21A – Reading Reflection No. 2

Bringing In A Second Opinion

1) What was the general theme or argument of the book?

I chose to read How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams. In this book, Adams focused on how he pushed through many failures to eventually succeed. He failed in multiple jobs, attempted start-ups, etc. before he was eventually able to succeed in the cartoon industry. He discussed these failures, and how he was able to learn from his mistakes and take care of himself in order to push himself towards success.

2) How did the book, in your opinion, connect with and enhance what you are learning in ENT 3003?

In ENT3003, we spent a good amount of time discussing how tenacity is a shared strength of entrepreneurs. I think this book connects and reinforces that idea. Adams really had to be tenacious in his career, and find a way to push back his numerous failures. Just like many other entrepreneurs, he had to learn form his mistakes and not let that deter him from trying to succeed, and his tenacious attitude allowed him to eventually succeed.

3) If you had to design an exercise for this class, based on the book you read, what would that exercise involve?

If I had to design an exercise for this class based on this book, I would have my students analyze three goals they have set for themselves. Then, I would have them adjust the goals to the system approach Adam discusses in his book. I would then have them compare the two and see how the systems approach is either more beneficial or not for their personality.

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?

My biggest surprise when reading this book was when Adams explained to have systems, not goals. I found that intriguing, as my entire life I have been taught to set goals and work towards them daily. Instead, systems are more flexible and have less pressure on the time aspect. I struggle the most in making goals that are too difficult to attain in a certain amount of time, so thinking about goals as a system rather than a specific task to achieve is really interesting and something I think I will apply to my life now.