Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

by Eric Barker

We spend too much time trying to be “good” when good is often merely average. To be great we must be different.

In the right environment, bad can be good and odd can be beautiful.

And knowing yourself, in terms of achieving what you want in life, means being aware of your strengths.

Quite simply, when you undertake a project, write down what you expect to happen, then later note the result. Over time you’ll see what you do well and what you don’t.

You can do this too: know thyself and pick the right pond. Identify your strengths and pick the right place to apply them.

If you’re already in a bad environment, circle the wagons with other good people.

We need a bit of fantasy to keep us going.

Optimists are luckier. Studies show by thinking positive they persevere and end up creating more opportunities for themselves.

We can apply game mechanics to our lives and turn dull moments into fun ones.

WNGF. They’re Winnable. They have Novel challenges and Goals, and provide Feedback.

Now, what if your boss hates you? Or you’re facing discrimination in the workplace? Those games really aren’t winnable. Move on. Find a game you can win.

add challenges.

So what’s the first step? Know your number-one priority. Then start quitting stuff that isn’t as important and see what happens. You’ll learn really fast if something really is more essential than you thought.

Lucky people don’t dwell on failure; they see the good side of the bad and often learn from it. They have an optimistic explanatory style much like the positive-minded baseball teams.

YouTube started out as a dating site, of all things. eBay was originally focused on selling PEZ dispensers. Google began as a project to organize library book searches.

don’t be afraid to do some experiments, and quit the ones that don’t work.

WOOP—wish, outcome, obstacle, plan—is applicable to most any of your goals, from career to relationships to exercise and weight loss.

When things seem high risk and low reward, pessimism is a tool you can dust off to make sure you don’t go all Pollyanna.

Being an introvert is more predictive of good grades than intelligence.

Overconfident people are more likely to be promoted than those who have actually accomplished more.

We need optimism and confidence to keep going and convince others to join our cause, but negativity and pessimism help us see problems so we can make them better. Yes, the former feel much better, but both are necessary.

if you still want to focus on confidence, the surest path is to become really good at what you do.

Instead of pretending to be what you’re not, the best answer is to focus on presenting the best version of yourself.

Twenty percent had used drugs to increase focus and concentration, the most common being the stimulant Ritalin.

Sometimes more isn’t even possible. Sometimes we need to relax and have fun—and maybe act a little bit crazy—to be at our best.

Study after study shows that creativity comes from being relaxed, not stressed and overworked.

under high levels of time pressure you’re 45 percent less likely to come up with that creative solution.

planned inflight rest period significantly improved performance and physiological alertness in long-haul flight operations.”

Hard work doesn’t necessarily mean good work.

Research shows that writing down the things you need to take care of tomorrow can settle your brain and help you relax.

There are three categories of people—the person who goes into the office, puts his feet up on his desk, and dreams for twelve hours; the person who arrives at five A.M. and works sixteen hours, never once stopping to dream; and the person who puts his feet up, dreams for one hour, then does something about those dreams.

it’s about alignment between who you are and where you choose to be.