350. Barking Up The Wrong Tree

I finished reading “Barking Up The Wrong Tree” by Eric Barker , so I like to share my top 3 messages from this book.

Top 3 Key Takeaways

  1. The alternative to self-confidence is Self-compassion; You must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.
  2. Spending 5% of your time trying new things, knowing you will quit most of them, can lead to great opportunities.
  3. Everything is a game, you’ve got to have fun with it and you’ve got to keep your eye on the bigger picture.

Other Messages

Here are the other messages that didn’t make it to my top 3.

  • Facing different challenges in different contexts allowed them to look at things differently, challenge assumptions, and realize breakthroughs.
  • A study of over 700 American millionaires showed their average college GPA was 2.9
  • Following the rules doesn’t create success
  • When it comes to the extremes of performance, averages don’t matter; what matters is variance, those deviations from the norm
  • Your head says between 300 to 1000 words every minute to yourself.
  • Good games have in common WNGF; winnable, novel challenges and goals, and provide feedback
  • Life satisfaction is 22 percent more likely for those with a steady stream of minor accomplishments than those who express interest only in major accomplishments
  • It turns out that trying stuff outside your field of expertise is correlated with big achievements.
  • Never ask a mentor a question google can easily answer for you.
  • Fake it until you make it?: In deceiving others you end up deceiving yourself. That is dangerous.
  • The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.