Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail: The 6 Enduring Principles of High Achievement

By Rom Brafman

Book Overview

IN COUNTLESS STUDIES, PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED A SURPRISING FACT: For decades they assumed that people who face adversity--a difficult childhood, career turbulence, sudden bouts of bad luck--will succumb to their circumstances. Yet over and over again they found a significant percentage are able to overcome their life circumstances and achieve spectacular success. How is it that individuals who are not "supposed" to succeed manage to overcome the odds? Are there certain traits that such people have in common? Can the rest of us learn from their success and apply it to our own lives? In Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail, Rom Brafman, psychologist and coauthor of the bestselling book Sway , set out to answer these questions. In a riveting narrative that interweaves compelling stories from education, the military, and business and a wide range of groundbreaking new research, Brafman identifies the six hidden drivers behind unlikely success. Among them: *The critical importance of the Limelight Effect--our ability to redirect the focus of our lives to the result of our own efforts, as opposed to external forces *The value of a satellite in our lives--the remarkable way in which a consistent ally who accepts us unconditionally while still challenging us to be our best can make a huge difference *The power of temperament--people who are able to tunnel through life's obstacles have a surprisingly mild disposition; they don't allow the bumps in the road to unsettle them By understanding and incorporating these strat-egies in our own lives, Brafman argues, we can all be better prepared to overcome the inevitable obstacles we face, from setbacks at work to chall-enges in our personal lives.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307887693
• ISBN13: 9780307887696
• Release Date: January 2013
• Publisher: Harmony/Rodale/Convergent
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

The Future is Whatever You Think It Is

This is a great book for anyone looking down the barrel of the future with feelings of fear or despair. We live in the midst of tremendous change and many challenges, yet opportunities abound and a good life can still be had. The keys to building a life that reflects your inner vision can be found in "Succeeding When You're Supposed to Fail: The 6 Enduring Principles of High Achievement." We have all met someone in our lives who has succeeded despite all the odds - poverty, abuse, tragedy, etc. This book details the characteristics shared by these individuals, the mindset and habits that enabled them to achieve their goals when they should have failed. The key takeaway (for me) revolved around The Limelight Effect - which, in essence, distinguishes how each of us perceives our challenges and setbacks - do we have an intrinsic belief in our ability to overcome and succeed OR do we believe there are external forces working against us and because of those we will never attain what we desire. Believing we can succeed is the most important factor in determining outcomes. If you think you are a victim of circumstance, luck, or anything else, you will remain where you are. You must believe in the possibility of change and your ability to make it happen. Worth the read!