One of the most shallow books I’ve ever read and only finished by skimming the pages. There are so many better things to read. Skip this one.

Excellent book. I like Scott Adams, abd I've never read his Dilbert comic's, but I find similarities between me and him. This book was loaded with sensible advice.Among them, was looking for patterns among people who have succeeded in the domain, rather than one person's individual advice. It mentioned skills to learn, and reasons for learning them. The whole thesis if failing and learning is the same theology behind the Lean startup, being embraced today and the growth mindset. The examples/stories in the book were personal and compelling. Also, the concept of systems > goals.

4.5 stars. I knew nothing about this book going in and really enjoyed it. It’s an eclectic mix of good advice on a variety of topics, interspersed with personal stories. I think his concept of weighing your personal experience against the advice of others is particularly important. Could be a good introduction to a life hack mentality. Warning, rant: I felt the need to leave 5 stars to offset the surprising number of 1 and 2 star reviews from people who apparently didn’t bother actually reading this: - he came from a small town and he (and I assume his siblings) were the first in his family to go to college. - his parents didn’t have the money for a private college; he had to help pay his way. - his so-called dumb college stories were to reveal his lack of knowledge of what was acceptable in the business world (and lack of good advice from the people around him). - the Dilbert characters stuck in cubicles? He was one of them for years. He got up at 4 am to work on Dilbert because at first it was a side hustle. - many of his business failures were before Dilbert got big, and some involved hours of learning to code himself. Tell me that’s not perseverance. - he’s had multiple serious health issues. These are only the things he’s chosen to write about, and only in this book. Yes, he’s rich and famous NOW, but the reviewers complaining about how “lucky” he is are missing the entire point of the book, not to mention skipping over what he actually wrote. It’s clear he tried not to come across as out of touch. The general public assumes that an overnight success is actually a thing, simply because they don’t see the blood, sweat and tears that an artist or entrepreneur pour into their work, or all failures that came before. He’s trying to let you in on that and for some people, it didn’t appear to work. I agree with him; your job is to make it easier for luck to find you, which is exactly what this book is about. In my opinion, the only people with a right to complain that he’s just lucky are the most disadvantaged among us, who could probably level that complaint against anyone on the low end of middle class.

A fun and quick read, and some very interesting advice.

I think Scott Adams is an acquired taste. But I did enjoy reading this book. Probably better in audiobook version if he narratives it.

Rating: 8.4/10 Started out very strong with the concept of energy being the most important thing in life, driving all goals. Also stressed the idea of systems over goals that I have been striving to follow. Adams falters in the second half in the Fitness and Diet sections where his advice is merely anecdotal and prescriptive.

Some interesting concepts, but he over does it, over thinks it, over plans it, over scrutinizes it... I felt you would need to be a robot, always working on how you are. The idea that you would practice telling your stories beforehand to be more comfortable at social gatherings seems a little extreme. I like the idea that "goals are for losers", it is better to have a system. Each day, instead of not reaching your goal, you are successful at your system.

It didn't blow me away and I found that disappointing as I really enjoy Scott's blog. It was just a bit too scattered and surface-level for me to get any real value from it. Shame.

Surprisingly serious and useful suggestions on creating your own "system" for living a longer, happier and more productive life.

If you’re a fan of Dilbert and Stott Adams in particular, you’ll surely enjoy the read. The book is exactly what the title entails: the unfiltered story of Scott Adam’s life. How he failed at almost everything but eventually managed to succeed. Yet, the book is nothing special – a guy sharing his story and the lessons he learned along the way. Yes, there are few nuggets that are worth checking if your planning to start your own business, no matter the industry – most of them are already mentioned above – but nothing groundbreaking. My key takeaway is the following: There is good selfishness and bad selfishness. Bad is when you’re can’t stop talking about yourself, good is when you want to improve your life so you can improve the lives of others. You need to focus on the second kind. Read more: https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Not a bad book, but I was hoping for something more. The book gets repetitive in places, and beyond that, it's your typical "wisdom from a rich guy" type of thing