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Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong Hardcover – May 16, 2017
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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.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarperOne
- Publication dateMay 16, 2017
- Dimensions1.3 x 6.2 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-109780062416049
- ISBN-13978-0062416049
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Publisher's Weekly Bestseller
USA Today Bestseller
Financial Times Business Book of the Month
Business Insider Best Business Books of the Year
Fast Company Best Business and Leadership Books
Entrepreneur Magazine Best Business Book
" In this compulsively readable, brilliant kaleidoscope Barking Up The Wrong Tree, Barker is your rollicking guide through the science of success. You'll discover what pirates and inmates can teach us about honesty and generosity, how to network like the world's greatest mathematician, and much, much more."
-Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Drive and To Sell is Human
"Delightfully puckish, evidence-backed and full of insight, this book answers questions about success that have puzzled us for far too long."
-Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take
"This book is compelling because Barker's irreverence is so consistently on-target, relentlessly puncturing the wisdom balloons that most need bursting."
-Robert B. Cialdini, New York Times bestselling author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
"Barking Up The Wrong Tree is a masterpiece. Whether you are a connoisseur of self-help books, or despise them, you won't be able to resist this recipe for living a better life."
-Robert Sutton, Stanford Professor and bestselling author of The Asshole Survival Guide: How to Deal With People Who Treat You Like Dirt
From the Back Cover
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 important—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.
About the Author
Product details
- ASIN : 0062416049
- Publisher : HarperOne; 1st edition (May 16, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9780062416049
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062416049
- Item Weight : 1.03 pounds
- Dimensions : 1.3 x 6.2 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #323,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #906 in Popular Social Psychology & Interactions
- #3,402 in Personal Finance (Books)
- #4,695 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Eric Barker is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller "Barking Up the Wrong Tree" which has sold over half a million copies and been translated into 19 languages. Over 500,000 people have subscribed to his weekly newsletter. His work has been covered by The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Financial Times, and others. Eric is also a sought-after speaker, having given talks at MIT, Yale, Google, the United States Military Central Command (CENTCOM), and the Olympic Training Center.
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The first chapter tells you when to comply with the rules and when to strike out as a maverick. The second chapter tells you when you want to be a nice guy and when do you need to be cut throat. (Answer: pirates, drug dealers and prison gangs are successful by being nice for long term success. Short term relationships like used-car salesmen need to be cut-throat for short term quick gains.) The third chapter tells you when to quit, i.e. when you will never realistically make it, versus sticking to it with grit with tricks like making the struggle into a fun game. The fourth chapter is about when it pays to be an extrovert using social media or being an introvert diving into deep work Cal Newport style.
There is a lot of nuisance in this book so you will need to re-read sections, look at the end notes, and buy the books Barker references. This BOOK IS AWESOME!!! You will not be able to loan this book out because you will never get it back from your friends. I have read half the book and feel like I just started reading. Barker is hilarious, the stories are fascinating, and the advice is priceless. Barking Up the Wrong Tree will be a roadmap toward your success and keep you from banging your head against repeated failure.
I almost missed reading this book because the price was way too expensive when it first came out. I bought a used copy for $2 when I saw Barker's new book on the science of relationships. It is really scary because reading this book has been life changing, making me look at everything I work on with a new, clearer perspective.
This book is different. If you’re serious about living a life that’s more like the one you want to live, you should read this book. Before I tell you why, let me tell you something about me so you can judge my recommendations.
I’m 71 years old, and for more than half a century, I’ve been working on making myself and my life better. I’ve learned a lot by getting it wrong and then adjusting, and I’ve learned a lot by reading and talking to other people and trying things. As a result, I’ve read a lot of books about how to do life better and this is one of the best. Early in the book, Eric Barker says this:
“You’ve been told about all the qualities and tactics that will help you get where you want to go, but there’s no real proof – and perhaps you’ve seen plenty of exceptions. That’s what we’re going to look at in this book.”
Barker keeps his promise in six focused chapters. Chapter 1 is about whether playing it safe produces success. Chapter 2 deals with whether nice guys finish last or first. In Chapter 3, he looks at the emerging science of resilience, starting with Navy SEAL training. I bet you’ve never thought of SEAL training as a game, but you might after you read this. Chapter 4 addresses the issue of whether success is based on what you know or who you know. Chapter 5 is all about attitude. Chapter 6 is a step back to review the big picture.
Barker makes another promise early in the book. He promises that in each chapter he’ll review both sides of the issue. He keeps that promise and it’s one of the reasons why this is a great and helpful book.
This book was valuable to me for several reasons. Here they are.
Barker does what many great business and self-help authors do. He states things that you could not have articulated before but seem obvious once he says them. One thing like that for me was the fact that the major reason people don’t get enough sleep is that they spend the time working. He also adds detail and insight to things I already knew.
I knew that turning challenges into games was a good thing and it’s a technique I’ve used for years, but I didn’t know much of the science behind it until I read this book. In fact, this book has the best short summary I’ve come across of how to use game elements to make your life and work experience better.
Barker reframed things that I already knew. I knew, for example, that the beginnings and endings of things are perceived as important. I used that to design speeches and training programs. After reading this book, I’m thinking about the same thing when I plan my day. There’s a bit of science about why your mood in the morning can affect your whole day. And more about ending the day right.
There are also things here that I’d already discovered for myself over the last several decades. Among them are the facts that naps can greatly improve performance and that relationships are the key to a satisfying life. There’s also the idea that saying “no” is a critical skill if you want to be as successful as possible. There’s material on why making progress every day and seeking out small wins is both a good strategy and emotionally satisfying.
There were also some things that were brand-new to me. I learned about self-compassion and it’s something that I will try to use in my life. Barker told me about the research that supports the idea that we don’t do the things that make us the happiest naturally. Instead, we do what’s easy. And he introduced me to the idea of intensifiers, traits that are mostly negative but can be huge performance enhancers in certain situations.
In addition to covering both sides of several important issues, Barker does a magnificent job of connecting the dots. As you move through the book you will find that things discussed in early chapters will make another visit in later chapters.
Toward the end of the book he puts together a framework for creating a successful life. I’ve used several of these frameworks in my life to evaluate how things were going and to get ideas for what improvements I should prioritize. Generally, they had more than four issues. His four are happiness (enjoying), achievement (winning), significance (counting to others), and legacy. A single word for legacy is extending, but I find his definition much more helpful: “Establishing your values or accomplishments in ways that help others find future success.”
Bottom Line
Barking Up the Wrong Tree is a book which will help you do better at work and in life.
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.
Top reviews from other countries
My recommendation is to read the book slowly and definitely not all at once. Readers should take their time to think about what was recently read, and, hence, enjoy each step of the reading.
I definitely recommend this book.