Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong

by Eric Barker

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062416056
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/14/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	397,541
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.72(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction: What Really Produces Success? 1

By Looking at the Science Behind 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

Chapter 1 Should We Play It Safe and Do What We're Told If We Want to Succeed? 7

Does Playing by the Rules Pay Off? Insight from Valedictorians, People Who Feel No Pain, and Piano Prodigies

Chapter 2 Do Nice Guys Finish Last? 32

What You Can Learn About Trust, Cooperation, and Kindness … from Gang Members, Pirates, and Serial Killers

Chapter 3 Do Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit? 62

What Navy SEALs, Video Games, Arranged Marriages, and Batman Can Teach Us About Sticking It Out When Achieving Success Is Hard

Chapter 4 It's Not What You Know, It's Who You Know (Unless It Really Is What You Know) 123

What We Can Learn About the Power of Networks from Hostage Negotiators, Top Comedians, and the Smartest Man Who Ever Lived

Chapter 5 Believe in Yourself … Sometimes 175

What We Can Learn About Walking the Tightrope Between Confidence and Delusion from Chess Masters, Secret Military Units, Kung Fu Con Artists, and People Who Cannot Feel Fear

Chapter 6 Work, Work, Work … or Work-Life Balance? 204

How to Find Harmony Between Home and the Office, Courtesy of Spider-Man, Buddhist Monks, Albert Einstein, Professional Wrestlers, and Genghis Khan

Conclusion: What Makes a Successful Life? 259

Acknowledgments 267

References 269

About the Author 309

Editorial Reviews

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

“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

From the Publisher

Delightfully puckish, evidence-backed and full of insight, this book answers questions about success that have puzzled us for far too long.

Adam Grant

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

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

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

Narrating this fascinating collection of research findings on who is successful and why, Roger Wayne brings the kind of vocal clarity and enthusiasm that an audiobook like this deserves. He sounds relaxed, in complete control of his craft, and engaged without overselling the author’s message. Eric Barker explodes many myths we have about success—for example that nice guys and generous people finish last—by offering surprising studies of how people with various behavioral/emotional styles perform with various types of challenges. He shows how conditions like ADHD can help or hurt a person’s effectiveness depending on the setting and type of task they’re doing and how leaders who did poorly in school often succeed in real life because their creativity is “unfiltered”—they find solutions others don’t see. T.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

Narrating this fascinating collection of research findings on who is successful and why, Roger Wayne brings the kind of vocal clarity and enthusiasm that an audiobook like this deserves. He sounds relaxed, in complete control of his craft, and engaged without overselling the author’s message. Eric Barker explodes many myths we have about success—for example that nice guys and generous people finish last—by offering surprising studies of how people with various behavioral/emotional styles perform with various types of challenges. He shows how conditions like ADHD can help or hurt a person’s effectiveness depending on the setting and type of task they’re doing and how leaders who did poorly in school often succeed in real life because their creativity is “unfiltered”—they find solutions others don’t see. T.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile