21A - Reading Reflection No. 2

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

The general theme/argument of the book, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, by Scott Adams, is that failure is inevitable and our success is defined by how we deal with our failures.

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

In my opinion, this book connects and enhances what I’ve learned in ENT 3003 because many of the values mentioned in this book, such as proper goal setting, overcoming failures, and taking risks, are many of the same values that are taught in this course. Throughout this course, we have learned that it is very important to set goals that are actually attainable. Overtime, these goals can be stretched further and further until we finally reach our end goals. In addition, overcoming failures and taking risk are probably two of the most important lessons taught in this course. It is impossible to be a successful entrepreneur without overcoming failures and taking risks.

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 the book I read, I would design a goal setting exercise. For this exercise, each student would write down their initial goals related to their business. They would then have to explain in detail how they would go about attaining this goal. After explaining how to reach their initial goal, the students would then expand on this by writing down additional goals. Each time they write down a goal, they would have to explain how they would reach their goal. Eventually, the students would get to their ultimate goal.

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?

One of the things that surprised me most when reading this book is that many of the most successful people out there took many, many years to get to that point. A large number of these people started off their careers by working jobs completely unrelated to the jobs that ultimately brought them great success. Some of them were not even well known until they were in their 40's, 50's, or even later on in their lives. This shows that success takes time and that there is no need to try to rush it.