You Are Not a Failure: The Dark Side of Success and How to Face It
About this audiobook
There is a less celebrated truth about success: failure is the foundation it is built on.
This book is for anyone who has ever been labeled a failure, felt the cold rejection of others or watched a dream fade.
Each chapter mixes personal stories, research and the falls of people we now remember only for their success, with exercises to do on paper next to the book.
Inside:
Deciphering failure: why Japanese culture treats it as part of kaizen, the growth mindset, and seven painters, from Van Gogh to Frida Kahlo, who rose from a thousand fallsHidden challenges: learning with ADHD, the lack of motivation, family dramas and time that slips away, with SMART goals, gamification and a goal mapStarting up among ruins: surviving the initial chaos, delegating, networking, listening to your data, taking calculated risks and managing money in turbulent timesResilience, the muscle of the soul: adaptability, self-efficacy, optimism, social support, learning, self-control and creativityThe Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has followed 724 men since 1938, and why the quality of your relationships matters more than money or statusThe dark side of success: fame, impostor syndrome, self-sabotage, and what Robin Williams, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears and Kodak teach about falling from the topA four-step framework to learn from every failure: reflective analysis, the lesson, an action plan, then execution and reevaluationFailure as the school of the greats: Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, Marie Curie, Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai, plus the 5 Whys and the 80/20 rule for solving problemsDiego Segura is an industrial engineer who has spent his career working out how systems fail and how to fix them. He holds an MBA and a master's in Digital Technology from Boston University, and has worked with Stanford, Harvard, MIT and Boston University. Instead of following a conventional academic path, he started his own business when he was young, and his first venture, an online store selling Huichol bracelets, did not sell a single one. He grew up with an ADHD label, was turned down by Harvard and other leading universities, and only learned as an adult that he has Asperger's.
There are no magic tricks here, only hard truths earned through personal and professional struggle. At the end you will find mental health helplines and websites for 25 countries, because some falls need more than a book.
Stop fearing failure and start seeing it for what it really is: an integral and valuable part of your story.
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About the author
Diego Segura is an industrial engineer who has spent his career working out how systems fail and how to fix them. He holds an MBA and a master's in Digital Technology from Boston University, and has worked with Stanford, Harvard, MIT and Boston University. He writes by reading everything published on a subject, then reporting what it actually says, including the parts nobody wants to hear.