Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong
By Eric Barker
4.5/5
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About this ebook
Wall Street Journal Bestseller
Much of the advice we’ve been told about achievement is logical, earnest…and downright wrong. In Barking Up the Wrong Tree, Eric Barker reveals the extraordinary science behind what actually determines success and most importantly, how anyone can achieve it. You’ll learn:
• Why valedictorians rarely become millionaires, and how your biggest weakness might actually be your greatest strength
• Whether nice guys finish last and why the best lessons about cooperation come from gang members, pirates, and serial killers
• Why trying to increase confidence fails and how Buddhist philosophy holds a superior solution
• The secret ingredient to “grit” that Navy SEALs and disaster survivors leverage to keep going
• How to find work-life balance using the strategy of Genghis Khan, the errors of Albert Einstein, and a little lesson from Spider-Man
By looking at what separates the extremely successful from the rest of us, we learn what we can do to be more like them—and find out in some cases why it’s good that we aren’t. Barking Up the Wrong Tree draws on startling statistics and surprising anecdotes to help you understand what works and what doesn’t so you can stop guessing at success and start living the life you want.
Editor's Note
Fall back into successful habits…
Dreading going back to work after a relaxing summer vacation? Reset and fire up your motivation to cultivate success on your own terms with this book. It will help you let go of your preconceptions of what success is and how others obtain it. Eric Barker’s counterintuitive anecdotal advice and surprising studies will guide you to your goals and beyond.
Eric Barker
Eric Barker is the creator of the blog Barking Up the Wrong Tree, which presents science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life. His work has been mentioned in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, TIME magazine, The Week, and Business Insider. He is a former Hollywood screenwriter, having worked on projects for Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, and Revolution Studios. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA from Boston College and a Master of Fine Arts from UCLA.
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Reviews for Barking Up the Wrong Tree
249 ratings28 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eye opening in terms of what defines success as opposed to what we has become the norm.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5One of the best book I have ever read
Thank you so much for lifting my spirit - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A great arsenal of anecdotes and case studies. Often stretches to show the middle way between extremes or the other side of the coin, but overall an enjoyable read.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Bad and delusional! Just the things that have been told!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A must read book for young professionals and and entrepreneurs. Touches on subjects such as the decline of great leaders who are the top performers, what they do, sacrifices they make and the strengths and weaknesses of intro- and extroverts
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Interesting enough to keep you engaged, thoughtfully written and conveys the message clearly. Everything that you want from a good read basically !!!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Well it was okay, but it thought it'd be a deeper book when I started. (the first pages got me.) But it ended up being simpler than I thought, still, very helpful and informative; little misinformation and very neat. If you haven't read any similar books, really recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lots of hands on useful information. Well researched. I enjoyed the real life examples.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5well written and engaging. A page turner. Look forward to other books by this author
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a very interesting collection of information and advice. I didn't read it very quickly because I kind of wanted to roll the ideas around before moving on to the next one. But I'll carry some of the lessons and stories with me and probably read it again someday.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was an easy and engaging read. I loved how it covered both sides of each topic brought up, started with great anecdotal stories that made me want to delve even deeper into the rest of the story and most importantly, have actionable steps that you can put to use right away.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5a very perfect and practical book having read Dan ariely's book. thank you for the eye-opening experience.i hope to give this to my child when I have one in future
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5If you are into this category this book is the to notch! Explains everything about succes!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It is a good book about success with relevant examples and suggestions !
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5increíble! muy fácil de leer y cautivador. volveré a leerlo porque contiene grandes enseñanzas.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mind expanding book, a jewel to be grateful to read.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inspiring, trail blazing and thought provoking! Well worth a read!
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Awesome,Success put in perspective for common men.A must read one
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fun read. Although it seems simple, there are actually serious techniques that could prove useful in helping persons be more productive and live a fulfilling life.
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Very readable and entertaining book about success, but a bit lacking in rigor and organization. The author engagingly tells lots of stories, but they come straight from other people's books or research. He occasionally interjects his own experiences in a humorous way. There are lots of good things here. If only for saying that The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne) doesn't work, he earns my respect. But the long chapters ramble on too long and the takeaways at the end of each chapter go on too long as well. In presenting both sides of each picture, for example the benefits of self confidence as well as its pitfalls, the book often leaves the reader a bit confused by the end of the chapter. I suggest you take your own notes and make your own success cheat sheet to refer to afterwards.One fact check: Siula Grande is not even close to being the highest mountain in the Southern Hemisphere!
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5It was an exciting and learning journey from the beginning to the end of the book. I have learnt a lot from this book and I hope everyone does. The author presents pretty insightful remarks on various studies and topics. The book sure does teach you a lot about yourself, the world and many more things...
The amount of satisfaction that reading this book has given me is more than any other form of entertainment.1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lot's of advice backed up by science. Easy to read and includes practical suggestions.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Thanks for this beautiful artcraft. Really Inspiring. A real must-read
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is a book that at first might make you scoff at the title because you think you have know the subject all too well. But of course you’re wrong and you will enjoy, contemplate, and learn a ton from this book. Especially useful for someone who is just starting his career. Thank you author-nim.
3 people found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An interesting collection of facts, research, and stories about success. For example,"Distractions literally make you Stupid.Students whose classroom was situated near a noisy railway line ended up academically a full year behind students with a quiet classroom. When the noise was dampened, the performance difference vanished. Offices aren't much different. Research shows that the most productive computer programmers have one thing in common. It's not experience, salary, or hours spent on a project. They had employers who gave them an environment free from distraction."
2 people found this helpful
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's a good book. The problem is me. I am tired of this kind of books.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Nice reading! Interesting stories and researches. Also got really good tools to be more effienct at work and at personnel life as well.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is a fascinating, expertly written, and thoroughly satisfying read.Barker writes like he is sitting with you at a table with a beer in his hand telling you engaging stories. Each of the stories are centered around popular thoughts, ideas, and beliefs and what he is saying is shaking many of them apart but in a way that causes you to be completely open to it. Then, just when you think "what am I supposed to do with this?" He offers some helpful suggestions for making application.You are sitting across from him, beer in your hand, hanging on every word and then you walk away from the conversation realizing that your life is better, or at least it can be, if you apply the practical wisdom you gained by the encounter. And you walk away wishing the conversation wasn't over.
2 people found this helpful