine chose to draw a cartoon for her exercise. I think it is interesting that you both came up with different things despite reading the same book.
Hello!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I didn't read this book, however, I agree with what the author speaks about. Failure and success go hand-in-hand and it is important for an individual to accept their failures. Just like you stated, entrepreneurs need to face and overcome obstacles. What surprised me was the big "aha" moment. I never truly thought of selfishness as a quality entrepreneurs have!
Hey Max,
ReplyDeleteWe read the same book for this reading reflection assignment and came to a lot of the same conclusions about the book. We both agreed that being selfish was the most shocking aspect about the entire book but I realized that Adams made a lot of solid points that being selfish was a good thing not only for you but also those around you. Great job!